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    home » Recipes » Lunchbox Recipes

    Date and banana muffins, no added sugar!

    Published: Oct 21, 2016. Modified: Nov 19, 2020By:Kylie·This post may contain affiliate links·

    Jump to Recipe Jump to Video
    muffins in a tray and on a wire rack

    Date and banana muffins, no added sugar came about because, after a cooking class, I had excessive dates and um...excessive squidgy bananas. So I baked. That was 2016. They are still a lunchbox favourite around here!

    date and banana muffins in a snack box with cherry tomatoes, cucumbers and blueberries, extra muffins on a wire rack

    Great flavours

    Dates and banana mini muffins, those two ingredients, they are like a match made in mini muffin heaven! If you haven't tried the combo before, trust me, you are missing out. These mini muffins contain no added sugar and are perfect for the lunchbox. They are sweet enough to feel indulgent, despite the lack of added sugar.

    brown spotty bananas being held above date and banana muffins.

    No cake liners

    I used a silicone mini muffin pan for these because I really prefer my muffins to not need cupcake wrappers, especially for the lunchbox as that basically means rubbish that needs to be thrown out. And for the larger ones I used my RACO Aerolift muffin pan because it always works!

    muffins, mini and large on a wire rack with a wooden spoon in front of them

    How to blend

    You need a food processor or a high powered blender to blend the dates. You can try a stick blender too if you have one.

    dates and water after processing in the food processor, some chunks still visible

    Kid approved

    Now the kid test, Miss 10 loved these, they are her favourites at the moment. I've been making these date and banana muffins over and over again for lunchboxes ever since I made this recipe.

    mini muffin being held in a hand above a wire rack of muffins

    Ingredients:

    • 2 bananas brown and ready to throw out!
    • 1 egg
    • ½ cup dates, soaked in ½ cup of hot water
    • 2 cups self raising flour
    • ½ cup coconut oil
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla paste
    ingredients shot: self raising flour, dates, bananas, egg, coconut oil and vanilla paste

    Method:

    1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Combine the dates and hot water.
    2. Pour the dates and the water into a food processor and blitz until the consistency you want. We like some chunks in ours.
    3. Mash the bananas, egg, coconut oil and vanilla paste together in a large bowl.
    4. Add the flour and date mix to the bowl and mix well.
    5. Spoon into mini muffin pans (makes 24) or normal muffin pans (makes 12).
    6. Bake for 15-18 minutes (mini) or 20-25 minutes (normal size.
    photo showing the steps for making the date and banana muffins

    Top tips:

    • make sure you use brown bananas
    • soak the dates until the water turns cloudy and brown, usually about 5-10 minutes
    • if the mix is too dry add a tablespoon of water
    • the recipe makes 12 large muffins or 24 mini
    muffins a bowl

    Freezer friendly

    They are freezer friendly and hold up really well on defrosting, which is so important if they are going to be a lunchbox item, because otherwise what are you going to do with 24 mini muffins?

    date and banana muffins on a yellow wire rack

    Looking for other no added sugar lunchbox treats?

    • strawberry oat bars are my kids favourite
    • these mini blender muffins are awesome
    • apple oat muffin have no added sugar
    • these banana and cinnamon vegan cookies are delicious

    or more ways to use brown bananas?

    muffins in a pan and on a wire rack

    Date and banana muffins, no added sugar!

    Date and banana muffins, no added sugar! Perfect for the lunchbox and ideal for an afternoon snack. Yummy and freezer friendly. Kid favourite!
    4.53 from 21 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: lunchbox
    Cuisine: Modern Australian
    Prep Time: 5 minutes
    Cook Time: 18 minutes
    Total Time: 23 minutes
    Servings: 24 mini muffins
    Calories: 197kcal
    Author: Kylie
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Ingredients

    • ½ cup dates soaked in ½ cup hot water
    • 2 brown bananas mashed
    • 1 egg
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla paste
    • ½ cup coconut oil melted
    • 2 cups self raising flour

    Instructions

    • Preheat oven to 180 degrees.
    • Pop the dates and the water into a food processor and blitz until chopped up well, It takes about 1 minute. Stop when they are a consistency that you like, we don't mind some chunks.
    • In a large bowl, mix the mashed banana, melted coconut oil, vanilla paste and egg together.
    • Add the flour and the dates mixture.
    • Pour into mini muffin trays.
    • Bake at 180 degrees for 15-18 minutes.

    Notes

    Makes 24 mini muffins or 12 normal muffins. Or 12 mini and 6 large.

    Recipe video

    Nutrition

    Serving: 2muffins | Calories: 197kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 16mg | Sodium: 255mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 6g
    Tried this Recipe? Share it Today!Mention @Kidgredients or tag #kidgredients!

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Kristina says

      June 09, 2022 at 11:30 am

      5 stars
      These were so delicious! I had some date paste (left over from a bday party prep) and exactly 2 spotted and past their prime bananas. After a quick search, I stumbled upon this recipe that had few ingredients. I was reluctant, as my batter was very thick and resembled cookie batter. I proceeded with the recipe, as is, and there were fantastic! I’ve only made them an hour ago and they’re half gone! Thanks for this simple and delicious recipe. For us American folks, heat the oven to 350 degrees F.

      Reply
    2. Dan says

      July 15, 2020 at 5:12 pm

      Can you freeze and microwave these?

      Reply
      • Kylie says

        July 19, 2020 at 12:48 pm

        Yes! You can, or leave them to defrost in the fridge overnight.

        Reply
    3. Aya says

      April 05, 2020 at 9:32 pm

      Hi I am very excited and sure they're very yummy

      Reply
    4. Aya says

      April 05, 2020 at 9:01 pm

      Because we didn't make them yet

      Reply
    5. Aya says

      April 05, 2020 at 8:59 pm

      I'm sure there really yammy

      Reply
    6. Janice says

      December 29, 2018 at 10:28 pm

      Just made these muffins for my grandson, great recipe and really delicious muffins.

      Reply
      • Kylie says

        December 31, 2018 at 9:38 am

        Hi Janice,
        I'm so glad you like them!

        Reply
    7. Wendy says

      June 27, 2017 at 12:34 am

      Do you think we can substitute with coconut flour ?

      Reply
      • Kylie says

        June 27, 2017 at 8:55 am

        You'd need to change the liquid rations as well, it will take a little experimenting!

        Reply
        • Lindsay says

          January 12, 2022 at 9:13 pm

          Are these fresh or dried dates?

          Reply
          • Kylie says

            January 22, 2022 at 7:20 pm

            I tend to use medjool dates for everything, but dried will also work in this recipe.

            Reply
    8. gemma says

      December 21, 2016 at 12:14 am

      Is this temp C° or F°? And can you substitute liquid vanilla for the paste?

      Reply
      • Kylie says

        December 21, 2016 at 7:32 am

        This temp is in Celsius and yes, you can sub the vanilla. 🙂

        Reply
    9. Severien says

      October 21, 2016 at 11:12 pm

      I have two lovely brown bananas waiting for this recipe, they look really great! Because half term is starting tomorrow and this looks a very easy recipe to make, I think I should leave it for the kids to make! Tomorrow!

      Reply
      • VICTORIA CRUMPTON says

        March 25, 2019 at 2:23 pm

        I dont have any coconut oil what could i use instead?

        Reply
        • Kylie says

          March 25, 2019 at 2:41 pm

          Hi Victoria,
          Thanks for your question, you could use the same amount of melted butter, or another oil.
          Thanks for stopping by.

          Reply

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