Banana Oat Muffins That Cost About a Quarter Each
School-safe banana oat muffins that use up the spotty bananas on your counter. One bowl, twelve snacks at about 24 cents each, and ready in 35 minutes.
Ingredients
| large ripe bananas, mashed | 3 |
| all-purpose flour | 190 g |
| quick oats | 90 g |
| large eggs | 2 |
| packed brown sugar | 110 g |
| vegetable oil | 80 mL |
| milk | 60 mL |
| baking soda | 5 g |
| baking powder | 5 g |
| ground cinnamon | 3 g |
| vanilla extract | 5 mL |
| salt | 1.5 g |
Steps
- 1Heat the oven to 190 degrees Celsius and line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper cases or grease it well.
- 2Mash the bananas in a large bowl until mostly smooth. A few lumps are welcome.
- 3Whisk in the wet ingredients, meaning the eggs, brown sugar, oil, milk and vanilla, until combined.
- 4Scatter the raising agents over the wet mixture, adding the baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt, then whisk them through.
- 5Fold in the flour and oats with a spatula and stop the moment you no longer see dry flour. This is the step that decides the texture.
- 6Divide between the twelve holes and scatter a few extra oats over each one.
- 7Bake 18 to 20 minutes, until the tops spring back when pressed and a skewer comes out clean. That skewer test also confirms the egg in the batter is fully cooked, which Health Canada covers in its safe cooking temperature guidance.
- 8Cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then move them to a rack so the bases do not go soggy.
The oats and bananas bring fibre and potassium, and making snacks at home means you control the sugar, which is roughly half of what most store-bought muffins contain. At about a quarter per muffin, they also cost a fraction of packaged lunchbox snacks, so eating a bit better is actually the cheaper option here.
One bowl, one whisk, twelve snacks for the week, at roughly 24 cents each. These banana oat muffins are peanut-free for school; they use the bananas nobody will eat plain anymore, and a frozen one dropped into a lunchbox in the morning has thawed by recess.
What happens if you overmix muffin batter?
You get bread. Flour builds gluten the moment it meets liquid, and every extra stir builds more of it, so overmix muffin batter and a tender crumb turns tough and chewy. Banana batter is particularly unforgiving, because the fruit adds moisture that tempts you to keep working it smooth.
Stop stirring earlier than feels right. A few streaks of flour disappearing as you spoon the batter into the tin is exactly where you want to be. They dome nicely around the 18-minute mark and the kitchen smells like banana bread without the hour of waiting. If your school allows seeds, a handful of pumpkin seeds adds crunch, or chocolate chips if it is that kind of week.
What is the cost per muffin in Canada?
About 24 cents, which puts the cost per muffin at a fraction of any packaged lunchbox snack. Prices are approximate Canadian grocery prices checked in August 2026 and will vary by province and by season.
Making snacks at home also means you set the sugar, which here is roughly half what many packaged muffins carry. Canada's Food Guide makes the same case for cooking at home to bring food costs down, and it is the logic behind our baked oatmeal you can portion across the week and our black bean and sweet potato tacos.
How do you freeze muffins for school lunches?
Cool them completely first, then bag them individually. When you freeze muffins for school lunches, a frozen muffin packed in the morning acts as an ice pack for the rest of the lunch and has thawed by mid-morning break. They keep two months frozen, or three days in a sealed container at room temperature.
Expect them to be slightly damper after thawing than on baking day, which children generally do not notice. Do not refrigerate them, because the fridge dries baked goods faster than the counter does. If a lunchbox is coming home half eaten and energy is crashing mid-afternoon, our explainer on what happens in the body after a meal is worth a read.
Your next step
If you want help building school lunches that keep children full and focused through the afternoon, book with a registered dietitian or nutritionist near you, or set up ongoing care through a family practice in your area. You can also compare providers across your province. For more budget-friendly Canadian recipes, browse the Medimap Health Hub.
This article is general information and is not medical advice. It does not replace an assessment by a qualified health professional or a personalised eating plan from a registered dietitian. For a medical emergency, including a suspected allergic reaction, call 911.