Protein Banana Muffins

Moist and flavorful protein banana muffins perfect for meal prep! These muffins can be made with your favorite protein powder and bake up in 20 minutes. With over 7g of protein per muffin, they’re a great grab-and-go breakfast, snack, or dessert!

We love muffins around here! I bake them up weekly to put in my kids’ lunches. We often rotate my oat flour muffins and our favorite gluten free zucchini muffins in the summer. But our new favorite? My protein banana muffins!

While these muffins were originally a fun little hack to increase my family’s protein intake, they’ve now become one of my favorite afternoon snacks. They’re easy easy to meal prep, and only take 20 minutes to make! I often make a triple batch and stash the extra in the freezer.

And while you might be hesitant to add protein powder to muffins, these taste JUST like your favorite banana muffins! With this recipe, you’ll get twelve tall and fluffy muffins that stay moist even after freezing!

Ingredients

• Banana – Use overripe bananas. We’re talking plenty of brown and black spots! Bananas on their last leg may not look pretty, but they do make muffins made with protein powder incredibly moist and sweet!
• Eggs – Use large eggs for this recipe.
• Honey – I recommend using a raw honey for the best flavor and nutrients.
• Oil – A neutral oil like avocado oil works best.
• Oat flour – For best results, use store bought oat flour. Make sure to purchase certified gluten free oat flour if you need the muffins to be gluten free. While oats are gluten free, they can become contaminated with gluten in processing facilities.
• Vanilla protein powder – While whey protein powder works the best, any vanilla protein powder will work for these muffins, including beef protein isolate, whey protein, or plant based protein powders.
• Chocolate chips – I recommend using dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips in this recipe.

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

Substitutions

Eggs: Replace each egg with one flax egg. I’ve used flax eggs successfully in many baked goods, including muffins, cakes, and breads!

Honey: You can use maple syrup, but this will reduce the overall sweetness in the muffins.

Oil: You can use avocado oil, extra virgin olive oil, or melted butter or coconut oil. If you use melted butter or coconut oil, make sure to bring the eggs to room temperature so the fat doesn’t solidify when mixed.

Chocolate chips: These muffins are great with or without chocolate chips! You can also use other mix-ins like chopped nuts or dried fruit.

How to Make Protein Banana Muffins

1. Prep: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin tin with parchment paper liners. Spray the liners with nonstick spray as well.
2. Whisk: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the mashed banana, eggs, honey, oil, and vanilla extract. 
3. Combine: In a separate bowl, whisk together the oat flour, protein powder, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and sea salt until evenly combined. Slowly add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients while mixing until evenly combined and no clumps remain. Fold in the chocolate chips.
4. Transfer: Pour the batter into the muffin liners, filling each about ¾ full. I like to use a large cookie scoop to make this easier. Add a few extra chocolate chips on top if desired.
5. Bake: Bake in the center of the oven for 20-22 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean or the centers bounce back when lightly pressed. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before serving.

Watch How to Make It

Mix-ins

Even though these muffins have added protein powder, they taste JUST like your favorite banana muffins. Any mix-ins you love will work great in this recipe. Here are my favorites:

• chopped walnuts or pecans
• chopped macadamia nuts
• dark or semisweet chocolate chips
• dried cranberries or raisins
• or, sprinkle the tops with sliced almonds, coconut flakes, or pumpkin seeds just before baking!

Recipe Tips

1. Use overripe bananas. You want all the black spots. Even if the bananas seem too far gone, they’re not! This makes the banana muffins sweet and moist!
2. Mash in the mixing bowl. To mash your bananas, just throw them in the mixing bowl. Mash with your mixer, then add the remaining wet ingredients.
3. Fluff your flour. Make sure to fluff and loosely scoop out your flour. If you don’t, it will compact down and you’ll end up with too much. Oat flour is very fine and absorbs liquid, so adding too much can make the muffins a little bit too dry.
4. Use a scoop. Use a large cookie or ice cream scoop to transfer the batter to the muffin tin without any mess.
5. Make it a loaf. Want to make a loaf of protein banana bread instead? Bake in a bread pan for 40-50 minutes.

FAQs

Storage

STORE: Let the your banana muffins packed with protein cool to room temperature, then store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Want them to last longer? Store them in an airtight storage bag or container in the fridge for up to a week.

FREEZE:  These are great for meal prep! I often make a double batch. To freeze, just place cooled muffins in a freezer safe storage bag and store them in the freezer for up to two months.

More Protein Recipes

• High Protein Breakfast Burritos
• Chocolate Protein Pudding
• Protein Mug Cake
• Chocolate Protein Overnight Oats
• Pumpkin Protein Balls

Recipe by: Noelle Tarr / Coconuts and Kettlebells | Photography by: Casey Colodny / The Mindful Hapa