Put those ripe bananas to work with high-protein banana muffins! Discover a soft, sweet breakfast bake you’ll want with your morning coffee or afternoon tea!!
These high-protein banana muffins turn spotty, sweet bananas into tender little banana-bread bites with warm cinnamon, a soft middle, and enough protein to make breakfast feel a bit more substantial.
They’re easy to grab on a busy morning, but I’d save one for an afternoon snack too, because a muffin this fragrant has a way of disappearing before you’ve decided what you’re doing with it!
What These Muffins Taste Like?
Expect a moist, banana-forward muffin with a gentle tang from Greek yogurt and a soft, tender crumb from oat flour.
They’re less airy than a bakery cupcake, which is part of their charm: ripe banana, creamy dairy, and vanilla protein powder make them pleasantly hearty without turning them dry or chalky.
A few mini chocolate chips are welcome if you like a sweeter muffin, but they’re delicious without them.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups (about 135g) oat flour
- 60g vanilla whey protein powder, about 2 scoops depending on the brand
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon fine salt
- 2 medium very ripe bananas, mashed, about 1 cup
- ¾ cup (170g) plain Greek yogurt
- ½ cup (113g) cottage cheese
- 2 large eggs, preferably at room temperature
- ¼ cup (60ml) maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons neutral oil or melted butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup mini chocolate chips, optional
Serving: 10 full-size muffins
Protein: About 10g per muffin, depending on your protein powder and dairy brands
How to Make High-Protein Banana Muffins
Heat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and line 10 wells of a standard muffin pan with paper liners, or lightly grease them; leave two wells empty rather than stretching the batter thin across all 12.
If you’re making oat flour from rolled oats, blend them until fine and powdery, then measure by weight if you can, since whole oats and oat flour pack differently in a cup.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the oat flour, protein powder, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt until you no longer see little clumps of protein powder.
It’s a small step, but it helps the muffins rise evenly and saves you from finding a pocket of salty baking soda in an otherwise lovely bite.
In a separate large bowl, mash the bananas until mostly smooth, leaving a few soft pieces if you enjoy little bursts of banana in the finished muffins.
Whisk in the Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, eggs, maple syrup, oil, and vanilla until the mixture looks creamy; if you want a completely smooth batter, blend the cottage cheese with the yogurt first, since visible cottage-cheese curds don’t magically disappear in the oven.
Tip the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and fold gently with a spatula just until no dry streaks remain. If you’re adding mini chocolate chips, fold them in now.
The batter should be thick, soft, and scoopable; don’t keep stirring to chase every tiny lump, because overmixing can make oat-based muffins heavy. Let the batter sit for 5 minutes so the oat flour and protein powder can absorb some moisture.
Divide the batter between the 10 prepared wells, filling each about three-quarters full. Bake on the center rack for 20 to 23 minutes, checking at 20 minutes.
Tops should look set and spring back lightly when tapped, and a toothpick inserted near the center should come out with a few moist crumbs but no wet batter.
If it comes out coated in batter, give them another 2 minutes and check again; protein powder can make muffins look done on top before the middle has quite caught up.
Cool the muffins in the pan for 5 minutes, then move them to a rack. That short wait helps them finish setting without steaming themselves soggy in the pan. They’re lovely warm, but give them another few minutes if you want the crumb to hold together neatly.
Serving Suggestions
Serve one warm with a little peanut butter or almond butter, or pair it with Greek yogurt and berries for a more filling breakfast.
For a dessert-like snack, split a muffin and add a few extra chocolate chips while it’s still warm!
Storage
Once completely cool, store the muffins in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
To freeze, wrap them individually or place them in a freezer-safe container for up to 2 months; thaw overnight in the refrigerator or warm one in the microwave in short bursts until soft.
Make these high-protein banana muffins when your bananas have gone spotty and your morning could use a warm, cinnamon-scented head start.
They’re tender, easy to prepare, and full of sweet banana flavor, so tuck a few away for breakfast and keep one within reach for the moment someone in your kitchen asks, “Are those ready yet?”!
