Name: Healthy Banana Cupcakes
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 15
Ingredients: 3 cans of full-fat coconut milk (that has been chilled in the refrigerator, preferably overnight); 3 Tbs powdered sugar; 1/2 teaspoon cardamom (plus more for garnish, if desired); Optional: a pinch of xanthan gum if needed; 10 Tbs granulated sugar; 1/4 cup butter, softened; 2 large eggs; 2 egg whites; 1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (not regular whole wheat flour); 1/2 teaspoon baking soda; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 1 cup mashed ripe banana (1-2 bananas); 1/3 cup plain, low-fat Greek yogurt; 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract; 1 3/4 cup cocowhip (from a 9 oz container) - found in the freezer section near the Cool Whip; 1/2 teaspoon cardamom

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These delicious and healthy banana cupcakes are fluffy and flavorful! Such a fun, low-sugar treat the whole family will love! 21 Day Fix and Weight Watchers friendly.

These delicious, low-sugar and 21 Day Fix approved banana cupcakes are generously topped with the fluffiest cardamom-coconut whipped cream frosting.

This recipe was updated on 5/24/2023 to be a little sweeter and a little fluffier! Hope you love it!

Hey guys! If you checked out Wednesday's post, you already know that today is a special day for me, it's this little blog's birthday (or blogiversary as we like to say), so obviously it's time to celebrate with some cupcakes! Because celebrations deserve cupcakes and I'm definitely celebrating today!

This year I'm celebrating and being SO thankful for having an incredible crew of family and friends, for currently getting to live in one of the most spectacular places on Earth (Seward, Alaska) and for getting to do this job that I love SO much. And that last part is all because of you.

So I just want to say thank you so much for reading and cooking and eating and sharing posts and telling your friends. It means more to me than you could ever possibly know. These cupcakes are for you <3

Ok, let's talk about these cupcakes for a sec. They're just light and fluffy and wonderful and they taste so deliciously banana-y. Then that loveliness is topped with sweet cardamom-spiced CocoWhip (or coconut whipped cream - see the recipe card for your frosting options)! So good!

The texture of the cupcake is perfection and the only real difference in flavor is that they're not as sweet as your average cupcake. I actually love the sweetness level of these (especially with the CocoWhip on top!) but if you'd like it to be sweeter, you could always add some stevia to sweeten them up a bit more.

Ok, let's do a little Q&A and then we'll get to the recipe!

What is cardamom?

Cardamom is one of my very favorite spices - it's sweet, fresh, and a little citrus-y. It just livens up anything you put it in. Plus it's ah-mazing with banana and coconut 😉

Try it in some of my other recipes, like my Saag Chicken, my Cardamom, Vanilla and Rum Marinated Grilled Pineapple or in my Mango-Cardamom Chia Seed Pudding!

What is whole wheat pastry flour?

Regular whole wheat flour is made from hard red wheat, whereas whole wheat pastry flour is made from soft white wheat and is ground more finely than regular.

This makes baked goods made with whole wheat pastry flour much more tender and light than regular whole wheat flour. I always keep it on hand and bake almost exclusively with it!

What kind of frosting goes on these 21 Day Fix banana cupcakes?

Well, you have two options:

Cardamom Whipped Coconut Cream

You can see this lovely, light, and fluffy frosting in the photos of this post. I love that it pipes up beautifully like whipped cream. That being said, some cans of coconut milk whip beautifully and some are more of a challenge and want to separate. For the challenging cans, I like to add a good pinch of xanthan gum if you happen to have any on hand, and it'll help bring it back together to hold its shape.

I know, I know - who on Earth keeps xanthan gum on hand?! I didn't use to either. I bought it when I was testing my Copycat Olive Garden Italian Dressing and now I LOVE keeping a jar of it it the kitchen. It's so great for thickening things without heat (it's also great at keeping things together that like to separate - like dressings!).

So Delicious Cocowhip

If you want to skip the step of making the coconut whipped cream (and save yourself half of a blue in the process if you're doing 21 Day Fix), CocoWhip is a great option! I'll also say that I think it tastes a bit sweeter for some reason and has been my go-to when making these cupcakes lately!

How do you count So Delicious brand CocoWhip for 21 Day Fix?

Based on the ingredients and the nutritional information, I count each tablespoon of Cocowhip as ¼ oil teaspoon and ¼ sweetener teaspoon.

Do these cupcakes need to be refrigerated?

If you've frosted them, they'll need to be refrigerated. Otherwise, they're fine to sit out on the counter in a container for a few days.

I prefer to leave them on the counter and then just frost as we go (since 9 times out of 10 we're just making them for us anyway), because the cupcake texture stays best that way. That being said, they'll still be great after being refrigerated, though I'd try and let them come to room temp if possible before eating 🙂

How long will these healthy banana cupcakes keep?

If they're in a container on the counter, 3-4 days. If they've been in the fridge, 4-5.

Do these whole wheat cupcakes freeze well?

They do! I often freeze half of the batch in a ziploc bag (I usually do it without the frosting, but I think it would also freeze fine with the frosting on - though you'd probably want to put them in a container then).

Then, when we want some, I just pull them out and let them come to room temperature on the counter, this usually takes a few hours, so pull them out in the morning if you want to have them later.

On another note, it's also Cinco de Mayo, my friends! If you need some last-minute inspo, here are some of my Mexican-inspired favorites:

Anyway, I hope you love these healthier banana cupcakes as much as my family does!

If you make these healthy banana cupcakes be sure to snap a pic and tag me @thefoodieandthefix or use #thefoodieandthefix on Instagram so I can check it out! It makes me ridiculously happy to see what you guys are making 🙂

Save these 21 Day Fix Banana Cupcakes to Pinterest! ↓

These delicious, low-sugar 21 Day Fix banana cupcakes are topped with the fluffiest cardamom-coconut whipped cream frosting. #kidfriendly #dessert #healthydessert #lowsugar #healthy #21dayfix

📖 Recipe

Healthy Banana Cupcakes

Yield: 15 cupcakes

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Additional Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients

Cupcakes:

10 Tbs granulated sugar
¼ cup butter, softened
2 large eggs
2 egg whites
1 ½ cups whole wheat pastry flour (not regular whole wheat flour)
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup mashed ripe banana (1-2 bananas)
⅓ cup plain, low-fat Greek yogurt
1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

So Delicious Cocowhip:

1 ¾ cup cocowhip (from a 9 oz container) - found in the freezer section near the Cool Whip
½ teaspoon cardamom

Cardamom Coconut Whipped Cream:

3 cans of full-fat coconut milk (that has been chilled in the refrigerator, preferably overnight)
3 Tbs powdered sugar
½ teaspoon cardamom (plus more for garnish, if desired)
Optional: a pinch of xanthan gum if needed

Instructions

Cupcakes:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Place 15 cupcake liners in two muffin tins, set aside.
Add the sugar and butter in mixing bowl and beat until well blended, and butter has lightened, 3-4 minutes.
Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt, set aside.
Combine mashed banana, yogurt and vanilla in a separate bowl.
Beating at low speed, add flour mixture and banana mixture alternately to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with the flour mixture.
Divide batter between the 15 cups (I usually start with an ice cream scoop, but then there's always extra batter to divvy up afterward, too)
Bake 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Cool cupcakes on a wire rack COMPLETELY before frosting.

Frosting Options:

So Delicious Cocowhip:

Gently stir the cardamom into the Cocowhip and frost (2 Tbs per cupcake)

Cardamom Coconut Whipped Cream:

In a large bowl, you'll add the thick coconut cream that has separated at the top of the can (not the watery part (you can save it to use in smoothies or discard).
Next, add the 3 tablespoons of powdered sugar and the cardamom. Mix with an electric mixer - a hand mixer works best so you can make sure you get out all of the lumps of coconut milk. This will take a few minutes, it's done when you have a fluffy, soft-whipped cream consistency. If your coconut milk is being stubborn and doesn't want to come together, a good pinch of xanthan gum, if you have it, should do the trick!
Frost your cupcakes, 2 Tbs per cupcake, sprinkle with a little extra cardamom if ya like and Enjoy!

Notes

The cupcakes have the best texture prior to refrigeration, so frost these right before eating!

21 Day Fix Container Counts per Serving:

With Cocowhip frosting: ½ Yellow, 1 ½ teaspoon and 2 ½ teaspoons of sugar

With Cardamom Coconut Whipped Cream: ½ Yellow, ½ Blue, 1 teaspoon and 2 ½ teaspoons of sugar

Weight Watchers Points: Healthy Banana Cupcakes