Banana Nut Muffins w/out Added Sugar

Like everyone else during Coronavirus this year, I've been dabbling with making bread. I hadn't quite made it into the realm of sugar-free banana nut muffins, though!

Not that I don't like them or don't want to endeavor to try making them again this year. But because I didn't have a muffin tin! I do own one, several in fact. They're just in storage. I found one of those reusable silicone muffin liners, though, and justified the purchase to try them out.

So here we have it, a Covid checkbox in!

I'm not entirely sure where I found this recipe. When I follow something, I tend to write it down so that I can copy the link, save it as a bookmark in my recipes folder, and, if all else fails, I can always go back through my browser history.

I committed a cardinal sin in baking, though. Baking requires specific ratios and often won't work out if you just wing it! I did something along these lines, though...

I started off thinking that I was going to make banana bread. After all, who isn't making banana bread these days?? But I don't have a loaf pan currently with me. But a lot of bread recipes can work in muffin tins, so I wasn't too worried about that.

It was when I saw the sheer amount of sugar in so many of these recipes that I panicked! I like cake as much as the next person. But, when I think of bread? An entire cup of sugar isn't exactly what I'm looking for!

A lot of sugar-free or lower sugar recipes substituted yogurt, honey, and coconut oil.

What I Ended Up Making

In the end, I pulled aspects predominantly from The Food Network's Banana Nut Muffins and Sally's Baking Addiction's My Favorite Banana Bread recipes. Although I didn't follow either of them entirely and did kind of wing it a little bit more than I should have!

I'm usually not as cavalier in my baking endeavors. I tend to cook like this when cooking dinner all of the time. But cooking tends to be much less precise than baking.

I wouldn't necessarily recommend this because it's often better to know the rules in order to know how to break them and have it still work out.

But, here you have it! Coronavirus experimental sugar free banana nut muffins! Note that there is no added sugar. There is still natural sugar in several of these ingredients, particularly in bananas.

Gallery

Variations of Sugar-Free Banana Nut Muffins

Banana nut muffins aren't the only bread that I've been making during quarantine!

Sugar-Free Banana Nut Muffins

Banana Nut Muffins w/out Added Sugar

Looking for banana nut muffins without all of the added sugar? This recipe substitutes Greek yogurt and coconut oil for an entirely granulated sugar-free recipe. It's an absolutely delicious version with all of the flavor of banana nut muffins, but none of the guilt of oh-too-many sugar-laden variations!
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 2 dozen

Equipment

  • Muffin Tin
  • Oven
  • 2 Large Bowls

Ingredients
  

  • 2 c. all-purpose flour (200 g.)
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp. salt
  • 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
  • 6 ripe bananans smashed (~2 ½ c.)
  • 1/2 c. unsalted butter softened (1 stick, 115 g.)
  • 1/3 c. plain Greek yogurt (80 g.)
  • 1/4 c. coconut oil
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1 egg + 2 egg whites
  • 3/4 c. walnuts chopped (100 g.)

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
  • In a large bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
  • In a separate bowl, mash the bananas and whip this until fluffy. It's easier to use a mixer, but mine is in storage so I did all of this by hand with a fork. You will need to do this vigorously, though!
  • Add in the softened butter, Greek yogurt, coconut oil, and vanilla extract. Beat until light and fluffy once more.
  • Add the eggs and mix in until completely incorporated.
  • Carefully mix in the flour mixture until just incorporated.
    Don't over mix at this stage! You want to keep the fluffiness of the bananas, which will deflate with the addition of flour and the denser ingredients.
  • Chop the walnuts and carefully fold in. Again, do not over mix!
  • Fill almost to the top of a muffin tin.
    I used a muffin tin with silicone liners, but you can add any muffin or cupcake liner of choice or lightly grease the muffin tin beforehand.
  • Bake in the bottom third of the oven at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 17-20 minutes.
    They should begin to brown and, if you spear the center with a toothpick, it should come out cleanly. I couldn't find a toothpick and used cocktail party sticks, instead. But it did the job and was festive!
  • Let cool slightly before turning out. You can just flip the tray over and they should fall out no problem.

This recipe is adapted from The Food Network's Banana Nut Muffins and Sally's Baking Addiction's My Favorite Banana Bread recipes.

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