Growing up, it was such a treat to have my mom make her famous banana bread. It wasn’t until I got older that I realized she was using those yucky brown bananas that looked rotten, which nobody had touched in weeks. It isn’t that these are necessarily rotten, my mother explained, but rather riper, which means they are much sweeter than let’s say green or yellow bananas.

If you happen to have bananas that are taking way too long to ripen and you are itching for a slice of banana bread or a banana muffin, you can pop the yellow bananas in the oven. I would say no more than maybe 15 or 20 minutes at 300 degrees F to “ripen.” This should do the trick!

That being said, since most types of banana bread contain some kind of flour, I wanted to make something for my gluten-intolerant and celiac friends. I also wanted to take advantage of sneaking in some additional protein (for my protein-challenged friends and my kiddos). I decided the combination of gluten-free oats and Vanilla Cupcake Protein Blend would be up to the challenge. While the Vanilla Cupcake Protein Blend is plenty sweet, especially when coupled with the bananas, I needed one more wet ingredient to add with the eggs to round out this recipe. Enter honey. You could also use maple syrup, but I think that would have tipped this one over the top. But hey, if that’s your thing, go for it! It makes a great substitute.

Once I busted out the Vanilla Cupcake Protein Blend, I decided to make these portion-control-friendly and make them into muffins/cupcakes as opposed to a loaf of bread. And to be fair, if I am taking the time to sneak in some protein, I should make them kid-friendly.

But why stop there?! You can also add in optional chocolate chips or, if you are feeling extra festive, some sprinkles!

You really can’t go wrong with these tasty treats. Plus, they’re cost-effective with just 5 ingredients. Win-Win!