Banana Coconut Muffins

Coconut lovers, this double-coconut banana muffin recipe is for you! I’m confident you’ll fall in love with the sweet, bright flavors and contrasting textures in these little treats.

These muffins taste familiar and comforting, given their fluffy, banana-infused insides. They’re also fun and tropical, thanks to the shredded coconut you’ll find on the inside and on the muffin tops. A little lemon zest brings all the flavors together.

Like my healthy banana muffins, these muffins are also made with whole wheat flour and naturally sweetened (this time, with honey).

These muffins are based on a different recipe, though, and yield smaller muffins that are perfect for satisfying your afternoon sweet tooth. You could also serve them for a grab-and-go breakfast this Memorial Day weekend.

Curious about how this recipe came to be? I can’t remember how I originally found Deb’s Double Coconut Muffins, but I was completely taken by her coconut-topped beauties.

In the original recipe, Deb gives a long list of suggested substitutions, including swapping mashed banana for the yogurt. I was out of my staple Greek yogurt so I reached into my freezer for the bag of ripe, frozen banana chunks to defrost.

This was a serendipitous substitution because the banana adds the sweetness that unsweetened coconut flakes lack. In my second batch, I traded 1/4 cup honey for the 1/3 cup sugar, and found that the dry coconut soaks up the extra moisture in the honey.

I’m three batches deep in this recipe and I can say with certainty that these muffins are best with banana, sweetened with honey and topped with a heavy sprinkle of coconut and some glittering raw sugar.

With my substitutions, if you try yogurt instead of mashed banana, your muffins won’t be sweet enough to delight.

Please let me know how your muffins turn out in the comments! I hope they’re a big hit.

Craving more banana goodness? Here are a few more of my favorite banana recipes:

Banana Coconut Muffins

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Author: Cookie and Kate
Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook Time: 20 mins
Total Time: 35 minutes
Yield: 12 muffins 1x
Category: Baked goods
Method: Baked
Cuisine: American

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4.8 from 81 reviews

These naturally sweetened banana coconut muffins are a real treat. I bet you can’t tell they’re made with 100% whole wheat flour! Recipe yields 1 dozen muffins.

Scale

Ingredients

¾ cup whole wheat pastry flour or white/regular whole wheat flour
½ cup white whole wheat flour or regular whole wheat flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
½ teaspoon lemon zest (the zest from about about ½ medium lemon)
1 cup mashed ripe banana (from about 3 bananas)
½ cup virgin coconut oil, melted
¼ cup honey
1 large egg, preferably at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ cup unsweetened shredded coconut, divided
1 tablespoon turbinado (raw) sugar

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Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. If necessary, grease all 12 cups of your muffin tin with butter or muffin liners (my pan is non-stick and didn’t require any grease).
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, salt and lemon zest. Stir in ½ cup of the shredded coconut.
In a separate, medium bowl, whisk together the mashed banana, coconut oil, honey, egg and vanilla.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Divide the batter evenly between the muffin cups (a scant ¼ cup batter each), then sprinkle the muffin tops with the remaining ¼ cup shredded coconut. Sprinkle the tops with the raw sugar.
Bake for about 17 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer muffins to a cooling rack and let them cool.

Notes

Recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen’s Double Coconut Muffins.

Make it vegan: All you’ll need to do is replace the egg with a flax egg. I haven’t tried this substitution myself, but it should work.

Make it gluten free: Based on similar recipes, Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free all-purpose blend should work well.

Freeze it: The muffins freeze well!
Serving suggestions: I like these muffins served warm for breakfast with a side of Greek yogurt, or with a little dollop of tart lemon curd for a sweet afternoon snack.

▸ Nutrition Information

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