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
- Peanut Butter Banana 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
Absolutely love all of your recipes and have made this one many times! The last time I accidentally left out the egg and they still came out perfectly- wanted to share in case anyone with an egg allergy is looking for a great recipe!
This is by far the easiest most delicious banana muffins I have ever made. They literally melt in your mouth, that’s how moist they are. Sally is always my go to for finding new recipes and like always her recipes don’t disappoint. This one is 1000/10 and by far my favorite with her sugar cookie recipe as my 2nd. I made homemade cream cheese frosting to add, but it definitely tastes so good without.
★★★★★
Thank you Sally for an easy muffin recipe. The muffins turned out moist and tasteful . I added flax seed, chocolate chips and raisins. I left out the sugar completely. It was sweet enough for my family.
★★★★★
I kept rereading recipe as it was a very dry mix. I had to add more wet ingredients – more butter milk and extra egg. Turned out great. Must have missed something somewhere ♀️
Love all your never fail recipes- this is only one I’ve had to adjust but thanks to knowing basics still a winner ⭐️⭐️
I love this so much! They are fluffy yet crunchy and very tasty. Any chance you know the nutrition info?
Hi Alyssa, we don’t usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients. Plus, many recipes have ingredient substitutions or optional ingredients listed. However, there are many handy online calculators where you can plug in and customize your exact ingredients/brands. Readers have found this one especially helpful: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
I tried this recipe last night as it’s my first time baking ever !! Loooved every bite! Thank you so much for making baking so easy!
So much love from Iran
Ps. I added some blueberry on top
★★★★★
I forgot the milk in the recipe! But I followed all the rest of the directions. Used very ripe baby Guatemalan bananas. So happy with the outcome.
★★★★★
I got rave reviews on these muffins. I didn’t have chocolate chips but found some peanut butter morsels in my freezer so threw those in – YUM – peanut butter and banana! Loved the moisture and flavors from the spices. This recipe is a keeper!
Well made this before and they were perfect.. wanted to make bread and didn’t pay close enough attention to see this was a muffin recipe just put it in the oven in a loaf pan.. will report back how it worked out… shouldn’t bake when you are tired!!!!!
★★★★★
Fantastic recipe as always. Any insight as to why some of my muffins split on top?? I did double the recipe, don’t know if that matters. I was careful to not over mix the batter but I guess it’s still possible. I turned the oven down immediately after 5 minutes was up to 350.
★★★★★
Hi JoJo, cracks on the top of muffins are actually a sign that your muffins expanded properly. The tops will naturally cook and set quicker than the center. As the center cooks, air escapes out of the top and create the cracks you mention. Although if future batches don’t have cracks, that’s fine too! There are so many variables at play including your oven, the oven temperature, length of time, oven rack position, recipe, etc. So glad you enjoyed the muffins!
These are by far the best banana muffins I have ever tried. Super easy recipe. I served them after letting them cook for about 10 minutes and my guests couldn’t get enough. Need to double the recipe next time as guests were eating 2-3 a piece! Home run for this fam. Thank you!!
★★★★★
I just made these and they are delicious! I didn’t have walnuts, so I made them plain. I used a mini muffin baking pan that holds 1 Tablespoon batter per muffin and baked them at 350 for 12 minutes. That made 51 bite-size muffins. This is one of the best recipes I’ve ever tried. I already wrote it down and added it to my recipe box. 5 stars! Adding walnuts will boost it to 6 out of 5 stars!
★★★★★
Can I substitute with almond flour and keep the other ingredients the same?
Hi Roula, 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!
Used Bob’s Red Mill 1-1 Gluten-free flour and the muffins turned out moist and delicious!
Hi Sally!
From France! I am an Irish/English home cook baker known for my cakes! This continuing heat wave in France means fruit ripens quickly so spotty bananas are a frequent occurrence in my kitchen! My other half and I love banana bread/cake so I spotted this quick & easy muffin recipe and thought I would give it ago. Nowadays quick, easy & tasty is a priority for me due to multiple sclerosis which means I can stand for about 20/30 mins at a time before I have to sit for 10mins then start again .
So I get the ingredients together which all bakers should do really ( the French have a phrase which basically means, everything in its place) and yes these muffins are so tasty & quick too. This super hot oven for 5 mins then turn it down really works! I made them for the first time yesterday and they are all nearly gone! I used light brown muscavado sugar which is moist and adds a caramel taste and sprinkled icing sugar on top, no nuts or chocolate chips but delicious! Make fabulous breakfast muffins, friend popped by, he had 2 with tea, other half had at least 2 and me 2 also . Others have seemed to disappear, I made 12 and I think another batch needs to be made tomorrow! You can’t beat a tasty easy muffin any time of the day! Have followed your blog for a few years now and tried several recipes, all successfully even though French ingredients are a little different. The country that made Chantilly cream famous yet they don’t produce a high enough fat content cream to whip up! 35% max and only certain supermarkets stock that!
★★★★★
This is a great recipe and my kids love it!! Question… Why is it that for the other muffin recipes you do not suggest to have that initial few minutes at high temperature?
Hi Leornie, We’re so glad you love this recipe! Can you tell us a specific recipe that you’re thinking of? Other than our mini muffin recipes, we usually do that initial high temperature.
This recipe is so easy! I love using just a fork to mash the bananas and a whisk for everything else. I made half plain and added mini chocolate chips to the other half of the batter. They are delicious and a perfect soft texture. Yum!!
★★★★★
used salted butter and they came out great. not sure if there is a difference in the quality of the muffins between salted and unsalted. definitely will make again.
★★★★★
How would you convert this for large muffins?
Ingredients
Cook time
Temp
Hi Tricia, you can use the recipe as written and use jumbo muffin pans for 6 jumbo muffins. Follow the bake time and instructions for jumbo blueberry muffins as a guide.
Just made the mini muffins and am enjoying one right now warm from the oven…delicious! Thanks for another great recipe.
★★★★★
Hello, are we able to freeze these after they’re made?
From Notes underneath recipe
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.
Hola I make these as mini muffins. I add pecans. Everyone loves them. I use your recipes ALL the time. Your recipes are easy and I usually have all the ingredients and easy to understand. Thank you for making my baking easy and delicious!!!
Very simplified recipe! Ingredients are very basic and easy to source, and the muffins turned out great!
Personally would prefer if the top of the muffin was crunchier, but overall great recipe!
★★★★
Love your recipes. I was wondering if I could add blueberries to this recipe.
Hi Shirley, You could add a cup of blueberries to the batter with no other changes. Enjoy!
I’ve made a lot of banana muffins over the years. This is by far the best. I used coconut oil. So moist.
★★★★★
Perfect. Easy and beautiful (muffins can look odd, the dear things, and these don’t). Used half a cup of whole wheat flour with some flax meal and did not increase milk. And a cup of semisweet chocolate chunks, because bananas and chocolate…Thanks for this recipe!
★★★★★
Great tasty recipe! Loved how easy they were and they baked perfect. So much easier in muffin form than bread form. Can grab one and go 🙂
★★★★★
Followed the recipe exactly and they were exceptional. Used half pecans and half walnuts. Best banana nut muffins I’ve ever had.
★★★★★
Best banana muffins – light, fluffy, moist. Used Splenda brown sugar blend. Freeze and zap a minute in microwave as good as fresh!
★★★★★
Your recipe is delicious. It is a big hit with the family. Thank you for sharing!
★★★★★
Very nice, came out very good.
I used all purpose flour 1 cup and ½ cup oats powder.
But Sweet is less..A little more sugar is needed.
Iam always fan of sally’s recipes
★★★★
I user cake flour instead cos I don’t have all purpose flour. Added mixed butter, brown sugar, flour and chopped walnuts on top. Turned up amazing!! This recipe is a keeper.
★★★★★
I really loved making these , do you have the macro info please I cannot find it anywhere xx
Hi Jenny, we’re so glad you enjoyed these muffins! We don’t usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients. Plus, many recipes have ingredient substitutions or optional ingredients listed. However, there are many handy online calculators where you can plug in and customize your exact ingredients/brands. Readers have found this one especially helpful: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
I love this recipe! I put pecans in half of the batter and the other half with Mimi Choc. Chips !! Delicious… ..
★★★★★
I make these all the time. I know the recipe by heart. Super delicious, easy to follow instructions. Thank you
Love, love, love this recipe. The muffins were delicious. The recipe was so easy to follow. The family devoured them. Need to make double the recipe next time.
★★★★★
I loved it! Great recepie and great instructions. I added chocolate chips instead of walnuts and a bit more baking powder. It turned out flufy and full of taste.
★★★★★