Peanut Butter Banana Muffins

These peanut butter banana muffins are my secret weapon for the mornings I’ve got about four minutes to get everyone fed and out the door, folks. Made with whole wheat flour, old fashioned oats, mashed banana, and a creamy peanut butter swirl right on top, they’re hearty enough to actually fill the kids up. Grab one, hand one to a kid, and nobody’s hangry by 9am.

Between you and me, I started making these muffins because I was tired of throwing away bananas. You know the ones. The three sad ones on the counter that nobody wants to eat but feel too expensive to toss. They are there because everyone loved bananas last week and suddenly no-one loves them this week. IYKYK.

One morning, I had about fifteen minutes, four mushy bananas, and a half-empty jar of peanut butter, and I threw together the first version of these muffins. My kids ate three each before I’d finished my coffee.

These have since become the recipe I make on Sunday nights so Monday mornings don’t ruin my life. Double the batch, freeze half, grab-and-go for the next two weeks. My kids grab one on the way to the bus, I grab one on the way to the computer, and everyone wins. Plus the whole wheat flour and oats mean I can pretend it’s basically health food, which is the kind of mental gymnastics I’m happy to do at 7am.

If I have a big batch of peanut butter banana oat muffins or Pancake Bites, the kids can grab one to eat in the car!

Why You’ll Love Banana and Peanut Butter Muffins

• This recipe only takes a little over a half hour to make. You won’t give up much time in your day and you’ll have freshly baked muffins for a couple days!
• You can easily modify and adapt this recipe to fit dietary preferences. Banana and peanut butter are healthy ingredients that work well with other healthy ingredients like low fat milk.
• These are actually quite filling since there are so many hearty ingredients. A great afternoon snack!

Key Ingredients

• White whole wheat flour – Whole wheat flour has a more hearty flavor and actually has greater nutritional value than white flour. It’s my secret to the most perfect banana muffins!
• Old fashioned oats – Oats are key to making the best. A little extra variety in texture is really nice!
• Milk – Use whole milk, 2% milk, or 1% milk to add a little moisture to these peanut butter banana oatmeal muffins.
• Bananas – Need a use for those mushy bananas that no one wants to eat, but aren’t really bad yet? This is the best way to repurpose them. Just mash em up and mix them into a delicious muffin batter. If you’re pulling frozen bananas from your freezer, make sure they are completely thawed before baking.
• Peanut butter – Add a creamy peanut butter center swirl to these moist and fluffy banana muffins. If there are peanut allergies, swap in another nut butter, seed butter or even wow butter. When using natural peanut butter, give it a really good stir before adding it to the muffin batter.
• Egg – My favorite baking tip…let the egg come to room temperature before mixing it in with all of the other ingredients.

Find the ingredient list with exact measurements in the recipe card below.

How can I modify or adapt this recipe?

You can really add anything you’d like, as long as you don’t overload the batter. Chocolate chips and peanut butter chips would be quite yummy! But keep in mind, the more sweetness you add, the richer the muffins will be.

For a crunchy texture change, add some chopped pecans or chopped walnuts to your peanut butter banana muffins. Oh, and make these muffins bakery-style by adding a streusel to the top!

How To Make Peanut Butter Banana Muffins

Combine dry ingredients. In a large bowl, combine flour, oats, white sugar, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Stir well so that the ingredients are thoroughly incorporated.

Combine wet ingredients. In a separate medium mixing bowl and beat the egg. Then add milk, oil, vanilla and mashed bananas to the egg and stir to combine.

Combine batter. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until the batter is just combined. Lumps are okay!

Portion. Divide the muffin batter among the cups of the prepared muffin tin.

Add peanut butter. Plop a teaspoon of peanut butter into the top of the batter in each cup. Use a toothpick to cut the peanut butter into the muffin batter.

Bake. Place in oven for 17-20 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean or with a few crumbs.

Cool and enjoy. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack.

For the complete directions and ingredient amounts, scroll down to the recipe card below.

Serving Suggestions

Sending a freshly baked treat in your kids lunch? I’ve got tons of great ideas for lunch boxes so you don’t have to brainstorm them up all on your own. You can send them with some Air Fryer English Muffin Pizzas too! Ham and Cheese Rollups are always a hit at lunch time and go great as the main dish before a muffin for dessert!

Serve an after school snack of Ants on a Log, followed by a freshly baked muffin.

Of course, this recipe is a great breakfast item too. Serve them with some scrambled eggs and bacon for a fun and kid friendly breakfast.

Storage

Leftover muffins can be stored at room temperature, in the fridge, and also in the freezer. Place in an airtight container and store at room temperature for two to three days.

Fridge: If stored in an airtight container, leftover peanut butter banana oatmeal muffins will last in the fridge for up to a week.

Freezer: Store leftovers in an airtight container, or wrap each muffin individually in plastic wrap and place in a freezer safe bag. Then freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge or defrost in microwave for 20-30 seconds before serving.

Pro Tips

• Make this into an extra kid-friendly treat by pouring the batter into a mini muffin tin. Just add a smaller amount of peanut butter to the muffin batter and reduce the baking time to 10-12 minutes.
• When storing muffins, line the container in paper towels to catch any excess moisture and keep the muffins from becoming too moist.
• Don’t remove the muffins from their tin until they are cool enough to handle. Then you can safely transfer them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
• For a classic dome shaped muffin, fill the muffin cups 2/3 to 3/4 full.
• Remember, the more ripe your bananas, the sweeter and the more moist your muffins will be.

Can I turn this into banana bread?

You sure can! Pour the batter into a greased 9×5 loaf pan and swirl peanut butter over the top. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 50-60 minutes.

More Ways To Use Up Ripe Bananas

• Refuel and refresh with a Berry Smoothie today. Creamy thanks to the banana and dairy, sweet and tart from adding berries, this is a smoothie recipe you don’t want to skip.
• A classic that everyone loves, Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins are always a safe bet when you’ve got hungry kids at snack time.
• With a fancy cinnamon swirl inside and loads of cinnamon sugar on the outside, Cinnamon Banana Bread is great any time of day. I love a slice at breakfast, mid-afternoon or even for a little bed time snack.
• Wow your guests with an easy Banana Coffee Cake. Tender, moist cake with a buttery, cinnamon topping, this is a major crowd pleaser that will disappear before your eyes.