Remember that time I ate fourteen protein muffins in one day? Probably not because it just happened yesterday as I made these pumpkin banana bread muffins. Half of my indulgence was related to general testing and the recipe development process, while the other half was pure indulgence as these muffins are to die for.
No muffin with over 10 grams of protein should be so moist and tender. And with chopped walnuts candied with brown sugar and butter on top, these protein muffins are seriously bananas.
Ingredients for the Protein Muffins
While the ingredient list for these protein muffins might be a bit longer than my usual recipe, don’t mistake that for it being a difficult recipe. You can throw everything in a food processor and be in the oven in about five minutes if you’re quick.
There aren’t many ingredients you’ll want to modify, but I’ll mention I used PEScience Whey and Casein Protein Powder for the original muffins. Though I’ve since updated the recipe card’s notes to include a modified recipe for my Bowmar Nutrition protein users.
I’d give it my A+ rating, even though that’s not a real thing.
I’d also like to say I’ve finally converted to these silicone baking cups after my cupcakes and muffins stuck to one too many paper liners. They’re easily the best $6 purchase I’ve made in the past few months.
How to Ripen a Banana in 30-60 Seconds (Kinda)
I told my Instacart delivery person to grab the ripest bananas they could find but they must’ve read that wrong (or I haven’t been tipping enough) because I got neon green bananas. Alas, the show must go on. A few stabs of a fork, a minute in the microwave, a few minutes in the refrigerator, and I had semi ripe bananas.
This is obviously an extreme example and I wouldn’t recommend using bananas fresh off the vine (er tree? flower?) for your protein muffins. There’s no replacement, especially in terms of flavor, for an overripe banana. But if you have pretty ripe bananas and want to take it to the edge, try 30 seconds in the microwave.
And if you have overly ripe bananas you need to use in a hurry, check out my peanut butter protein banana bread recipe. You’ll probably want to make two batches of it to use for protein banana bread French toast while you’re at it.
What You’ll Need for the Candied Walnut Streusel
I went back and forth on adding anything to these protein muffins but eventually decided they’d be much prettier with a streusel or topping of some kind. Gotta do it for the ‘gram, ya know?
For the streusel, I used a few usual suspects like light butter, quick oats, and chopped walnuts. The new kid on the block is Swerve Brown Sugar which I’ve used in all kinds of recipes like my Chicken Breakfast Sausage, Snickerdoodle Muffins, Nashville Hot Chicken Burgers, Korean Ground Beef, and more.
If you’re familiar with my sweets recipes, you’re aware of my affinity for Swerve Confectioners Sugar. I’d like to report that their brown sugar substitute is a certified game changer as well.
Similar to my points on protein powder above, however, I’m not affiliated with Swerve and don’t have to sell you on it. (Though they did send me the brown sugar for free. Thx guys!) If you wanted to use something else, I think reducing the butter and using a bit of sugar free syrup (or maple syrup like my sausage breakfast muffins) with the quick oats and walnuts would work great.
Sugar Free Glaze
As for the sugar free glaze, I used more or less the same glaze from my air fryer apple fritter recipe. It’s a bit challenging to replicate this glaze without powdered sugar of some kind. So if you didn’t want to use Swerve Confectioners, you might just go with 1-2 tablespoons of real powdered sugar.
Or leave the glaze off entirely. They’re scrumptious without it.
That’s all the ingredient notes I have for you. I hope you enjoy your pumpkin banana bread protein muffins! If you do, take a snapshot and tag me on Instagram to receive 10,000 brownie points in my book.
Pumpkin Banana Bread Protein Muffins
Ingredients
Protein Muffins
- 1 C 112g Graham Cracker Crumbs
- 4 scoops, 124g PEScience Protein Powder, vanilla
- 15 oz can Pumpkin
- 3 300g Overripe Bananas
- 2 large Eggs
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 1 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice
Candied Walnut Streusel
- 2 Tbsp 28g Light Butter, I used Land O’Lakes
- 2 Tbsp 24g Swerve Brown Sugar
- 2 Tbsp 10g Quick Oats
- 1/2 oz 14g Chopped Walnuts
Optional Glaze
- 1/2 Tbsp Water
- 2 Tbsp 18g Swerve Confectioners, or powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F and spray a 12-muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray or place 12 silicone baking cups on a baking sheet.
- Add all the protein muffins ingredients to a food processor or blender. (You can also mash the bananas with a fork or masher and mix everything by hand. The food processor is just faster in my opinion.)
- Use a large spoon to transfer the muffin batter to the muffin tin or molds. Each one should be nearly full.
- Mix the streusel ingredients in a small bowl until uniform. (Image before mixing.)
- Spoon the streusel mixture over the top of the protein muffins.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Notes
- Each muffin has 3 Smart Points.
- For whey-only protein powder, use 5 scoops (140g) protein powder and only 2 bananas (200g).The bake time is closer to 30 minutes for this version. Macros per muffin for this version: 145 calories, 11g protein, 17g carbs, and 4g fat
- The recipe as-is makes super moist muffins. If you’d like more structure, use two bananas instead of three.
- Macros per muffin without streusel: 122 calories, 10.2 grams of protein, 16.1 grams of carbs, and 2.3 grams of fat
Looks amazing! Do you know anything that could be used as an alternative to Graham Crackers?
I believe any sweet cracker or crisp should do the trick. I’ve also had a few readers mention using crushed cereal which I think is genius. I’ve used crushed cereal for things like my Kit Kat protein pancakes (https://masonfit.com/kit-kat-protein-pancakes/) and Cap’n Crunch protein donuts (https://masonfit.com/crunch-berries-protein-donuts/). Hope that helps!
Oh my goodness! These are perfect for brunch! We made them to have family over for an event and they were perfect to go with eggs, orange juice and everything! Even made some without the topping and they were still amazing!
I made these without either of toppings and they were super tasty! I just put a little bit of honey butter on top. Yum!
I tried making this with a different brand of protein and they came out too dense. I will for sure try it again now that I have PE Science vanilla!
These are soo freaking good I made some for me and my sister and we both loved them! I used the Snicker doodle pes protein powder because that’s all I had on hand and I think it came out awesome. Next time i’ll for sure pick up some vanilla so I can try it the way it’s supposed to be made.
I also didn’t have silicone muffin cubs so I just gave my tin a little non stick spray and they came out perfect.
I’ve made these the last three weeks in a row to add to my meal prep lunches. They are so delicious, even without the glaze. Used the microwave banana trick the first time I made them and it worked like a charm!
This was truthfully one of the most delicious healthy recipes I’ve ever made. I started making this recipe into a bread instead of muffins and it was amazing. Well done!
These muffins were so moist I could not believe there was protein in them! I loved that there was no added sugar and they were so delicious and sweet from the bananas. I made these last night and am planning to make another batch after work since I already ate 5 muffins since I made them!
I love theses. Was even able to make in little square pans. Worked fine not mixing in a blender/food processor as well
I made these without either of toppings and they were super tasty! I just put a little bit of honey butter on top. Yum!
I tried making this with a different brand of protein and they came out too dense. I will for sure try it again now that I have PE Science vanilla!