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These Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal muffins are the perfect healthy snack or cheap morning breakfast (just $0.20 per muffin!). They’re filled with good-for-you ingredients including wholesome oats, ripe bananas, ground flaxseed, and creamy peanut butter. Bake this easy recipe for yourself or hungry kids in less than 1 hour.
One of my favorite cheap breakfast ideas
When I was on my debt-free journey, I discovered that oatmeal recipes are one of the best breakfasts to start the day with. It’s super cheap, filling, and most importantly good for you. But as much as I love steel cut oats and overnight oats, a regular bowl of oatmeal started to get boring. The solution? Oatmeal Muffins!
These muffins are made with rolled oats that have been blitzed into a flour, then folded into a muffin batter. They bake up into seriously impressive bakery-style dome muffins, yet are made with the same exact ingredients you’d otherwise cook into a normal bowl of oatmeal. You’ll still be saving big with this cheap breakfast, but it will taste like you’re enjoying one of those $5 muffins at your local coffee shop.
And if that’s not exciting enough, these peanut butter banana muffins also freeze like a dream, so you can stash them in the freezer for a last minute breakfast you can grab on the way out the door.
Ingredient Notes
- Flax eggs: Vegan flax eggs are made by whisking together ground flaxseed with water. They are a fraction of the price of regular eggs and are nutrient rich. Only have whole flaxseeds in the pantry? Learn How to Ground Flaxseed Meal at Home.
- Overripe bananas: These banana muffins do not contain a lot of added sugar, so ripe bananas with brown spots are key for a naturally sweet breakfast muffin with great banana flavor.
- Oat flour: I always make my own oat flour from scratch using old-fashioned oats or steel-cut oats. If you are new to baking with oat flour, check out this helpful resource: How to make Oat Flour. If you do not have access to a high-speed blender or food processor, you can purchase pre-made oat flour at most grocery stores.
- Sugar: Brown sugar or coconut sugar work best. Brown sugar makes slightly more moist muffins and is typically cheaper than coconut sugar, if you are trying to save as much money as possible.
- Peanut butter: Creamy peanut butter acts as both the oil replacer and adds a rich peanut butter flavor in every bite. I have only tested this recipe using natural peanut butter that is naturally runny and easy to pour.
- Apple cider vinegar: Reacts with the baking powder and baking soda and baking powder to puff up these delicious muffins and give them a bakery style dome. Lemon juice is a great alternative.
Variations
- Add chocolate chips: If you love the combination of chocolate and peanut butter (who doesn’t?!), add 1/3 cup mini chocolate chips to the batter.
- Add vanilla extract: 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract can add warmth and depth of flavor.
- Use applesauce: If you are out of banana or don’t have a full two cups, replace it with unsweetened applesauce.
- Chia eggs: If you’re out of flaxseeds, use a chia egg made from 2 tablespoons chia seeds mixed with 5 tablespoons of water.
- Swap in another nut butter: Trade out the peanut butter for another creamy nut butter like almond butter, cashew butter, or even tahini for a much more neutral healthy muffin recipe.
How to Make Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Muffins
- Prepare the flax eggs. In a small or medium bowl, whisk together the ground flaxseed meal and water. Set aside for 10-15 minutes, or until gelatinous, similar to the consistency of egg whites.
- Whisk together the wet ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the mashed bananas, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, runny peanut butter, and flax egg mixture.
- Whisk together the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, combine the oat flour, rolled oats, baking powder, baking soda, and sea salt.
- Combine the wet and dry. Slowly pour the dry ingredients into the large mixing bowl with the mashed banana mixture and fold the ingredients together until just combined with no dry spots of flour left behind.
- Fill muffin cups. Divide the muffins mix between 12 muffin liners in the prepared muffin tin (I fill each muffin tin with roughly 5-6 tablespoons per muffin). Press a very thin slice of banana into the top of the muffin batter and sprinkle with rolled oats, if desired.
- Bake. Transfer the muffin tin to a preheated oven and bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Cool and serve. Remove the muffins from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes in the muffin pan before removing to a wire cooling rack to cool to room temperature. Once cooled, serve and enjoy!
Recipe FAQs
Can I replace the oat flour with wheat flour?
The short answer is unfortunately, no. The longer answer is, now that I have been a recipe developer for over 5 years, I can tell you confidently that it is difficult to swap flours 1:1. All flours have different rates of absorption. This means if you were to mix 1 cup of water with 1 cup of every flour, each flour will absorb a different amount of the moisture.
Oat flour in particular is significantly more absorbent than wheat flour (about 3 times so). Swapping in wheat flour would require many other adjustments to the fat and moisture contents to make a perfect muffin. If you only have wheat flour on hand, make my Vegan Chocolate Chip Banana Bread recipe and bake it using the muffin directions in the recipe card.
Can I replace the refined sugar with pure maple syrup?
Again, this unfortunately will not work. Maple syrup is a liquid sweetener and will add additional moisture to the batter whereas brown sugar or coconut sugar is granulated. Using maple syrup or any liquid sweetener like agave or honey will make the batter too wet. My Vegan Chocolate Chip Banana Bread is made with maple syrup if you’d like to try that recipe instead!
Will this recipe work as a banana bread recipe?
I have not personally tested it, but it may work. If you would like to test it, pour the muffin batter into an 8.5×4.5 loaf pan and bake in an oven preheated to 350F for 45-60 minutes. When the bread is ready, a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, or with just a few crumbs.
I only have a processed peanut butter. How can I make that work?
There is a very big difference in flavor and consistency when it comes to comparing a natural peanut butter and a processed peanut butter like Jiffy or peanut butter spreads. Aside from containing added sugars, processed peanut butter is very thick and will not be runny at all.
If you are working with processed peanut butter, place it in a separate bowl and stir in 1-2 tablespoons of added water, non-dairy milk like almond milk or oat milk, or 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil. This will make it more pourable and high in moisture, which will yield the best, fluffy muffin.
Storage and Freezing Instructions
These healthy peanut butter banana muffins will keep best for up to 5 days in an airtight container at room temperature. Baked muffins also freeze well for up to 2 months.
If you are planning to freeze for a couple of months, I recommend wrapping each individual muffin in plastic wrap before placing in a freezer bag. If you are freezing for just a week or two, you can flash freeze the muffins, then place them in a bag without wrapping individually because freezer burn is much less of a concern.
To defrost frozen muffins, place them on the kitchen counter and let thaw until warmed to room temperature and naturally softened. Enjoy defrosted muffins at room temperature or pop them in the air fryer, toaster oven, or microwave to warm just slightly (about 10-15 seconds in the microwave, 1-2 minutes in the air fryer).
Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Muffins Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 flax eggs 2 tablespoons ground flax mixed with 5 tablespoons water ($0.10)
- 2 cups ripened banana mashed ($0.81)
- 2 cups oat flour ($0.52)
- ⅓ cup light brown sugar ($0.16)
- ⅓ heaping cup rolled oats ($0.09)
- 4 tablespoons runny peanut butter ($0.24)
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder ($0.06)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda ($0.02)
- 1 ½ teaspoons apple cider vinegar ($0.06)
- ½ teaspoon sea salt ($0.02)
- 1 banana thinly sliced (for topping, if desired) ($0.27)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a 12-cup muffin tin with muffin liners.
- In a small bowl, prepare the flax eggs by whisking together the ground flaxseed meal and water. Set aside for 10-15 minutes, or until gelatinous.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the mashed banana, coconut sugar, apple cider vinegar, runny peanut butter, and flax eggs.
- In a separate bowl, combine the oat flour, heaping rolled oats, baking powder, baking soda, and sea salt.
- Slowly add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and fold together until just combined.
- Divide mixture between muffin liners (roughly 5-6 tablespoons per muffin). Press one thin slice of banana into the top of each muffin, if desired.
- Bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Remove muffins from the oven and let cool in the muffin pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Serve as is, or with extra peanut butter, as desired. Enjoy!
- Add chocolate chips: If you love the combination of chocolate and peanut butter (who doesn’t?!), add 1/3 cup mini chocolate chips to the batter.
- Add vanilla extract: 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract can add warmth and depth of flavor.
- Use applesauce: If you are out of banana or don’t have a full two cups, replace it with unsweetened applesauce.
- Chia eggs: If you’re out of flaxseeds, use a chia egg made from 2 tablespoons chia seeds mixed with 5 tablespoons of water.
- Swap in another nut butter: Trade out the peanut butter for another creamy nut butter like almond butter, cashew butter, or even tahini for a much more neutral healthy muffin recipe.
Notes
- I make my own oat flour by blending the amount of oats I need in my Vitamix for 10-15 seconds or until a fine powder. You can buy oat flour if you do not have a high speed blender here.
- Storage: Peanut butter banana muffins will keep best for up to 5 days in an airtight container at room temperature.
- Freezing: Baked muffins will freeze well for up to 2 months. If you are planning to freeze for a couple of months, I recommend wrapping each individual muffin in plastic wrap before placing in a freezer bag. If you are freezing for just a week or two, you can flash freeze the muffins, then place them in a bag without wrapping individually because freezer burn is much less of a concern.
Nutrition
Disclaimer: The Nutritional Information provided for this recipe is only an estimate. The accuracy of the facts listed is not and cannot be guaranteed.
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