Banana Lentil Muffins {Kid Approved!}

I know what you're thinking...Banana lentil muffins?? Really? Well...yes. These little seeds are super high in protein, fibre and B vitamins to name a few, and they're cheap. Like, really cheap.

Banana Lentil Muffins

This recipe uses lentils to replace the fats usually used in muffins, and seriously, you'd never know they're there. Do I shout about the fact there's lentils in these when the kids are tucking in? No, I do not.

However, since many of us parents know anything in a muffin gets the kids tucking in, adding lentils to these little treats is the perfect way to get some extra nutrition into them without a fuss. And there's never going to be a fuss when you serve up a pile of these.

Try them out, you'll see what I mean :)

Lentil Muffins With No Sugar

We haven't given up all sugars & you can read about that here, but there are only a few sugars I use when I'm cooking and one of those is Maple syrup (this is the one I often use).

I use that in this recipe and paired with ripe, sweet bananas it gives these banana lentil muffins all the sweetness they need.

These are sweet muffins, and the banana with maple syrup gives them an almost caramel flavor, with no trace of lentil flavor at all.

Healthy Lentil Muffins

I use red lentils in this recipe, just because I think they cook and blend into a smoother paste, plus I prefer the color the muffins end up.
Green lentils can have a stronger 'earthy' flavor than red and where red lentils cook and become really soft, green lentils are far better at keeping their shape, which I don't really want for this recipe.

You can use green lentils instead of the red, you just end up with a darker colored, earthier, cooked muffin. I'd recommend staying red if you're trying to be a little sneaky with the kids. Plus the red lentils give your muffins a standard 'store bought' look.

And if your kids are anything like mine, anything out of the ordinary usually equals bad...so I stick with red.

How To Store Your Muffins

I cook these in mini muffin trays, like this one. I use a silicone tray as I don't use muffin paper for these, the muffins are teeny-tiny and paper would be a faff, and a silicone baking pan means they pop out in a second, easily.

Once these are cooked, let them cool down completely, and if they're not all gone the same day, put them in an airtight container like this one. They don't need to go in the fridge, and they're good for ⅔ days.

I like to store these in a biscuit type looking barrel. Why? Well when the kids were very little they really liked the concept of being able to 'help themselves' and they knew when we got in they could grab a snack.

These muffins are biscuit sized and perfect for little hands, and so somehow I think a biscuit barrel made them feel more of a treat. If you've got kids, you take your wins where you can!

Muffin Variations

Living on the edge as I do, I occasionally add other ingredients to these banana lentil muffins. Usually this means I chop up some dates really small and add them, or I have been known to add a few choc chips to each muffin once they're in the baking pan.

This recipe is fairly adaptable, and so feel free to add something I've not tried before. Just don't add anything to wet, so adding raspberries for example, would cause the mixture to become to soggy, while raisins or sultanas would be fine. Pick something with a very low water content, and the muffins will stay firm.

Banana Lentil Muffins Recipe

This recipe is easy and quick, and using the mini muffin tray means they cook in record time. This recipe makes 24 mini muffins. Simply halve the recipe for a smaller batch.
Ingredients

• ½ cup Red lentils
• 2 Very ripe bananas
• 2 eggs (medium)
• 4 tablespoon Maple syrup
• ¾ cup Wholemeal flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 6 tablespoon water for lentil paste

Process

• Preheat the oven to 180 Celsius / 350F
• Boil enough water to cover your lentils, and once the water's boiling, add the lentils
• Cook lentils until they're fully cooked and soft. They'll look like this when they're ready:

• When you're lentils are done, use a blender to create a paste. Drain the lentils and add the water, one tablespoon at a time to the blender and whizz the mixture until completely smooth. Your paste should not be runny, so adding the water slowly controls the paste consistency
• Add the bananas, eggs and maple syrup to the blender and combine together. Then transfer the mixture to a mixing bowl
• Add your flour and baking soda to the mixture and fold together. Make sure everything is well combined but don't over mix it
• Using a teaspoon, fill your muffin tray moulds ¾ full
• Bake for 8 minutes, watching them so they don't burn. Take them out when they're golden and press gently on the top. The muffin should be soft and spring back when you apply a little pressure

More muffin recipes for kids

Kid love muffins! Here are some more muffin recipes that passed the kid taste test:

• Clean eating ginger muffins
• Chocolate banana oatmeal muffins
• Savoury vegetable muffins
• Pumpkin spice muffins

Banana Lentil Muffin Recipe To Print & Keep

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