These banana muffins are soft, buttery, and spiced with cinnamon. They’re wonderful plain, with chopped walnuts, or even chocolate chips. You need 3 large ripe bananas and a few basic kitchen ingredients to get started.
Banana bread is wonderful, but muffins are quicker, more convenient, easily portable, and taste just as good. I’ve been searching for the perfect EASY banana muffin recipe since my daughter began eating solids. We always have bananas in the house which means we eventually have spotty bananas ready for baking!
These quick and easy banana muffins bake in 30 minutes, so if you need to be in and out of the kitchen FAST (um, don’t we all?), this recipe is your savior.
Banana Muffin Ingredients—Each Is Important!
This banana muffin recipe requires a handful of basics like flour, sugar, and milk. That’s what I love about baking—it’s the same base ingredients for basically everything.
- Flour: I tested the recipe with both all-purpose flour and whole wheat flour and LOVED both variations. See recipe Note below.
- Melted Butter: We’ll use melted butter as the fat, though melted coconut oil works too. I love using melted butter in baked goods, and though I was afraid these banana muffins would taste too dense without creaming softened butter (which incorporates air), that’s not the case at all.
- Bananas, vanilla, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg: The flavor team.
- Egg: 1 egg gives the muffins structure.
- Milk: A common ingredient in some muffin recipes including pumpkin muffins, milk provides necessary moisture. Dry muffins… the worst.
- Sugar: Sweetens. When I make these for my daughter, I use half brown sugar and half coconut sugar. You can use all brown sugar, all coconut sugar, or a mixture of the two. Keep in mind that coconut sugar isn’t quite as sweet as brown sugar, so the flavor will change. See my recipe Note. 🙂
Do these banana muffins taste like banana bread? Yes, totally! But they have a lighter, softer, and more buttery texture. You’ll love it.
How to Make Banana Muffins Moist
There’s a fine line between a moist banana muffin and a dry banana muffin, aka sandpaper in a cupcake wrapper. To make banana muffins moist, make sure you’re using a solid ratio of dry to wet ingredients. I found the muffins to be dry without the addition of liquid, but a couple Tablespoons of milk solved the problem. Use a little fat (butter), brown sugar, and plenty of bananas for lots of moisture and flavor.
How to Mash Bananas
So I started doing this last year and it’s been a total game changer whenever I make banana cake, these breakfast cookies, banana bread, or chocolate banana bread. Just use your mixer to mash bananas! Peel and break them into chunks, place in your mixer, and beat until mashed. Beat the rest of the wet ingredients right into this bowl, then beat in the dry ingredients. So easy.
Can I Use Frozen Bananas?
Yes and I do this often. Thaw the frozen bananas at room temperature. Drain off any excess liquid, mash, then use as instructed in the recipe below. See How to Freeze & Thaw Bananas for Baking. Try not to mash too much or else you’ll be left with 2 cups of banana-y liquid; some chunks are great.
This banana muffin recipe is perfect if you:
- Have 3 large spotty bananas
- Love banana bread
- Need a quick homemade breakfast, snack, etc.
- Don’t feel like creaming butter and sugar together
- Don’t feel like dirtying 100 pans
And, to turn these into a scrumptious treat, you could dip the tops of the cooled muffins into chocolate ganache and add sprinkles. (Affiliate link: I love these naturally colored sprinkles.) You can also add the streusel topping from these banana chocolate chip streusel muffins.
More Muffin Recipes
These easy banana muffins have been my default for awhile, though I usually switch between these and a couple other muffin recipes previously published. I consider these muffins on the healthier side and they’re each toddler & adult approved. 🙂
- Baby Apple Oat Muffins
- Bran Muffins
- Whole Wheat Banana Nut Muffins (these include oats)
- Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins
- Healthy Apple Muffins & Chocolate Banana Muffins
- Morning Glory Muffins
- Lemon Blueberry Muffins
- Zucchini Muffins
- Peanut Butter Banana Muffins
- Healthy Blueberry Banana Muffins
- Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
Would love to know if you try any of them!
Print
Quick & Easy Banana Muffins
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 10-12 muffins
- Category: Muffins
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
These banana muffins are soft, buttery, and spiced with cinnamon. They’re wonderful plain, but taste fantastic with 1 cup chopped walnuts or chocolate chips. You need 3 ripe bananas and a handful of basic kitchen ingredients.
Ingredients
- 1 and 1/2 cups (188g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 and 1/2 cups (345g) mashed bananas (about 4 medium or 3 large ripe bananas)
- 6 Tablespoons (85g) unsalted butter, melted (or melted coconut oil)
- 2/3 cup (135g) packed light or dark brown sugar (or coconut sugar)*
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 Tablespoons (30ml) milk*
- optional: 1 cup chopped walnuts, pecans, or chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F (218°C). Spray a 12-count muffin pan with nonstick spray or use cupcake liners.
- Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg together in a medium bowl. Set aside. In a large bowl or in the bowl of your stand mixer, mash the bananas. On medium speed, beat or whisk in the melted butter, brown sugar, egg, vanilla extract, and milk. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, then beat or whisk until combined. If adding nuts or chocolate chips, fold them in now. Batter will be thick.
- Spoon the batter into liners, filling them all the way to the top. 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 16–18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The total time these muffins take in the oven is about 21–23 minutes, give or take. (For mini muffins, bake 12–14 total minutes at 350°F (177°C).) Allow the muffins to cool for 5 minutes in the muffin pan, then transfer to a wire cooling rack to continue cooling.
- Muffins stay fresh covered at room temperature for a few days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: For longer storage, freeze muffins for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then bring to room temperature or warm up in the microwave if desired.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 12-count Muffin Pan | Muffin Liners | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Cooling Rack
- Why the initial high temperature? The hot burst of air will spring up the top of the muffin quickly, then the inside of the muffin can bake for the remainder of the time. This helps the muffins rise nice and tall.
- Whole Wheat Flour: Feel free to substitute whole wheat flour for all-purpose flour or use a mix of both as long as you use 1 and 1/2 cups total. If using all whole wheat flour, add another Tablespoon (15ml) of milk.
- Frozen Bananas: You can use frozen bananas here. Thaw the frozen bananas. Drain off any excess liquid, mash, then use as instructed in the recipe. See How to Freeze & Thaw Bananas for Baking.
- Sugar: You can use 2/3 cup of packed brown sugar or coconut sugar. Or a mixture of these to yield 2/3 cup. If using 2/3 cup coconut sugar, the muffins won’t be as sweet. I find they taste best with 2/3 cup brown sugar or 1/3 cup of each. 2/3 cup of honey or pure maple syrup works too, though the muffins will taste a little more moist in the centers. I’m unsure about sugar substitutes, but let me know if you try any.
- Milk: Use your favorite variety of dairy or nondairy milk.
- Banana Bread: Here’s my favorite banana bread recipe. 🙂
Reader Comments and Reviews
They turned out Superb! Fantastic recipe!
I have recently tried a few banana nut muffin recipes, but none were as moist, delicious and easy as this one. I made it last week and my husband has asked for them again already! I like really sweet, crunchy muffins, so I sprinkled brown sugar and extra nuts on top of mine and they turned out like bakery muffins. I was so happy and we enjoyed them so much! Thank you for sharing your terrific recipe.
After trying several of your bread recipes I decided to bake my first muffins ever following this recipe and you made my day once more! I added both chocolate chips & walnuts and loved them. I like all your baking and freezing tips. Thanks all the way from Barcelona, Spain.
I’m non one of those wives who makes treats for her husband to take on a guys weekend. I clean, I make good money, pay bills, help with DIY projects, and I’m good to his parents, but I hate to cook and I bake occasionally. That said, he’s going on a man trip this weekend and I made these.
Muffins are in the oven: I doubled the recipe (before reading comments). I blended the wet really well, then add the dry in a “steady stream”. I may over-mixed as the batter was very dense/sticky. I also added 1/3 cup chocolate chips to the second 1/2 (my insane husband doesn’t like chocolate chips in his banana muffins. But, OMG, the smell.
Muffins are done: They look gorgeous. Like another reviewer, I took them out a couple of minutes early as they were done. They are delicious!
Great, thanks
Delicious! Definitely a keeper! Great flavor, easy to make, and ingredients in the pantry. Only complaint…they seem to be disappearing rapidly. Lol Thanks for the great recipe!
I had to comment because this is DELICIOUS. I honestly don’t like bananas (ate too many as a kid) but my toddler loves them so we always have them in the house. I had two small/medium bananas that were over ripe so I made this recipe in a half portion. They smelled SO yummy that I couldn’t help but eat one. They were super good! I bookmarked this recipe and will most definitely make it again! THANK YOU!
Recipe was easy and fast. Loved the extra rise from changing the temperature. Muffins were very moist. However, they are a tad bland. Maybe more cinnamon or raisins next time.
These muffins are amazing! I made them GF, DF and I used coconut oil instead of butter, almond milk instead of milk, and added 2-3 TBS of freshly ground flax to bring the net carbs down. I did add an extra 1/2 TBS of almond milk after the flax so they wouldn’t be dry. I took them out 3 mins early because they were already done.
This is by far the best recipe of banana cupcakes on internet…..
Loved them!! The timing mentioned were just perfect and they taste heavenly…. thanks sally!!
First time making banana muffins and this was SO easy to follow and they turned out amazing !! I added white chocolate chips and mini semi sweet chips and they were so good!
Hi Sally! I’m loving your recipes. My family and friends enjoyed them a lot! I followed then recipe and came up with 12 muffins. Can I just double up the recipe to make 24 muffins? Stay safe and God bless! ❤️
Hi Tiffany, definitely! But I strongly recommend making the batter twice instead of doubling. Less risk of over or under-mixing.
Alright! Thank you! ☺️
These muffins came out perfect and delicious!!! I added some raisins too and it was a nice touch!
I am out of butter, can I substitute vegetable oil in the same amount?
Hi Mary, you can use the same amount of vegetable oil instead. You will lose a bit of flavor though.
These turned out amazing for me and I followed the recipe exactly. Will never make a different banana muffin recipe from here on! ❤️
Fantastic muffins! I had to use half and half instead of milk, that’s all I had. I also added a heaping tablespoon of sour cream. Used whole pecans and filled muffin tins halfway, added a dollop of peanut butter, finished filling tins, sprinkled with brown sugar. My husband can’t eat them fast enough!
Super duper awesome recipe! Wow! Never using any other recipe ever again. Everyone loved it! Definitely making double batch next time.
I wanted these muffins to work but sadly they in on themselves when I turned the oven down slightly as instructed. They still taste good but very gooey.
Perfect recipe. Tastes amazing !
I’m not a baker & they came out awesome ! I did 1/2 basic and the other 1/2 with chocolate … big hit … THANK YOU
I make these almost weekly now. I will admit, I usually use 4 bananas. Still, they turn out perfect every time. My family gets excited when they hear I will be making these, and I am now in the habit of buying extra bananas every time I go shopping. I have been looking for this recipe for years! Game changer.
Made these after searching for QUICK banana muffins. Just grabbed the first recipe I saw since I was in a hurry to use up bananas before a Zoom meeting. 30 minutes! Great! However, they took about 45 minutes. I am not a slow cook and I was in a hurry, but no way can I prep these- melting butter, greasing muffin tins, 13 ingredients – in 10 minutes. Nevertheless I will be making these again and again. I’ll just start 45 minutes before the meeting. 😉
Fantastic recipe! I didn’t have any milk and they turned out delicious!! This recipe is a keeper 🙂
Great use of things I had on hand, no buttermilk and only one egg!
Delicious. First batch, walnuts and raisins. Second batch with Reese’s pieces. So good.
These are really easy and great for freezing for my kid’s snacks or lunches.
Great easy recipe! Perfect as written although I did admit I substituted the milk with some greek yogurt because I always add a dollop of sour cream or yogurt to banana breads… Topped it with Sally’s cream cheese frosting (recipe in this blog) and they were to die for!
Finally got a recipe that my family approve of. Absolutely delicious, soft, moist and a great combination of flavours. Massive thumbs up
Thanks for sharing. My muffins were perfectly cooked with a beautiful top. It taste good also especially for whole wheat flour. I followed the recipe all the way. Next time I will experiment and if things goes wrong, I will know where the problem lies…lol. This recipe will be printed and added to my special recipes sheet protector notebook.
Can I make these if I only have two ripe bananas? Or will it work if I add in one yellow banana?
Thanks
Hi Judy, You can either cut the recipe in half OR you can quickly ripen your yellow bananas in the oven (Set your oven temperature to 300°F, then place your unpeeled bananas on a lined baking sheet and bake them for 15-30 minutes or until the peels are shiny and black).
I love this recipe! By far the best! I leave out the nutmeg because I don’t like it personally but, it’s still great!
I’ve lost count how many times I’ve made these as mini muffins for my kids! The whole household loves them and I follow the recipe exactly! Thank you!