Banana bread muffins are the best breakfast or afternoon treat! Moist and soft, these muffins take just 20 minutes of prep, a few easy steps, and a handful of basic kitchen ingredients to make. With your favorite mix-ins or just plain, you can’t go wrong.
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I joke that these muffins are the best way to get in your daily dose of fruit! I mean…am I really joking? These banana bread muffins are my favorite way to eat bananas. HA! It also helps that these muffins take no time at all, but taste oh-so incredible. Banana bread lovers have found their kryptonite.
My Banana Bread Recipe loaf is just as delicious. Serve with homemade honey Peanut Butter or Mom’s Strawberry Preserves.
Why You’ll Love This Banana Bread Muffins Recipe
It’s difficult to list just a few reasons why you’ll love these muffins, because there’s so many!
- Fast and easy. Requiring only about 20 minutes of prep and 20 minutes of baking, you’ll have banana bread muffins in no time.
- Add mix-ins if you’re feeling it! Chocolate chips and walnuts? One or the other? None? These muffins are awesome any way.
- Soft and moist. Banana bread muffins should be soft and moist…and YES, these are!
- Easily made ahead and stored. These muffins keep well for at least 5 days.
- Standard kitchen ingredients. Most of the ingredients in this recipe are basic pantry ingredients, making these muffins achievable on any occasion!
Ingredients
- Bananas – use bananas that are at least speckled. You can use bananas that are overripe as well. Very ripe bananas are easier to mash, sweeter, and more flavorful.
- All-purpose flour – all-purpose flour is the base for our muffins.
- Light brown sugar – light brown sugar adds moisture, flavor, and sweetness.
- Butter – butter adds rich flavor and texture.
- Egg – an egg binds everything together.
- Pure vanilla extract – vanilla adds flavor.
- Baking soda – baking soda helps our banana bread muffins rise.
- Salt – salt adds flavor.
- Chocolate chips (optional) – chocolate chips are an optional mix-in. I like bittersweet chocolate chips.
- Chopped walnuts (optional) – walnuts are an optional mix-in. I use chopped walnuts.
Substitutions & Variations
Here are some substitutions and variations on banana bread muffins, in case you’re looking for something a little different!
- Sprinkle turbinado sugar on the muffins before baking for a crunchy sugar topping.
- Add a dash of cinnamon to the batter for a warm finish.
- Add a crumb topping, like on my Blueberry Coffee Cake recipe. Make the topping and add it to these muffins before baking as instructed below. You’ll likely have more crumb topping than you need.
- Make mini muffins, which require roughly 7-10 minutes of bake time.
- Use whole wheat flour if you’d like!
Expert Tips
- Use bananas that are at least speckled for banana bread muffins. You can use bananas that are overripe as well. Very ripe bananas are easier to mash, sweeter, and more flavorful!
- Measure your dry ingredients carefully. Too little or too much flour, sugar, etc. will change the recipe.
- Use no more than 1 cup of mix-ins (chocolate chips, walnuts, both, etc.).
How to Make Banana Bread Muffins
Let’s make these muffins in just 40 minutes, from bowl to full batch! Full instructions in the recipe card; this is just an outline!
- Prepare.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a muffin pan with paper liners.
- Wet ingredients.
In a large bowl, use a potato masher to mash peeled bananas into a smooth puree. Add beaten egg, melted and cooled butter, and vanilla. Stir until combined.
- Dry ingredients.
In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt until combined.
- Combine.
Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, mixing until just incorporated. Fold in chocolate chips and walnuts if desired.
- Bake.
Fill liners about ¾ of the way up. Bake for 15-21 minutes.
- Cool.
Let muffins cool in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
No, you don’t! Banana should be at least speckled to be ripe enough for banana bread muffins. They don’t need to be all brown or overripe unless you have them on hand.
I don’t recommend using frozen bananas for banana bread muffins since the consistently changes when thawed.
I recommend mashing bananas with a potato masher, or if you don’t have one, a fork!
Store muffins at room temperature in an airtight container. You can heat them in the oven or microwave if desired.
Banana bread muffins last for 5-7 days in an airtight container.
Yes! Freeze muffins for up to 3 months, thawing them at room temperature, and then heating them in the oven or microwave if desired.
Other Muffin Recipes You’ll Love!
- Zucchini Muffins
- Cornbread Muffins
- Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
- Banana Baked Oatmeal Muffin Cups
- Strawberry Muffins
BEST Banana Bread Muffins Recipe
Equipment
- Muffin pan or foil baking cups (with paper liners)
Ingredients
- 4 medium bananas, overripe (or at least speckled)
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup light brown sugar, packed
- ⅓ cup butter, melted
- 1 large egg, beaten
- ½ tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup chocolate chips, optional
- ½ cup chopped walnuts, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a muffin pan with paper liners. This recipe will make 12 muffins.
- In a large bowl, use a potato masher to mash peeled bananas into a smooth puree. Add beaten egg, melted and cooled butter, and vanilla. Stir until combined.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt until combined.
- Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, mixing until just incorporated. Fold in chocolate chips and walnuts if desired.
- Fill liners about ¾ of the way up. Bake for 15-21 minutes, until toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out with loose crumbs.
- Let muffins cool in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack – or enjoying them warm!
Video
Notes
- I recommend using bananas that are at least speckled for banana bread muffins. You can use bananas that are overripe as well. Very ripe bananas are easier to mash, sweeter, and more flavorful.
- Measure your dry ingredients carefully!
- I recommend using no more than 1 cup of mix-ins (chocolate chips, walnuts or both).
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Thanks so much for sharing your recipe! I used the mini muffin pan you had suggested as an alternative and am curious how you might alter the directions. I don’t know if I’d turn down the heat, or bake for just 10 minutes (instead of the 11 I did), but it was tough to find the line between baked through and too brown.
Hi Bree!
Thanks for your comment and review. If you try the recipe again, I would bake mini muffins until a toothpick comes out with loose crumbs. I haven’t personally tested mini muffins so the roughly 10-13 minutes is an estimate! At 11 minutes, were they overbaked or underbaked?
Thanks again,
Grace
Thanks for the tip, Grace! At 11 minutes, they were overbaked- though not burned- and a little chewy. I think the bananas and mini chocolate chips in there threw off my sense of “doneness” too.
Hi Bree,
Thanks so much for the info. I will use it to tweak my recommendation for mini muffins! I really appreciate your message and will be emailing you personally with more help!
Grace
I have a random question. Iโm not sure if I left them in the oven for long enough, but they turned out extremely soft. I had set the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and baked them for 21 minutes, but they came out more soft and chewy than I expected.
Hi Stephen,
Hmmm, that’s odd! I would say maybe your bananas were too big (need to be medium otherwise the ratio would be off). The only other thing I can think is the baking soda could be expired causes the muffins to not rise correctly. I hope this helps! I really hope you try the recipe again because this is one of my favorite recipes!
Grace
Easy and made more than 12!
Hi Emma,
I’m so glad you like them! Happy weekend.
Grace
Hiii can you pls tell me how many grams is your cup? I want to make your recipe today ! Thanks !! Happy holidays!
Hi Roxanne,
Here is the recipe converted to grams! Happy Holidays to you too!
4 medium bananas, overripe (or at least speckled)
All-purpose flour: 125g
Light brown sugar, packed: 150g
Butter, melted: 76g
Egg, beaten: 50g
Pure vanilla extract: 7.5g
Baking soda: 5g
Salt: 1.5g
Chocolate chips, optional: 85g
Chopped walnuts, optional: 60g
Grace
So yummy! My 10 year old son and I made them today. A hit in our house! Thank you and happy holidays!
Hi Renรฉe,
Woohoo! Thanks for letting me know! Happy Holidays ๐
Grace
Thanks Grace! Also, we substituted the brown sugar with coconut sugar. Delish! ๐
Love those changes!!
Grace
Would I be able to use peanut butter instead of regular butter or would that throw it off? And if I donโt use any chocolate chips or nuts will it still work? Thanks!
Hi Maris,
Great questions! I would use peanut butter to replace the butter. Unfortunately I think that it would change the texture. You donโt need to add nuts or chocolate chips! I hope this helps.
Grace
Is there a reason thereโs no baking powder in this recipe ?
Hi Sandra!
Baking soda is used because acid from bananas provide the necessary reaction for leavening, so baking powder isnโt needed.
Grace
By far the best banana muffins I have made. Thank you for sharing.
Hi Christina,
This is so awesome to hear!! Thanks for letting me know. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
Grace
These are perfection! I shared them with my family and the reviews were “delicious ” , “impressive”, “make more!”. I will be making these for years to come! Thanks!
Hi Erin,
Aw I love to hear this!! Thanks for letting me know ๐
Grace
I have never been able to make something from a recipe and have it turn out. These are the exception! I ended up using 3 large bananas because that was all I had and they still turned out amazing. Super moist and delicious. I will return to this recipe again and again!
This is awesome news! Thanks so much for letting me know Kayla!
Grace