Traditional banana-nut muffins can be very oily, but who needs oil when you have bananas and dates for moistness! These muffins freeze well, and are perfect to take hiking, to work or school, or traveling when you need a hearty snack!
Banana-Walnut Muffins
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: 12 1x
Ingredients
Scale
- 7 oz. pitted dates (11 to 12 Medjool or 22 to 24 Deglet Noor), chopped
- 1 cup non-dairy milk
- 2½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1¼ cups Old Fashioned rolled oats
- ½ cup dry/uncooked millet
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1½ teaspoons cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice
- 12 oz. soft, ripe bananas, mashed (1-⅓ cups; about 2½ large bananas)
- ½ cup walnut halves, chopped (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Place the chopped dates, non-dairy milk and vanilla into a small bowl, and set aside. Line a 12-well muffin pan with parchment paper muffin liners.
- Grind the oats and millet into a flour in your blender (20-30 seconds; a high-speed blender will do a finer job) and place into a mixing bowl. Add the baking powder and cinnamon, and stir well.
- Blend the dates, non-dairy milk, and vanilla until smooth. Pour this into the bowl of dry ingredients, and add the mashed banana. Stir until all dry ingredients are incorporated. Stir in the chopped walnuts.
- Spoon the batter evenly into the muffin liners. Bake for 30 minutes. Let cool for 5-10 minutes before removing from the pan to cool further on a cooling rack. Cool completely before eating.
Notes
To make a loaf, bake at 325F for 55-60 minutes. Let cool completely before slicing.
Batter: I find that using a 2-4 tablespoon scooper makes it easier to get the batter into the liners. But a soup spoon works fine, too.
Millet: I love using millet in baked goods, and it's gluten-free. If you don't have millet, try cornmeal or quinoa in step 2 (grind with the oats).
- Prep Time: 35 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 muffin
- Calories: 155
- Sugar: 15g
- Sodium: 4mg (using salt-free baking powder)
- Fat: 4g
- Saturated Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 28g
- Fiber: 3g
- Protein: 4g
- Cholesterol: 0mg
These look delicious. I like the addition of the millet. In the pictures it looks like there's more than 1/4 cup of oats. I'm wondering if the th 1 got left out in the print recipe and it's supposed to be 1 and 1/4? Thank you for posting.
Yes it did! 😉 I have corrected it; thanks Steph!
Hi Cathy! I would like to bake these muffins but I wonder about the quantity of oats? 1/4 cup? Thanks a lot!
Thanks Anne-Marie, yes, it's 1.25 cups; I have corrected it. 😉
Wow! Such, very good flavor! And easy to make too.
Thank you for this recipe.
Tom
Thanks Tom! 🙂 You're fast!
Hi Cathy!
I want to double this recipe and Just wanted to let you know that in the written instructions the number of medjoul dates is not doubled Can these muffins be made in silicone bakeware without the paper liners ?
Hi Stephanie, they can be made in silicone but I don't use it anymore since it doesn't seem to do as good a job with baked goods as metal or ceramic; silicone doesn't seem to bake as firm/completely, as I guess since silicone is not as good a conductor of heat as other types of pan materials. I just checked the dates at 2x and it seems to be working for me now. Thanks!
This recipe looks great! I bake a lot for my sister who has Oxalate issues. The dates are a no no! What are they suposed to add to the recipe? That woulld help me make a substitute. Often prunes and figs are used but they are also high oxalate. Applesauce, dried cheries...
Thanks for the help!
Hi Leanne, the dates give the sweetness, and some moistness. They are naturally very sweet. You can substitute with the sweetner that works for your sister; just google how to sub out dates with it to get an idea. Apples and cherries are not as sweet, but since these are muffins, I think less sweetness would probably work ok.
These muffins are delicious! Your directions are so clear, thank you! My only question is do you have any pro tips for chopping dates? They can be squishy and sticky, so not always easy to work with.
If the dates are really soft, you don't need to chop them. If they are coming from the fridge or freezer, or sometimes they're just very leathery, then chopping helps soften them faster in the nondairy milk. 🙂
These were so good!!! Thanks for another winning recipe! 👍👍👍👍👍
Thanks Iris! 😉
Cathy, Thank you so much for this delicious recipe for banana walnut muffins!
I made them today and enjoyed your recipe so much, I ate 2 of them. lol
Should I keep them in the refrigerator?
Warmest regards,
Millie
Hi Millie! 🙂 Yay, and thanks for the comment. I usually put in the fridge after day 1 of sitting out. They also freeze well.
Really good! Perfect texture and great flavor! Thanks, Cathy, for another great recipe!
Thank you! 😉
I have millet flour in the cupboard. How much should I use since it's already ground?
Hmm, not sure as I've not used pre-ground. I would do the same measurement as whole millet and then add more as needed.