Trail mix banana muffins are a fun and colorful way to add more nuts, fruits, and protein into your diet. With a delicious and moist banana muffin packed with your favorite trail mix blend inside, every bite is sweet, crunchy, salty, and oh so perfect!
If your kids are anything like mine, they pick around the good stuff in trail mix. Okay, so I'm actually guilty of this too haha. But, I've discovered a fun way to make the mix more enjoyable- by adding it into banana bread. Seriously, these kids are practically monkeys with how fast we go through bananas around here, so it makes sense.
Adding trail mix to banana bread is a wonderful way to make trail mix more portable for road trips or hiking. While it already is portable in little snack bags, what I mean is that since all the nuts, fruits, and chocolates are being held together in one muffin, there are going to be far fewer pieces stuck in car seats, couches, and wherever else kids drop their foods.
For more banana muffin recipes, make sure to check out my Banana Orange Muffins and Zucchini Carrot Oatmeal Muffins.
Why This Recipe Works
- They're nutritional. Muffins with dried fruit and nuts are definitely the way to go to pack in the nutrition. With added fiber and protein in every muffin, you can feel good about offering these treats to your kiddos.
- They're easy to make. Banana bread recipes are considered "quick bread" because of how fast they come together and bake. These muffins cook faster than a standard loaf and taste just as good too!
- Simple ingredients. We use coconut oil, ripe bananas, and your favorite trail mix to make a standard traditional recipe anything but "normal."
🥘 Ingredients
Ripe bananas- You will need some ripe bananas that are already yellow and covered in brown spots. The darker the banana, the sweeter and better tasting it will be.
Coconut oil- Use coconut oil for a healthier fat in every muffin. This will add a subtle taste and a lot of great moisture too.
Baking soda- Use baking soda to help the muffins puff up and rise as they bake.
Salt- This is a natural flavor enhancer.
Vanilla- This is another flavor enhancer.
Egg- Use an egg as a binder to hold the ingredients together.
Sugar- You will need some sugar for added sweetness. The sugar will also help the muffins to turn out more tender as well.
All-purpose flour- This is the gluten structure and base of the muffin recipe.
Trail Mix- Use your favorite trail mix for this. I prefer the kind with chocolate candies, but you can use a mix of mostly dried fruits or nuts, and it'll still turn out yummy!
For the exact amounts needed, please see the recipe card below.
🍽 Equipment Needed
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🔪 Instructions
Check out how to make trail mix banana muffins with these simple step-by-step instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a muffin tray with paper liners. Set aside.
Add peeled ripe bananas to a large mixing bowl.
Mash with a fork until no large chunks remain.
Add in coconut oil.
Whisk together until well combined.
Add in the baking soda and salt.
Mix well to combine.
Add in the vanilla, egg, and sugar.
Whisk until smooth.
Add the flour.
Stir until no flour streaks remain. Do not overmix.
Add the trail mix.
Fold together until well distributed.
Scoop the batter out into your muffin tray, filling each muffin cup ⅔s of the way full.
Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick can be inserted and come out clean.
Let the muffins cool for 5 minutes before removing and placing them on a wire rack to cool completely.
🍴 Recipe Tips
You can use almost any blend of muffin mix preferred for this trail mix muffin recipe. If desired you can use trail mixes with dried fruits, without chocolate pieces, with coconut shreds, or use the ones with a blend of chocolate chips mixed in. I've yet to find a trail mix blend that I didn't like in my muffins.
You can switch out the coconut oil for canola oil, vegetable oil, or even melted butter if desired. I personally like the coconut oil for these ones just because it goes great with the "feeling healthy" vibe you get from the trail mix, but these are still more treat-like either way.
💭 FAQs
If properly stored in an airtight container at room temperature, you can expect these muffins to last about 3-5 days like any other banana muffin recipe.
Yes. These muffins can be frozen in an airtight container for up to 3 months. To thaw simply place them on the counter to thaw. This could take anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour depending on what the room temperature is and how many you're trying to thaw at once. These can also be placed in lunch boxes frozen in the morning and be thawed by lunch.
I recommend not overmixing the batter in the muffins as you just want to stir the flour and trail mix into the blend until just combined. If you stir too much once the flour has been added, the glutens develop and could result in a chewier or more gum-like muffin texture which we do not want.
More great muffin recipes to try
- Bakery Style Strawberry Muffins
- Simple Pear Muffins
- Cranberry Eggnog Streusel Muffins
- Peanut Butter and Jelly Muffins
📖 Recipe
Trail Mix Banana Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups Mashed bananas, about 2-3 ripe ($0.75)
- ⅓ cup Coconut oil ($0.85)
- 1 teaspoon Baking soda ($0.01)
- ¼ teaspoon Salt ($0.02)
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract ($0.02)
- 1 large Egg ($0.08)
- ½ cup Granulated sugar ($0.11)
- 1 ½ cups All-purpose flour ($0.12)
- 1 cups Trail mix ($0.52)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line a muffin pan with paper liners. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, mash bananas.
- Stir in coconut oil.
- Mix in the baking soda, and salt.
- Mix in the vanilla, egg, and sugar until smooth.
- Stir in flour until no flour streaks remain.
- Fold in trail mix.
- Scoop into muffin pan filling each one about ⅔rd of the way full.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick can be inserted and come out clean.
- Let cool for 5 minutes in the pan before transferring to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
Notes
Recipe Tips
- You can use almost any blend of muffin mix preferred for this trail mix muffin recipe.
- If desired you can use trail mixes with dried fruits, without chocolate pieces, with coconut shreds, or use the ones with a blend of chocolate chips mixed in. I've yet to find a trail mix blend that I didn't like in my muffins.
- I recommend not overmixing the batter in the muffins as you just want to stir the flour and trail mix into the blend until just combined. If you stir too much once the flour has been added, the glutens develop and could result in a chewier or more gum-like muffin texture which we do not want.
- You can switch out the coconut oil for canola oil, vegetable oil, or even melted butter if desired. I personally like the coconut oil for these ones just because it goes great with the "feeling healthy" vibe you get from the trail mix, but these are still more treat-like either way.
Storage
- If properly stored in an airtight container at room temperature, you can expect these muffins to last about 3-5 days like any other banana muffin recipe.
- These muffins can be frozen in an airtight container for up to 3 months. To thaw simply place them on the counter to thaw. This could take anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour depending on what the room temperature is and how many you're trying to thaw at once. These can also be placed in lunch boxes frozen in the morning and be thawed by lunch.
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