These Whole Wheat Dark Chocolate Banana Bread Muffins are the perfect healthy snack or breakfast. They come together in just a few minutes, PLUS you only have to dirty one large bowl. Total win.

Have I talked to you guys about the weird phenomenon that is my relationship with bananas?

(also, does anyone now have the ma-na-ma-na song in their head after reading ‘phemonemon’? if you didn’t before, you probably do now… i know i do. you’re welcome.)

ANYWAY…

Bananas. I know they’re super duper healthy. I know I should probably eat one a day. I know I know. But I just can’t do it. Not in its purest raw form.

They literally make me gag.

As a kid, I hated them. Taste, texture, all of it. As a teenager and into my early twenties, I realized how healthy they were, and I really wanted to like them. So I tried again. GAG!

Then a couple years later, I’d try again to see if anything had changed. No luck.

The only way I’m able to get bananas past my tastebuds and into my belly is through a smoothie or if they’re baked into pancakes, bread, or muffins like these gems I’m sharing with you today.

The thing with smoothies though is that you have got to be careful. Just one un-blended chunk of banana in my smoothie, and the whole thing is ruined for me. That happened a couple times at Jamba Juice, and I was so mad because I had spent way too much money for a smoothie I didn’t want to drink anymore. It’s like I don’t taste the banana at all until I get a chunk of it stuck in my straw. At that point, that’s all I can taste.

So yeah, smoothies are iffy.

Baked goods, on the other hand. There’s really no going wrong. I’ve been making banana bread, muffins, and cookies for years and you practically have to pry them out of my hands if you want any for yourself. For some reason, the taste doesn’t really bother me when they’re mixed with other amazing ingredients and baked to perfection.

Especially if you’re adding dark chocolate chips like in these muffins.

Oh, and you know, any recipe is better when it only dirties one bowl, right?

Total win in my book – make them a win in yours!

Whole Wheat Dark Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Muffins

Yield: 0

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

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Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons ground flaxseeds
• 1/2 cup water
• 3 medium ripe banana
• 1/4 cup applesauce, , unsweetened
• 2 tablespoons coconut sugar
• 1/2 cup brown rice syrup, (or pure maple syrup)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin tins with paper liners.
2. Combine ground flax and water in a small bowl, mixing completely. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, peel and mash the bananas until some course chunks remain. Add the applesauce and flax mixture, mixing until well combined. Mix in the sugar, brown rice syrup, vanilla, and cinnamon.
4. Stir in the flour, baking soda, and chocolate chips, just until combined.
5. Spoon batter into muffin tins, filling about 1/2-2/3 way full. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Notes

Makes 18-20 regular-sized muffins

If you make this recipe, be sure to snap a picture, upload it to Instagram and tag me (@happyfoodholly) and use the hashtag #inspiredbyholly

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