Butternut Squash Banana Muffins (Print Version)
Moist muffins combining roasted butternut squash and sweet banana, spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg for a wholesome breakfast treat.
# What You’ll Need:
→ Produce
01 - 1 cup butternut squash purée (roasted and mashed)
02 - 1 cup ripe banana, mashed (about 2 medium bananas)
→ Wet Ingredients
03 - 2 large eggs
04 - 1/3 cup melted coconut oil or vegetable oil
05 - 1/2 cup pure maple syrup or honey
06 - 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
→ Dry Ingredients
07 - 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
08 - 1 teaspoon baking soda
09 - 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
10 - 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
11 - 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
12 - 1/4 teaspoon salt
→ Mix-ins (optional)
13 - 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
14 - 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
# Steps:
01 - Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a standard 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners or grease each cup lightly with oil.
02 - In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the butternut squash purée and mashed banana until the mixture is smooth and free of lumps.
03 - Add the eggs, melted coconut oil, maple syrup (or honey), and vanilla extract to the purée base. Whisk until all wet ingredients are thoroughly combined.
04 - In a separate bowl, sift together the all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, and salt until evenly distributed.
05 - Pour the dry ingredient mixture into the wet ingredients. Fold gently with a spatula until just combined; avoid overmixing to keep the muffins tender.
06 - If using, fold the chopped nuts or dark chocolate chips into the batter with a few gentle strokes.
07 - Divide the batter evenly among the 12 prepared muffin cups, filling each about two-thirds full.
08 - Bake on the center rack for 22 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.
09 - Let the muffins rest in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely before serving.
# Expert Tips:
01 -
- The squash and banana team up for a natural sweetness that lets you cut way back on added sugar.
- These freeze beautifully, so you can bake a batch on Sunday and have breakfast sorted for weeks.
- Kids cannot tell there is a vegetable hiding inside, which feels like a quiet victory.
02 -
- Overmixing the batter is the fastest way to end up with dense, rubbery muffins, so treat folding like a gentle conversation rather than a vigorous debate.
- Letting the squash cool completely before mashing it prevents the coconut oil from seizing into little solid chunks when you combine them.
- These taste even better on day two because the spices have time to settle and deepen overnight.
03 -
- If your banana is not quite ripe enough, pop it in a 300 degree oven for 15 minutes until the skin blackens and the interior turns syrupy soft.
- An ice cream scoop is the cleanest, fastest way to divide batter evenly among muffin cups without making a mess.