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Healthy Banana-Blueberry Muffins

Plenty of people have their own go-to muffin recipe, but this light, moist rendition is hard to beat. If the bananas on your countertop are looking overripe, don't throw them out; they'll add even more flavor to these muffins.
Everyday Food, January 2008
  • Prep Time 20 minutes
  • Total Time 45 minutes plus cooling
  • Yield Makes 12
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Ingredients

  • 1 cup whole-wheat flour (spooned and leveled)
  • 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, (spooned and leveled)
  • 1/4 cup wheat germ
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/3 cup packed light-brown sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 ripe bananas (about 1 pound)
  • 1/3 cup reduced-fat (2 percent) milk
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 cup frozen blueberries

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners. In a bowl, whisk together flours, wheat germ, baking soda, and salt.

  2. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugars with a mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. In another bowl, mash bananas with a fork (you should have 3/4 cup); stir in milk and vanilla.

  3. With mixer on low, alternately add flour mixture and banana mixture to butter mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture; mix just until combined. Fold in frozen blueberries.

  4. Divide batter among muffin cups. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, 25 to 28 minutes, rotating pan halfway through. Let cool in pan 10 minutes; transfer muffins to a rack to cool 10 minutes more.

Recipe Reviews

  • Nupi Rujnoop
    10 Jan, 2013

    These muffins turned out pretty good - my banana's weren't ripe so their flavor didn't come through. I checked the nutritional content and these are pretty good. Sharing here:

    Nutrition Facts
    Serving Size 77 g
    Amount Per Serving
    Calories 202 Calories from Fat 81
    % Daily Value*
    Total Fat 9.0g 14%
    Saturated Fat 5.2g 26%
    Cholesterol 51mg 17%
    Sodium 268mg1 1%
    Total Carbohydrates 27.0g 9%
    Dietary Fiber 1.6g 7%
    Sugars 9.5g
    Protein 4.0g

  • kitchenvoodoo
    20 Dec, 2012

    Good recipe. I used sunflower seeds instead of the wheat germ and I thought they were a little overpowering and wouldve liked the nice crunch that walnuts provide. In any case my daughter and I will still be munching on these all day and the mini muffins are almost gone!

    I got 12 regular muffins and 12 mini muffins out of this recipe - filling the regular sized till almost full.

  • Carolyn381
    11 Aug, 2012

    Just tried these muffins, with fresh blueberries and they are fantastic. I made mini muffins for the kids and they loved them as well.

  • gvave
    23 Jul, 2012

    These are delicious! The recipe made 13, and I calculated the calories at 211 each. Not bad for a delicious dessert-like treat! I also subbed agave for the white sugar - a little less than called for.

  • Dagmar Radin
    22 Jul, 2012

    These are some of the tastiest muffins I have ever made. And to think they are also pretty healthy......

  • ridinggurl
    15 Jul, 2012

    These muffins are AMAZING!!!! I added a little bit of cinnamon and nutmeg. I recommend using fresh blueberries. They only took about 20 minutes in the oven and came out beautiful and tasty!!

  • cleo88
    18 Jun, 2012

    Very tasty. Also switched oatmeal for wheat germ. Didn't rise very much. Might try a little baking powder next time. Mixed fresh & frozen blueberries, the fresh one's liquified. Still tasted good. I'm going to try raspberry banana next batch.

  • Amby413
    22 May, 2012

    I made these muffins for our family and they are unbelievably mouthwatering! I did use very ripe bananas and feel that helped bring out the banana flavor, I also substituted flax seeds for the wheat germ. Anyway you make them they are AMAZING!

  • Gingerbread Gir1
    17 May, 2012

    Did a search for healthy banana muffins & this recipe came up. Just got done making them. They are delish! Not too sweet! I only had fresh blueberries & used ground flaxseed in place of wheat germ (since I didn't have any), & used natural cane sugar. Turned out great! Oh..I also made 6 large muffins instead of 12 reg sized ones. I baked them for about 30 mins but next time I'd check them in 25 b/c they were dark (but maybe b/c of the wheat flour & flaxseed?). Will def make again!!

  • elsinore51
    5 Mar, 2012

    I had fresh blueberries and bananas in abundance so this recipe looked great....the only thing I didn't have on hand was wheat germ so I substituted oatmeal. They turned out great!!

  • PenelopeRB
    19 Sep, 2011

    Tasty! I didn't have wheat germ so omitted it, adding a little more all purpose flour. Used whole wheat pastry flour. Good flavor. Next time I'll add yogurt or buttermilk for a bit of tang, in place of the milk. They were fully baked after 21 minutes.

  • ARosie
    11 Jul, 2011

    I really liked these - I used fresh blueberries, and that worked fine. My only suggestion would be to watch the cooking time - mine were probably done in 20 minutes (maybe if my blueberries had been frozen 25 minutes would have been fine?). They have a great nutty flavor, and of course, make you feel good for being a bit healthier. I added a bit of cinnamon and nutmeg for a little extra flavor.

  • jalobdell
    1 Apr, 2011

    FANTASTIC MUFFINS! For an added treat, I sprinkle wheat germ on top of the muffins before putting them in the oven.

  • KokoWarren
    10 Oct, 2010

    Using cake flour vs all purpose made them lighter and I liked the crumb texture better. I used a lemon vodka that I had vanilla beans soaking in for over a year vs the vanilla extract...OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So much flavor came from that.

  • foodie828
    27 Jul, 2010

    Delicious!!! Any way you could list the nutrition facts?

  • chewie2127
    9 Jun, 2010

    These came out great. A good way to use ripe bananas.

  • MomOfJnM
    9 Apr, 2010

    I have been making these since the recipe was published last year. My picky eater 4 year old daughter loves them! I use all organic ingredients and have also substituted ground flax for the wheat germ with similar delicious results. They have always turned out perfectly, it's a great recipe, tasty and as healthy as a muffin can get and still be light and fluffy with a nice crisp crunch to the top!

  • OlympicPeninsulaMom
    23 Nov, 2009

    I am so impressed with this recipe. My kids are eating them now nand loving every bite. This recipe is a keeper for sure!!

  • JMarsden
    18 Sep, 2009

    I should make this!

  • ads1013
    28 Jun, 2009

    These are very versatile muffins. I forgot the eggs (can't believe I did that...) and they still taste great! A little dense, but otherwise fine.

  • Alison
    31 Mar, 2009

    Delicious fresh from the oven and also good thawed from the freezer. Great way to have a healthy breakfast on-the-go in the morning.

  • optic747
    26 Feb, 2009

    These are delicious when still warm from the oven. I think I stirred mine a little too hard because blueberry juice stained the tops much darker than pictured here. I recommend them, my husband asked for sugar on top to make them sweeter.

  • amandasmith000
    23 Feb, 2009

    These are so moist and fluffy, and the perfect amount of sweetness. Definitely not the bland and dull muffin healthy is supposed to taste like! This is a keeper.

  • Regan
    23 Feb, 2009

    These were great! Yum!

  • Sandrabeans
    20 Feb, 2009

    This is a great recipe !

  • flits21
    19 Feb, 2009

    These are great. I did use low-fat buttermilk instead of 2% b/c I had some I wanted to get rid of... plus it is lower in fat than 2% and there seems to be plenty of fat in the recipe. These are great toasted as well. I was surprised how much my husband liked them.. he usually doesn't like anything with nutritional value! next time I may try to cut down butter a bit... great way to get whole wheat into your diet..

  • EllenF
    16 Feb, 2009

    These were fantastic! So moist and flavorful. They will be a regular in our house. Chocolate chips make a great substitution for the blueberries when you want to make a special treat.

  • lcastill
    16 Feb, 2009

    Would it matter if I just left out the wheat germ? I don't want to go buy anything extra.

  • CaroleOR
    10 Feb, 2009

    We had these for breakfast this morning. Fantastic!

    I did my usual messing with the recipe, cutting the butter farther down, omitting the white sugar and adding a bit more brown, using 1% milk, and adding an extra 1/2 cup of blueberries.

    We'll definetly be making this one again.

  • FionaAgostino
    9 Feb, 2009

    I made these and they were yummy, great for the kids lunch boxes. They also freeze well. I didn't bother getting out the beater, I combined all of the dry ingredients, then I melted the butter, lightly beat the eggs with a fork, used buttermilk instead of plain milk, combined all the wet ingredients including mashed banana and then added the wet mix to the dry mix and mixed through.

  • bakersara
    14 Jan, 2009

    Really really good. This made 12 regular 12 mini muffins. Made it all in one bowl: Beat butter and sugars, added eggs, than bananas in chunks, beat until they were sufficiently mashed, then milk and vanilla. Put all the dry ingredients in at once and only mixed till combined. Yay for less dishes to wash!

  • graceandkatesmom
    12 Jan, 2009

    Just got done making these and I couldn't resist waiting 10 minutes for them to cool! VERY DELICIOUS!! I also used fresh blueberries and didn't have wheat germ so I used ground flax seed. Will make again:)

  • AnneMc24
    11 Jan, 2009

    These are delish, especially considering how healthy they are. I used fresh blueberries and think you can add in a few more than just a cup. Yum!