These banana chocolate chip streusel muffins are moist, buttery, and cake-like. (And dessert-like!) Fill and top each with a delicious streusel made of brown sugar, cinnamon, walnuts, and chocolate chips. They’re like portioned banana crumb cakes with gooey chocolate chips and cinnamon swirl inside!
Think of regular banana muffins as a pair of cozy, dependable sweatpants and today’s chocolate chip-studded, brown sugar-streuseled version as your over-the-top, sequins- and feathers-bedazzled blazer. (What, you don’t have one of those?!)
Today’s recipe has lived on my website since 2012 and originally came from my dear friend Amy, who makes them for Christmas breakfast. The recipe has certainly stood the test of time, and they taste every bit as indulgent as they look.
Reader Katie commented: “Not even kidding, never in my life have I commented on a food blog. I’ve made dozens of different banana muffin recipes and they have always been dry and dense. THIS RECIPE… these are the best banana muffins I’ve had in my life! This will be my go-to from now on!★★★★★“
Banana Chocolate Chip Streusel Muffins Are:
- Satisfying, buttery, moist, and soft.
- Like regular banana muffins, but with a texture upgrade from crunchy walnuts and melty-soft chocolate chips.
- Layered and swirled with cinnamon and sugar, just like this cinnamon swirl quick bread.
- A great way to use up over-ripe bananas.
- Pretty easy, including the streusel—you don’t need to cut in butter like you do for the layers in cinnamon coffee cake, just mix a few ingredients together.
- A delicious treat for breakfast, snack, or dessert.
Basic Baking Ingredients Required:
Can I Use Frozen Bananas?
Yes, frozen and thawed bananas work in this recipe and you can read more about How to Freeze & Thaw Bananas for Baking if you’d like. Two important things to remember:
- The riper the banana, the better. When you bake with bananas, you want to use brown, spotty super-ripe ones.
- Strain off excess liquid. As bananas thaw, they let out a lot of liquid, which can throw off the wet ingredients in any baking recipe. I always recommend draining off most or all of that excess liquid before mashing and measuring them for your recipe.
Start by Making the Streusel
The chopped walnuts and chocolate chips aren’t in the muffin batter, they’re actually in the streusel along with the brown sugar and most of the cinnamon. You’ll layer the streusel with the banana batter in your muffin liners, then swirl it all together. Combine the streusel ingredients first, so it’s ready as soon as the banana batter is finished.
(Side note: Feel free to swirl this streusel into zucchini muffins, pumpkin muffins, or even Nutella swirl peanut butter banana bread, too!)
Can I leave out the walnuts? You can substitute chopped pecans for the walnuts, or leave the nuts out entirely—you’ll just have a little less streusel, and not as much crunchy texture.
The banana batter is pretty straightforward and uses many of the same ingredients as banana bread. Note that we use creamed butter and sugar in this muffin recipe to produce a cakier-style muffin, vs. melted butter (or oil) in these banana muffins, which are denser and heartier.
You need a mixer for today’s recipe.
Let’s Layer It All Together
Now comes the (somewhat) messy part: layering the batter and the streusel. Grab a standard 12-count muffin pan, either greased or lined with cupcake liners. If you need a recommendation, this muffin pan and this muffin pan have both held up well with very regular use.
Spoon some of the batter into each muffin cup—a scant 1.5 Tablespoons each. Next, sprinkle on a scant Tablespoon of streusel in top. Top that with another large spoonful of batter, and finish by topping with more streusel. Use a toothpick or knife to gently swirl it together.
My #1 Muffin Success Tip:
Bake at an initially high oven temperature. Bake the muffins for 5 minutes in a very hot oven. Then, keeping the muffins in the oven, lower the oven temperature. This initial high oven temperature quickly lifts up the muffin tops. Once the temperature is lowered, the centers of the muffins bake. I do this in all my muffin recipes.
PrintBanana Chocolate Chip Muffins with Cinnamon Streusel
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 12 muffins
- Category: Muffins
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Super-moist and flavorful banana chocolate chip muffins with layers of crunchy cinnamon streusel.
Ingredients
Streusel
- 2 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 cup (50g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 3/4 cup (135g) semi-sweet chocolate chips
- optional: 1/2 cup (60g) chopped walnuts
Muffins
- 1 and 2/3 cups (208g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 6 Tablespoons (85g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 and 1/2 cups (345g) mashed bananas (about 4 medium or 3 large bananas)
- 1/4 cup (60g) plain yogurt or sour cream (I use nonfat Greek yogurt)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F (218°C). Spray a 12-count muffin pan with nonstick spray or line with cupcake liners. Set aside.
- Make the streusel: Mix all the streusel ingredients together in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Make the muffins: Whisk the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar together on medium-high speed in a large bowl until creamed, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Add the egg and beat until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Add the mashed bananas and yogurt, and then beat on high speed until combined; mixture will look curdled and that’s ok.
- Add the dry ingredients and beat on low speed until combined. Batter is thick. Do not overmix.
- Layer a large spoonful (about 1.5 Tablespoons) of batter into each muffin cup. Sprinkle with 1 scant Tablespoon of streusel. Layer another large spoonful of batter over each, using up the remaining batter, then finish by sprinkling remaining streusel on top of each muffin. The 12 muffin cups should be filled all the way to the very top. With a toothpick or knife, gently swirl the streusel topping with the batter.
- Bake for 5 minutes at 425°F, then, keeping the muffins in the oven, reduce the oven temperature to 350°F (177°C). Bake for an additional 15–16 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The total time these muffins take in the oven is about 20–21 minutes. Allow the muffins to cool for 5 minutes in the muffin pan, and then transfer to a wire rack to continue cooling, or enjoy warm.
- Muffins stay fresh covered at room temperature for a few days, then transfer to the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: For longer storage, freeze the muffins for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then warm up in the microwave if desired.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 12-count Muffin Pan (like this one or this one) | Cupcake Liners | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Cooling Rack
- Make as a Cake: Use this banana chocolate chip crumb cake recipe.
- Can I leave out the walnuts? You can substitute chopped pecans, or leave out the walnuts entirely. Or try this popular banana muffin recipe instead, adding in some chocolate chips.
- Frozen Bananas: You can use thawed frozen bananas in this muffin recipe. Thawed bananas are extra wet, so drain off as much of the excess liquid as you can before mashing. See How to Freeze & Thaw Bananas for Baking.
- Yogurt or Sour Cream: You can use either regular or Greek plain yogurt in this recipe (any fat content) or sour cream. In a pinch, 1/4 cup (60ml) buttermilk may be substituted.
- Why the initial high oven temperature? Like I do for most muffin recipes, bake the muffins for 5 minutes at a very hot temperature. Then, keeping the muffins in the oven, switch to a lower temperature for the remaining bake time. This initial high temperature will quickly lift the muffin tops so they’re extra high, then the centers will bake during the lower temperature bake time. This trick makes beautiful bakery-style muffins every time.
can I use vanilla greek yogurt?
Hi Christina, absolutely! The flavor will be a little different but that will definitely work.
I absolutely loved this recipe. Pretty much all of Sally’s recipes are a hit, but these especially! Absolutely amazing fresh out of the oven. All of the flavors are so perfect together.
Solid recipe. It’s a keeper.
Unlike most I did not love this recipe. The proportions didn’t come out right. I had to steal from the other muffins just to get 12. To me this is not streusel. Streusel to me is a crunchy topping with oats, flour, brown sugar, butter and maybe some nuts. That is not what these were. I am not a fan of chocolate chips In muffins so I used 1/2 cup caramel chips and 1/4 cup bittersweet chips. Not a fan of this recipe
These muffins are on another level! They are moist and full of flavor. There is absolutely no need for changes. Thanks for another great recipe!
Can I omit chocolate chips.
Absolutely!
These are absolutely decadent, and AMAZING! I made a flax egg to substitute for a regular egg, and forgot to add it to the batter. Still delicious! I always love your recipes.
I always love your recipes. I’m going to try this one today. Does this make 12 regular size muffins or in a jumbo tin? I’m going to be using a jumbo tin so I’m wondering if I should double the recipe.
Hi Ashleigh, this yield is for standard-size muffins. It will make about 5-6 jumbo muffins (you can use the bake times from jumbo blueberry muffins as a guide). Enjoy!
I really love this recipe making it muffin so good thank Sally.
Wow…these tasted AMAZING!! My 2 boys absolutely LOVED THEM!! Will definitely be making these regularly!
Thank-you for also including grams and celcius in the ingredients list.
Can’t wait to try your other recipies!
Wow! I’ve always loved a banana/chocolate chip bread or muffin but these take it to another level!
The chocolate chips added a nice touch in the middle and on top. My kids ate these up! I did cut the sugar and butter in half and substituted 1/2 cup applesauce. Super yummy!
I took this reviewer’s suggestion and it was great. I did have too much topping in my opinion, so next time I will make half that. Extra topping meant I “had to” make more muffins, and I was not mad about it. Thanks, Sally and Samantha!
Like all your other recipes, this was amazing and will be adding it to my collection. Can this be made overnight? I thought If I don’t mix baking powder and soda the night before it should be okay.
Hi Sam, we haven’t tested that method, but let us know if you do!
Hi! I was wondering if the walnuts could be replaced with oats in the streusel?
Hi Milly, We haven’t tested it but it should work. Or you can simply leave the walnuts out.
Wow! These are incredibly delicious!!!!!
Five star recipe for sure!
Can I use applesauce instead of sour cream or yogurt?
Hi Raina, applesauce should work in a pinch, but may lead to a slightly chewier texture.
So good
So good! your recipes are the best!
I picked this recipe at random for some ripe bananas. It was wonderful! I wish I had more bananas to make again right now!
So glad you loved this recipe, Shelly!
hello! just wondering when lowering down the temp in baking muffins does the oven door needs to be slightly open to reduce the temp or leave it closed?
Hi Oliver, no need to open the oven door. You’ll want to keep it closed throughout bake time, just lowering the temperature on the oven manually. Enjoy!
Wow! Per usual your recipe was amazing. Every time I take some thing somewhere people ask me where the recipe is from and I say Sally’s baking addiction!
Should I toast the walnuts before using them in the recipe?
Hi Annette! They will toast a bit in the oven as the muffins bake so we don’t recommend toasting them first. Hope you love these muffins!
Hi. What baking times/temps would you recommend if using large muffin tins?
Hi Katie, you can follow the baking times and instructions from jumbo blueberry muffins as a guide. Enjoy!
These are so good. I can’t stop myself from eating them. They have so much flavor and the stresuel is amazing. Well definitely make again. And now I need to try making the crumb cake version
These muffins were the best I’ve ever had. Fluffy and flavourful. Two thumbs up.
I made a double batch today. I used 50/50 butter and lard and used sour cream instead of yogurt. Also dark brown sugar in the streusel. They came out amazing – they looked delicious and tasted delicious!
These were amazing loved them. This will be my go to banana muffin from now on. !!
Hi, love your recipes. but I can’t find out if your oven temperatures are for fan assisted ovens or not
thank you!
Hi Caz, All of the recipes on this site are written for conventional settings. Convection ovens are fantastic for cooking and roasting. If you have the choice, we recommend conventional settings when baking cakes, breads, etc. The flow of air from convection heat can cause baked goods to rise and bake unevenly and it also pulls moisture out of the oven. If you do use convection settings for baking, lower your temperature by 25 degrees F and keep in mind that things may still take less time to bake.
Can you use almond flour (or a combination of all purpose flour and almond flour) for these muffins?
Thank you!
Hi Patricia, We don’t recommend almond flour as it has very different baking properties and is not usually a 1:1 swap. We haven’t tested it, but you might have success experimenting with a gluten-free all-purpose flour like Bob’s Red Mill or Cup4Cup. If you give anything a try, we’d love to know how it goes for you
I’m lactose free so I can’t use sour cream & yogurt. Any suggestions what I can use instead?
Hi Carolyn, we haven’t tried this using a lactose free yogurt, but let us know how it turns out if you do!
I use lactose free yogurt in all my recipes works perfectly
I made these cupcakes this morning with gluten free flour and dairy free sour cream. I used carob chips for chocolate chips. This recipe is fantastic- moist and a real treat.
These muffins are over the top. Takes banana muffins to a new level. Loved them and so did my family. Thanks Sally for ALL your amazing recipes.
They’re ok. Cant really taste the banana. They are moist, I wouldn’t call the streussal a streussal . The middle streussal made my muffin split in half when peeling the liner. Taste is average in my opinion. I’ve tried many banana recipes none have made my cut.
Great recipe! Kids and I loved them ❤️