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Low Calorie Peanut Butter Banana Muffins are a healthy muffin recipe that's higher in protein and fiber and filled with delicious, yummy flavors! An easy low calorie muffin recipe the whole family will enjoy. Gluten Free+ Low Calorie

This recipe was originally published in April 2016 and today I'm revitalizing it because it deserves a makeover!

You are absolutely going to love these healthy peanut butter banana muffins! Who wouldn't love a lower calorie baked good with chocolate and peanut butter?

There are tons of ways to use up ripe bananas (like this healthy banana bread with oats) but these peanut butter banana muffins are easy to make, super delicious, and only require a few ingredients. Plus, they're low calorie!

I am beyond excited to add these healthy peanut butter muffins to my website alongside with some of my other favorites like strawberry yogurt muffins, chocolate avocado muffins and carrot muffins.

What Makes These Peanut Butter Banana Muffins Healthier?

Wondering what makes these low calorie peanut butter banana muffins healthy? Here's a few reasons for you!

Low Calories: Each muffin is 158 calories due to using oats and using a moderate amount of sugar. Most muffin recipes have way too much sugar in them and are deficient in fiber and protein.
Added Protein: Using one egg white adds plus peanut butter which is primarily a healthy fat with some protein adds a 4 grams of protein per muffins. Most muffin recipes are loaded with sugar and carbs and have very little protein in them.
Oats: Oats are a great source of whole grains with fiber that is better for you than regular flour or whole wheat flour.
Lower Sugar: This recipe has 9 grams of sugar most of which is coming naturally from the bananas. A touch is coming from the coconut sugar. I prefer using coconut sugar to other sugars as it is a bit lower on the glycemic index.
Higher Fiber: Because of the oats, each muffin has 3 grams of fiber making it a more filling muffin!
Healthy Fat: Instead of using oil to make these muffins, peanut butter is used instead which gives the muffins a boost of healthy fat and some protein!

Ingredients For Low Calorie Peanut Butter Banana Muffins

Here's what you need to make these yummy peanut butter banana muffins lower in calories! You will need a muffin tin. I like the traditional muffin tins, but the silicone ones make for easy removal. You will also need a standing blender or hand blender.

Please see the substitutions section below for substitutes I recommend for this recipe!

Bananas, very very ripe
Peanut Butter
Milk
Egg White
Coconut Sugar
Gluten Free Rolled Oats
Baking Powder
Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
Salt
Cinnamon
Mini Chocolate Chips

How to bake low calorie peanut butter banana muffins

How To Make Low Calorie Banana Muffins With Peanut Butter

Here's the steps for making a delicious batch of banana muffins with peanut butter! Scroll down to the bottom of this post for the full recipe, method, tips and nutrition.

Step One - Preheat the oven to 350 F and prepare a muffin tin.

Step Two - Blend the egg whites and bananas together in a mixing bowl until smooth.

Step Three - Add the almond extract, milk, sugar and peanut butter. Combine until smooth.

Step Four - Add the oats, baking powder, cocoa powder and salt and combine. Fold in the mini chocolate chips by hand.

Step Five - Bake in the oven and check with a toothpick before removing to ensure they are fully baked.

Step Six - Remove from the oven and cool at room temperature before transferring the muffins to a wire rack.

Step Seven - Sprinkle the top of each muffin with a touch of cinnamon then enjoy!

Tips For Making The BEST Healthy Peanut Butter Banana Muffins

Use VERY Ripe Bananas: Black bananas are best for baking. They will have a lot more natural sweetness than bananas that are not as ripened. The black bananas also make for a smoother batter. You can store bananas in a brown bag to speed up the browning process if you need to get them black!
Use Smooth Peanut Butter: A drippy peanut or another nut butter butter is best for this recipe versus one that is chunky.
Don't Over Combine The Dry and Wet Ingredients: You will want to combine the bananas and egg white really well until bubbles appear, but once you get to step 4 when you add the dry ingredients simply mix them to combine. Do not over combine.
Use Nonstick Cooking Spray: Make sure you spray the muffin cavities or muffin liners with nonstick cooking spray to prevent the muffins from sticking.
Don't Skip The Toothpick: Ensure the muffins are fully baked by inserting a toothpick in the center of the muffins before removing from the oven.
Let Them Cool Before Removing: Cool the muffins in the muffin tin at least 5 minutes before transferring to a wire baking rack.

Can I Make These With Oat Flour?

You can use oat flour instead of oats for the recipe. The texture of the muffins will turn out slightly different from using oat flour compared to oat flour.

Can I Make These With A Different Flour?

Unfortunately, I would not recommend making these gluten free peanut butter banana muffins with a different flour than oats or oat flour. If you're looking for similar muffin recipes, here's a few suggestions!

Due to my Hashimoto's disease and how severely I react to white and wheat flours, I never use those in my recipe so I can't tell you how they would turn out.

Healthy Banana Bread Muffins - made with almond flour, sorghum and oat flour.
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Chickpea Muffins - made with a can of chickpeas and some oats.
Almond Flour Blueberry Muffins - made with almond flour and oh so delicious!
Chocolate Pumpkin Almond Flour Muffins - made with almond four and pumpkin these are incredibly moist and yummy!

How To Store and Freeze Peanut Butter Banana Muffins

To Refrigerate: Place these low calorie peanut butter banana muffins in an airtight container or storage bag after cooling fully to room temperature. Then transfer to the refrigerator up to 7 days.

To Freeze: Allow these gluten free peanut butter banana muffins to cool fully at room temperature then place in an airtight container or storage bag in the freezer up to 30 days. After 30 days, I have discovered the muffins get really soggy and gross.

Recipe Substitutions For Low Calorie Peanut Butter Banana Muffins

Here's the substitutions and swaps I recommend for this recipe. Remember when you make substitutions it can change the nutritional values from what you see in the recipe card below.

Peanut Butter: Any nut butter will work like almond butter, cashew butter or tahini. I would not recommend using sunflower butter as it will often turn green when combined with baking powder or baking soda.
Oats: You do not need to use gluten free if you don't need to be gluten free. You can also use oat flour. I would not recommend substituting with another flour for this recipe.
Egg White: This recipe uses 1 egg white so if you wanted to use a whole egg you would use 1/2 of a whole egg. It's always a 2:1 ratio egg white to whole eggs. If you do use a half of a whole egg note that the calories will be affected and the protein.
Egg Free: I have not tested this recipe using a flax or chia egg. If you do, please leave a comment below for others!
Almond Milk: Any milk or milk substitute will work in the recipe.
Coconut Sugar: You can use brown sugar or a sugar substitute instead.
Almond Extract: Vanilla extract may be used instead.
Cinnamon: You can omit this if you like.
Chocolate Chips: You can use mini chocolate chips or regular. You can also do sugar free or dairy free as needed.

About Megan

Megan is a certified nutrition practitioner, author, freelance food photographer and fitness instructor living in Phoenix, Arizona. On her blog, Skinny Fitalicious she shares EASY, gluten free recipes for weight loss. Follow Megan on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram for the latest updates.

Low Calorie Peanut Butter Banana Muffins {GF, Low Cal}