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
How thick should the batter be? Thanks
The video tutorial after the recipe should give you a nice visual, Holly!
I made 2 batches of these. The first was regular muffin sized and the other was mini. I opted not to mix in nuts or chocolate chips… I usually do with my old recipe. This is my new favorite banana muffin recipe- my new “go to”. They are moist, delicious and the nutmeg made such a difference! ( try ‘em with a smear of peanut butter on top)
So good!
I added about a half a cup of cooked red lentils, put in food processor first with all the wet ingredients. Just to add some nutrition. Came out delicious
Can you use white sugar?
Hi Ocean, yes you can! Use the same amount. The brown sugar makes the muffins a little softer and has a little deeper flavor from its higher moisture content and the molasses in it, but white sugar will work fine here too. Enjoy!
I just made these. I followed the recipe almost exactly. I’d bought some Agave nectar, thinking it was honey. After asking Grok about it, I decided to use it in this recipe instead of sugar. Because it is liquid and sweeter than granulated sugar, I put in 1/2 cup of it, and skipped the milk. I added a cup of 72% cacao dark chocolate chips. I think that was too much because the chocolate overpowered the flavor of the muffin in some bites. I skipped the nutmeg. My wife said the cinnamon flavor was too strong, so I’ll use less last time. The bananas were not over ripe but putting them in the stand mixed with the whisk attachment soon liquified them. I sprinkled a little turbinado sugar on top of each muffin before baking to give them a little crunch.
As with all Sally’s muffin recipes, they came out light, moist and perfectly risen. Definitely adding this to my muffin repertoire.
This recipe made 12 beautiful and delicious muffins! My family loved them! Moist, wonderful flavor and made exactly as recipe was written. I always look to Sally’s Addiction site for anything I’m baking ~ you and your team are the best! Thank you for sharing your recipes!
Just made this with a few substitutions such as white sugar, olive oil, oat milk and it turned out great! I also added some frozen blueberries to some muffins and it tastes delicious! For me the recipe yielded only 8 muffins though :’)
Could you send your recipes to my e-mail
Hi Brenda! You can sign up for our email list here.
This recipe was easy to follow, and the muffins were delicious! I have tried several of your recipes and have been very pleased with the results.
The recipe was perfect! I didn’t add nuts or chips, but I did add a crumb topping after 5 minutes of baking and they turned out fabulous
Hi Angela, please share how you made the crumble topping for the banana muffins, thank you 😉
Hello! I’m about to try these for the first time and am so excited given all the rave reviews but I have a quick question – can I cook the batter just as a loaf instead of muffins? Temp? Time?
Hi Rebecca, you can bake this as a loaf, or here is our favorite banana bread recipe.
Can I use almond milk do you need whole milk for the fat content?
Hi Sandra, you can use almond milk.
I forgot to turn the oven temperature down! The muffins were in the oven at 425 degrees for 16 minutes before I realized it. I tested them and they were fully cooked, AND came out delicious! Will definitely make these again following the instructions correctly.
Best banana muffins ever!
The muffins were divine. They were so light and fluffy. I absolutely loved them, and so did my family. Doubled the recipe and ended up making 36 puffy muffins. Had to reduce the sugar a bit as my folks don’t like “normal” sweetness, but they still turned out great.
I tried this recipe yesterday and my muffins came out perfect! Pretty on the outside and delicious!
The only difference is that I was able to make 9 instead of 12, there was not enough dough for 3 more
I made the banana muffin recipe without the optional extras. The 12 muffins rose perfectly and were light and delicious. I would definitely recommend making this reliable, easy-to-make recipe.
These are AMAZING! Light and fluffy, unlike any other banana bread muffin recipes I’ve found. I used “Next Milk” by Silk and used Chia Eggs, to make it vegan friendly. Works like an absolute charm!
These are really really good. I filled mine 3/4 of the way (It’s my paranoia- just spent an entire afternoon scrubbing my oven) and it made 11 decent sized muffins. I did half walnuts and half mini chocolate chips, and was heavy handed with the cinnamon. Thank you very much for the recipe. This made the most pleasant, delicious breakfast for a cold rainy day.
I made these muffins with bananas I had previously frozen and added 3/4 c semi sweet chocolate chips. They came out perfect! They were moist, flavorful and delicious!
I appreciate that your recipes are tried and true, I never have a “fail” with one your recipes. I also appreciate the detailed instructions and helpful notes.
This site never lets me down. Absolutely delicious muffins. Much fluffier and less dense than some recipes.
Will this recipe work for the larger muffin tins please?
Hi Sheila, absolutely. You can use the baking times and instructions from these jumbo blueberry muffins as a guide.
I made these jumbo size and they went down a storm! I followed the Jumbo Blueberry Instructions as recommended
Made these and they were delicious but I in no way got 12 muffins filling them all the way to the top? I had only 9? Is that just me?
Best recipe ever!
LOVE this muffin Recipe. Go to every Sunday morning. Freezes well.Never a fail and fave of my children when they visit.
Could I use this same recipe and baking temp for mini muffins? * BTW I love this recipe and have made it several times!!
Hi Cassandra! For mini muffins, bake 12–14 total minutes at 350°F (177°C)
Hi Sally, I love your recipes and only have one suggestion. I have been diagnosed with some GI challenges and need a breakdown of nutrients. Do you track serving size info on calories, fat, protein, carbs, fiber, sugar levels? That way I can easily monitor these for health reasons.
Much appreciated,
Eileen
Hi Eileen, 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
So glad I found this recipe!!! This is my go to banana muffin recipe. They taste amazing. My family loves these!
Absolutely perfect banana muffins! They’re delicious, moist, and easy to make. Next time, I’ll try them with some add-ins. Thanks so much 🙂
This is my new favorite banana muffin recipe! I made these today and they are delicious. The nutmeg and cinnamon are perfect combo’s to the bananas. Great recipe!
Hi! Is there a way of making this gluten free? Thank you in advance
Hi Gaby, We haven’t tested this recipe with gluten free flours, but many readers have reported success using 1:1 flour substitutes (like Cup4Cup). If you try it, let us know how it goes!
Any suggestions if i only have baking soda?
Hi Michaela! You really need both baking powder and baking soda for this recipe. You can read more about the differences between the two in this helpful post: Baking Powder vs. Baking Soda.