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!
PrintQuick & 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. 🙂
Keywords: banana muffins
This recipe is very tasty and came together easily in the am. I ran short 100 grams of bananas so I used unsweetened Greek yogurt and it is still sweet enough. Great recipe.
★★★★★
Thank you Sally. This recipe is the most practical one as far as ingredients go that I have found. I can’t wait to try it. I like to use spelt flour which seems to be interchangeable with wheat.
Delicious!!! I make these every few weeks for a treat in my house, and they never last more than 2 days 🙂
★★★★★
Super delicious.
★★★★★
This recipe looks amazing. Just wondering if it will work if I put raw sugar instead of brown sugar as it’s the only sugar I have in my pantry at the moment. Thank you
Hi Christina, see recipe Notes about best sugar alternatives. Hope you enjoy the muffins!
These sound divine! I’m on a muffin-making mission for my 11-month old so my question is, can these be made without sugar or salt? Thanks so much!
Hi Sarah, sugar plays an important role in the texture and structure of the muffins, too, so we don’t recommend omitting it all together. If you’re interested, here is our recipe for whole wheat banana muffins that uses maple syrup to sweeten rather than refined sugar.
These are a go-to favourite in my household and my three-year old loves to help make them.
★★★★★
My kids gobbled these up. Delish!
★★★★★
Perfect recipe. Not too sweet and perfectly moist. I added flax seed to the recipe for a little extra nutrition and used coconut oil in place of the butter. This will be my new go to recipe.
★★★★★
Great idea with the flax seed, Sarah! How much did you add (approx.)? I have a ground flax and chia seed mix that might be good.
★★★★★
I make this on Sundays so my youngest has breakfast for the week. They love this recipe with the chocolate chips so much it is always a treat.
★★★★★
Just wondering – since I only have 2 frozen bananas and a large handful of frozen strawberries…does anyone think that will work before I try it? Just so excited to try them I might just see what happens !
Hi Ardelle, that should be fine! Blot the strawberries before adding to the batter to remove some of the excess moisture.
Where’s the nutrition information for the banana 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
This is a tried and true recipe. Great taste and texture! This has been loved by the whole family many times over.
★★★★★
My first time making banana muffins. This was simple and delicious. I usually don’t leave comments on the internet but you need to try this!!!
★★★★★
Out of all the recipes I’ve tried online , these are the best. They raise high and are tender.
★★★★★
The muffins were very good. I added 1 cup of oats that were soaked in milk. They turned out perfect.
★★★★★
Following the baking instructions of 425 for 5 minutes and then 350 for 16-18 results in burned muffins. They were still good, but definitely burned. Bake them at 350 the whole time instead.
For another option, I baked them at 425 for 5 min and then at 325 for 10 min and they were perfect.
These muffins are Awesome! My family loved them!! I did have probably closer to 2 cups of mashed frozen bananas and I added ground ginger and 1 cup of dark chocolate chips. I ended up with 12 muffins and 15 mini muffins. The minis were devoured instantly! Will definitely make these again!
★★★★★
OMG these are delicious! I weighed dry ingredients and the bananas per the recipe, and the muffins came out perfect! My family loves them and asked me to make more. Thanks for sharing your recipes. I have tried several and they have all been delicious.
★★★★★
Delicious Muffins Ready
★★★★★
Perfect banana muffins! I have been making a batch of these for my son, who is now almost 4 years old, at least once a month for the last three years. I use whole wheat flour and add extra milk as recommended and sometimes add chocolate chips. They’re great for breakfast, snack and pack well in lunch boxes. They freeze beautifully and are easy to thaw, either overnight in the fridge or with a quick spin in the microwave from frozen. I am so grateful I found this recipe!
★★★★★
Hi! Can i substitute the butter for something like vegetable oil and if so how much would i need to use for it to be equal to 6tbsp? thank you!
Hi Gabi, the butter really gives these muffins fantastic flavor, and we highly recommend sticking with the recipe as written. That being said, the same amount of coconut oil or canola/vegetable oil would work just fine.
Hi Sally, I’ve tried your recipe and my aunts love them and have a plan to make it again soon. Please kindly suggest if I could mix the batter and then put it in a fridge and bake in the next morning. If this can be done, do I have to leave the batter at the room temperature or just bake it right after taken out of the fridge?
Thank you.
★★★★★
Hi Rigel, we’re so glad these banana muffins were a hit! We don’t recommend making the batter ahead of time. Once the wet and dry ingredients are mixed together, the leaveners are activated and it’s best to bake off the batter soon after. You could, however, make the muffins the night before and simply reheat them in the microwave for warm muffins in the morning.
Can I make this recipe without eggs?
Hi Lauren, we haven’t tested an egg-free version of this recipe, but let us know if you decide to try it with any substitutes.
Can I make a double batch ?
Hi Deanna, for best results and to prevent over mixing, we recommend making two separate batches.
This banana muffin recipe is the best I have ever tried. They are so moist & light. I cut brown sugar to 1/2 cup and added 2 T Greek yogurt to make sure they were not dry, but I didn’t need to worry. I added 1 c chopped walnuts. Thank you. You really do have great recipes
★★★★★
Sally, thank you. These are absolutely the best banana muffins ever. I admit it did add an extra tsp of baking powder, maple extract and substituted the walnuts for pecans. These muffins rose to the occasion. This is a keeper people. Don’t hesitate, just bake:)
★★★★★
These are fantastic!!!!! I used coconut oil instead of butter and also spelt flour. it was perfect!
★★★★★
I made this with oat flour so they can be gluten free and followed the recipe exactly (measuring ingredients on a scale). The muffins were amazing! Light, moist, fluffy, lots of banana flavor.
I have been making this recipe for years with my nieces and nephew. They love it and inhale them as soon as they are cool enough to eat! My niece even saves the “dirty bananas” for when I come to visit to make them. Thank you for the great recipe and the memories!
★★★★★
Can you make these in 9×13 pan if so 350 for how lonv
Hi Dee, here’s everything you need to know about cake pan sizes and conversions. Or, here is our banana cake recipe written for a 9×13 pan.