Healthy Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Balance is key!

These Healthy Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins are one of our favorite recipes. They are great for a quick breakfast, snack or dessert. Warm and straight out of the oven with almond milk or coffee is such a treat.

I’ve been making over a lot of my recipes lately and this muffin recipe is one of them. What I love is how easy it is to swap ingredients in case you don’t want to make them gluten-free etc. Balance is always key in my book, so sometimes I make them with butter instead of applesauce or swap out other ingredients.

What if I’m not gluten-free?

Then this is the perfect recipe for you. It started out as a regular banana muffin recipe. I try and eat mostly gluten-free these days because I follow an anti-inflammatory diet and not because I have celiac disease. So for me, I just try and avoid gluten and regular refined sugars etc.

It’s so easy to change this recipe up if needed! Here’s how to do it:

-swap gluten-free all-purpose flour blend for regular all-purpose flour (1:1)

-swap the applesauce for softened unsalted butter (1:1)

-swap coconut sugar for a sugar of your choice (1:1)

***NOTE: I haven’t tried this recipe with certain sugars like honey, maple etc or other flours but I’m sure you could try it out. I like to make recipes super simple and easy to make swaps. This tends to work best for me.

I also find using an all-purpose flour blend that is gluten free tends to work best when swapping. Makes life a lot easier than testing out your own. But you do you!

Muffins two ways

If you are making these muffins the regular way and not gluten-free then I recommend using half all-purpose flour and half whole wheat flour. I wouldn’t suggest using all whole wheat flour because it can make your muffins a little tough. Another key to making these Healthy Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins fluffy when making them this way is not over-mixing the batter.

On the contrary, if you are making these gluten-free then the batter will actually need to be mixed longer (up to 2 minutes) and it’s best to let the batter stand about 15-20 minutes before baking. This helps them really set up since they don’t have the gluten that normally does that. Baking is definitely a science.

What about butter?

Obviously this recipe will be healthier if you don’t include butter. However, you can use regular unsalted butter in place of the applesauce if desired. Again, balance is key so you choose what’s important to you. The butter will make them a little softer and richer.

You can either bake them in muffin liners or parchment paper, or go without. If you aren’t using a liner, the muffins will come out crispier on the edges especially if you’re using the butter. Just be sure your pan is greased well so they don’t stick.

Coconut sugar

Coconut sugar is another item I chose to swap in these muffins. I find that the already over-ripe bananas are sweet enough. The banana muffins made with granulated sugar tend to be too sweet for my taste.

I really like the flavor of coconut sugar and although it’s still sugar, it’s one of the lowest on the glycemic index….meaning it won’t make your blood sugar spike as high as a more processed sugar. Personally, I love sticking with more natural sugars like coconut sugar, honey or maple. Another bonus is that they keep more of their natural nutrients.

Dark chocolate

I love using dark chocolate chips for cookies, muffins or scones. Often times desserts are super sweet, so using a more bitter chocolate is such a great balance. I definitely use these the most. They make any dessert have a rich chocolate flavor.

Is dark chocolate a “healthier” option? Let’s dive into this for a second. Dark chocolate is an antioxidant rich superfood. It contains two main antioxidants called Flavonoids and Polyphenol.

This chocolate has a higher content of these two antioxidants than wine or tea contain. You always want a higher cacao/cocoa content in your dark chocolate because the higher the antioxidants will be. Yes please! Try and strive for over 70% cacao for the most health benefits.

I like using dark chocolate in these Healthy Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins and other recipes because it contains less sugar, while still providing a rich, chocolate taste. Of course, use whatever you want. That’s the fun thing about cooking and baking is that you get to experiment and find what you like best.

There are so many more benefits to adding a little dark chocolate into your diet. Check out this ARTICLE by Dr.Axe. I love learning more about these different types of superfoods.

Recipe tips:

*If using butter, use room temperature butter. I have also done the quick softening method for butter by slightly softening 15 seconds in the microwave (not melting completely).

*I use cold eggs and add to the mix one at a time.

*When measuring my flour, I use spoon method by filling the measuring cup one spoonful at a time and then leveling off the top with the flat side of a butter knife.

*I have used 3 or 4 bananas in this and it works fine either way. The more bananas, the more flavor. Just make sure they are over-ripe and getting brown. I try not to use black bananas because they can be too sweet.

*Muffins baked with liners will have a perfectly popped top and will be soft and moist on the inside.

*Muffins made without the liners will be crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Just make sure to grease your pan. We LOVE them like this!

Go Bananas!

I hope you enjoy this Healthy Banana Chocolate Chip Muffin Recipe as much as we do! They are a staple in our house. I think my husband will let the bananas go bad on purpose sometimes just so we have to make a batch. Haha!

Be sure to tag me on social media if you do make them. Use @motivate.educate.repeat or use the hashtag #MotivateEducateRepeat. You can find me on Instagram HERE to stay up to date on all my latest recipes and for other health and wellness tips.

Leave any comments or questions below! I’d love to hear how you liked them! For another sweet treat, check out my Classic Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe HERE.