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:
- Healthy Banana Bread and Healthy Banana Muffins
- Whole Wheat Banana Pancakes and Banana Oat Pancakes
- Favorite Banana Cake
- Vegan Banana Nut Scones
- Banana Almond Smoothie
Banana Coconut Muffins
- Author:
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 12 muffins 1x
- Category: Baked goods
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
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.
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
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.
Vegetable enthusiast. Dog lover. I'm probably making a big mess in my Kansas City kitchen right now. 
Dalya
Hi! I want to use up a can of coconut cream. Can you imagine a way to incorporate it into this recipe? (Apart from a frosting, I might add).
Kate
Hi Dalya! I wish I could, but that would be a completely different recipe. Sorry!
Nicole
These were really yummy! I followed the recipe exactly with the exception of lemon zest as I didn’t have a lemon kicking around. They took a lot of coconut oil which is expensive so if I make them again I think I’ll do half coconut half something else, maybe even try applesauce. I did exactly 17 minutes and they were a bit too dark on the sides/bottoms, but maybe that’s just my oven and muffin tins. All around, healthful but tasty. Thanks for the recipe.
★★★★
Sandra
Hi Kate! I was wondering if you could replace the turbinado sugar to stevia? I’m curious about this recipe but I don’t have that sugar in my shelf!
Thank you!
Kate
Hi! The topping of sugar is optional. I don’t think stevia will get you the same result.
Madison
So sad. Made them with my son and they were horribly dry. Waste of expensive ingredients
★
Beret Guidera
Love these! Made them GF by substituting 1 cup Bobs 1-1 Baking flour and 1/4 cup almond flour. Kept everything else the same, except sprinkled the top with organic coconut palm sugar, because I had it. The first non-chalky tasting gf muffin I have eaten in 2 years! I wonder if it’s the banana? They are light and fluffy and sweet!
★★★★★
Kate
Delighted to hear it! Thank you, Beret.
Saira Jamil
Hi , can I make these muffins with regular white flour only ?
Kate
Hi Saira, that should work ok.
Saira Jamil
Will the cooking time -+temperatures stay the same ?
Kate
Yes, both will stay constant!
Lee
They tasted great but didn’t rise much. I used 1c whole wheat flour and 1/4c white. Everything else was followed from the recipe.
★★★★
Nathalie
Divine! I swapped the 1/2 cup whole wheat for oat flour, the flavors were awesome! They were like little sponge cakes, LOVE THEM! Will explore your other recipes. Thank you!
★★★★★
Sarah D
Really delicious and aromatic! Mine just came out of the oven. I needed something to do with the 3 black bananas on my counter. This was perfect. They aren’t as big and fluffy as your pumpkin muffins, but they are light, sweet, and perfect for springtime.
★★★★★
Kate
Great to hear this one was a winner for you, Sarah. Thanks for sharing!