Whole Wheat Banana, Oat, and Toasted Nut Muffins (100% Whole Grain!)
It’s the weekend! Hip hip, hooray! Yesterday morning I did what any normal person would do on their first day off after a long week: got up at 6:00 and made these super tasty and super healthy Whole Wheat Banana, Oat, and Toasted Nut muffins.
Oh… is that not normal? Well regardless, the muffins are delicious and here I am sharing the recipe with you. So, you’re welcome :-)
Here’s the thing: ask any teacher you know- Friday nights are for falling asleep by 9:00 (or sometimes 8:30 for me). They are not for having “fun” or going “out…” at least not for most of us. We’re in full recovery mode from the long week previous and need our rest. Otherwise, we’ll never make it through the year with enough energy to teach the children and to stay healthy.
And when you pass out at 8:30 pm, the likelihood of waking up at 6:00 feeling recharged and ready to go is much higher. And if you’re like me, you get so excited – too excited to stay in bed a second longer – at the prospect of cooking healthy and delicious things as soon as you get up, making the kitchen smell spectacular, and sharing the deliciousness with your family!
We teachers (and all busy, hard-working people in general) need consistent sleep AND healthy, energizing food to keep us going. But the thing is, most busy people are the first ones to sacrifice a healthy diet since it takes a bit more time to eat healthy. Which is why I started this blog! Real food for busy people. It’s possible. I promise.
OK enough of that. Onto the muffins! Which, by the way, can be made in bulk and frozen for later (making those busy weekday mornings much easier- just grab one from the freezer, microwave for a minute, and go!).
These muffins are made with 100% whole grains- they’re full of fiber and good carbs to keep you going. They are partially sweetened by mashed banana, meaning you can use less sugar (or honey) to make them. And they are packed full of healthy nuts (I used pecans and almonds, but you can use whatever nuts you want) to add some protein and healthy fats for a well-balanced breakfast. And in lieu of traditional butter, they are made with olive oil and Greek yogurt! They are completely guilt-free.
Oh. And they’re DELICIOUS! Let’s not forget that! They are super moist and fluffy, not dense like some other whole grain pastries. But because they are made with whole ingredients, and are so nutrient-dense, they will fill you up with just one.
The extra delicious thing about these are the nuts that are sprinkled over them before baking. You will mix nuts into the batter as well, but the nuts that are on top get toasted in the oven while the muffins bake, adding a deeper layer of flavor. Yummmm. I suppose you could also toast all of the nuts in the oven before mixing them into the batter, but I’m all about recipes that have as few steps as possible.
So do yourself a favor- this weekend, make a big batch of these (double it, even!), wrap the leftovers individually in plastic wrap, and freeze for later. Future you will thank you.
Recipe below. Enjoy!
Whole Wheat Banana, Oat, and Toasted Nut Muffins (100% Whole Grain!)
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Ingredients
- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/3 cup sugar or honey
- 2 eggs
- 2 ripe bananas mashed
- 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 pinch nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup old-fashioned oats
- 1.5 cups whole wheat flour
- 1 cup chopped nuts I used pecans and almonds, divided
Instructions
- Line a 12-cup muffin pan with liners and preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Beat together olive oil (1/2 cup), sugar or honey (1/3 cup), and 2 eggs in a medium bowl with an electric mixer.
- Add the mashed bananas and yogurt (1/2 cup); beat together.
- Add cinnamon (1/2 teaspoon), nutmeg (pinch), salt (1/2 teaspoon), baking powder (1 teaspoon), and baking soda (1 teaspoon); beat together.
- Stir in oats (1 cup) and whole wheat flour (1.5 cups) until just incorporated (do not over mix)
- Fold in 2/3 cup of the nuts.
- Add the batter to the prepared muffin pan.
- Sprinkle the tops of the muffins with remaining 1/3 cup nuts.
- Bake at 375 for 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Notes
- To freeze for later, store in a zip-top bag for up to 6 months. To defrost, leave out overnight or microwave for 30 seconds to a minute.
- The provided nutrition information does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. Feel free to calculate it yourself using this calculator or by adding the recipe to Yummly.
Nutrition
Nutrition Information Disclaimer
The provided nutrition information is my best estimate and reflects one serving of the recipe (total servings indicated at top of recipe card). It does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. I use an automatic API to calculate this information. Feel free to calculate it yourself using one of these tools:
Would it be possible to get the nutrition information for this recipe? Thanks.
Sorry for the delayed response! I don’t include nutrition info on my recipes, but I do frequently use a tool that is super easy if I need the information- you just copy and paste the ingredients, add the serving amounts, and viola! Nutrition information. Sometimes you have to fiddle with the ingredients a bit but it works pretty well. Hope this helps! https://www.verywell.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4129594
I made these a couple of weeks ago and was impressed with how nicely they turned out. Usually whole wheat baked goods can be so dense and heavy. These were surprisingly light. They held up for a couple of days without getting dry and were also a hit with my toddler! Will be making a double batch this weekend so we can freeze some. Thanks!
So glad you (and your toddler) liked them!! I agree about the whole wheat baked goods being dense and am happy I discovered how to make them not dense :-) Really, these are just a variation on my banana oat and blueberry muffins- you may enjoy those as well! https://www.bowlofdelicious.com/2014/07/03/banana-blueberry-oat-muffins/
Recipe looks amazing!are old fashioned oats the same as quick oats? If not, can I substitute quick oats?
Thanks, Deborah! You can use quick oats in place of old fashioned (regular rolled oats)- they should work just fine! Hope you like them :-)