Healthy Muffins (6 flavors)
Published 1/26/2024 • Updated 8/18/2024
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Are you a muffin queen just like us? Here’s our favorite base healthy muffin recipe + 6 different flavor variations!
These muffins call for simple ingredients you probably already have on hand and take just under 40 minutes to make from start to finish.
Ultimate Healthy Muffin Recipe!
We are muffin people and so are our kids! They make for the perfect quick snack and I almost always have a dozen on my counter or in my freezer. Today we’re sharing 6 unique healthy muffin recipes that all stem from 1 base recipe. You read that right. In this post, you’re going to get not 1, not 2, but 6 different healthy muffin recipes.
This isn’t an ordinary muffin recipe. It’s one that’s made with whole grains and better-for-you ingredients. Plus, these muffins come out super fluffy and pretty much taste like dessert.
The 6 Muffin Flavors
Since we’ve published this post, we’ve created individual posts for each of these healthy muffin variations because they were so popular! So, feel free to use the links below to go directly to the recipe you’re looking for. Or, head down to the recipe card for the muffin base + add-in directions.
Healthy Muffins – Base Muffin Recipe
First and foremost, let’s chat about our signature healthy muffins recipe. For all 6 of these healthy muffin flavors, you’ll notice that we used the same exact base recipe and then deviated slightly for each flavor.
We’ve tested this base recipe time and time again and let me tell you, it just works! Here’s what you need:
Dry Ingredients
- White whole wheat flour: we love cooking with white whole wheat flour and prefer to use the brand King Arthur. Your muffins will come out super light and fluffy.
- Coconut sugar: coconut sugar is one of two sweeteners in this recipe. We’ve also tested these muffins with light brown sugar as a 1:1 sub.
- Baking soda: baking soda helps make your muffins super fluffy!
- Salt: salt brings out the lovely add-in flavors.
Wet Ingredients
- Eggs: eggs help bind this muffin recipe together and also make them nice and fluffy.
- Maple syrup: maple syrup is the second sweetener used in these muffins. It’s a warm flavor and refined sugar-free!
- Unsweetened almond milk: we prefer to use almond milk, but any kind will do!
- Melted coconut oil: we love baking with coconut oil. Make sure to measure your coconut oil from the melted state to get an accurate measurement.
- Pureed fruit: pureed fruit is definitely what maeks these muffins so unique and delicious.
quick note!
You’ll note that each of these healthy muffin recipes calls for the same exact dry ingredients. When it comes to wet, they call for the same ingredients minus the pureed fruit.
Each of the 6 recipes will slightly differ, but the three pureed fruits we feature are: banana, applesauce, and pumpkin. The great thing about pureed fruit is that it will:
- add a serving of fruit to your muffins
- make your muffins super duper moist
Ingredient Substitutions for Healthy Muffins
White whole wheat flour: While whole wheat flour definitely works the best time and time again, but if you’re hoping to swap for a different flour, we suggest the following (and only the following) at a 1:1 ratio:
- all-purpose flour
- whole wheat flour
- all-purpose gluten-free flour blend.
Unfortunately, we do not recommend substituting 1:1 for coconut flour and/or almond flour.
Coconut sugar: The only sugar we would recommend swapping for coconut sugar 1:1 is light brown sugar.
Eggs: We have not tested these recipes without eggs. If you do try these recipes with a flax egg, please let us know how it goes!
Maple syrup: Honey would be a fantastic 1:1 swap for maple syrup, and potentially agave nectar.
Almond milk: Good news! Any kind of milk will work with a 1:1 swap. Try soy milk, cow’s milk, or coconut milk.
Coconut oil: While we haven’t tested any other subs, we’re confident butter, olive oil, and canola oil would also work.
What is the secret to making moist muffins?
We have a few tricks up our sleeve to making moist muffins.
- Don’t overmix your batter.
- In addition to oil, use pureed fruit for extra moisteness.
- Don’t over bake!
Which oil is best for muffins?
In our opinion, coconut oil is best for muffins because it’s light and doesn’t have a super-strong flavor. Others will say that vegetable oil or butter is best.
Healthy Banana Nut Muffins
These banana nut muffins are made with mashed banana, walnuts, ground cinnamon, and vanilla extract making them slightly spicy, good-for-you, and a great breakfast muffin recipe!
- 1 cup mashed bananas
- 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Healthy Chocolate Muffins
If you like chocolate you’re going to love our healthy chocolate muffins! They’re sweetened with mashed banana and made with chocolate chips and cocoa powder to make them extra chocolatey and delicious.
- 1 cup mashed bananas
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup almond milk (in addition to base recipe)
Cranberry Orange Muffins
With just a little bit of orange extract, orange zest, and dried cranberries, you’re going to get the most delicious cranberry orange muffins out there. Bonus…they’re healthy and 100% whole grain!
- 1 cup applesauce
- 1/2 teaspoon orange extract
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
- 2/3 cup dried cranberries
Apple Cinnamon Muffins
There is nothing better than a moist apple cinnamon muffin recipe. Made with applesauce, shredded apples, ground cinnamon and vanilla extract, these are a muffin all will love!
- 1 cup applesauce
- 1 cup shredded apples (moisture removed)
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Chocolate Pumpkin Zucchini Muffins
Made with both pumpkin and zucchini, these healthy chocolate pumpkin zucchini muffins are EXTRA moist and double the healthy with 2 servings of veggies.
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1 cup shredded zucchini (moisture removed)
- 1/4 cup almond milk, unsweetened (in addition to base recipe)
Healthy Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins
What is better than pumpkin muffins? Chocolate chip pumpkin muffins! This recipe comes out so moist, has a hint of cinnamon, and is topped off with chocolate chips.
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips
How to Store Muffins
Let your muffins cool completely. Then, transfer them into an airtight container. Store them in a cool, dark place such as your counter for around 3 days.
For best results, store these muffins in the fridge for up to 3-5 days. Since they have pureed fruit in them and are made with real ingredients, they are more apt to mold quicker on the counter.
How to Freeze these Healthy Muffins
- Let your muffins cool compeltely.
- Then, transfer them into an airtight container or gallon-size plastic bag (what we prefer to do!).
- Remove as much air as possible and seal.
- Freeze for up to 3 months.
Healthy Muffins (6 ways!)
Ingredients
Base Dry Ingredients
- 1.5 cups white whole wheat flour
- ½ cup coconut sugar, or light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
Base Wet Ingredients
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 3 tablespoons melted coconut oil
- 1 cup pureed fruit*
Instructions
- First, preheat oven to 350ºF and line a muffin tin with muffin liners. We suggest also spraying your muffin liners with cooking spray just in case.
- Next, place dry ingredients into a medium bowl and mix.
- Then, in a large bowl crack 2 eggs and whisk. Add maple syrup, almond milk, and preferred pureed fruit* and mix again.
- Add dry ingredients into wet ingredients and then mix. Then, add in melted coconut oil and mix again.
- At this point, add any of the add-ins for one of the 6 muffin recipes in this post and mix again.
- Fill each muffin about 3/4 of the way full (these are going to be big muffins). Then, place in the oven at 350ºF and bake for 18-22 minutes or until the center is fully cooked.
- Let cool for 5 minutes and then remove from the muffin tin to continue cooling.
Tips & Notes
- Pureed fruit: the pureed fruit you use is dependent on which muffin recipe you are planning on using.
- Nutrition information includes 1 cup of unsweetened applesauce as the pureed fruit.
Watch It
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I made these as someone who always makes regular banana bread I searched high and low for the recipe which looked more practical and this was it. I’m not a professional baker just love to bake. You asked that persons let you know if they used substitutes. Here are mine
1. I swapped egg and used flax egg.
2.swapped maple syrup for agave but used 1/4 cup since I used banana as my base puree.
3. Used vanilla almond milk that’s all I had home at the time
4. Added 1.25 cups spelt flour and 1/2 cup old fashion oats.
5. In the end I took a table spoon of spelt flour and 2 teaspoon cocoa and mixed the rest of the batter and made 4chocolate chocolate chip muffins.
These cake out amazing. Shhhhh dont tell my kids. They are devouring it. Will be posting a pic on my insta page.
Thank you so much for sharing!
Sound great,y family of fivelike different Ki d, here I found your recipe, if possible can I ask those ingredients convert to gram and ml please ( I am in Australia).
I have LOOK up the convert table but I still have not done right, muffins a bit like bread I thi ks I have add more flour in there. Thanks
Ai
I used Bob Mill’s all-purpose gluten free flour, replaced the pureed fruit with nonfat Fage Greek yogurt, and omitted the coconut sugar — Still perfectly sweet and delicious! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Thanks so much for sharing your modifications!
I was forced to buy wheat flour since all purpose flour is hard to come by these days. I followed the recipe exactly as stated for the banana nut muffins. For some reason, the batter was too runny. I’ll try again with the pumpkin muffins.
Thanks for this recipe. I’m sure it will help for my son whose preferred breakfast is muffins.
Does it work with mini size? If yes, what adjustments do I need to make to baking time?
Also can I use self raising flour as it’s the only one I could find with the lockdown these days. If yes, should I reduce the baking soda or perhaps omit altogether?
I made the mini size. Hey took almost as long to bake. It made 48 mini muffins!
Freeze those babies for later!
Can I used Almound meal flour for this recipe ?
Unfortunately we don’t recommend that flour as it’s technically grain-free.
Is there a gluten free flour you would recommned for this recipe?
I would use a gluten-free flour blend such as Bob’s Red Mill!
WOW! Just made the chocolate muffins and they are AMAZING! I used better batter’s gluten free flour and they turned out awesome! Thanks so much for sharing!
Glad your g-free flour worked!!
These are amazing! I made the Apple Cinnamon and the Banana Chocolate muffins and they both taste amazing! I somehow screwed up the texture of the apple cinnamon ones because they turned out flat and little sticky but they taste great; I’ll figure out the issue next time. Thanks for the recipe! My toddler loves them too 🙂
I made the pumpkin chocolate chips muffins this morning and they’re already half gone. So good!
Thank you for sharing!
This is a great basic muffin recipe. The only changes I made to it were swapping in butter (it works just fine in place of the coconut oil, and is slightly but significantly less caloric) and using einkorn flour instead of the white whole wheat flour. If you use einkorn like I did, you will need to use 1/2 tsp baking soda plus 1 tbsp baking powder in the place of the 1 tsp baking soda in order to make the muffins rise properly, and you may need to bake the muffins a little longer.
I actually made these into lemon poppyseed muffins by adding 2 tbsp each lemon zest and poppyseeds, along with 2 tsp vanilla extract and 1/2 tsp almond extract (leave out the almond if you don’t like a subtle marzipan-type flavor). Applesauce was my puréed fruit of choice for those muffins.
Love the lemon poppy seed idea!