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The Best Skinny Double Chocolate Banana Muffins

These Skinny Double Chocolate Banana Muffins are the muffins of your dreams! A refined sugar free muffin recipe that’s naturally sweetened with maple syrup and bananas. It’s a crazy moist banana muffin with loads of chocolate flavor – perfect for breakfast or on the go snack.

Looking for more Banana Muffin Recipes? Try out my Marbled Chocolate Banana Muffins, my Spiced Chai Banana Muffins or my Blueberry Banana  Muffins!

My Favorite Chocolate Banana Muffin Recipe

What do you do when life gives you brown bananas? You make banana bread of course!

Or in this case, you make Skinny Double Chocolate Banana Muffins! In my opinion the second one sounds WAY better. Don’t get me wrong. I love a good banana bread recipe but adding chocolate to the mix, (quite literally) well that’s just a game changer in every way possible!

My idea for this recipe came from a food photography video I was watching by Lindsay from Pinch of Yum. She was demonstrating how to photograph an object while keeping the rule of thirds in mind as well as composition of the object and blah blah blah. It was a great video, but all I could focus on was the huge store bought Chocolate Muffins she was using as a prop. And that my friends is where this recipe was born!

a photo of the best skinny double chocolate banana muffins cooling on a rack

Yeah, I know. I had you at double chocolate. Wanna know how I knew that? Because I had ME at double chocolate. The only thing that can make banana muffins better is adding two different kinds of chocolate to the batter. Am I right? Holy Yum y’all! This is one of my most popular recipes for a reason!

How to make Chocolate Banana Muffins?

Secrets out. I had a different version of this recipe earlier, it had applesauce and greek yogurt in it. But as I was going through recipes, I decided to revamp this one to be less in calories. But don’t worry it’s still tender, light and moist. So, if you’ve made the old recipe and liked it. Get ready for the upgraded version!

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
  2. In a large bowl, add bananas. Using a fork mash up bananas until just very small lumps are left. Add maple syrup, vanilla extract, coconut oil and egg.
  3. Using a fork mix until combined.
  4. Add in cocoa powder, white whole wheat flour, salt, cinnamon and baking soda. Using a spatula, mix until wet and dry ingredients are completely combined!
  5. Fold in the mini chocolate chips.
  6. Line each muffin tin with a cupcake liner (or spray with pam so muffins don’t stick to pan if not using liner).
  7. Fill each muffin tin 3/4 of the way full.
  8. Bake for 15-17 minutes. Serve.

Now, if you live in my house these double chocolate banana muffins won’t last long. Usually they are gone in 2 days and once you try them you’ll find out why.

how to make the best skinny double chocolate banana muffins
a photo of the best skinny double chocolate banana muffins in a muffin tin

Can I tell you another secret about these muffins? There is no refined sugar in them! Just maple syrup and bananas, which adds to the moistness of these babies! Can I tell you another secret? I swap out maple syrup or honey for granulated sugar almost every time I bake. Why? Because it leaves you with super moist product in the end! You’re welcome!

How to store Banana Muffins?

Store chocolate banana muffins in an air tight container or ziplock bag at room temperature. If stored properly these banana muffins will last up to 3 days on the counter.

Can I freeze Banana Muffins?

To freeze banana muffins, let muffins completely cool. Place on a baking sheet and put the muffins in the freezer for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, remove from the freezer and place in a freezer safe storage bag. Muffins can be kept for up to 3 months. To reheat, wrap muffins in a paper towel and place in microwave for 30 seconds to 1 minute.  

overhead photo of the best skinny double chocolate banana muffins scattered on a board

Hands down. These are the moistest muffins I have made so far! Normally I will let Mike bring a couple of my baked goods into work with him to share the love (and because I don’t want them in the house or I’ll end them), but not these babies. These were all mine. 

They are absolutely incredible and filled with rich chocolate flavor from the dutch processed cocoa powder and chocolate chips in every bite! Yet, they still have that delicious banana taste that everyone loves and not overly sweet! I really can’t describe to you enough how good these are! Go make them. I promise you will fall in love!

Bon Appetit! 

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skinny double chocolate banana muffins stacked in a tower
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skinny double chocolate banana muffins stacked in a tower

The Best Skinny Double Chocolate Banana Muffins

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 4.8 from 29 reviews
  • Author: Krista
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 17 minutes
  • Total Time: 22 minutes
  • Yield: 12 muffins 1x
  • Category: Breakfast, Muffins
  • Method: Oven
  • Cuisine: American

Description

These Skinny Double Chocolate Banana Muffins are the muffins of your dreams! A healthy, refined sugar free muffin recipe that’s naturally sweetened with maple syrup and bananas + loaded with chocolate.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 3 bananas, mashed
  • 1/2 cup of maple syrup
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 4 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
  • 1 2/3 cup of white whole wheat flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon of sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon of baking soda
  • 1/3 cup of mini chocolate chips

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
  2. In a large bowl, add bananas. Using a fork mash up bananas until just very small lumps are left. Add maple syrup, vanilla extract, coconut oil and egg.
  3. Using a fork mix until combined.
  4. Add in cocoa powder, white whole wheat flour, salt, cinnamon and baking soda. Using a spatula, mix until wet and dry ingredients are completely combined!
  5. Fold in the mini chocolate chips.
  6. Line each muffin tin with a cupcake liner (or spray with pam so muffins don’t stick to pan if not using liner).
  7. Fill each muffin tin 3/4 of the way full.
  8. Bake for 15-17 minutes. Serve.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 muffin
  • Calories: 197
  • Sugar: 15 g
  • Sodium: 62 mg
  • Fat: 8 g
  • Saturated Fat: 5 g
  • Carbohydrates: 30 g
  • Fiber: 3 g
  • Protein: 4 g
  • Cholesterol: 16 mg

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157 comments on “The Best Skinny Double Chocolate Banana Muffins”

  1. I want to clarify that I’ve passed this recipe on to friends via Pinterest. Chocolate and banana is one of my favourite flavor combinations, so these muffins are perfect. SO good!






    1. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! Chocolate and banana are my go-to combo to curve my sweet tooth!

  2. This is my favorite muffin recipe! I’m gluten free so I used Pillsbury gluten free flour and they came out great! Even without chocolate chips they’re delicious.






  3. These are super yummy and easy to make! I love that the ingredients are healthy and I still get my chocolate fix. I usually freeze some and they’re still delicious.






  4. Do you think these would be OK to mail off in a sealed plastic bag as a gift during quarantined times? Would be mailed to the same state, therefore, would arrive in about 3 days or so?

  5. Can I make this as a loaf instead? If so, wondering what you’d suggest for baking time and temperature?? Thanks

  6. Hello! Do you have the amount of banana in cups? I don’t have bananas to use so want to use either canned pumpkin or canned butternut squash. Thank you!!

    1. Hey Rose, you would probably need to use 3/4 cup of brown sugar if you’re not wanting to use maple.

  7. I only have all purpose flour and I was lucky to get that during this crazy pandemic. Does it substitute evenly?

  8. Avatar photo
    Deborah Fischer

    I would love to know the proportions of sugar and liquid to use in this recipe if I want to change from maple syrup to sugar.

    Thank you so much!

  9. I rarely review recipes but this one was so perfect today I had to! I had everything on hand though my whole wheat flour was mixed with AP flour and as much as I love fresh coconut I don’t like baking/cooking with coconut oil so I subbed that for butter. They were super easy and tasty, thank you for sharing this recipe!






    1. I have since updated the recipe after testing it, so I changed a few ingredients and the cook time to really make them perfect. If you follow directions you should be good.

      1. Do you by chance still have the original recipe? It is my kids favorite muffin but I never wrote it down…

        Thank you!

        1. Hey Katie, unfortunately I do not. I just redid the recipe to make it better! So I’d highly recommend trying the updated version. If your kids don’t like it then let me know I may be able to pull it from my archives but it will take a bit of digging. 🙂

  10. These muffins are so delicious! I’ve made a lot of variations of healthier chocolate muffins but these will be my go to from now on. Such a great balance of flavors!






  11. This is just my type of favorite recipe- healthy and delicious. They can totally coexist! I am pinning to try for breakfast!

  12. Avatar photo
    Kristen Kemp

    I have pumpkin puree I need to use. What would the equivalent measurement to 3 bananas be? Thank you!






    1. yes, you could definitely sub that but you might need to add more maple syrup because bananas are much sweeter than pumpkin

  13. These came out great, except I would leave out the sea salt. My kids didn’t like that. We don’t cook with salt normally so the smallest amount really stands out. Next batch will be without salt. Otherwise all the other ingredients was great.






  14. I’m so excited to find this recipe since I’m currently not eating sugar, but love chocolate! however when I read the ingredients it calls for chocolate chips, which do have sugar. Or are these a special kind of chip without sugar? If so please tell me where to find it.

  15. Four years after your original post, and still going strong! I made these tonight, and they came out great! I did make a small substitution (Drives me nuts when someone says a recipe is good, or not, but have chaged the entire recipe!). I added ground All-Bran Buds cereal (ground it to a fine bran flour), and replaced 1/3 cup of the flour .. added it at the very end, so it didn’t turn the batter to goop. Came out great, These will be in my regular rotation! I may add some dried strawberries or raspberries in the future .. then it would be like a banana split .. bananas, chocolate, and strawberries! Thanks so much for sharing.






  16. Made them for the first time today, put vegetable oil instead of coconut oil melted and added a little bit of milk as I found the mix little thick and dry…. result is excellent, they are very good! Happy to have a chocolate muffin that is not like a chocolate cake! Thank you!

  17. Tried them tonight and they are amazing! Thank you. Do they need to be kept in the fridge or in an airtight container on the counter?

    1. Awesome! I keep them in an air tight container on the counter, they tend to get harder if you leave them in the frig

    1. hey nika, I definitely wouldn’t use olive oil it will leave a bad taste. I would use coconut oil, canola oil, or vegetable oil instead. I’ve never used spelt flour before so unfortunately I can’t speak to that.

  18. Thanks Krista for sharing this awesome recipe. I was on a search for healthier bakes and chanced upon this skinny banana muffins. I made some for the family today and it was incredibly moist! I used cake flour in place of whole wheat and it was perfect still.. Just wondering if it’s possible to reduce the honey ( as it was a little too sweet) and substitute this by adding more greek yogurt?






    1. Hey Sheryl, yes you could definitely reduce the honey and I would replace it with either greek yogurt or unsweetened applesauce. That would keep the moistness. 🙂

  19. OMG! I saw these yesterday, pinned them, and made them tonight for a sweet treat. SO DELICIOUS!!! I know what I’m eating for breakfast this week!!!






  20. I found your recipe on Pinterest and made these muffins yesterday. I had to come back on to say they are seriously yummy! I used plain white flour as I didn’t have whole wheat flour but other than that I followed the recipe exactly. They were so easy to make and my husband and I have already finished the lot – whoops! I will definitely be making these again!






  21. Avatar photo
    Donna Fredin

    The muffins look fabulous! However if these muffins are normal size it’s far from “Skinny Muffins”.. I am sorry… I am 50 yrs old and I use to experiment with recipes all the time I found out what worked and how to make low fat/ less calories.
    You would have to replace coconut oil with apple sauce or fat free / light sour cream or yogurt or even low calorie butter if you can find that anymore.
    Honey and sugar has the same calorie content.. you can replace whole egg with egg whites. . ( wouldn’t probably make much of difference.
    Now would I call these muffins healthy.. YES! It has healthy ingredients and it would satisfy .. which in the long run could help you loose weight. . I just wouldn’t call them “Skinny”. 🙂






    1. Hi Donna, I a 64yo, and have been an experimental cook for a long long time. The coconut oil is actually healthier than your subs, the unsweetened apple sauce is fine, but in ‘light’ anything the fat is usually replaced with sugar or worse artificial sweetener. Honey is far better for you than sugar and never replace eggs with just the whites. Yes, perhaps not totally skinny, but far and away better than most and they are healthy. (and very, very
      yummy!!!)

      1. Hi Heather
        I agree with you 100% 😃 I am just saying the term Skinny muffins to me equate less calories .
        Even tho these muffins are not low in calories they have satisfying healthy ingredients which could help in weight loss…. If you can stop after eating 1 muffin.😂😂😂

  22. I don’t have any coconuts oil. Can i use olive oil instead? Or what other subsitutes should i use. Thanks






  23. I made these today and they turned out amazingly delicious. I used Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 gluten free flour, and canned coconut milk instead of the yogurt.

    Thanks so much! <3






  24. Forgive me if this has been asked before, but I haven’t read all the comments above. I would love to make these, but am gluten intolerant, any chance I can make these with Gf self raising flour or coconut flour? They look soooo good and my daughter will love these to take to school for her birthday party. Thank you.

    1. Hey Charmaine, I haven’t tried it with either of those flours but I’m sure the GF self rise would work fine. Let me know how it turns out!

  25. I started eating “clean” about a year ago and have had a bit of trouble finding baked goods that are satisfying. I made these tonite following the recipe exactly. (I used stevia sweetened chocolate chips) They were the best muffins that I had ever had! Thanks you so much for sharing this recipe! 🙂






    1. Ohhh.. hurray! So glad to hear that Patty! Totally makes my day. These are one of my families favorite muffins too!

  26. These are sooo delicious!! I love how moist they are… I substituted the egg with ground flax seeds and still turned out amazing. I will make these over and over. Thank you for the great recipe!






  27. Hello,
    I wanted to ask if i can use unsweetened cocoa powder instead of the dutch processed.
    Also can i use olive oil instead of coconut oil?
    Thank you for the awesome recipe!

    1. Sure, absolutely, unsweetened cocoa powder will work just fine. I wouldn’t recommend using olive oil though. If you want to substitute the coconut oil, I’d use canola or vegetable. Olive oil will give it a strong olive flavor… no bueno. 🙂 Hope you enjoy Angela!

  28. Could you substitute regular flour or cake flour for the whole wheat? I have everything but that and would hate to run to the store just for that.

    Thanks!

  29. These were amazing! How long will they keep? What if you put them in the fridge? Could you freeze them? Thanks!

    1. Hey Andrea, they keep for about a week. You could try putting them in the freezer, although I haven’t done that yet because we devour them. 🙂 hehe

  30. What is the best way to store these muffins? I’ve noticed some black sports forming on the bottoms after a day of keeping them on the counter at room temperature. I made them as is subbing pumpkin pure for the coconut oil. Anyone else have a problem with this? I don’t think it can be mold in less than 24 hours.

    1. I’ve found that pumpkin puree will do that. I think if you’re using pumpkin I would store them in the frig that has seemed to help whenever I’ve made things with pumpkin.

  31. Hi Krista, this looks pretty delicious. Do you think I can substitute blueberries for the chocolate chips? Thanks.

  32. Avatar photo
    Carole from Carole's Chatter

    Hi Krista, this would be a great contribution to Food on Friday: Muffins & Cupcakes over at Carole’s Chatter. Please do bring it over to join in the fun. Cheers

  33. Avatar photo
    KareninStLouis

    Just made these. Outstanding. Got a dozen generous regular muffins. I used whole wheat pastry flour (because that’s what I had!), and 1/2 honey-1/2 maple syrup instead of all honey. Only put chocolate chips in 1/2 the muffins. (I think they’re a must; hubby doesn’t.) Thanks for a delicious and quick one-bowl recipe.






    1. Hurray! So glad you liked them Karen and I need to try the half honey and half maple syrup, I think it would give it a different flavor with a slight maple taste. Yummy! 🙂

  34. These really look delish! Chocolate and banana is such a wonderful combination. But I do have to say that I do find it quite misleading of you to say that there is no sugar in these muffins. Bananas are full of sugar, and honey is pure sugar as well. If it were just these two things you could say “refined-sugar” free, but with the chocolate chips that isn’t even true. Chocolate is also full of sugar. I don’t want to make a big deal out of this, but it is one of my pet peeves and can really confuse people who don’t know a lot about nutrition.

    1. You are totally right Jana. All I was trying to communicate was that I did not add any sugar, although honey is essentially sugar. I changed the verbiage to say refined sugar free, because I did not add any additional refined sugar. Sorry for the confusion and miscommunication!

  35. I’m not one to go around food blog being picky about things, I love the work you all do posting tasty recipes and beautiful photos, I know it is a ton of work! But one thing that always concerns me is when blog writers say there is no sugar in their recipes. Honey IS pure sugar. It is a different kind of sugar, but still 100% sugar. And chocolate chips are also loaded with sugar. And not to mention, bananas are full of sugar! I just don’t want people to get the wrong idea with this recipe. They are definitely a nice healthier muffin but certainly DO have sugar in them. Again, I’m not trying to be weird here I just want people to understand this! I think it is important. 🙂

    1. Nope.. totally understand that. And I might rewrite it so that people understand that there is no refined sugar added in this. Just so people don’t get the wrong impression. NO worries on clarifying Lara, I appreciate you writing and sharing AND that you did it in a kind way. 🙂 Hugs girl!

  36. told my 11 year old to make them and they are delicious. i can’t believe there’s no sugar in it. this recipe is definitely a keeper. thanks so much

  37. Made these for our week’s breakfasts this week and LOVED THEM. I’ve been trying to make grab-and-go breakfasts that are relatively healthy–I couldn’t believe when I read the ingredients for this recipe! My boyfriend has already been caught “sneaking” the muffins for snacks so our breakfasts won’t last the week but that’s a good sign! Will definitely be put on regular rotation.

    I almost didn’t make this recipe because I have a bit of a problem with recipes described as “skinny”. Your blog is full of wonder, nutritious recipes that I’m excited to try and..to eat. But just as some food for thought, I’d encourage you to think of other descriptors (healthy, skinny, low-carb, feel-good) instead of skinny. Skinny isn’t the goal..health should be the goal! 🙂






    1. haha.. I don’t blame your boyfriend! That is actually what happens at our house too, which is why I have to make a double batch every time. 🙂 These babies are addicting!

      Good tip on the “skinny”. To be honest, i’m not really a fan of the word either but pinterest seems to like it so I use that descriptor … baaa I totally agree with you, health is the goal, skinny is just a “look” … healthy is a lifestyle. 🙂

      1. I agree 100% I hate to use the word skinny in my recipe names too but they seem to perform so much better on pinterest and even just google search results!! I thought I was the only one who battled with this :p
        Amazing recipe, I will definitely give it a try and come back with a review!

        1. haha… LOVE it Andrea! Glad you’re with me on the google adwords front.. the struggle is real! 🙂

  38. For any WW on the new 2016 program 1 muffin is 8 SmartPoints. Changing the coconut oil to 1/3 C unsweentened applesauce will drop it to 5 sp. You can also do 24 mini-muffins with applesauce for 3 sp.

    They sound delicious. I may go with the mini-muffins and keep some in the freezer for a great snack or for breakfast with fruit,

  39. Avatar photo
    Charlotte Moore

    I made these yesterday. SOOOOOOO delicious!! I made them exactly as your recipe except I had regular vanilla yogurt. I also used the coconut oil that has a coconut taste. Couldn’t really taste the coconut. I ground hard white wheat and if they had been any better I would have had to eat more than 2 for breakfast. I got 16 muffins and if I calculated right they are 3.5 points on Weight Watchers. I ate mine warm but the hubs had to warm his. HA!! He LOVED them.






    1. Hurray!! So glad to hear it Charlotte, that just made my day! These muffins are some of my favorite, in fact I have a whole bunch of bananas they need to get used up. I see more muffins in my future! Love the changes you did to accommodate what you had. 🙂

  40. My friend sent me the link to this recipe, but when I went to make it, I realized I had no eggs, no bananas and no Greek yogurt! It always annoys me when people alter a recipe than made comments! Now I am one of them but look forward to making the real recipe as soon as I plan ahead.

    I did substitute organic pumpkin for the banana, an egg substitute, used gluten free flour and used the so nice French vanilla coffee substitute instead of yogurt. I kept the honey and coconut oil which is really key and used all the other measurements. Basically I made pumpkin chocolate muffins. Absolutely delicious and so moist I will use this recipe as a base for all muffin recipes now. Thanks so much for posting!






    1. haha… no bananas for a banana muffin recipe… oh you silly girl! 🙂 That made me smile! Loved that way that you made it your own, the pumpkin was genius perfect for this time of year! Thanks so much for coming back and writing a quick note. The base of this is actually the base of all my breads and muffins because its so moist.

  41. No way! I just baked a similar recipe! I like the double chocolate spin you put on it – what a great idea!! Pinned 😀






  42. Krista you are really funny!! Of course you make banana bread when life gives you brown bananas hahaha!
    And these muffins looks absolutely delicious. Can’t wait to have some brown bananas to make some 🙂

  43. Oh my goodness!!! These muffins are AMAZING!! Thank you for sharing your recipe! My five children loved them and were begging me to make a double batch for next time. I even added a generous 1/3 cup of ground flax seed to sneak in some extra fibre. Everyone should try this recipe…you won’t be disappointed!!!






    1. Look at you sneaking in flax seed!!! LOVE it!

      So excited to hear that you enjoyed this recipe and that your kids loved it too, hurray! Double Batch this recipe always!!! 🙂

      1. hey Lori, I’m not sure about decreasing the flour. But I do know that flax seed tends to dry things out so you may have to add more applesauce or honey to keep the muffins moist.

  44. These muffins are great. The third time I made them, I substituted one third of the whole wheat flour with sorghum flour and also added walnuts…delicious this way and the original way. Thanks so much for the healthy and yummy recipe!






    1. Oh.. love the substitution! I’ve never had sorghum flour, will have to try it! Glad you enjoy it Michelle!

  45. I found this recipe on Pinterest and just made them and tried one. THEYRE SO GOOD! I’m trying to keep from eating them all! I only had whole wheat pastry flour and regular size chocolate chips, but the recipe still turned out great!






    1. haha.. i understand! I have a hard time not eating them all too! 🙂 So glad you enjoyed them Angie!

  46. I used coconut sugar instead of honey and walnuts in place of the chocolate chips. They came out amazing! Thanks for sharing; will be looking out for more.






  47. Avatar photo
    Ana | Espresso My Kitchen

    I’m loving the sound of these moist “skinny” muffins! I’m a fan of healthy baking and these sound so good. Pinned!