These chocolate chip banana oatmeal muffins are sweet, moist, and filling. They make for a sweet breakfast or a healthy-ish dessert, and they’re also great for snacking.
Who else loves the combination of bananas and chocolate? Someone, please tell me why this combination is so darn good? I guess chocolate goes well with anything, really. But I feel like bananas and chocolate have an extra special relationship, you know? Maybe they were married in another life.
Yes, I really just said that. I don’t even know why I write the things I do sometimes. Or why I don’t go back and delete some of the things I write. Now I’m sitting here imagining a banana wearing a wedding dress and a chocolate bar wearing a tux. And now I’m reversing the outfits on both the banana and the chocolate bar.
This is apparently what goes on in my sleep-deprived mind. Oh, who am I kidding, this is the real me. I’m goofy. Or maybe I’m daffy. I don’t know.
Let me put my serious hat on now so that I can tell you about these seriously good muffins. This recipe is based on my pumpkin oatmeal muffins, with the main difference being that I substituted mashed ripe banana for the pumpkin. The banana adds a little extra sweetness to these muffins and helps keep them moist.
I’m a big fan of oatmeal these days – I have several oatmeal recipes on my blog. I ate a lot of oatmeal when I was nursing because oatmeal is said to be a lactogenic ingredient (in other words: it can help new mamas increase their breastmilk supply). Personally, I feel like it helped me. I have several lactation recipes on the blog, and while this could be one of them, this recipe is really for everyone. My toddler and my husband both love these muffins.
That said – if you are wondering what to make for a new mama, then add these oatmeal muffins to your list. So many of my Pittsburgh friends are either new mamas or pregnant right now, so I’ve been baking a lot of oatmeal-based recipes lately. I recently made these banana muffins and cinnamon raisin muffins for a new mama, and I put extra batches in the freezer for some soon-to-be mamas who will be delivering soon. I never go empty-handed to a new mother’s house – if you have a new mom friend, please bring her snacks or a meal. Everyone always remembers to take a gift for the baby (obviously), but don’t forget the mama who labored for hours and probably hasn’t slept in days/weeks/months! There is no better gift for a new mother than the gift of food and the gift of your time (help her clean, watch the baby while she sleeps or takes a shower, etc.).
One more thing – if you are making these for a nursing mama – add a tablespoon of brewer’s yeast (another lactogenic ingredient) to the batter. You can’t taste it and it won’t affect the texture of the muffins.
I am sure I’ll be sharing more oatmeal recipes in the coming weeks. If you have any ideas for fun flavor combinations, let me know. And bonus points if the flavors you suggest were also married in another life ( if you have no idea what I’m talking about, read the first paragraph and don’t judge me).
Ingredients
- 2 cups gluten-free rolled oats I get mine at Trader Joes
- 1 cup mashed bananas
- ½ cup maple syrup
- 2 eggs
- ¼ cup canned coconut milk or milk of choice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup chocolate chips optional but required (heh)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Add all the ingredients except for the chocolate chips into a blender and blend until smooth. Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Pour batter into a lined muffin tin.
- Bake at 350F for 15-18 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Allow the muffins to cool on a wire rack.
- Store the muffins in the fridge for 4-5 days.
Notes
- If you are making these for a new mother and want to make this a lactation recipe, add 1 tablespoon brewers yeast to the batter.
Jennifer Malta says
Can I substitute the banana for pureed fresh blueberries? I am trying to get my child to eat blueberries. I would think the pureed blueberries would be a similar consistency.
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
I haven’t tried this so I’m not sure – blueberries seem to release more liquid than bananas though, so that could be an issue. I’d probably suggest using the blueberries in place of chocolate chips rather than the bananas. If you experiment, please let us know how it goes!
Nida says
This recipe is my to-go. I make these in big batches every week such a healthy snack for kids.
Variations I’ve used are adding chopped dates, using date syrup or honey instead of maple syrup. I’ve also done applesauce, chopped apples and walnuts.
They come out perfect and so delicious.
Thank you Ashley!
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Nida, so happy to hear that you like this so much 🙂 And thanks for sharing your variations – those sound great!
rameesa cheema says
I made these tonight and they turned out AMAZING. I didn’t have maple syrup so i used 1/2 cup of pancake syrup (and a bit of honey) and it worked, I really liked the taste. Thank you so much for sharing this.☺️
My Heart Beets says
Rameesa, that’s so great to hear! Thanks for letting me know how much you liked these muffins 🙂
Harinder Grewall says
Awesome muffins, super easy and super tasty.
My Heart Beets says
Thanks, Harinder! I’m so glad you liked them 🙂
Susan says
I meant can you use any kind of milk like Oat milk?
Susan says
Can you use pay milk?
Bharathi says
Hi, can we do these muffins with powdered steel cut oats in place of rolled oats? Would love to try this 🙂
My Heart Beets says
I haven’t tried so I’m not sure how ground steel oats will do here – let me know if you try!
Mandy says
I make these all the time. They’re delicious. I use two bananas and add 1/4 cup vanilla yogurt instead of the extract. So easy and delicious! Thanks for the recipe.
My Heart Beets says
Mandy, that’s really great to hear! Thanks for letting me know how much you like these and for sharing your subs!
Priscilla S says
Hi. Just baked these for my super peaky 4year old. he hasn’t tasted them yet because he is in school, but I have. They came out delicious. I used mini muffin tray for smaller fingers. Really good. Thank you for this recipe.
**I tried your other instant pot recipes like Chole and Aloo Mutter and they were so good too. Thanks.
My Heart Beets says
Priscilla, I’m so glad they came out well! I hope he loves them!! And happy to hear you’re liking my other recipes too 🙂
Priscilla says
Both my kids really liked them- now 3yrs and 4.5yrs old. Good for breakfast when I do not want to whip up fresh pancakes hehe.
Michelle says
These are so good!! I had all the ingredients and mixing in the blender sped up the process. These will be a new go-to recipe for us (as most of your recipes are!). I’m thinking about trying apple and cinnamon instead of the chocolate chips next time but the kiddos (ok, and me) sure loved the chocolate!
My Heart Beets says
Michelle, that’s awesome! So happy to hear that you made and liked these muffins 🙂 I bet apple cinnamon would be amazing – especially this time of year! You may have just given me a new recipe idea lol.
Emily says
I had some bananas to use up and remembered that I had wanted to try this recipe so I made some this morning. They were delicious- thank you! I’m pretty sure I will use a bit less maple syrup last time, but that’s just our preference for sweetness. Great, simple recipe!
My Heart Beets says
Emily, I’m so happy you made these muffins and that you liked them! 🙂
Chhavi says
Hi Ashley,
How would I adjust the cooking time if I were baking this as a cake, not muffins.
Thanks !
SR says
Looking forward to trying this recipe. Do you know what the baking time would be if baked in a mini-muffin tray?
My Heart Beets says
Yes! If you are making mini muffins, bake them at 350F for 12-14 minutes 🙂 Let me know what you think of these!
SR says
Thank you, Ashley! I made them last night (regular sized) and they came out very well!
My Heart Beets says
happy to hear that! 🙂
Kim says
How much maple syrup do you use? It just says “1/2 maple syrup” right now 🙂
My Heart Beets says
Kim, thanks so much for letting me know! It should say 1/2 cup maple syrup! I just fixed the recipe 🙂