Indulge in a guilt-free treat with these healthy peanut butter muffins that are the perfect breakfast muffins for kids and adults! Both delicious and easy to make. This recipe is protein-packed and perfect for those who want to enjoy a sweet snack without bananas and is customizable with the option to add chocolate chips. If you are on the hunt for easy brunch ideas, these make an excellent addition. They are also the perfect quick breakfast or after-school snack that the entire family will love. Test
If you have picky kids, who love peanut butter, then this muffin recipe is going to be golden! It’s the perfect breakfast muffin for kids! It might surprise you that it is an old-fashioned recipe that actually originated as a baked donut.
But baking donuts took longer and required a lot more standing time. So I converted the donut recipe into a simple peanut butter muffin recipe. Same great flavor, and is still a healthy protein-packed breakfast or brunch dish. And kids still think it is a special treat. Only now it is easier for Mom to bake and get out the door.
Now if Chocolate is more your style, check out our Mini Chocolate Donuts!
❤️ Why it works
- Quick to prepare. These muffins don’t require a lot of prep work and are quick and easy to prepare.
- Common Ingredients. You most likely already have all the ingredients needed in your pantry, as we use common pantry staples in this peanut butter muffin recipe. So it’s something you can make without a lot of planning ahead.
- Completely Oil Free. I found several recipes that require you to add extra oil. But honestly, we found that you really don’t need extra oil to make these muffins have a great texture and flavor.
- Make ahead of time. You can make a large batch on the weekend and the muffins will be ready to go each school morning.
- Dairy-Free Option. We’ve tested it out and it is easy to alter these muffins to be dairy free.
- Full of Peanut Butter Flavor. These moist and fluffy peanut butter muffins are made without bananas, so the peanut butter flavor is the star of the show.
- Low Sugar. While I was comparing how this recipe compared with others on the web, I discovered that most of them required a lot more sugar in the recipe. But honestly, it’s not needed. These are plenty sweet without a lot of extra sugar.
- Healthy. I understand that healthy is a very subjective term. But with that being said, I do consider these peanut butter muffins to be healthier than the average muffin because of the amount of protein in the recipe, being low in sugar, and being baked without oil.
🍽️ Pairs With
Ever wondered what to pair with fresh muffins on a morning? We have some great recipes that go great with these Peanut Butter Muffins.
🥘 Ingredient Notes
The great thing about this recipe is that it uses simple ingredients you already have around your home. But if you want to elevate the flavor, you can elevate some of the ingredients.
* Peanut Butter: You can use any peanut butter you normally have on hand. Creamy or crunchy, both work great. We prefer using Natural peanut butter as it reduces the amount of sugar and additives. But honestly, any kind of peanut butter works well. I grew up with my mom making this recipe with Jiff and Skippy. We more recently have used Adams Natural peanut butter, Kroger natural peanut butter, and Best Foods natural peanut butter. They have all turned out excellent.
*Baking Powder – make sure your baking powder is fresh and active. To test your baking powder, pour 1/4 cup boiling water over 1/2 tsp baking powder. If it bubbles, it’s still good. If not, it’s no good.
*Sugar – Regular white table sugar works great.
*Milk: Any kind of milk works well in this recipe. We have baked the peanut butter muffins using Fat-Free, 1%, 2%, Lactaid Milk, and even Almond and Coconut Milk. All turned out well.
*Vanilla: For the best flavor you will want to use real vanilla extract and not imitation vanilla.
*Flour: All Purpose flour is fine for this recipe. Although for the best texture, you will want to “fluff” the flour by sifting it. You can use a simple hand sifter or shake the flour through a fine mess strainer like you see the bakers do on The Great British Baking Show.
*Salt – any type of salt works. Currently, we use sea salt and it tastes great and it doesn’t affect the texture at all.
*Egg – a regular large egg at room temperature.
🔪Variations
There are a few different ways you can enjoy these peanut butter muffins in more than muffin shape!
Cooking Method Variations
Waffles! Use your Waffle Maker and cook them up with all the fun ridges and valleys.
Use a sandwich maker! if you have one of those sandwich makers that fold over like a waffle iron…yep you got it! You can cook these up in those fun triangle squares!
Make them into donuts! You can find a baking donut maker machine online. It works just like a waffle iron. Once heated, you fill each donut hole slightly, and cook for about 5 minutes or until they release without sticking.
Muffin liner vs cooking spray. Which method should you use? It depends on the texture you prefer on the outside of your muffin. If you prefer more of a cake and open pore texture on the outside, then use a muffin liner. If you prefer your muffin to have a slightly firm texture with a hint of crispiness on the outside to make it less crumbly and more old-fashioned, then use cooking spray.
Ingredient Variations
Add Chocolate Chips! What is better than peanut butter and chocolate? You can easily add in about 1/2 cup milk chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate chips to the batter before baking for an extra sweet treat.
Dairy Free! We spent a few years as a dairy-free family because of an allergy my son had as a baby. We found that you can change out the Milk for Lactaid, Almond milk, Coconut milk, and even Rice milk. We would not recommend using Soy milk as it does alter the flavor more than is enjoyable.
⏲️ Instructions
Begin by combining all the wet ingredients together and mixing until smooth.
Sift all the dry ingredients together.
Gently combine the wet and dry ingredients, stirring until they’re just mixed. Over-mixing will result in dense muffins.
If you are using the original version, the batter will be thicker.
If you are going for the fluffier cake-like texture, and adding the extra 1/4 cup of milk to the recipe then the batter will be runnier.
Spray the muffin tin with a non-stick spray, or line the tin with muffin liners.
Spoon the batter into each cup. Muffin cups should be 2/3 to 3/4 full of batter. In the image below, the muffins in the first row of the tin are using the original batter, and in the next row are the muffins using the fluffier runnier batter.
Bake the peanut butter muffins at 350 Degrees for 25 minutes. Check them with a toothpick to ensure they are fully cooked. If the toothpick comes out clean then remove the muffins from the oven. If it comes out wet, then continue to cook them for another 5-10 minutes until the toothpick comes out clean.
Remove the muffins from the oven to a rack to cool. Allow muffins to sit in the pan for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire cooling rack.
Once cool to the touch, you can sprinkle the muffins with a light dusting of powdered sugar before serving them for a nice decorative touch.
🗓️ Storage
If they are properly stored, fully cooled muffins will keep fresh for 3-4 days at room temperature. Or you can store them in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.
To store muffins, they can be placed into an airtight plastic bag or an airtight container. To prevent condensation on the muffin tops, make sure they are fully cooled before storing.
The cooled muffins can also be frozen in an airtight container for up to 3 months. If you’re freezing muffins in layers in a deep container, add a layer of parchment paper between the layers to prevent them from sticking to each other.
💭 Tips & FAQs
YES! Chunky Peanut Butter works great. It will allow for a fun chunky texture to the Muffin
Either work. It will depend on the texture you prefer on the outside of your muffin. If you prefer more of a cake and open pore texture on the outside, then use a muffin liner. If you prefer your muffin to have a slightly firm texture with a hint of crispiness on the outside to make it less crumbly and more old-fashioned, then use cooking spray.
The trick to getting muffins light and fluffy is usually up to three tricks. One, make sure your baking powder is fresh. The second is to use room-temperature ingredients (including egg and milk). And third, don’t overmix the batter. You should mix just until all the dry ingredients are wet. Over-mixing will create a dense batter resulting in dense muffins.
👩🏻🍳 Cooking with Kids
If you know about Busy Creating Memories, you know we are passionate about making memories with our kids. Having them involved in the kitchen is one of the best ways to create cherished memories. So we always like to include ideas on how you can include the kids in our recipes.
This recipe is simple enough that kids can be involved in several areas. Another reason why it is one of the best breakfast muffins for kids! Not only do they get to enjoy eating them, but they can help bake them!
Here are several ways that kids ages 2+ can be involved in making these peanut butter Muffins!
- Gather the ingredients
- Press the buttons to preheat the oven (under parental supervision of course)
- Measure out the ingredients
- Sift the dry ingredients
- Pour ingredients into the bowl
- Begin mixing by hand (parent may need to follow up to ensure all ingredients are well combined)
- Line the muffin tray or spray the muffin tray with cooking spray
- Scoop the batter into the muffin tins
- Remove the muffins from the muffin tin after they have cooled.
Older kids from about 10 and up can put the muffin tins into the oven and remove them from the oven with adult supervision.
*DISCLAIMER: Every kid is different. Only you as the parent know fully exactly what your individual child is capable of. These are suggestions, but you will need to make the ultimate decision if your child is ready and capable of doing each task safely. And remember the younger the child, the more direct supervision they will require.
📝 Similar Recipes
Do you like cinnamon? Try our Spice Crumble Cinnamon Muffins.
The perfect blend of cinnamon and spices for a moist muffin (because who likes a dry muffin?) with a sweet streusel on top!
Or do you prefer fruit? Give our Currant Muffins Recipe a try!
While traditionally our favorite is red currants, you can substitute all kinds of frozen berries in its place (pssst even chocolate chips..but shhh don’t let the kids know!) and it turns out amazing! Moist on the inside with the perfect amount of crispiness on the outside! The perfect universal muffin recipe.
Or maybe you are looking for something a little less crumbly and easier to eat on the go. Try these wholesome fruit-filled breakfast cereal bars recipes!
Perfect for mornings when you are running late. Or for an easy after-school snack or for a quick snack before the big game.
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Peanut Butter Muffins Recipe
These Easy Peanut Butter Muffins are delicious, moist, and a quick breakfast or after-school snack the entire family will love. Add chocolate chips if you’d like! They are packed full of flavor with natural peanut butter and simple pantry staples you already have on hand.
Ingredients
- 1/3 Cup Natural Peanut Butter
- 3/4 Teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1/2 Cup Sugar
- 1/2-3/4 Cup Milk
- 1/2 tsp Vanilla
- 3/4 Cup all-purpose Flour
- 1/4 Teaspoon Salt
- 1 egg
- Powdered Sugar (to sprinkle on top - optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 Degrees
- Measure out wet ingredients into a bowl.
- Mix wet ingredients together until smooth.
- Sift dry ingredients together.
- Gently combine wet and dry ingredients together until dry ingredients are wet. Do not over-mix.
- Spray the muffin tin with non-stick spray or fill it with muffin tin liners
- Fill each muffin tin 2/3 up to 3/4 full
- Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until golden. When you insert a toothpick, if it comes out clean, it is done.
- Remove from oven to cooling rack
- Allow muffins to rest for 5 minutes before removing them from the muffin tin to cool on a cooling rack.
- Sprinkle lightly with powdered sugar and serve
Notes
- If you want a fluffier muffin that has more of a cupcake texture, use 3/4 cup of milk. If you prefer more of a muffin texture, use 1/2 cup of milk.
- This Peanut Butter Muffin recipe makes about 6-8 muffins depending on the size of your muffin tin. I always triple this recipe to make enough for our family of 6.
- It is easy to double or triple the recipe. Doing it all in a single batch doesn't harm this recipe.
- A favorite variation is adding Chocolate chips. You can add 1/2 cup of chocolate chips to the batter right before baking.
- We usually use creamy peanut butter because we have a kid that doesn't like chunky. But for a little more nutty fun, you can also use chunky peanut butter for more texture.
- For fluffy muffins, make sure the ingredients are at room temperature and do not over-mix the batter.
- Once fully cooled, Muffins can be stored in an air-tight container at room temperature for 3-4 days, or up to 7 days in the refrigerator.
- Fully cooled muffins and properly stored muffins can be frozen for up to 3 months.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
1 muffinAmount Per Serving: Calories: 237Total Fat: 7gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 25mgSodium: 171mgCarbohydrates: 40gFiber: 1gSugar: 29gProtein: 5g
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although Busy Creating Memories attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.
Nikki
Wednesday 8th of March 2023
These were so good…thank you!
Gina
Tuesday 19th of May 2020
yay I made them twice the second time I added extra peanut butter & peanut butter chips!! excellent
Tomoko
Saturday 11th of August 2018
Thank you for sharing this great recipe! Because I couldn’t find a good peanut butter recipe written in Japanese, I finally googled it in English and reached your recipe:) My family and I love this muffins!! I’ll bake it repeatedly.
Amber
Monday 27th of August 2018
I'm so glad they like it! It is a favorite in our home too.
Muffin
Wednesday 28th of March 2018
How long do these last and how do you store them?
Amber
Wednesday 18th of April 2018
It's hard to tell, because I can never get my family to leave leftovers for more than 1 day. But if I can remember correctly from when I made them when the kids weren't around, I believe they stayed good for about 4-5 days. We usually store them in an airtight Tupperware type container or a ziplock bag.
Minda
Wednesday 3rd of January 2018
Turned out great! Only wish there were more. This made 8 so I'll probably double this next time.
Amber
Monday 5th of February 2018
My Mom always tripled the recipe for our family, but she had 9 kids. So I thought making a regular basic recipe would be enough for my family. Oh Boy, was I wrong! I still have to triple the recipe to have enough for my kids. They devour them!
But in case someone has a very small family or just single cooking, I wanted to make sure they had the original recipe in the right portions. But YES, I always have to double or triple the recipe to appease my family.