Banana Yogurt Muffins
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My banana yogurt muffins are super moist and fluffy, and bake in 20 minutes. They use a secret ingredient that makes them healthier than they taste.
In my house, muffins are an anytime food. If my partner could have them for almost every meal, they’d do it.
Because they’d eat them every day if they could, I’ve developed this banana muffin recipe with a secret wholesome ingredient: yogurt. Adding yogurt to banana muffins makes them super moist in the middle and also adds extra protein. These taste like any good muffin.
I combined my original yogurt muffin and banana bread with yogurt recipe to make these. Because banana adds sweetness and moisture, I cut back on the yogurt and sugar. Here’s why I keep making them:
- Made in one bowl. Everything comes together in one bowl- no stand mixer needed.
- Lighter than traditional muffins. I swapped butter for coconut oil and white flour for whole wheat. You’d never notice the difference in texture or flavor.
- Extra protein. The Greek yogurt adds about 4 grams of protein per muffin compared to a standard banana muffin, which is why my partner can eat two and still feel satisfied.
★★★★★ REVIEW
“Delicious healthy muffins! Definitely will do it again, it’s so simple and quick to prepare 🧁” – Valentina
Table of Contents
Key Ingredients
Here’s what goes into banana muffins with yogurt, along with my kitchen notes. Full measurements are in the recipe card below.
- Bananas. I like to wait until my bananas are almost black because they make the muffin batter even moister and sweeter.
- Plain yogurt. Greek yogurt is my preference for the extra protein, but any thick, unflavored yogurt works. Mario, in the comments, tested it with blended cottage cheese and said it worked well, too.
- Coconut oil. Melted coconut oil is an excellent substitute for butter. Honestly, I prefer it to butter when making muffins because it yields a more tender crumb.
- Coconut sugar. Coconut sugar has a lower glycemic index than white sugar and retains more moisture during baking, which helps keep the middles soft. Brown or white sugar can be used in a pinch.
- Baking soda. Helps the muffins rise and gives them a golden top.
- Salt. Just a pinch to balance out the sweet flavors.
- Vanilla extract. A teaspoon of vanilla adds a subtle warmth that balances the sweetness of the banana and coconut sugar.
- White whole wheat flour. I like using this particular flour because it looks like regular flour but sneaks in extra fiber.
How to make Greek yogurt banana yogurt muffins
Step 1- Mash the bananas in a large bowl. Add Greek yogurt and coconut oil and mix until homogeneous.
Step 2- Mix in the remaining ingredients until combined. Fold through the chocolate chips.
Step 3- Portion the batter evenly into a greased 12-count muffin tin.
Step 4- Bake the muffins for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Arman’s recipe tips
- Do NOT overbake the muffins. These muffins continue to bake in the muffin trays even after being removed from the oven. So once your toothpick comes out *just* clean (i.e., with a few moist crumbs), take them out!
- Do NOT overmix the batter. The #1 reason why muffins turn out gummy or dense is from overmixing. My rule of thumb is to mix until no flour pockets remain.
- Add mix-ins. I always fold in a handful of chocolate chips (as pictured), and my partner loves it with some fresh or frozen raspberries.
- Make mini muffins. Transfer the mixture into a mini muffin tin and reduce the baking time by 7 minutes. They’re great for small bites during the week.
- Use flavored yogurt. Change up the base of the muffin batter by using flavored yogurt (my sister loves it with blueberry yogurt, and requests this when she visits).
Storage instructions
To store. Store these muffins in a closed container at room temperature for 3-4 days.
To freeze. These banana yogurt muffins freeze well. Put the muffins in freezer-safe bags and freeze them for 6 months.
Reheating: Thaw overnight at room temperature or microwave from frozen for 20-30 seconds.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, coconut yogurt works well. Just make sure it’s thick and unflavored. Thinner plant-based yogurts can make the batter too runny, so strain it first if needed.
Yes, avocado oil works well as a 1:1 substitute and has a neutral flavor similar to refined coconut oil.
Greek Yogurt Banana Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 large bananas overripe
- 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
- 1/3 cup coconut oil melted
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar or white sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 large egg beaten
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups white wholewheat flour
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Line a 12-count muffin tin with muffin liners.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the bananas and mash them. Mix in the Greek yogurt and melted coconut oil until smooth. Fold through the coconut sugar, eggs, vanilla, salt, baking soda, and white wholewheat flour. If using chocolate chips, fold them through.
- Evenly distribute the batter amongst the muffin liners and bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Let the muffins cool in the pan for 5 minutes before carefully transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
Nutrition
More healthy muffins to try
- Healthy blueberry muffins– Moist, fluffy, and bursting with blueberries in every bite.
- Healthy zucchini muffins– I promise you, no one will taste even a shred of zucchini.
- Almond flour muffins– I made these on a whim for a celiac friend, and they’ve become one of my very favorites.
- Protein muffins– Each muffin packs in 20 grams of protein and still remains nice and fluffy.
- Flourless muffins– All you need is a blender and some pantry staples to whip these up.
Can these banana muffins be made gluten free?
Hi Lindy- if you have access to Bob’s Red Mill GF flour or King Arthur GF flour, those are the two I use in other baking recipes and it’s an almost idential cup for cup measurement for regular flour 🙂
The instructions did not mention when to put the baking soda in.
Ahh with the flour- I’ll make the amending to it. Thanks for letting me know!
Can maple syrup be replaced for the honey?
Hi Lisa, this recipe is sweetened with coconut sugar, but generally speaking, honey can replace maple syrup in most baking situations, yes 🙂
Can you use avocado oil in place of coconut oil?
That should be fine Janice!
I made these using oat flour (1.5 cups of oats turned into flour with my blender) and splenda for baking. I added 1/2 cup of blueberries and 1/2 cup of crushed pecans.
I made two sets with the same batter. The first set came out flat as a pancake. They did not rise at all. I added another half teaspoon of baking powder before making the rest. And they came out a lot better. They look more like traditional muffins. So, I would double or triple the baking powder. Perhaps, it’s because I added blueberries or used oat flour. Regardless, you may want to do a test muffin. After turning my oats into oat flour with the blender, I just added the rest of the ingredients to the blender and blended everything together. Then, I poured the mixture into a bowl and folded in the blueberries (drained) and crushed pecans. I filled silicone muffin molds to 3/4 full. The muffins are very moist, sweet, and tasty. I will definitely be saving the recipe and making them again. We eat a lot of bananas and this will use up the ones that become too ripe.
Hi Donna- yes, that is a common issue when using oat flour! I’m glad you found a workaround 🙂
Turned out short and dense. Not following this recipe again
Hi Alex- sorry to hear you did not enjoy them. Did you swap out any ingredients or not use enough banana? I’ll be updating this recipe with metric measurements today for accuracy.
Almost forgot the baking soda! But got it in there and these turned out great! Thank you.
Delicious healthy muffins! Definitely will do it again, it so simple and quick to prepare 🧁
Delicious healthy muffins! Definitely will do it again, it doesn’t take long to make compared other recipes 🧁
That means so much, Valentina. I’m glad you found it easy to make and quick 🙂
so easy!
What can I use instead of youghurt? I really like cottage cheese more!
AMAZING! These turned out better than I expected.
I love to hear that, Cameron. Thanks for the lovely review and rating.
In my
Shops there is only “greek style yoghurt”. You think its the same?
Hi Arman , I wonder if coconut yoghurt would work in these muffins ..
Yes it will, Jane. Just make sure its thick or sieve it to remove extra moisture.
Yes, Mario. As long as it is thick!
The actual recipe is missing baking soda. Which I only noticed after I already put my muffins in the oven. Boooooh 🙁 let’s hope they still taste ok!
Hi Angelica- I’m sorry we have had this amended! Hope you enjoyed the muffins 🙂
Amazing muffins, my family love them.
Thanks, Vivienne! So glad it’s a hit with the family.
Delicious!! Doesn’t need the choc chips. My husband wants me to makes them again and serve them with whipped cream, lol! (Defeats the object of being healthy but oh well!:) )
Hahaha extra whipped cream for him!
In the ingredients list you don’t specify how much sweetener 1-2?
So I assumed TB. It turned out delicious but took 90 seconds. I used a 6 oz ramekin & it really rose high above the rim. What size dish do you use? I loved the flavor w/o chocolate chips. I cut in half and spread peanut butter on it. Yum!
Oh yes!! Amending it now 🙂
Hi there, it is a lovely recipe that is so foolproof! I love it. I used regular pot set natural yogurt and dropped in a tablespoon of peanut butter (peanut butter was strong taste with just a teaspoon of it). Thank you for the awesome easy recipe!
Oh I love the addition of peanut butter in them- Thanks for your lovely review 🙂
If I wanted to make multiple muffins and bake them how would I increase this recipe? Say a 12 muffin count!
Hmm I haven’t tried it, I’d just add it up by the number of muffins but feel free to experiment and see!
I am always stoked to find a dessert recipe without coconut flour. After finding I couldn’t have dairy, gluten, or eggs without something terrible happening to my body, I went researching desserts again thinking, ‘Ok, I can do this as long as I can still get my sweets’ then I find out a majority has the one other item that I am allergic to… Coconut! And it’s like the ‘omnipotent being that is awesome in any form’ I mean it’s just an itchy mouth (so far) but with how my other intolerances kicked into dilibitating overdrive within a year’s time frame, I’m not chancing it. So yeah, thanks for this little quick sweet treat!
1-2 Tablespoons of sweetener? In my opinion, that would make it way too sweet.
No worries, it depends on everyone’s tastebuds 🙂
These are fabulous! Kids approved them! Thank you for sharing!
Hi Nikky! Thanks so much for the feedback, STOKED they are kid approved too 🙂
p.s. Vegan omlettes are very popular in India! Search for Besan Chilla/Cheela on pintrest….they will not disappoint! 🙂
oooooo That looks delicious, Sharon!
Ingredients needed in beginning shows baking soda but recipe doesn’t list the baking soda or amount needed. Please advise amount needed.
Hi Jennifer- the recipe card is showing 1/2 teaspoon baking powder- is this showing for you?
Can I use honey as a sweetener…?
Hi there- You can definitely add that instead of the granulated sweetener, although you’d need to adjust it to taste or even leave it out and top the muffin with it 🙂
You say to use “1-2 sweetener”…1-2 what? Teaspoons? Tablespoons? Pinches?
Apologies for the oversight, Tom- It’s tablespoons
Just stumbled on this and had to try it! I substituted whole dairy milk and Oikos fat free Greek vanilla yogurt. Added vanilla and a pinch of salt. Also added some peanut butter. I ran out of chocolate chips so I used cacao nibs. It was fantastic!
Oh yay- I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Taylor!
where does T stand for? Is that teampoon?
Hi Jessica- ‘T’ stands for tablespoon, so 15 mls 🙂
I love overnight oats with Greek yogurt and love this idea as a nice change! But what is the measurement for the sweetener? It says 1-2…?
Hello Stephanie! Apologies- It should be 1 -2 tablespoons- Adjust accordingly 🙂
This looks amazing!! I will be making these this weekend. How many carbs are in one muffin??
Oh awesome- Hope you enjoy them! As for the carbs, if you add the ingredients to a calorie calculator, it will provide it for you! Enjoy!
Funny story – and surprisingly, I don’t consider it a fail.
I had planned on making this for breakfast this morning however forgot to plan to have some ground flax ready. I didn’t want to wake my boyfriend by flipping on the Vitamix this early so I figured I’d see what happened if I omitted the egg part. I had already started making it so I was like, “what the heck, why not. Worst thing that can happen is I throw it out.” Plus, there’s a whole tsp of baking powder. So I measured out everything using 40 g oat flour and then realized I accidentally used cayenne pepper instead of cinnamon! This is not my morning. Needless to say, I kept going. I ended up microwaving for like 3.5 mins or something but this thing was darn good. I’m usually not able to get much success using your recipes because I usually use rice/pea protein instead of whey and flax instead of eggs – but I’d definitely have to use this one again, possibly the right way? Lol!
I took a picture of it, I wish I could post that in the comments…
Oh my gee hahahhaha that is totally something I would do! Glad it worked out in the end?!
Rolled oats might be my favorite base for muffins. YUM.
Since my digestion and Greek yogurt got in a fight, I’ve had to take a vacation from Greek yogurt for a while! I don’t know when I’ll be incorporating it back into my diet or if I will at all, but I’ll probably start off by putting it in something else, like this muffin!
If I already have oat flour what is the measurement to use?
Hi Leanne- you can use the full 1/2 cup plus an extra teaspoon 🙂
Single serve muffins are the best! This looks so good.
🙂 Thanks so much, Shannon!
Another hit, Arman! I’m house/cat sitting for my parents and had to use “regular” yogurt and chocolate chips, but it was still delicious. 🙂
I’m SO honored you made it so soon 🙂
I’ve only ever bought non-fat Greek yogurt before. Out of habit I guess?
You NEED to try fage total- So good!
So Delicious has a pretty goo Greek yogurt. It’s not as tart as the regular kind so I like it more. I’ve never used cream or ice cream in baking but that cannot be wrong. Have a great weekend Arman
You too, Ellie!
I would have never thought to bake with greek yoghurt, but it makes sense! And can you please ask your friend to send me some of those ice cream cupcakes? Kthx
Omg it was amazing- It was cookie monster cupcakes!
I’ve never tried dairy free greek yogurt but I’ll have to look out for that! I’d go full fat of course 🙂
YES. Full fat > any other yogurt.
i used to eat greek yogurt every day and then one day stopped buying it and gave it up! it happened after I was sick over the summer but then Amanda’s reminder yesterday with her banana oat greek yogurt muffins which she is turning into a mug cake or something tomorrow made me think I need to take up greek yogurt again and now you confirmed I should. I gotta get some in the house!
You should try it out- I’m so glad I shared this recipe, it’s like my sweet potato brownies- In my archives but finally seeing light for all to enjoy!
How many calories is this recipe?
??
Hi Cali! If you go into http://www.myfitnesspal.com and add in the ingredients, it will provide it all for you! 🙂 Enjoy!