Low Fat Banana Muffins

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Low Fat Banana MuffinsI’ve read about how applesauce can be used in baked goods in place of fats such as eggs, oil, and butter but hadn’t tried the substitution until now. And I’m happy to report it’s a good substitution!

Of course, these muffins are not meant to replace my favorite banana bread. They are simply a low fat alternative, and even with the chocolate chips they are still only three points each. They’re easy (no need for a mixer!), moist and flavorful, and lighter than I was expecting after reading some of the reviews.

The lightness may be because I made muffins rather than a loaf (I like wrapping them individually then freezing them so I can defrost one at a time). I made the mistake of using paper liners, and the muffins completely stuck to them so I suggest spraying a muffin tin with Pam and forgoing the liners.

Photos of the process here.

Ingredients
4 very ripe bananas
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup white sugar (I used Splenda Sugar Blend)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 egg
4 tablespoons applesauce (I made my own)
1/2 cup chocolate chips, optional

Preparation

  1. Mash bananas in a bowl.
  2. Add all other ingredients and mix well.
  3. Pour into greased loaf pan.
  4. Bake at 350 degrees for 13-15 minutes if making muffins (or 50 to 60 minutes if making a loaf), or until toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean.

Yields 16 muffins or one loaf.

Recipe adapted from Recipe Zaar.

Comments

17 Responses to “Low Fat Banana Muffins”

    Cheryl on 1 May 21st, 2009 2:10 pm

    Thank you! I’ve been looking for a lowfat banana bread recipe, most of them are loaded with butter.

    Elyse on 2 May 21st, 2009 4:37 pm

    I love that you used your homemade applesauce in these muffins! So fabulous. And the muffins look moist and flavorful. What a great, healthy treat. I could use a nice muffin right about now 🙂

    Seanna Lea on 3 May 22nd, 2009 6:49 am

    I had the same problem with the corn muffins I made earlier this week. Completely and totally stuck to the liners, which is funny because the muffins I made the previous week (dried fruit muffins) were fine.

    Do you have any idea why some muffin recipes stick to the liners and some don’t?

    veggievixen on 4 May 22nd, 2009 8:28 am

    banana muffins are the best, aren’t they? i found the best recipe for banana bran muffins. yumm!!

    Hilary on 5 May 22nd, 2009 8:38 am

    @Seanna Lea – I think it’s from the lack of fat. Were your low fat as well?

    Seanna Lea on 6 May 23rd, 2009 10:39 am

    @Hilary – My recipe was the standard cornbread recipe on the back of the box only using blue cornmeal instead of regular. It had a 1/4 cup of oil in it, and after a day or two the paper became a lot easier to peel off (though we had to pretty much eat the muffins off the paper that first day). I’m wondering now if it is just a time issue, and I’ll see if I can figure it out the next time I make muffins or cupcakes.

    Wheeler's Crew on 7 May 24th, 2009 9:47 am

    Do you know how I could make this vegan?

    Hilary on 8 May 24th, 2009 9:51 am

    @Wheeler’s Crew – Are there vegan egg substitutes? If so, you could use that in place of the egg.

    lowfat banana chocolate chip muffins « dash, splash, or dollop on 9 September 9th, 2009 2:04 pm

    […] plain weird to me, and most traditional banana bread recipes call for it.   So instead I found a recipe from a blogger for lowfat banana chocolate chip muffins – the lowfat part being absolutely […]

    Kaitlyn on 10 November 21st, 2009 6:52 pm

    These muffins were so delicious! The batch I made yesterday has all but disappeared…

    Doug C. Cook on 11 February 21st, 2010 7:55 pm

    That looks great! And it’s low fat too boot, making it perfect for those dieters out there.

    Sandra on 12 May 19th, 2011 1:05 pm

    I can not wait to try these!

    Becca on 13 June 16th, 2011 4:52 am

    does anyone the nutritional value for these? calories per muffin?

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    Erica b on 17 December 1st, 2011 1:03 pm

    I used 1/3 cup ground walnuts instead of the chocolate chips and used a mini muffin pan which makes 24 muffins. The total calorie count was: 1955 kcals or 81 per muffin. The total fat was 24.7 grams or 1.03 gm per muffin.

    P.S. They turned out great and are worth the 81 calories!