Banana Oatmeal Muffins Recipe

Banana Oatmeal Muffins

The Spruce Eats / Kristina Vanni

Prep: 15 mins
Cook: 22 mins
Total: 37 mins
Servings: 12 servings
Yield: 12 muffins

If you're into meal prep or want to start planning ahead for the workweek, these delicious muffins are a great grab-and-go breakfast that you can make ahead, refrigerate or freeze, and warm up in the microwave before running out of the house. Or sit down and enjoy with a cup of hot coffee. Great for kids' lunch boxes and snacks, too, they are filled with fiber from oats, and have deliciously sweet banana flavor, without the loads of sugar that come in store-bought or bakery-made treats. If you have some ripe bananas around, put them to good use and make a batch of muffins.

The deliciously crisp oat and cinnamon crumble topping on top can be optional, so if you want to keep them more for breakfast and less as a treat, skip it, but if you want a more decadent treat, go ahead and bake them with the crumble. Besides the flavor, it gives the muffins added texture and visual appeal.

Our muffins are customizable to your preferences and can take on other ingredients like raisins, chopped nuts, pepitas, or seeds. Perhaps a few chocolate chips? No matter what you choose to add, or not, these muffins are an easy way to bring a healthy and filling treat into your day. Adjust the amount of sugar to make them less sweet, or skip it altogether if you prefer bananas to be the only source of sweetness. For this recipe, you need about three bananas, depending on their size.

Ingredients

For the Muffins:

  • 1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

  • 1 cup rolled oats

  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar

  • 2 teaspoons baking powder

  • 1 teaspoon baking soda

  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

  • 1 large egg

  • 3/4 cup milk

  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil

  • 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

  • 1 cup mashed bananas

For the Crumble Topping:

  • 1/2 cup rolled oats

  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Steps to Make It

Make the Muffins

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Ingredients for banana oatmeal muffins recipe gathered

    The Spruce Eats / Kristina Vanni

  2. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper baking cups. Preheat oven to 350 F. In a large bowl, combine the flour, rolled oats, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

    Combine dry ingredients

    The Spruce Eats / Kristina Vanni

  3. In another large bowl, beat the egg lightly. Stir in the milk, oil, and vanilla. 

    Beat eggs

    The Spruce Eats / Kristina Vanni

  4. Add the mashed banana and combine thoroughly. 

    Mix wet ingredients

    The Spruce Eats / Kristina Vanni

  5. Stir the flour mixture into the banana mixture until just combined.

    Stir wet and dry ingredients

    The Spruce Eats / Kristina Vanni

  6. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tin. 

    Pour batter into muffin pan

    The Spruce Eats / Kristina Vanni

Make the Crumble Topping

  1. In a small bowl, stir together the oats and cinnamon. Using a pastry blender or a couple of knives, cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. 

    Make the topping

    The Spruce Eats / Kristina Vanni

  2. Sprinkle the oat mixture on top of the muffin batter. Bake for 20 to 22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centers comes out clean. 

    Sprinkle oat mixture on top

    The Spruce Eats / Kristina Vanni

  3. Cool the muffin on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Remove muffins from muffin tin and serve warm.

    Banana oatmeal muffins

    The Spruce Eats / Kristina Vanni

  4. Enjoy.

The Ideal Banana for Baking

Any time you're baking with bananas, it's important to wait until they have reached the optimal level of ripeness. Look for bananas that are fully yellow and are beginning to form brown spots on the skin. This is an indication the fruit has become very ripe, sweet, and tender. They might have become too soft to peel and eat, but it is the perfect time to incorporate them into recipes. The more spots you see, the riper the fruit has become.

What are the best oats for baking?

When selecting rolled oats for baking you have two options: old-fashioned rolled oats and quick-cooking rolled oats. In most recipes, quick-cooking oats and old-fashioned oats are interchangeable. Both have been flattened with large rollers, but quick-cooking oats have been cut into smaller pieces. As a result, quick-cooking oats cook faster, and they offer a more delicate texture to baked goods and desserts. For a heartier texture, use old-fashioned oats.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
229 Calories
9g Fat
33g Carbs
4g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 12
Amount per serving
Calories 229
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 9g 12%
Saturated Fat 2g 11%
Cholesterol 22mg 7%
Sodium 289mg 13%
Total Carbohydrate 33g 12%
Dietary Fiber 2g 7%
Total Sugars 12g
Protein 4g
Vitamin C 2mg 8%
Calcium 77mg 6%
Iron 1mg 8%
Potassium 150mg 3%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)