Ragi Banana Muffins
Mar 07, 2024, Updated Apr 09, 2024
These Ragi Banana Muffins are made with wholesome ingredients are sweetened with jaggery. They soft muffins are and free of refined sugar and make a great snack for kids and adults!
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These homemade Ragi Banana Muffins are made with wholesome ingredients like ragi flour, whole wheat flour and sweetened with jaggery powder. These soft muffins are free of refined sugar and make a nice little treat that can be enjoyed by everyone. If you have some overripe bananas lying in your kitchen, then you can whip up these muffins in no time!
I enjoy fuss free baking, where we use simple ingredients, simple techniques and can bake something quickly. Don’t get me wrong, I also do enjoy baking complicated and time consuming stuff like French macarons and sourdough but on a daily basis, I am mostly drawn to quick bakes.
And when I bake at home for us, I try to bake something which we can enjoy for breakfast or snack throughout the week. I know you guys love the ragi cookies recipe and so I thought of working on a ragi muffin recipe and came up with these Ragi Banana Muffins. These make a great snack not only for adults but also for kids and toddlers.
Table of Contents
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Taste & Texture
First, let’s talk about the texture. Since these muffins use ragi (finger millet) flour and atta (whole wheat flour), they are not as light and airy as the muffins made with all purpose flour. So, keep that in mind while baking these muffins. They are a little dense. To help with the texture a little, I recommend sifting the dry ingredients 2 times using a sifter. That seems to help a little. If you prefer lighter muffins, replace the atta with all purpose flour. That will make the muffins lighter in texture.
Coming to the taste, these muffins have a slightly “earthy” and “nutty” taste. If you have had ragi roti before then you know ragi has a very different taste from wheat flour. The rotis made with ragi are also drier compared to regular rotis. Since there’s added whole wheat flour, banana and jaggery, these muffins turn out soft and not dry. However because of ragi these muffins definitely taste different than your regular banana muffins made with wheat flour.
Ingredients
- Ragi flour: You can find ragi flour at most Indian grocery stores. Ragi flour is a gluten free flour and has a nutty taste.
- Atta: I have used regular atta (durum whole wheat flour) that I use in my kitchen in these muffins. You can definitely replace atta with all purpose flour for lighter muffins.
- Jaggery powder: To sweeten the muffins, I have used jaggery powder. You can find powdered jaggery at Indian stores. If you don’t have jaggery powder and have a block of jaggery, you can grate the jaggery and use that. Or you can also replace the jaggery with brown or white sugar.
- Bananas: For these ragi banana muffins, use overripe bananas. They not only give sweetness to the muffins but also make them soft.
- Oil: I have used avocado oil but you can also use olive oil or coconut oil for this recipe.
- Add ins: Chocolate chunks or chocolate chips are my favorite additions in these muffins but you can also add walnuts, dried cranberries, pecans and more.
How To Make Ragi Banana Muffins
In a large bowl, sift together 3/4 cup atta (97 grams), 3/4 cup ragi flour (105 grams), 1 & 1/2 teaspoon baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Sift the dry ingredients twice using a sifter, this helps in aerating the dry ingredients and helps make the muffins a little lighter. Set this aside. Meanwhile preheat the oven to 375 F degrees and line a 12 cavity muffin tray with cupcake liners and keep it ready.
In another bowl, add 1 cup mashed banana (228 grams). I used 2 large bananas to get 1 cup of mashed banana. Make sure the bananas that you use are ripe bananas. Then add 1/4 cup oil (I used avocado oil), 1 teaspoon of vanilla and 1/2 cup jaggery powder (70 grams) to the same bowl.
Now using a wire whisk, mix the wet ingredients until everything is well combined and the jaggery is dissolved. You can do this using a stand mixer or hand mixer as well. If you don’t have jaggery powder, you can use brown sugar or regular white sugar as well.
Now, add half of the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix using a spatula.
Then add 1/2 cup milk and mix using a whisk. I used whole milk but you can use any milk of choice.
Now add the remaining half of the dry ingredients and mix using a spatula. Do not overmix at this point, some streaks of flour are okay.
If you want to fold in any add-ins, this is the time. I added 1/2 cup chocolate chunks, you can do chocolate chips, walnuts, pecans etc. Fold the chocolate chunks into the batter using a spatula.
Transfer the batter to the prepared liners. Fill each liner up to 2/3rd full. I got 11 muffins out of this batter. Bake at 375 F degrees for 18 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the muffins cool completely on a wire rack and then enjoy.
Manali’s Tips
- To make the muffins lighter in texture, consider replacing the whole wheat flour with all purpose flour.
- If you want to make these vegan, replace the milk in this recipe with non dairy milk. Either use oat milk or plain almond milk.
- These ragi banana muffins can be stored at room temperature for 2 days and in the fridge for 4 days though they taste best when consumed within 48 hours. You can also freeze these muffins. Store in a freezer bag and freeze for up to 2 months.
- Do not overmix the batter else the muffins will be tough. Mix until just combined, some streak of flour is okay in the batter.
Ragi Banana Muffins
Ingredients
- ¾ cup atta 97 grams, whole wheat flour
- ¾ cup ragi flour 105 grams, finger millet flour
- 1 & ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup mashed banana 228 grams, from 2 large ripe bananas
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup oil 60 ml/2 oz, I used avocado oil
- ½ cup jaggery powder 70 grams, or use brown sugar
- ½ cup milk 120 ml/4 oz, I used whole milk
- ½ cup chocolate chunks or use chocolate chips, walnuts
Instructions
- Line a 12 cavity muffin tray with liners and set aside. Preheat the oven to 375 F degrees. In a large bowl, sift together atta, ragi flour, baking powder and salt. Sift the dry ingredients twice to aerate the batter. Set this aside.
- In another bowl, add the wet ingredients- mashed banana, oil, vanilla extract and jaggery powder. If you don't have jaggery powder you can use brown sugar in place.
- Mix all the wet ingredients together using a wire whisk until jaggery dissolves. You can also do this step using a hand or stand mixer.
- Now, add half of the dry ingredients into the wet and mix using a spatula, followed by 1/2 cup milk and then the remaining half of the dry ingredients until you have a smooth batter. Do not overmix the batter, mix until just combined.
- Fold in 1/2 cup of chocolate chunks using a spatula. You can also add nuts or dried cranberries. Transfer batter to the prepared liners and fill them until they are 2/3rd full. I got 11 muffins out of this batter.
- Bake at 375 F degrees for 18 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack completely and enjoy.
Notes
- Make the recipe vegan by replacing milk with non dairy milk. Rest of the recipe remains same.
- Replace whole wheat flour with all purpose flour if you prefer a lighter texture for these muffins. These muffins are a little dense.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
