Banana Quinoa Chia Muffins

These Banana Chia Muffins can be a healthy replacement for your favorite coffee shop treat. These good for you muffins have both quinoa and chia seeds for a superfood packed muffin that still tastes incredible.

Sometimes Mondays are just the worst, especially Mondays when you go to bed mentally going through your mile-long to-do list that seems to be growing by the minute. This past Monday was that kind of Monday for me. Ugh.

Although I can’t say that these delicious, quinoa and chia packed muffins will magically make the to-do list disappear, they will at least provide 15 minutes of happiness along with a huge cup of coffee. One small win to make a weekday morning a little more bearable. 

Now let’s talk muffins. These muffins have a healthy base of cooked quinoa, whole wheat flour, bananas, and chia seeds. To that, we add some simple ingredients – an egg, almond milk, some brown sugar for sweetness (can be omitted), and baking powder. After some time in the oven, the end result is a dense, rich, filling muffin packed with healthy ingredients. They are muffins you can feel good about eating and feeding to your family because let's be real, store-bought and bakery muffins are basically cake. 

Healthy Banana Muffins Vs. Bakery Muffins

* Source is Harvard School of Public Health

Can I Freeze Banana Muffins?

To freeze any kind of muffin, first, cool them to room temperature. Once they are cooled, place in the freezer for 1-2 hours so they can begin to freeze. Once they are partially frozen, you can place them in freezer safe bag or container.

Frozen muffins can be kept in the freezer for 2-3 months. To reheat the frozen muffins, you can pop them in a preheated oven or toaster oven for 3-5 minutes. You can also microwave them but they won't come out quite as good. 

How Do I Make These Muffins...

• Vegan: If you want to make a vegan version of this muffin, you can replace the egg with a chia egg, flax egg, or a store-bought egg replacer.
• Gluten Free: Instead of the whole wheat flour, you can use oat flour. Make it at home by pulsing rolled oats in a blender or food processor until they form a fine flour.  You can also use a combination of regular flour and oat flour to keep the muffins lighter. using all oat flour also makes these muffins gluten free.
• With flaxseeds: Replace one tablespoon of chia seeds with flax seeds.
• Things to Mix In: These muffins are a great base recipe to create all kinds of fun muffin flavors. Add blueberries, raspberries, chocolate chips, walnut, or shredded coconut.

Looking for extra protein?

If you need to add some protein to your meal, there are lots of options. The easiest one is to top the muffin with some nut butter. I love using crunchy almond butter or peanut butter to add some texture. Another option is to make some hard-boiled eggs to go on the side. This provides lots of healthy protein.

If you want to add protein to the muffin itself, you could try adding some protein powder. I haven't tried this yet so I can't speak to how it would work. Lastly, you could serve it with a big bowl of Greek yogurt and fruit.

How to cook quinoa for muffins?

For the best results, you will want to cook the quinoa the day before so it has time to cool and dry out slightly. To cook quinoa, use a recipe of 1:2 for quinoa to liquid, for example, 1 cup quinoa needs 2 cups of water to cook. Add the quinoa and water to a pot and bring to a boil. Immediately turn down the heat to a simmer and cover for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, turn off the heat but do not uncover. Let sit for 5 minutes and fluff with fork.

Looking for more banana breakfast recipes

• Banana Flax Pancakes
• Strawberry Banana Baked Oatmeal
• Banana Chocolate Coconut Oatmeal Muffins
• Protein Packed Banana Pancakes

This recipe has been updated with new photos, a video, and helpful recipe tips.