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These Cranberry Banana Oat Muffins are made with oat flour, rolled oats, bananas, applesauce, and fresh cranberries for a soft, moist, lightly sweetened breakfast or snack that’s perfect for fall and winter.
These cranberry banana oat muffins are a cozy fall and winter favorite, especially when fresh cranberries are in season. Soft, hearty, and bursting with tart cranberry flavor, they’re made with wholesome oat flour and rolled oats for a satisfying texture.
Ripe bananas and unsweetened applesauce keep them perfectly moist without any oil or butter, making them a lightened-up treat you can feel good about enjoying. Finished with warm cinnamon and a touch of nutmeg, these healthy muffins are ideal for chilly mornings, holiday baking, or easy meal prep.
For more delicious cranberry muffins, be sure to try our cranberry orange muffins and chocolate cranberry muffins next!
Why You Will Love These Cranberry Banana Muffins
- Healthy: These cranberry banana muffins are a healthier option made without all-purpose flour, butter, or oil!
- Easy: These muffins are super easy to make. Simply combine the ingredients, bake the muffins, and enjoy!
- Delicious Flavors: The combination of sweet bananas and tart cranberries is absolutely incredible in these muffins!
- Texture: These muffins have a soft and fluffy texture from the oat flour and a slightly chewy texture from the rolled oats. It’s the ultimate combination of textures!
“These are wonderful. Shared with a friend and had to share the recipe as well.”
– vicki
Ingredients Needed
- Oat Flour: The base of these cranberry banana oat muffins for a light and fluffy texture.
- Rolled Oats: Add a chewy, hearty texture to these muffins.
- Leavening Agents: Baking powder and baking soda help the muffins rise.
- Salt: Balances and enhances all the flavors.
- Cinnamon & Nutmeg: For added flavor and warmth.
- Sweetener: Sweeten these muffins with sugar or a 1:1 sugar-free sweetener.
- Bananas: Mashed ripe bananas add natural sweetness and flavor to these muffins.
- Eggs: Two whisked eggs help bind the batter together.
- Applesauce: Unsweetened applesauce keeps the muffins moist without butter or oil.
- Vanilla: A splash of vanilla extract adds another layer of flavor.
- Cranberries: Fresh cranberries bring a bright and tangy burst of flavor in every bite.
Find the full measurements in the recipe card below.
Substitutions & Variations
- Gluten-Free Option: Use certified gluten-free rolled oats and oat flour.
- Oat Flour: You can use store-bought oat flour if you have it, or make your own by blending 1.5 cups of rolled oats in a blender or food processor until finely ground.
- All Oat Flour Option: If preferred, you can use all oat flour instead of a mix of oat flour and rolled oats. Simply blend 3 cups of rolled oats in a blender or food processor.
- Add Nuts: You can stir in 1/4 cup of chopped pecans, walnuts, or almonds for extra crunch and flavor.
- Adjust Cranberries: Feel free to add an extra 1/4 to 1/2 cup of cranberries, depending on how cranberry-packed you want your muffins to be.
How To Make Cranberry Banana Oat Muffins
Step 1: Add the oat flour, rolled oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and sweetener to a large bowl. Thoroughly mix these dry ingredients.
Step 2: Peel the bananas and add them to a separate bowl. Thoroughly mash the bananas with a fork or potato masher. Add the eggs, applesauce, and vanilla extract to the bowl and whisk until the wet ingredients are combined.
Step 3: Add the wet ingredients to the bowl with the dry ingredients a little at a time, until fully incorporated, making sure not to over-mix.
Step 4: You can leave the fresh cranberries whole, lightly pulse them using a food processor or blender, or roughly chop them on a cutting board.
Lightly fold the cranberries into the batter.
Step 5: Lightly spray a non-stick muffin pan with oil or add parchment muffin liners. Then, use an ice cream scoop or measuring cup to pour the batter into the muffin cups.
Step 6: Bake the muffins at 350°F for 18-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Once done, let the muffins slightly cool, and enjoy!
Shawna’s Expert Tips
- Mash the Bananas: For a super quick and easy way to mash the bananas, we recommend using a potato masher! If you don’t have one, you can use a fork.
- Use Ripe Bananas: For the best flavor and natural sweetness, use ripe bananas.
- Don’t Over-Mix Muffin Batter: Avoid over-mixing the muffin batter. This helps the muffins stay light.
- Texture of the Cranberries: You can customize the texture of the cranberries in these muffins! Leave them whole for bursts of tart flavor, roughly chop them for smaller bites, or lightly pulse them in a food processor or blender to distribute the cranberry flavor more evenly. Just be careful not to over-blend.
Storage Instructions
Fridge: Store leftover cranberry banana oat muffins in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.
Freezer: You can freeze these muffins in a freezer-safe container for 1-2 months.
More Oat Muffin Recipes to Try!
If you try this recipe, please be sure to leave us a comment and star rating, ★★★★★, letting us know how it turns out for you.
Cranberry Banana Oat Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups oat flour
- 1 ½ cups rolled oats
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 cup sugar or sugar substitute with a 1:1 ratio
- 2 medium-sized ripe bananas, about 1 cup
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup fresh cranberries
Instructions
- Add the oat flour, rolled oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and sweetener to a large bowl. Thoroughly mix these dry ingredients.
- Peel the bananas and add them to a separate bowl. Thoroughly mash the bananas with a fork or potato masher. Add the eggs, applesauce, and vanilla extract to the bowl and whisk until the wet ingredients are combined.
- Add the wet ingredients to the bowl with the dry ingredients a little at a time, until fully incorporated, making sure not to over-mix.
- You can leave the fresh cranberries whole, lightly pulse them using a food processor or blender, or roughly chop them on a cutting board. Lightly fold the cranberries into the batter.
- Lightly spray a non-stick muffin pan with oil or add parchment muffin liners. Then, use an ice cream scoop or measuring cup to pour the batter into the muffin cups.
- Bake the muffins at 350°F for 18-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Once done, let the muffins slightly cool, and enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Oat Flour: You can use store-bought oat flour if you have it, or make your own by blending 1.5 cups of rolled oats in a blender or food processor until finely ground.
- All Oat Flour Option: If preferred, you can use all oat flour instead of a mix of oat flour and rolled oats. Simply blend 3 cups of rolled oats in a blender or food processor.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
These are wonderful. Shared with a friend and had to share the recipe as well.
Hi Vicki, I’m so happy you enjoyed the cranberry banana oat muffins! It truly means so much to me to hear that. I love knowing that you shared them with a friend and passed along the recipe as well. Thank you for taking the time to do that. I am so glad they were a hit, and I hope you both enjoy them again soon.
These are awesome! I have been wanting you to make them since I saw the recipe and had no time during the holidays and working! So today was the day! I got up early and made them and had one for breakfast with a banana it was so good. Nice and warm fresh out of the oven! Thanks so much for this recipe. I highly recommend and will be making them again!
Hi Sue, thank you so much for sharing this. Enjoying these cranberry banana oat muffins warm out of the oven sounds so cozy! I’m so happy you loved them, thank you again for the kind feedback. 🙂