Recipe
Healthy Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins
These healthy muffins are made with wholesome ingredients like lentils, oats, whole wheat flour, and sweetened only with bananas and chocolate chips!
- Prep Time:
15 minutes - Total Time:
35 minutes - Makes:
12 regular or 32 mini 1x
15 minutes
35 minutes
12 regular or 32 mini 1x
Ingredients
- 1 cup cooked green lentils (from approximately ⅓ cup dry)
- 9 ounces peeled, overripe banana (1 ¼ cups mashed; about 3 medium)
- ¼ cup avocado oil or other neutral-flavored cooking oil
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ⅔ cup old-fashioned oats
- ⅔ cup white whole wheat flour (see notes)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ cup chocolate chips, plus more for topping if desired
Instructions
- Preheat the oven and prepare the muffin pan. Preheat the oven to 325°F and lightly grease the cups of a muffin pan with oil.
- Puree the lentils, bananas, and liquid ingredients. Combine cooked lentils, banana, oil, egg, and vanilla extract in the blender and blend just until mostly smooth, about 15-20 seconds.
- Stir in the dry ingredients. Using a silicone spatula or wooden spoon, gently stir in oats, flour, baking soda, and cinnamon. Pulse the blender just until fully incorporated and oats partly blended, about 7-10 pulses. Stir in the chocolate chips.
- Bake. Scoop the batter into prepared muffin pan, about ¼ cup for regular muffins, or 1 generous tablespoon for mini muffins. Bake for 18-20 minutes for regular muffins, or 12-14 minutes for mini muffins. Allow to cool for 10 minutes. For easiest removal, loosen the edge of each muffin with a greased butter knife or plastic knife before lifting out of the pan.
Notes
Favorite Equipment
- Vitamix Blender
- Nordic Ware Aluminum Muffin Pans (Standard & Mini-Muffins)
- OXO Goodgrips Cookie Scoops for filling the muffin cups
- Stasher bags for freezing extras (the half-gallon or sandwich sizes work best for freezing muffins)
Ingredient Notes
- Lentils: If you plan on baking these more than once, save yourself some time by cooking up 1-2 cups of dry lentils and freezing in 1-cup portions for future batches.
- Flour: I typically make these with white whole wheat flour however whole wheat pastry flour or a 50/50 mix of all-purpose and regular whole wheat flour also work great.
- For muffins with no added sugar: Use sugar-free chocolate chips, like Lily’s Dark Chocolate or Semi-Sweet chocolate chips which are sweetened with a combination of sugar alcohol and stevia, or ChocZeros chocolate chips which are sweetened with monkfruit extract.
Ingredient Prep
- Cook the lentils
- Measure the oats, flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and chocolate chips. While you’re at it, whip up a few mason jars of DIY muffin mix (oats, flour, baking soda, and cinnamon) for future batches!
Little Helpers
Involving little ones can decrease picky eating and increase appetite and willingness to try new foods. Here are a few ways they can help:
- Toddlers: Peel the bananas; add ingredients to and help operate the blender; stir in the dry ingredients; taste-test the chocolate chips (because you know they’re gonna regardless!); portion
- Little Kids: All of the above!
- Big Kids: Give them the recipe and have them ask for help if/when needed!
Freezing Instructions:
Allow muffins to cool completely on a wire rack before transferring to an airtight freezer bag or container. Freeze muffins for up to three months. Frozen muffins will defrost in approximately 2-3 hours at room temperature.
Nutrition Notes
Nutrition information is for one standard muffin with regular semi-sweet chocolate chips.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 standard muffin
- Calories: 175
- Sugar: 9 g
- Sodium: 80 mg
- Fat: 8 g
- Saturated Fat: 2 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 24 g
- Fiber: 4 g
- Protein: 4 g
- Cholesterol: 16 mg
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