Banana and Chia Seed Muffins

October 4, 2017 by April Harris 73 Comments

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I love baked goods made with bananas. So when I finally tried chia seeds in my Blueberry Chia Muffins with Lemon and Ginger, I knew that something made with bananas had to be the next step in my foodie love affair with these healthy little seeds. So I turned to an old family recipe for banana muffins and got to work on some Banana and Chia Seed Muffins.

I’ve written before about my love (them when they are ripe) / hate (them when they are over-ripe) relationship with bananas. I’ve bemoaned the window of about two and a half hours my banana fussy family and I generally get for optimal banana enjoyment and how, as a small family, we often end up with quite a few past their best bananas. Having said that, “past their best for eating” bananas are no bad thing because when they reach this point they magically turn into “perfect for baking” bananas.

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My recipe for Banana and Chia Seed Muffins uses vegetable oil instead of butter, something I find really convenient. I adore the flavour of butter in baking but I prefer to soften butter at room temperature and this requires me to think ahead. When using oil I can just decide to make muffins at the last minute and go for it. I always, always, always use mild olive oil for baking muffins. You can’t taste it and it’s better for you than some other vegetable oils. Don’t use Extra Virgin Olive Oil though – it is more suited to salad dressings, dips and drizzling as it has a much more pronounced flavour.

You can’t exactly taste the chia seeds in my Banana and Chia Seed Muffins. Chia seeds have an incredibly mild flavour – in fact I’ve heard it said that they don’t really have a flavour of their own. In my opinion, they have a slightly sweet taste and a very appealing texture. They seem to pick up flavour from the things they are cooked with and therefore enhance everything you put them in. If you haven’t tried chia seeds, you are definitely missing out – and I say this as someone who waited for absolutely ages to try them and then took even longer to start cooking and baking with them!

If you love bananas as much as I do, click here to see all of delicious banana recipes.

Raisins or sultanas add a lovely flavour to my Banana and Chia Seed Muffins. They also make them even more nutritious. Both raisins and chia seeds contain protein, vitamins and minerals and of course, bananas are pretty good for you too. Add to this the fact that this recipe is lower in sugar than many other recipes and you have a pretty healthy muffin on your hands.

Perfect for breakfast, in a packed lunch or for a snack, my Banana and Chia Seed Muffins will keep well covered at room temperature for about 3 days. If it is very hot where you are, you may prefer to keep them in the fridge. Just be sure to bring them back to room temperature or warm slightly before eating.

Ingredients for Banana and Chia Seed Muffins

½ cup mild olive oil
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
1⅔ cups flour
1 generous tablespoon chia seeds
½ cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
3 very ripe bananas, peeled and mashed
¾ cup raisins or sultanas

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C or 160° for a fan oven).
Grease and flour a 12 cup muffin pan or use paper liners.
Beat the oil and the eggs together in a medium bowl or jug.
Beat in the vanilla. Set aside.
In another, larger bowl, mix together the flour, chia seeds, sugar, baking powder and baking soda.
Add the oil and egg mixture to the flour mixture in the larger bowl and stir just until combined.
Stir in the bananas and the raisins.
Divide the batter between the muffin cups (I use an ice cream scoop for this).
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the muffins comes out clean.
Cool on a wire rack. Delicious served warm or at room temperature but don’t eat them straight out of the oven as the raisins will be very hot!