Muffins are my go-to snacks. I started my muffin love-affair by baking regular muffins and gradually tried to make them healthier and more delicious by adding or removing various ingredients. Nowadays I use whole wheat flour or oat flour, omit the eggs and butter, and still end up with perfectly fluffy, most and delicious muffins.
Case in point – these delicious papaya and banana muffins with a touch of coconut. This recipe was created for a slew of papaya recipes I wrote for a magazine last month. Banana is an absolutely wonderful ingredient to bake with. It makes cakes, breads and muffins soft, naturally sweet and delicious. And papaya? Even more so, as I happily found out!
I am sure this recipe can be made with just papaya alone, provided they are sweet and very ripe. But I loved the combo of papaya and bananas here. Each fruit is able to hold its own in terms of taste and aroma. And as an afterthought, I added some coconut flakes to the batter and also topped the muffins with some coconut. The coconut adds a lovely texture and get nicely toasted on top of the muffins. The flavor combo is nothing short of brilliant! I call them tropical muffins!!
These muffins do not contain eggs or butter. The fruits, some yogurt and a bit of oil keep the muffins fluffy and moist. Muffins are a great recipe to get baking with small kids. All it takes is a bowl and a whisk. I simply measure out the ingredients and Boy gets to work mixing the dry and wet ingredients and whisking them together. He simply loves it!
- Flour - 1½ cups (use all-purpose and whole-wheat flours in any ratio)
- Baking powder - 1 tsp
- Baking soda - 1 tsp
- Salt - ½ tsp
- Papaya - ¾ cup, very ripe, mashed or pureed
- Banana - ¾ cup, very ripe, mashed or pureed
- Sugar - ¾ cup
- Vegetable oil - ½ cup
- Vanilla extract - 1 tsp
- Coconut flakes - ⅓ cup plus a little extra for topping the muffins
- Pre-heat the oven to 375 deg.F. Line a 12-cup cupcake pan with paper liners. Set aside.
- Take the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl. Whisk well to combine. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine the mashed papaya, banana, sugar, oil and vanilla extract. Whisk well to combine.
- Tip in the dry ingredients and mix till just combined. Gently fold in ⅓ cup of coconut flakes.
- Scoop batter into the prepared cupcake pan. Top each portion with some coconut flakes. Gently tap the pan on the counter-top to level the batter and get rid of any air bubbles.
- Bake for 20 minutes or till a toothpick inserted in a muffin comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool in pan for 5 minutes. Transfer muffins to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for a day or up to 3-4 days in the fridge.
2. These muffins are eggless and neither do they have any butter in them. You can use all-purpose flour, wholewheat flour or a combo of both. They can be eaten as dessert, snack or even a quick breakfast.
Enjoy these muffins with a glass of cold milk or a hot cup of coffee/tea.
Baking with papaya was nothing short of a revelation for me. I absolutely loved how delicious these muffins turned out. I see papaya quick breads and more muffins in my near future.
Do try this recipe the next time you have a dessert craving or need a sweet breakfast/brunch item.
Here are more muffin recipes.
- Eggless banana and chocolate chip muffins
- Fresh peach muffins with a healthy oat streusel topping
- Oat flour apple muffins
- Fresh orange muffins
- Blueberry vanilla muffins
- Easy Chocolate muffins
- Savory jalapeno cheddar muffins
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I am sharing this over at Fiesta Friday, FoodieFriDIY and Saucy Saturday.
This look amazing. Thank you for the recipe.
Glad you liked it!!
So my mom made these last time we visited her and they were amazing!!! She used a gluten free flour blend! I can’t wait to make them myself! Have you ever used honey, agave or maple syrup instead of the sugar? If so what measurements?
It’s good to know that your mom had luck with a GF blend. I haven’t used honey or other syrups, so I don’t have measurements. Would love to know if it works for you though!
Wow, I too have love affair with muffins and cakes. Will try this…looks healthy & even yummy.
Thanks Shreya. Let me know how you like it!!
You mention yogurt and oil but there yogurt is not included in ingredient list or recipe itself. Can you just clarify. Thanks!
I’m sorry, it appears to be a typo. The recipe is correct as such.
Fab!! I didnt ever think you could use papaya in a muffin! LOVE it.. Thanks for joining us at #SaucySaturday.. Pinned of course!
Me too! Thanks!!
I love tropical fruits and coconut, so this recipe calls out to me. Pinned!
Thank you, Lily 🙂
I get it… I have my own love affair with muffins. 🙂 I love the natural sweetness from the fruit in these – yummy!
Thank you, Josette 🙂
This is so yummy…I loved them
Thank you, Bhumi!!
okay so I have definitely been preoccupied, but when did you get this makeover? I love it! also these muffins sound awesome
The makeover happened several months ago. Finally took the plunge of getting my own domain 🙂
Glad you like it!!
love the photos. Any tropical muffin is a sure winner. Please add your baked recipes to my page https://www.facebook.com/groups/1742306749333408/. I started the page so that people can find baked goodies under one page and also more people can view your post.
Thank you!!
The flavor combinations sound delicious, and they look lovely!
Thank you!!
Loved them! 🙂
Healthy, tasty and absolutely my kinda stuff.
Thanks sweetie 🙂