Banana oat muffins, a one bowl wonder!

Sure, you can make muffins that involve 6000 bowls and a mixer, but the best way to make them is like these banana oat muffins, a one bowl wonder!

These contain no extra added sugar and are incredibly yummy! Whether they are a breakfast on the go, or a lunchbox addition, they are perfect for keeping the kids happy.

One bowl

Although I'm a good cook, I'm not a good kitchen hand. I would rather cook a million dishes than wash up one. So, this blog is the perfect place to come for recipes that need less cleanup! I like to do as many things as possible in one bowl, or one appliance (like this whole apple cake that uses the food processor!) to minimise cleanup.

Delicious with no extra added sugar

Really, you choose when you eat these, they are perfect for breakfast, but also great at lunch, or perfect as an afternoon tea. Having no extra added sugar, there really is no time of day that these aren't perfect for.

Ingredients you have

There is nothing unusual in these, just ingredients you probably already have at home!

Buttermilk- if you don't have it- add either 1tbsp lemon juice or 1 tbsp white vinegar to one cup of milk. Leave it to sit for 5 minutes and the acid will help turn the milk into a buttermilk like substance!

More filling than your average muffin

These muffins are designed to be more filling, hence the cream cheese. If they are being eaten for breakfasts- especially by our little people, then they need to have a bit more oomph to them to keep them going.

Using cream cheese though means they could end up a lot denser than your average muffins, so that is where the buttermilk comes in as it helps to give more lift and a lighter texture.

More banana options

• Avocado banana muffins
• Banana smoothie cupcakes, no added sugar!
• Low sugar banana and strawberry bread

Awesome in the lunchbox too

So, you're probably windering why I think these are so great for breakfast, but there is hardly any mention of lunchboxes. These are also great in lunchboxes. Here's why:

• packed with protein
• taste just like banana bread
• freezer friendly

Tips for making perfect banana oat muffins

• DON'T OVERMIX! I know it's tempting, but stodgy dense muffins are what happens when you overmix.
• Bake in a non stick pan- these ones from RACO Aerolift are perfect for it
• Make sure you put banana slices on top! They caramelise and come out super delicious in the oven.

Ingredients

• oats
• self raising flour
• buttermilk (see tip above if you don't have any!)
• cream cheese
• nutmeg
• egg
• vanilla paste
• bananas (3 for the muffins and one for on top)
• extra oats

Method

• Preheat oven to 180° degrees celsius (355F) ½ an hour of preheating will be perfect.
• Prep your muffin tin, either non stick or using cake liners
• Mash the bananas, using a fork!
• Combine the wet ingredients and mix well you want to mix this bit well to make sure there are not any lumps of cream cheese left.
• Add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. DON'T OVERMIX. This is like muffins!
• Evenly divide between muffin holes. I use an icecream scoop.
• Chop banana into 12 slices. As thin as they need to be to get 12 slices!
• Top each muffin with a slice of banana and a sprinkling of the extra oats. The banana will caramelise on top.
• Bake at 180 degrees celsius (355F) for 20 minutes or until golden and a skewer comes out clean. Just don't stick the skewer through the banana slice!

Freezing and storage

• you can store these muffins in the fridge for 5 days in an airtight container
• you can freeze these muffins until solid on a tray and then transfer to an airtight container where you can store them up to 3 months
• defrost in the fridge overnight or in the lunchbox from frozen