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
This recipe is by far the simplest and the best of all I’ve tried so far. The muffins turned out perfectly moist and fluffy! Thank you Sally! It’s a hit with the family!
Great amazing. Results!
I made these yesterday for a road trip, and yum!! My 8-yo described them as both filling and delicious, so win win! I even screwed up the recipe in a few ways and it still worked out great, which made it extra awesome in my book. We were leaving kind of early, so the night before I combined all the wet ingredients in one bowl and all the dry ingredients (1 C WW flour, 1/2 C white) in another bowl and stuck the wet ingredients in the fridge. I mixed them together first thing the next morning and stuck them in the oven. I made 12 muffins, not quite filled to the top, but the height was totally fine. I baked them at 425 for 5 minutes, then reset the timer… but completely forgot to turn down the oven! I pulled them out in a panic 12 minutes later, and they were beautifully crisp on top, soft and not at all overbaked in the middle, even though I baked them at too high a temp, probably underfilled the cups, and used cold premixed ingredients. Oh, and I sprinkled some cinnamon & sugar on top before baking to give them a nice little topping. Really great and I love how forgiving the recipe is!
Perfect! So glad to read they still came out wonderfully for you. I love using whole wheat flour in these muffins or even a mix of WW and regular flour. Thank you so much for sharing your experience with this recipe, Rachel!
I made muffins with this recipe and they came out awesome.
OMG. This was a hit with my boys and my diabetic husband. I used the coconut oil and coconut sugar as instructed. The recipe bakes perfect and the texture is light and flavor soooo delicious.
I moved recently and darn it I cannot find my cupcake pan. But strangely I had no problem finding my « muffin top » pan… maybe it was a sign?? Anyway I baked those muffins as written except I baked 5 mins at 425 and 8 mins at 350. I also used apple pie spice. Hands down the best recipe for banana anything. I’m not kidding! I’m 52 and I’ve been baking since I was 12. This is my top banana recipe. Thank you for sharing!
Just came out of the oven! Perfectly made with freshly picked bananas from my tree—honest! Followed your exact recipe. Since I may have 100 bananas, I’ll make more of these, thanks!
Would send pic but don’t see how! Fabulous!
Can I use this recipe to make regular banana bread in a loaf pan? (I would use your recipe but I currently only have 3 ripe bananas and the banana bread recipe calls for 4).
Absolutely! It won’t rise quite as high. Bake at 350°F (177°C) in a 9×5 inch or 8×4 inch loaf pan. I’m unsure of the exact bake time, but you can use a toothpick to test for doneness. Let me know how you like it!
First time visitor. Had some over ripe bananas and googled banana muffins. Liked how easy and simple yours was, although I did expect the muffins to be a bit dense. Well, they aren’t at all. They are so moist, but fluffy. Not too sweet, which I love (I did not quite 3/4th cup brown sugar). Only thing I added was a tspn allspice, just cuz I love the cinnamon/nutmeg/allspice combo. Thank you so much for such a great recipe. It’s a keeper and I look forward to perusing the rest of your recipes.
Literally the best muffin recipe I’ve tried yet they were so good!
This is my favourite muffin recipe. Always turn out, always delicious. I love adding walnuts, my husband loves with semi sweet chocolate chips. Just finished making a batch!
I doubled this recipe because I had six overly ripened bananas. My 2 and 4 year olds had a blast making them, and we used walnuts and chocolate chips. These are SO delicious!!!
My family and I really enjoyed this recipe! Quick and easy not over sweet like most recipe I’ve tried.
I substituted with GF flour, used 75 grams of honey so reduced milk to 1 TB and these turned out fabulous! Family ate nearly the entire batch in 1 night (we don’t get baked goods very often as half of us need to be GF). Excited to look thru some of your other recipes – thanks for all the tips on how to make this recipe with less dishes – cleanup was a breeze!
So delicious! Just what I was looking for. FYI if you’re making a 1/2 recipe just do one egg still (don’t half the egg) and it’ll take a few minutes less to bake. Kids are inhaling these… ❤️❤️❤️
These turned out well, but next time I’ll use a little more sugar.
Just baked these and they turned out great! I did the walnuts and also added two spoonfuls of flax seed meal. My bananas were frozen from months ago and had more liquid than unfrozen so the flax didn’t dry it out. Thank you for your tips! SO helpful to know the different variations you have tried and the result you got. I did use melted butter and almond milk. And my house now smells so delicious! Thank you!
Oh my gosh. Fabulous. My kiddos and I made a double batch the first time we made these. I know that all your recipes are tested and delicious so I can always make a double batch of anything from you Sally. We froze them and ate them for breakfast or a snack. I just made a second double batch today and used half whole wheat flour. Just as moist and fluffy as using all white flour. Delicious. Thank you
Fantastic recipe! Best banana muffins by far – all other recipes I’ve tried were dry but this one was super moist and delicious!
Made these tonight as I had some over ripe bananas. Substituted 1/3 cup canola oil and soy milk. (My son is allergic to dairy). Best banana muffins ever! No joke. I m’ve tried dozens of recipes and these are the best!
Yummylicious! We live in Colorado & let me just approve this recipe for high altitude. I made no adjustments & they are moist, fluffy & rose really well. This recipe is a keeper. We will be making these again & again. Thank you!!
Made these for the third time today, each time with whole wheat flour! The second time I completely spaced and left out the sugar… That batch became banana chocolate bread pudding haha. Thank you so much for our favorite muffins!
Simple, tasty 🙂 and wonderfully moist! I actually was out of vanilla so just omitted and they were still great. Also, after the initial 5min 425 bake, mine only had to bake at 350 for 14 minutes before my nose told me they were done. They were beautifully brown on top, tooth pick came out clean… they were perfect! Will definitely make with half WW flour next time for that heartier, slightly healthier taste.
These muffins came out perfect. Beautiful to look at and delicious. Thanks for sharing your recipe.
WOW! I just made these with slight alterations and omg they melt in your mouth with pure deliciousness. I was bad and ate 3 in a row. I used 2 tablespoons of cinnamon, a tablespoon of vanilla and substituted a half cup of the flour with a half cup of powdered vanilla coffee creamer. Topped with cinnamon sugar and pecans. A definite winner!
Absolutely delicious and so easy to make. Thanks for the great recipe.
These are so so good! Everyone fights over them! The only thing going on for me is that I’m only getting ten muffins instead of twelve. Could this be due to overfilling or my bananas being too soft? I weigh all ingredients.
Hi Rebecca! I usually only get about 10-11 muffins too. The recipe yields between 10-12.
DELICIOUS! Theses were the perfect addition to our Father’sDay brunch. This recipe is a keeper!
I just tried this recipe today and is deliciously awesome. Best banana muffins recipe.
I made these muffins this evening and they are so delicious!! I thought I had butter, but of course I didn’t check ahead of time but I did have coconut oil. Oh my gosh I will be making these whenever I have ripe bananas. The recipe was an easy one allright…thank you for the many wonderful recipes you have Sally.