It’s time for breakfast (again) and the kids are tired of eggs.
“Can you make muffins, Mama?”
You wanna say yes, but you know you need protein to build bodies and fuel brains, so you decide to make muffins and eggs (comfort food + protein).
But then suddenly breakfast is this huge production that doesn’t fit on a weekday morning, and there’s scrambled egg fragments all over the kitchen that no one wants to eat the eggs anyway because MUFFINS! just came out of the oven!
Solution? Put the eggs in the muffins. All the eggs.
But wait. You’ve tried some of those “healthy” eggy creations in the name protein, and they were awful. Worse than cold scrambled eggs. The kids couldn’t gag them down, and you wasted an entire carton of expensive farm-fresh eggs, and the dog won’t even eat them.
That’s because if you wanna use a lot of eggs in your baked goods, you have to balance them out with other ingredients that bring moisture and texture.
When you get that right, high protein muffins make breakfast simple and nutritious (and did I mention delicious? And chocolate?) Here, let me show you…
(this post contains affiliate links for your convenience)
Upping the protein in my baked goods has been a strategy I’ve learned from the gals at Trim Healthy Mama. Their newest cookbook is gorgeous and my kids and I love paging through and finding new dishes to make. If you’re looking to up the nutrition in your family, this book would be a great tool.
This muffin recipe is a variation on their Chocolate Banana Muffins on page 181. My version would be considered a “Crossover” because I use full fat yogurt, whole eggs, and we enjoy them with lots of butter because that’s what muffins are, right? Simply #buttervehicles. Amen.
High Protein Muffins
- 4 very ripe bananas
- 8 eggs
- 1 c. plain yogurt (use applesauce for a dairy-free option)
- 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
- 4 cups oats, ground into flour in a blender (use certified gluten-free oats if you're sensitive to gluten)
- ¾ c. cocoa powder
- 1 c. sugar or 1//2 c. Stevia-based sweetener
- 1 tsp. real salt
- 1 Tbsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Grease 24 muffin tins (I use coconut oil) and line with paper liners.
- Peel and mash bananas in the bottom of a large bowl.
- Add eggs, yogurt, and vanilla and mix well.
- Pour oat flour on top of the egg mixture, and measure the rest of the dry ingredients on top of that.
- Mix the dry ingredients together a bit, then fold them into the wet stuff in the bottom of the bowl.
- Divide batter into muffin tins. If you have extra, you can pour it into a bread pan and make a loaf for snacking later.
- Bake at 350 for aprox. 20 minutes until muffins have risen and the top bounces back when you poke it. (Bake bread loaf for 35-40 min. until knife inserted in center comes out clean.)
Get Smart with Your Muffin Making:
- Muffins tins are the worst dish to clean! Save time and angst–get muffin tin liners. And, let me save you even more angst: avoid the cheap ones that stick to the muffins and get yourself some nice, parchment paper liners! They work so well, you can literally lift the finished muffins clean out and use the papers again!
- Putting liners into muffin cups is a GREAT job for toddlers who are otherwise going bananas waiting for breakfast to be ready. Ask me how I know.
- Smart cooks bake in bulk. I have two large dozen count muffin tins like these. I could really use a third.
- My method of mixing muffin batter only requires one bowl by measuring the dry ingredients right on top of the wet. As soon you get the muffins in the oven, turn around and wash one bowl, and breakfast clean up is over. These muffins are a complete meal in themselves and are not very crumbly thanks to all the eggs, so you don’t even need to serve them on plates. You can get right to the rest of your day. You’re welcome.
Variations on the Theme…
- Applesauce Muffins–Replace the banana with equal parts applesauce, and replace the cocoa powder with 1 Tbsp. cinnamon
- Morning Glory Muffins–Omit the cocoa powder and add 8 drops orange essential for a flavor burst (Use pure, oils certified for cooking!) and 3/4 cup raisins.
- Pumpkin Spice Muffins–Replace banana with equal amount of canned pumpkin OR leftover mashed squash. Replace the cocoa powder with 1 Tbsp. pumpkin pie spice.
- Banana Split Muffins–Add 1/2 cup peanut butter and top the muffins with a sprinkle of mini chocolate chips. Mmmm….great birthday breakfast!
Even More Yummy Protein Breakfasts…
We like a high protein breakfast because it fuels our bodies for morning chores, and our brains for school. Carb or sugar-heavy breakfasts just lead to blood sugar crashes, foggy thinking, and the need to get out snacks right in the middle of math lessons. Yikes. Nobody wants that. When we eat a protein-packed breakfast, it fuels our whole morning with energy and good attitudes. Here’s some more high-protein breakfast options our family loves:
- The Ultimate Breakfast Smoothie (make this is if your kids need something fast while the muffins bake!)
- Banana Split Souffle (grain-free way to eat LOTS of eggs!)
- French Toast Souffle (if you wanna save chocolate for another day)
- Scrambled Egg Casserole (can be made the day before!)
Do your kids like eggs? Do you have to hide them? Tell me your family’s favorite high protein breakfast in the comments!
I’m trying to pack in as much protein as I can in a muffin that my kids (10 and 13) will actually eat. What do you think about putting peanut or almond butter in these? I’m not worried about fat as my shorties are quite slim but I AM concerned about sugar because it just seems so evil. I have one kid who has to take medication that suppresses appetite so I want to load that one up with yummy filling and healthy food in the am before meds kick in. I’m not a great baker so I don’t know if I could just slip some PB in here or if I should use PB in place of something else because of consistency/texure and baking time. Would love your expert opinion if you have a minute for that.
Meanwhile, just adding that you are a wonderful writer and so funny, which I really appreciate and which makes it really fun to read your blog. Thank you so much for this! I’m a new fan and will be checking out your other recipes.
Alexandra–glad you’re enjoying it here! lovely to have you!
as to the muffins–go with your gut 😉 peanut butter is lovely in baked goods, and would make these more like banana-split-brownie sundae muffins! 😉 You can adjust the sugar to your liking, replace it with honey or maple syrup or coconut sugar. Enjoy!
These look delicious! Do you have the nutritional breakdown per muffin? Curious of protein and sugar content.
Thanks!
I do not, Amy–sorry!
Just to be clear before I make these. Did you use eight whole eggs or eight egg whites?
whole eggs, Pam!
My kids and I love this recipe for chocolate muffins. We have made it several times and I am so thankful that I came across it. I would like to know if you have a similar recipe or have ever changed this recipe to make an apple sauce and cinnamon flavored muffin? I can follow a recipe but when it comes to altering one, I am sure to make a mess of it. Thanks!
Heather–absolutely! Replace the banana with applesauce, equal amounts, and skip the cocoa powder. Add 1 Tablespoon of cinnamon and you have applesauce muffins! We also do pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice–yum!
Any ideas on a replacement for cocoa? Toddler hasn’t eaten much chocolate. Was thinking cinnamon or peanut butter maybe.
Sure! cinnamon is awesome–have totally done that with good results–use 1 tablespoon.
I try to avoid dairy, can I use coconut oil instead of the yogurt?
And we’re not gluten free so would this work with the same amount of spelt flour?
Jessica, I am not experienced with spelt flour or dairy replacements–although I don’t think coconut oil would be the best thing to use for yogurt–maybe applesauce? This will require some experimenting, but I’m sure you will come up with a tasty solution!
My son doesn’t like bananas. Is there anything I can sub the banana with? Trying so hard to find ways to sneak protein in him.
sure! try applesauce, but use less as it’s usually wetter than bananas. I have a son who doesn’t like bananas, but he doesn’t mind them in these muffins because the chocolate overwhelms them. if you mash them real fine (I’ll put mine in the blender with the eggs!) and he may not even notice them!
I like to sub in pumpkin instead of bananas, it works great!
Could I use honey in place of sugar in your high protein muffin recipe?
sure, you may just need to add more oat flour
is it 4 cups of the oats before you grind into flour? or is it 4 cups of flour after it’s already been made?
4 cups after
Hi Trina,
I think maybe you should amend the recipe ingredients to reflect the 4 cups AFTER grinding as currently it implies before grinding and having done it both ways, it’s quite a difference.
Deborah! Thanks for the feedback! Super helpful!
What is the best way to thaw them? Do you individually wrap them to freeze? Thanks!
I just put them in a gallon ziploc bag, and thaw them on the counter over night
Plain Greek yogurt or plain regular yogurt?
either actually works, Sarah!
These are moist and delicious! Instead of using cocoa powder, I used 2 scoops of protein powder and I topped my batter with oats.
And I used 1/4 cup of honey instead of sugar.
Just pulled my batch out of the oven and couldn’t resist trying one right away! They smell amazing, they taste amazing… Such a great recipe! I did use buckwheat flour instead of ground oats because the kids are already asleep and I didn’t want to wake them up. Turned out amazing! Thanks for sharing, Trina – they’ll be perfect on our early-morning road trip tomorrow.
awesome!
can these be frozen?
Yes, I freeze them regularly
Has anyone tried these with Greek yogurt instead of regular yogurt? Didn’t know if that would make a difference or not!
either works!
Just made these! Totally delicious and turned out perfect. I handed the recipie just to try it so 2 cups ground oats plus at the end I mixed in an extra heaping 1/2 cut of unground oats. Baked for 22 minutes. Totally perfect and not too sweet. Thanks!
These are great! I halved the recipe because I was short on bananas and I still got 18 full size muffins out of it! My kids had them for after school snack: just enough to take the edge off until dinner and more filling than a granola bar etc.
Do you know if the egg yolk would be used as a binding agent in these? I know that yolks can play a lot of roles in baking so I wanted to get your input on if I used egg whites instead of whole eggs what the outcome would be. (just trying to cut down on some of the fat)…excited to make these nonetheless!
the recipe I based this off of only used egg whites, so you’re probably ok to leave out the yolks, Kylie!
Hi! I made these today and followed the recipe exactly (using applesauce instead of yogurt) and they did not turn out anything like your picture! 🙁 I’m wondering what i did wrong? The only thing I can think of is that I measured 4 cups of whole oats, THEN ground into flour with my food processor… maybe it ended up less than 4 cups after I ground them? OR maybe I didnt grind it powdery enough? I would say it was a “course flour” when I was done with it. They didnt raise very much at all and had a very eggy consistency. I did notice the batter was super runny- it seemed way too runny to me. Any suggestions would help please! Thank you!
Elissa, it does sound like your oats were not ‘flour’ yet, nor did you have enough of them after grinding. Any time I get muffin batter that seems to runny, I go ahead and add more of whatever flour I’m using. I hope you have better results next time you try it!
Hi Trina, I found this recipe on Pinterest and have to try it! I figured out the nutrition info:
My 4 bananas came out to be 386g to be accurate, I used nonfat vanilla greek yogurt and 1/2c. Truvia baking blend.
Calories 114, Total Fat 3, (sat fat .8, poly fat .7, mono fat 1.1) Cholesterol 62.4, Sodium 237.7, Potassium 130.8, Carbs 19.7, Fiber 2.6, Sugar 3.6 and Protein 5.2.
I hope this helps those who wanted the info. I use Sparkpeople recipe calculator to get all of my recipe nutrition info. I’m also going to add some hemp protein to these. I can’t wait to try them!
Kristen, you’re awesome! Thanks so much!
Has anyone tried adding a scoop of protein powder to these for an extra boost? Any thoughts on how that might effect the baking process?
That’s a great idea, Trish! I don’t believe a single scoop would negatively effect the finished product.
Dang, I wish I read this first!!! I have my Young Living protein powder and just made these muffins. They are in the oven right now! If they turn out as fabulous as I hope, I’ll make them again and I’ll add a scoop!!!
I didn’t have the vanilla so used 1 tbsp of maple syrup instead. I also used 1/2 cup of coconut sugar instead of 1 cup of sugar. I calculated these muffins to be over 8g of sugar in each which I think is pretty high for a muffin. I used 1 cup of hazelnut meal + 3 cups of oats (ground) and the protein comes out to less than 5g each. I was expecting these muffins to be lower in sugar and higher in protein. They are very tasty but a bit too sweet for me. I’ll try again with less sugar and add some nuts.
Tracey,
5 grams is relatively high for a muffin! I’m glad you experimented and made these your own.
Great recipe! Thanks for sharing. Anyone have calories per?
These tasted so wonderful despite crazy morning sickness taste buds! I was really tired of all the usual high-protein snacks, so your timing in posting this couldn’t have been more perfect. Thank you!
These look absolutely delicious but, FYI, they would only be gluten free if gluten-free oats grown under a purity protocol are used. Otherwise, oats contain gluten via cross contact with gluten grains in the field, on shared farm equipment, and via processing in a shared facility. “Regular” oats, therefore, contain very high amounts of gluten and are not safe for those who eat gluten free for medical reasons. Certified gluten-free oats grown under a purity protocol on the other hand are grown from pure pedigreed seed; the fields used to grow gluten-free oats are required to follow specified crop rotation protocol, surrounded by an isolation strip, and inspected several times during growing season to remove any errant gluten-full grains; all machinery and equipment is either thoroughly cleaned or dedicated; oats are processed in a dedicated gluten-free facility; and oats are tested to ensure their gluten-free status of less than 20 ppm gluten using R5 ELISA Methodology. That level of “scrutiny” is required to ensure that oats are safe for gf folks. I just wanted to mention that since your recipe is labeled gluten free.
Thanks,
Shirley
There isn’t any oil/butter in the recipe?
Thanks.
Laura, there is not because this recipe was inspired by the Trim Healthy Mama muffins, which are low-fat. You can add as much butter to these when they come out of the oven as you like! 😉
Trina,
Do you have the nutritional value of these muffins somewhere? I don’t see it posted unless I’m missing it. Thanks, these look great!
Ambrea,
I don’t yet, but another commenter posted her calculations in a comment–hope that helps!
If I have oat flour, should I put less than 4 cups?
You could do scant cups, Elizabeth. The amount of oats does not have to be exact 😉
Thanks! Can’t wait to try these ?
I could just HUG you!!! I was just agonizing over trying to find some recipes to put in my breakfast rorotation for our new fall schedule. My children really need the protein, but they may mutiny if they see one more scrambled egg. They are going to be so happy tomorrow!! Your recipe says sugar or stevia based sweetener. Can I just get away with half the amount of sugar (some recipes that’s ok) or do I need the full amount? I’ve never tried stevia based sweeteners, but I would love to reduce our sugar consumption if you have suggestions!
Oh, Cindy! I’m so glad I’ve helped inspire your mornings!
You can totally experiment with the sugar–but 1 cup is pretty minimal for the amount of muffins this batch makes. If you want to try stevia, you can check at your local grocery store–I found some stevia to experiment with at my Wal-mart. It’s usually sweeter, oz for oz than sugar, thus the 1/2 cup suggested if you’re using stevia. Have a great morning tomorrow!
I use 1/2 cup of sugar every time and they come out DELICIOUS!! Thank you so much for this recipe, I make these all the time. 🙂
yeah! so glad to hear you’re making the recipe your own and loving it!
Nice to see you had time for a post! It’s been awhile. Too funny – I just made a double batch of these muffins this morning. I LOVE the THM recipes. And I’m drinking the “Singing Canary” right now. God bless!
Love this idea!!!! Avoiding Dairy for one kid…what would you suggest in place of yogurt???
I love seeing you in my inbox. I smiled and prayed peace over your home.
Jennifer–Applesauce is a great replacement for the yogurt–I do that if I’m running low on dairy 😉 You are too sweet–It’s good to be back and always appreciate your prayers!
Is there a substitute for the oat flour? We are grain free so could coconut or almond flour work? If so, would the quantity be the same? My kids would LOVE these . . .
Chanelle, almond or coconut is going to be a little denser than the oat flour and give it a different consistency (as I’m sure you’re aware) but from my experimenting with grain free baking, I’ve learned that if the recipe has enough other stuff (and this one does, with the banana and eggs and all) then you can probably get away with it! I say give it a try, and let me know how it goes?
Thank you for posting these. We have tried them and they are great! I love that they can be made with ingredients easy to find. Can you post more THM recipes with ingredients found at Walmart?
Yay! glad you liked them, Lindsey! I hope to posting more of the new dishes we have added to our menu, and yes, mostly Wal-mart and Aldi ingredients because that is where I mostly shop!