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, or 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
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 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): Stand Mixer or Handheld Mixer | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | 12-Count Muffin Pan | Muffin Liners
- 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. 🙂
Keywords: banana muffins
I have made a similar recipe from another site a few times but the muffins always came out too dry – yours were PERFECT!!! Thanks for all your detailed testing and directions!
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This is my new favorite recipe for muffins. Very easy to follow and they come out great. I have made them a few times now, this last batch I ran our of almond milk and all I had in the fridge was a non-dairy Vanilla Chai Protein Drink which I subbed instead! I also accidentally added double the nutmeg and they came out almost like a Banana Vanilla Chai flavor (and even fluffier than usual!) Delicious 🙂
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If I wanted to add oats, do I sub for a part of the flour amount or just dump oats in the batter(as written)? Thank you for all the great recipes. You make me a better baker. Your gingerbread cookie are my go to cookie recipe. Get many compliments.
Hi Jeannie! I recommend subbing *some* of the flour out and replacing with MORE oats since they absorb less liquid. So if you subbed out 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, I would add 1/2 cup of oats. Does that make sense?
These sound so great! Adding bananas to shopping list….and chocolate chips….and walnuts for additions. Can’t wait to make them! I just bought a new Kitchenaid mixer. What a great recipe to test my new mixer on. 🙂 Thanks for sharing Sally!
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I’m not very experienced in baking and cooking, but I have to say, this recipe is amazing! Very easy, simple, and quick to the point. Smoothly written and explained while still tasting amazing and is something I 100% recommend anyone not sure about this to try. I will definitely make this again!
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I made these with yogurt instead of the milk and topped them with your crumble. I also used a silicone muffin tin and baked the whole thing on a cookie sheet. I used mini chocolate chips. Next time, I’ll use walnuts. De-licious.
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I made these today using gluten free all-purpose flour (Namaste) and coconut sugar. They are excellent.
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These muffins are excellent. I accidentally left out the milk but they were still great. They were crunchy on the outside and moist on the inside. I added 1/2 oats, 1/2 cup blueberries and 1/2 cup chopped pecans. I used 50-50 light brown and coconut sugar and a cup of all
Purpose and 1/2 cup wheat flour. Delicious! I will be making these again.
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Thank you for sharing, I just made them this morning and they are absolutely amazing. This is definitely going to be my go to muffin recipe from now on.
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so delicious!!! My sister and I ate all dozen in a day they were so good! Perfect amount of sweetness with and without chocolate chips. Definitely a recipe I’ll be using again 🙂
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Loved, loved, loved these delicious muffins. This is my new go to recipe for Banana Muffins!
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These were so delicious and easy!! I added some butterscotch chips for fun. Thank you for the tip about how to get them to rise!! Have been baking for years and have never done that!! Do you have any tips to keep them from sticking to the liners? I hate to spray the liners because it makes them look so greasy.
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These muffins were so soft and light, I could have eaten them all! I had some very sad looking bananas when this recipe showed up so of course I had to give the recipe a try. Just delicious! Even my husband who is not one for any kind of sweets, liked them! Now I will be making them for our Airbnb guests.
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Made these this morning and really enjoyed them. Came out just like your pictures!. The cinnamon and nutmeg gave it a nice flavor. My banana bread recipe is very old, comes from my mother or maybe even my grandmother and they only used vanilla flavoring.
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this recipe is so tasty! i literally just baked a batch and I looooove them! theyre moist, fluffy and so good warm with some milk. great recipe! it’ll be my go-to from now on!
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These muffins just came out of the oven…and they are delicious! Tender, moist, and full of flavor.
Not to mention quick & easy! Thanks Sally for a great recipe!
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These were wonderful! I have a question when you said we can use our favorite variety of dairy milk, what about whole ultra-filtered milk? can I also bake with this?
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I used heavy cream and it worked fine! The muffins are moist and so delicious – definitely hanging on to this recipe 🙂
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Amazing as always! Can’t miss with Sally’s recipe. 35 weeks pregnant and trying not to eat all twelve at once!
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I made these today and my kids LOVE them! I used melted coconut oil, only brown sugar rather than substituting it, and almond milk instead of regular. I also added walnuts and chocolate chips. They came out super moist! Will definitely be making these again. Thanks for the recipe 🙂
I have made these twice now, once with sultanas with a single choc melt button in the centre and the other time with choc chips. Both times they were a huge success, even with my fussy kid. Thank you!
This Banana muffin recipe tops the lot!! They are easy, don’t take long to cook, so moist and very tasty, and best of all my kids LOVE them!! I think their brilliant for school lunch boxes.
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Great recipe! I made these this morning and they are already half gone. Also, for the first time ever, I measured my ingredients accurately following your tips in the link on ‘spoon and leveling’ rather than throwing in a dash and of this and that. Wow?! It really did make a difference in texture and loft … in everything. Your line that baking is different from throwing together dinner was poignant and will stick with me, thank you!
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I just wanted to say Thank You for this wonderful recipe. It is simply the best banana muffins!
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I made these banana muffins just yesterday, and we only have three left (I made a double batch)! Your tip for mashing the bananas is very useful, and the batter came together so quickly! They rose nice and tall, and the texture was wonderful, much lighter than the dense banana breads I have tried before! This is my new favourite recipe for banana muffins! The smell alone was so tantalizing that I devoured one after only five minutes or so of cooling, and two more followed soon afterwards. I used half coconut sugar and half brown sugar, and they’re just fabulous, with the perfect amount of sweetness. My friend, who is quite picky about food, ate two in short succession and then took four home with her! So I’d say these were a big success, and I’ll definitely be making these again! Thanks for the great recipe, Sall!)y! 🙂
Very good and easy!! I don’t know why I never thought of mashing the bananas in the mixer!
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LOVE this recipe so much! I usually make a batch every other weekend or so, and freeze them for my little boy, he loves them as an afternoon snack, they are so light and tasty. I make them with applesauce instead of the egg as he is allergic, and sub half the brown sugar for coconut sugar. They come out perfect every time, and I have made them so many times now. Thank you so much Sally for such great recipes x
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Are you kidding know my way around me? What kind of muffin voodo is this!? I’m not a novice baker but I do know my way around a kitchen. THESE WERE THE BEST HOMEMADE MUFFINS EVER!!! So soft and full of flavor. Best part is they are simple! Made in 5mins and the are so good! No fancy equipment. I will def be making more of your recipes and getting out of my comfort zone! Thank you
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This is the first ever recipe I tried for banana muffins and I promise I won’t go for any other recipe now. Everything was so perfect about the muffins I got- texture, flavors and nice aroma. I added hand full of walnuts and everyone who tried loved the combination. This recipe is going in my file. Thanks a lot!
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YUM!!! Just made these with my 2.5 year old currently very fussy eater- she’s just hoovered one straight out of the oven! They’re lush!! Thanks so much for the recipe!
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Made these with the addition of dark choc chips and swapped out some of the flour for rolled oats, chia and Linseeds
So good!!! Definitely one for the permanent cook book 🙂
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