Ultimate Healthy Banana Pineapple Chocolate Chip Muffins: A Delicious Way to Use Overripe Bananas
Bananas in baking can often be a dominant force, their distinct flavor easily taking center stage. While some banana recipes are undeniably delicious, others can leave you wishing for a more balanced profile. This recipe for Healthy Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins with Pineapple, however, offers a refreshing twist that stands out from your typical banana muffin. It’s not just the semi-sweet chocolate chips adding a delightful contrast; the secret lies in the magical addition of pineapple, which transforms these muffins into something truly special.
For those who, like me, find themselves with an abundance of overly ripe bananas destined for the freezer, this recipe is a fantastic solution. While my Tropical Banana Bread recipe is a cherished classic, sometimes you crave something a little different, something equally wholesome but perhaps easier to grab on the go. These muffins are exactly that: a convenient, healthy, and incredibly flavorful alternative that will quickly become a household favorite.
🥘 Essential Ingredients for Your Healthy Muffins
These Healthy Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins are a tropical delight, blending the sweetness of banana and the tang of pineapple with the rich indulgence of semi-sweet chocolate chips. Baked to perfection, they are tender, moist, and utterly delicious. This recipe is an excellent way to utilize your ripe or frozen bananas, and because they freeze so well, they’re ideal for lunch bags, quick breakfasts, satisfying snacks, or even a wholesome dessert!
To create these delightful muffins, you’ll need a selection of pantry staples and fresh ingredients:
- All-purpose flour: Provides the foundational structure for the muffins.
- Whole wheat flour: Adds a healthy boost of fiber and a pleasant nutty flavor, enhancing the nutritional value.
- White granulated sugar: For the perfect amount of sweetness.
- Baking soda: The key leavening agent that helps the muffins rise beautifully.
- Salt: Balances the flavors and enhances sweetness.
- Cinnamon: A warm spice that complements the banana and pineapple wonderfully.
- Eggs: Act as a binder, adding richness and moisture.
- Ripe bananas: The riper, the sweeter and easier to mash! These are essential for that classic banana flavor.
- Canned crushed pineapple (undrained): This is the secret ingredient that introduces incredible moisture and a tropical tang, balancing the banana. You can also use fresh crushed pineapple, especially if you have overripe ones to use.
- Vegetable oil: Contributes to a tender crumb.
- Unsweetened applesauce: A fantastic substitute for some of the oil, adding moisture and natural sweetness while keeping the muffins healthier.
- Semi-sweet chocolate chips: A must-have for bursts of rich, melty chocolate. For a dairy-free option, simply use dairy-free chocolate chips.
This beloved recipe for healthy banana chocolate chip muffins came from a friend several years ago. My children were absolutely raving about how amazing her muffins were, which, of course, compelled me to ask for the recipe. While I’ve made a few minor adjustments over time to lighten them up and enhance certain elements, the core deliciousness remains. My kids still adore them, and honestly, they disappear so quickly that I often struggle to keep enough for myself! It’s a recipe truly too good not to share.
🍌 The Smart Way to Freeze Bananas
Here’s a little game-changing tip for all your banana-baking endeavors: always, always peel your bananas before you freeze them! It sounds incredibly logical now, but it took me years of struggling with rock-solid, impossibly-to-peel frozen bananas – and more than a few painful encounters with them falling onto my toes like frozen hockey pucks from the freezer – to finally learn this simple truth. Peeling them beforehand makes them infinitely easier to mash or slice once thawed, saving you time and frustration. Simply place peeled ripe bananas in a freezer-safe bag or container, and they’ll be ready for your next batch of muffins or banana bread whenever a craving strikes.
🍽 Essential Baking Equipment
For this recipe, your primary piece of equipment will be a muffin tin. Make sure it’s clean and ready to go!
💭 Smart Muffin Baking Tips for Perfect Results
Achieving perfectly baked muffins every time is easier with a couple of handy tricks. If you ever find yourself with not quite enough batter to fill all the wells in your muffin tin (and please, forgive my well-loved, slightly aged tin in the photo!), don’t leave the empty ones empty. Instead, fill them approximately two-thirds full with water. This simple step helps the muffins bake more evenly by distributing heat better across the pan and preventing the empty wells from overheating and potentially warping the pan. Another excellent tip for even baking and beautiful browning is to rotate your muffin tin halfway through the baking process. This ensures that all sides of the muffins receive consistent heat, resulting in a uniform texture and golden-brown tops.
Incorporating whole wheat flour into muffins is one of my favorite ways to boost their health factor. Not only does whole wheat flour add more nutritional benefits, like increased fiber, but it also imparts a delightful, subtly nutty flavor. However, a common concern with whole wheat flour is that it can sometimes lead to a drier finished product compared to using only refined all-purpose flour. Fortunately, in this particular recipe, the crushed pineapple works wonders, providing ample natural moisture to keep the muffins incredibly tender. For future reference, especially when baking with whole wheat flour in other recipes, I highly recommend letting your batter rest for about ten minutes before baking. The reason behind this is that whole wheat flour contains both the bran and germ of the wheat kernel, which have a coarser texture. Resting the batter allows the liquid ingredients sufficient time to fully hydrate these components, softening them and resulting in a much more tender and moist baked good. You can delve deeper into the science and benefits of baking with whole wheat flour by reading more on The Kitchn.
🌡️ Storing Your Muffins for Freshness
These delicious muffins are incredibly versatile when it comes to storage. At room temperature, in an airtight container, they will remain fresh and delightful for up to three days. For longer storage, these muffins freeze exceptionally well. Simply place them in a freezer-safe bag or airtight container, and they’ll keep for up to three months. To reheat from frozen, you can pop them into the microwave for about 20-30 seconds, or until they are no longer frozen and warmed through. Alternatively, you can simply let them defrost at room temperature for a convenient grab-and-go treat.
👪 Batch Size and Customization
This recipe is designed to yield a generous batch of 30 muffins, making it perfect for meal prep, family gatherings, or sharing with friends. If you need a different quantity, don’t worry! You can easily half, double, or even triple the recipe. Simply click on the blue serving size indicator within the recipe card below, select your desired number of servings, and all the ingredient amounts will automatically adjust for you. This flexibility ensures you always have the right amount, whether you’re baking for one or a crowd.
So, if you’re on the hunt for a truly fantastic way to use up those overripe bananas, these muffins are an absolute must-try! They are incredibly versatile, serving equally well as a quick and nutritious breakfast, a satisfying snack, a wholesome dessert, or a delightful addition to any lunch bag. Not only will your kids eagerly devour them, but you’ll find yourself reaching for them too. Just be sure to stash a few away for yourself before they all disappear!
And if you truly LOVE healthy banana recipes, be sure to check out these equally delicious banana bread flavored healthy breakfast cookies!
Explore more delightful recipes for overripe bananas!
This Coconut Lime Nice Cream is a vibrant, refreshing treat that uses up to 6 bananas!
You might also love these Award Winning Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies, which cleverly incorporate spinach for extra nutrition!
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📋 Healthy Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins with Pineapple Recipe
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Equipment
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muffin tin
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whisk
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups all-purpose flour
- 1.5 cups whole wheat flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 3 eggs
- 3 large, ripe bananas, mashed
- 14 oz – can crushed (undrained) pineapple 398 ml
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- ½ cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees F/175 degrees C. Line a muffin tin with paper liners or spray with non-stick cooking spray.
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In a large bowl, stir together flours, sugar, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.
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In another separate large bowl, beat eggs with whisk and continue to whisk in bananas, pineapple with liquid, applesauce and oil until blended.
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Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients all at once; stir just until moistened. Then stir in chocolate chips.
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Spoon into prepared muffin tins, filling to ⅔ full.
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Bake in 350°F oven for 25 to 30 minutes or cake tester or toothpick comes out clean.
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Cool in tins for 5 minutes, then remove muffins to a wire rack and cool for an additional 5 minutes.
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Freezing: freeze in air tight container or in freezer bag for up to 2 months.
Notes
These muffins can be stored in a sealed container, at room temperature, for up to 3 days and frozen for up to 3 month. To reheat from frozen: heat in microwave for about 20 – 30 seconds or until no longer frozen. Or simply allow muffins to defrost at room temperature.
🍌Freezing Bananas
Just a little tip: When you’re freezing bananas, you’ll want to peel them BEFORE you freeze them. It took me years, lots of minor frostbite from peeling frozen bananas and having frozen bananas as painful as frozen hockey pucks fall out of the freezer onto my toes, before I discovered this very logical way of freezing bananas!
👪 Serving size
This recipe makes 30 muffins. You can half, double or triple the recipe by simply clicking on the blue serving size in the recipe card, selecting the number of servings you’d like and the ingredient amounts will adjust accordingly.
🍽 Equipment
You will need a muffin tin for this recipe. Here are my Amazon Recommendations (affiliate links)
Calories from Fat 59
Nutrition
📋 More Delightful Muffin Recipes to Try!
If you love baking muffins as much as we do, you’re in for a treat! Explore some of our other fantastic muffin recipes, perfect for any occasion:
- Wholesome Walnut Bran Muffins: A classic, fiber-rich muffin packed with crunchy walnuts.
- Healthy Rhubarb Muffins – Weight Watchers Friendly: Enjoy the tangy sweetness of rhubarb in a lighter, healthier muffin option.
- 2 Lite Bite Healthy Pumpkin Muffins: Delicious pumpkin muffins perfect for a guilt-free indulgence.
- Healthy Banana Pineapple Chocolate Chip Muffins: (You’re already here, but it’s that good!)
- Healthy Apricot Pumpkin Bran Muffins: A unique blend of flavors with the goodness of apricot, pumpkin, and bran.
- 7 Crazy Delicious & Healthy Bran Muffin Recipes: A collection of our best bran muffin recipes for a healthy start to your day.