These Lentil Banana Muffins are the perfect on-the-go breakfast. They’re kid-friendly and packed with fiber and protein. Plus you can’t even taste the lentils!
{Originally published December 2012. Photos and post updated June 2018}
Hi Friends!
I first shared this recipe wayyyyyy back in 2012. Recently I was looking through some of my old blog recipes and I came across these. Honestly, I hadn’t made them in about 5 years and had pretty much forgotten about them. I decided to give the recipe another try after making a few tweaks and I gotta tell you, I’m impressed with them.
You may be thinking that these sound pretty gross, but I promise you don’t taste the lentils. Trust me…both of my kids ate them and immediately asked for more…so you know that’s a good sign since they wouldn’t touch a lentil with a 10-foot pole served any other way. If I’ve learned one thing about bananas it’s that they do a great job covering the taste of other things. So this is an easy way to boost the fiber and protein content of your muffins.
So be brave and give these a try. You won’t regret it!
PrintLentil Banana Muffins
These Lentil Banana Muffins make a healthy, high-fiber breakfast or snack. They’re kid-friendly and freeze well. And I promise you can’t even taste the lentils!
- Prep Time: 10 min
- Cook Time: 20 min
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: Makes 12 muffins 1x
Ingredients
- 1 cup cooked green lentils (approx 1/3 cup dry)
- 3/4 cup mashed banana
- 1/4 cup oil (i used avocado oil)
- 1 egg
- 1/4 c sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2/3 c oats
- 2/3 c white whole wheat flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Add cooked lentils and oil to a food processor and process until smooth.
- Add mashed banana, egg, sugar and vanilla and process again.
- Add oats, flour, baking soda, and cinnamon and process until just mixed.
- Add chocolate chips and pulse a couple times to combine.
- Scoop into greased muffin tins and bake at 375 for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.
Notes
You could also probably use red lentils for this recipe but I haven’t tried!
These muffins freeze well so feel free to make a double batch.
Let’s chat: Have you ever baked with lentils?
Enjoy!
–Lindsay–
I may be in the minority, but the lentils don’t bother me at all. I think it is a great way to add healthy protein to your recipe.
i agree!!
Dooood… this is a #strangebutgood if I ever saw one!!! I love this idea – lentils are a great way yo add protein – I bet these muffins will keep you full for a while!
P.S. So glad I’m not the only one that misplaces my recipe scraps… 😉
def not the only one! i remembered to link up today!
I tried samples of lentil muffins at the Food and Nutrition Expo this year and was impressed. Thanks for posting your recipe – glad you found it!
me too!!
Nice! I’ve put lentils just about in everything but never muffins. Lentil granola is one of my favorite nontraditional ways. Wish I would have saw this recipe yesterday – I made coconut banana bread but would have loved to try this. Next time!
lentil granola?! i need that recipe!
I know this comment is going on 6 years old but I usually soak red lentils for a few hours and then roast them in the oven with a little oil and salt, they come out nutty and crunchy and are a great addition to granola!
I forgot you shared a photo of these and I was looking forward to the recipe! I don’t mind trying ‘weird’ things like lentils (or black beans!) in my sweets. I can’t wait to see how it turns out!
black beans are next on my list!
So….let me get this straight. I would have to take a BEANO with these muffins?! lol. Interesting. Where do you come up with these Lindsay?! I love it!
haha beano for the win! i actually saw lentils in baked goods for the first time at FNCE this year!
Yummmmmmmmmmmmers!
I’ve only added lentils in my crockpot dishes – this looks like a recipe I could handle I’m gonna try it!
yay! let me know how it turns out 🙂
These look yummy! I always end up with extra lentils after I make sloppy joes. Can’t wait to try these!
let me know what you think!
great idea!!! I think lentils would make them more dense and hearty but not taste bad. Brilliant Linz, as usual.
hehe thanks lady!
Confession: I’ve never cooked with lentils. Going to have to try these!
get on it girl!!!! i throw them in everything 🙂
Can I add a sugar substitute such as Splenda instead of sugar to make this more diabetic friendly?
i’d imagine you could…however, i don’t have any experience cooking with splenda so i probably won’t be much help. but since there’s not very much added sugar to begin with it should work if you just leave out the sugar and add a little splenda. like i said, i left the sugar out of mine completely and they were still good.
Thank you. Banana is a problem for me… I might cut that in half and add Splenda. Wish I had some now!
wow, what an interesting recipe!! I would totally eat one of these, I can see how the lentils just fall into the background, especially with the banana flavor. I love muffins that you don’t feel bad about eating 🙂
After trying your chickpea cookie dough, I’m not afraid of strange sounding concoctions anymore!
Thanks for sharing Lindsay!
I have definitely never thought about adding lentils to muffins before! But muffins are one of my favorite things to experiment with.. so I may have to give that at try! 🙂
Never thought about using lentils to bake with. Pretty cool! I’ll have to try this out.
I’ve never considered putting lentils into baked goods but I love this idea!! You’re right that bananas cover up the taste of all kinds of things 🙂 yum!
I do the same thing with my recipes!! This is such a great combo of flavors- I’m really curious to try it! Thanks, Lindsay!
Not gonna lie….I NEVER would have thought to use the lentils like that, but now I want to! Great idea 🙂
These look SO good!! I might have to let some bananas sit around a little longer so I can make these!
Lentils in a muffin?? Never would have thought of that! Brilliant!
These look incredible!! Can’t wait to try them!
I love how little sugar you need when cooking with bananas! I’ve never baked with lentils, but these sound great 🙂
You have the best recipes to hide healthy nutrition for children!! I love it!!
HI –
I have a sensitivity to oats and wheat. Would almond flour work in place of both?
I’d say it’s worth a shot. i rarely bake with almond flour so i’m not super familiar with how it bakes.
I made these muffins today for my son and they are so good!! You would never know lentils are in them!! I do have one question…do you have any recommendations for high altitude baking? I’m in demver and they turned out a little dry…. great recipe!! Will be making them again!!
Hmm you could add a bit more oil or try baking for a little less time or maybe at a lower temp?
These muffins look delicious! Would gluten free flour work?
I’d assume if it’s a 1:1 gf flour it should sub fine.
Just made these with 1/2 green and 1/2 red lentils (ran out of green), frozen thawed banana (strained the water), coconut sugar (for the added caramely flavor), and with a combo of these GF flours: oat flour, almond flour, and Bob’s 1:1 flour. Turned out perfectly. Texture is fluffy and great! Perfect breakfast muffin. — (Also, just a note: I doubled the recipe and it made 17 muffins filling up 3/4 the way in the liners)
yay!!! so glad to hear it!
I’ve made 3 batches of these in less than a month! I have a newborn and eat at least one of these every morning for quick energy. They are so delicious! I added chocolate chips and walnuts and will definitely continue to try different add ins.
★★★★★
yay! glad to hear it!
So good! You cannot even taste the lentils
★★★★★
Thoughts on making it sugar free to give to baby?
you could leave out the sugar!
I found this recipe via Mama Knows Nutrition. Baking with lentils – amazing! My 13 month old and I both love them and it’s been a great way to get some protein In her as she refuses most meat, beans, etc!
★★★★★
I made these with blueberries instead of chocolate chips and they are delicious! Can’t taste the lentils.
★★★★★
Can I use pinto or black beans instead of the lentils?
i don’t think so. they both have stronger flavors than lentils
Hi. What kind of oats do you use? I have the 1-minute quick oats. Will that work? Thank you!
i haven’t tried them but i think they’ll be just fine!
Can I use all purpose flour instead of white whole wheat flour? Would I still use 2/3C? Thank you. I can’t wait to try this recipe.
yep. Same quantity and it will work fine
Just made these- yum! I made them as mini muffins and baked them for 15 minutes. Can’t wait to see if they pass the test with my 4 & 2 year old.
★★★★★
My kids love them!
★★★★★
I make these all the time. Works well with red lentils (I might actually prefer the red actually). I also increase the banana to 1 cup and omit the sugar. Great recipe!
★★★★★
The kids and I love them! Super easy to make as well. The lentils do not affect the taste either which I wondered about initially.
★★★★★
Oh em gee Lindsay! I made the lentil banana muffins today and they were SOOOOO good. I used almond meal and swerve as replacements. I can’t wait to make them again.
★★★★★
I have been returning to this recipe regularly and my family loves them. I even replaced the sugar with honey and they still eat them. They’re super yummy with pumpkin purée instead of the banana too.