These banana chocolate chip streusel muffins are moist, buttery, and cake-like. (And dessert-like!) Fill and top each with a delicious streusel made of brown sugar, cinnamon, walnuts, and chocolate chips. They’re like portioned banana crumb cakes with gooey chocolate chips and cinnamon swirl inside!
I originally published this recipe in 2013 and have since added new photos, a video tutorial, and a few more success tips.
Think of regular banana muffins as a pair of cozy, dependable sweatpants and today’s chocolate chip-studded, brown sugar-streuseled version as your over-the-top, sequins- and feathers-bedazzled blazer. (What, you don’t have one of those?!)
Today’s recipe originally came from my dear friend Amy, who makes them for Christmas breakfast. The recipe has certainly stood the test of time, and they taste every bit as indulgent as they look.
Reader Katie commented: “Not even kidding, never in my life have I commented on a food blog. I’ve made dozens of different banana muffin recipes and they have always been dry and dense. THIS RECIPE… these are the best banana muffins I’ve had in my life! This will be my go-to from now on!★★★★★“
Banana Chocolate Chip Streusel Muffins Are:
- Satisfying, buttery, moist, and soft.
- Like regular banana muffins, but with a texture upgrade from crunchy walnuts and melty-soft chocolate chips.
- Layered and swirled with cinnamon and sugar, just like this cinnamon swirl quick bread.
- A great way to use up over-ripe bananas.
- Pretty easy, including the streusel—you don’t need to cut in butter like you do for the layers in cinnamon coffee cake, just mix a few ingredients together.
- A delicious treat for breakfast, snack, or dessert.
Basic Baking Ingredients Required:
Can I Use Frozen Bananas?
Yes, frozen and thawed bananas work in this recipe and you can read more about How to Freeze & Thaw Bananas for Baking if you’d like. Two important things to remember:
- The riper the banana, the better. When you bake with bananas, you want to use brown, spotty super-ripe ones.
- Strain off excess liquid. As bananas thaw, they let out a lot of liquid, which can throw off the wet ingredients in any baking recipe. I always recommend draining off most or all of that excess liquid before mashing and measuring them for your recipe.
Start by Making the Streusel
The chopped walnuts and chocolate chips aren’t in the muffin batter, they’re actually in the streusel along with the brown sugar and most of the cinnamon. You’ll layer the streusel with the banana batter in your muffin liners, then swirl it all together. Combine the streusel ingredients first, so it’s ready as soon as the banana batter is finished.
(Side note: Feel free to swirl this streusel into zucchini muffins, pumpkin muffins, or even Nutella swirl peanut butter banana bread, too!)
Can I leave out the walnuts? You can substitute chopped pecans for the walnuts, or leave the nuts out entirely—you’ll just have a little less streusel, and not as much crunchy texture.
The banana batter is pretty straightforward and uses many of the same ingredients as banana bread. Note that we use creamed butter and sugar like we do in chocolate banana bread to produce a cakier-style muffin, vs. melted butter (or oil) in these banana muffins, which are denser and heartier.
You need a mixer for today’s recipe.
Let’s Layer It All Together
Now comes the (somewhat) messy part: layering the batter and the streusel. Grab a standard 12-count muffin pan, either greased or lined with cupcake liners. If you need a recommendation, this muffin pan has held up well with very regular use.
Spoon some of the batter into each muffin cup—a scant 1.5 Tablespoons each. Next, sprinkle on a scant Tablespoon of streusel in top. Top that with another large spoonful of batter, and finish by topping with more streusel. Use a toothpick or knife to gently swirl it together.
The entire process is very similar to how we assemble snickerdoodle cupcakes.
My #1 Muffin Success Tip:
Bake at an initially high oven temperature. Bake the muffins for 5 minutes in a very hot oven. Then, keeping the muffins in the oven, lower the oven temperature. This initial high oven temperature quickly lifts up the muffin tops. Once the temperature is lowered, the centers of the muffins bake. I do this in all my muffin recipes.
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Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins with Cinnamon Streusel
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 12 muffins
- Category: Muffins
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Super-moist and flavorful banana chocolate chip muffins with layers of crunchy cinnamon streusel.
Ingredients
Streusel
- 2 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 cup (50g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 3/4 cup (135g) semi-sweet chocolate chips
- optional: 1/2 cup (60g) chopped walnuts
Muffins
- 1 and 2/3 cups (208g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 6 Tablespoons (85g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 and 1/2 cups (345g) mashed bananas (about 4 medium or 3 large bananas)
- 1/4 cup (60g) plain yogurt or sour cream (I use nonfat Greek yogurt)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F (218°C). Spray a 12-count muffin pan with nonstick spray or line with cupcake liners. Set aside.
- Make the streusel: Mix all the streusel ingredients together in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Make the muffins: Whisk the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar together on medium-high speed in a large bowl until creamed, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. (Here’s a helpful tutorial if you need guidance on how to cream butter and sugar.) Add the egg and beat until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Add the mashed bananas and yogurt, and then beat on high speed until combined; mixture will look curdled and that’s ok.
- Add the dry ingredients and beat on low speed until combined. Batter is thick. Do not overmix.
- Layer a large spoonful (about 1.5 Tablespoons) of batter into each muffin cup. Sprinkle with 1 scant Tablespoon of streusel. Layer another large spoonful of batter over each, using up the remaining batter, then finish by sprinkling remaining streusel on top of each muffin. The 12 muffin cups should be filled all the way to the very top. With a toothpick or knife, gently swirl the streusel topping with the batter.
- 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 15–16 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The total time these muffins take in the oven is about 20–21 minutes. Allow the muffins to cool for 5 minutes in the muffin pan, and then transfer to a wire rack to continue cooling, or enjoy warm.
- Muffins stay fresh covered at room temperature for a few days, then transfer to the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: For longer storage, freeze the muffins for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then warm up in the microwave if desired.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 12-count Muffin Pan | Cupcake Liners | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Cooling Rack
- Make as a Cake: Use this banana chocolate chip crumb cake recipe.
- Can I leave out the walnuts? You can substitute chopped pecans, or leave out the walnuts entirely. Or try this popular banana muffin recipe instead, adding in some chocolate chips.
- Frozen Bananas: You can use thawed frozen bananas in this muffin recipe. Thawed bananas are extra wet, so drain off as much of the excess liquid as you can before mashing. See How to Freeze & Thaw Bananas for Baking.
- Yogurt or Sour Cream: You can use either regular or Greek plain yogurt in this recipe (any fat content) or sour cream. In a pinch, 1/4 cup (60ml) buttermilk may be substituted.
- Why the initial high oven temperature? Like I do for most muffin recipes, bake the muffins for 5 minutes at a very hot temperature. Then, keeping the muffins in the oven, switch to a lower temperature for the remaining bake time. This initial high temperature will quickly lift the muffin tops so they’re extra high, then the centers will bake during the lower temperature bake time. This trick makes beautiful bakery-style muffins every time.
Reader Comments and Reviews
These are REALLY good! I was concerned with. The amount of cinnamon but I trusted the recipe. They are perfect and not too cinnamony! They were also easy to make.
These are amazing! So much flavor and the texture is perfect. I will definitely be making these again.
Thanks Sally so much for this recipe. Tried it today for the first time and it came out amazing. I wish I could attach a pic but you just have to take my word for it
Hi Trina,
Thank you for the info.
I did measure by spoon and level.
Next time I will shorten my baking time to 14 minutes, as I baked them 15.
Baking with substitutions for eggs is always a challenge.
Also, I was thinking of adding 1 tablespoon of canola oil to the recipe next time.
I placed The muffins in a Ziploc bag overnight, that did give them some moisture!
Will definitely try the recipe again!
Thank you so much, Ally
Hi Sally
I made these and forgot to swirl the streusel topping before placing in the oven .
Also replaced egg with a flax egg ( one tablespoon of flaxseed powder and three tablespoons of water mixed).
Egg allergy.
Is this why My muffins came out a bit dry.
Ally
Hi Ally! Making any substitutions will impact the texture of baked goods. Though flax eggs do usually work well in muffins. Usually a dry muffin would be caused by over-baking (and easy fix for next time!) or by too much flour in the batter. How did you measure the flour? Make sure to spoon and level (instead of scooping) to avoid packing in too much flour into your measuring cups – or use a kitchen scale. You can read more about properly measuring baking ingredients in this post.
Really enjoyed this recipe! I used sour cream and omitted the nuts. The layering wasn’t difficult at all, and I love how they turned out! I was worried the cinnamon might be overpowering, but it was just right.
As scary as this question will be, can I omit the chocolate chips? Thank you.
Hi Candice, you can leave them out, no problem.
These are the best banana streusel muffins they taste exactly like a high-end bake shop when I was in Germany they’re moist they freeze well definitely you have to make them you will not be disappointed
Hi Sally,
Love your recipes!
Could I use milk with lemon juice, or apple sauce to replace the yogurt, sour cream?
Thanks,
Rose
Hi Rose, any of those options could definitely work here. I would only use only 1/4 teaspoon lemon juice with the milk.
I made the 9” x 9” version today (a one layer round cake pan would probably work also). It’s moist and flavorful. I thought it was going to be too much cinnamon but it tasted fine. Also one of the few times I’ve made streusel where I liked it. It’s not too sweet.
Not even kidding, never in my life have I commented on a food blog. I’ve made dozens of different banana muffin recipes and they have always been dry and dense. THIS RECIPE…these are the best banana muffins I’ve had in my life! This will be my go-to from now on! Thank you Sally!
So glad you loved them, Katie!
Hi there! Can you replace all purpose flour with whole wheat pastry flour for this recipe 1:1? Would I need to make any adjustments to the baking powder/baking soda proportions? Looking forward to making this!
Hi Nicole! The muffins would likely end up a bit dry. We recommend replacing half of the flour to see how that goes and adjusting from there!
Hi Sally,
I was wondering if I could add chocolate chips to the batter if so how much would you recommend I use?
Hi Jessica, absolutely! We’d recommend about a cup of chocolate chips.
I just made these muffins! Omg they are insane!!! I baked them for an additional 5 minutes. My adult children loved them. This recipe is a keeper!
Hi Geri! For the 9×9 cake you can pour half the batter into the pan, add a layer of streusel, then the rest of the batter and the rest of the streusel on top. Hope it’s a hit!
Made these yesterday and they are fabulous!! Kitchen smells so good while inside the oven! Muffins are so light. Highly recommend. This will be my to go recipe for banana muffins!
Another home run recipe from Sally!! Thank you! This was easy and oh so delicious! I used a little less than 1/2 cup sugar and reduced your streusel by 1/2 as well. These are very sweet, tastes more like a cake and not a healthy feeling muffin but I knew and expected that and love them! Oh! and I used bob red mills pastry flour instead of all purpose because of the lack of availability of flour right now. I’ve been subbing pastry flour in all my baking recipes without any issues! These muffins are light and fluffy! My friends are going to LOVE them! I also love the streusel layer in the middle! Each bite is heavenly!
This recipe is for keeps. Too good.
I made this as a 9″ coffee cake and we all loved it. I’m trying hard to use bananas – I freeze them but needed more space! I thought it was well balanced with the streusel (I had to omit the walnuts due to allergies but they would be delicious.) Yum!
These muffins are AMAZING and I make them all the time! Thanks
Hello. Im so glad I came across your super interesting site. I made this and it was soooo good. My husband and my little one love it. I will be making more. I might make a video of this, post it and credit you of course! I hope it’s okay
Thank you very much ❤️
Sally you’ve done it again absolutely amazing ! Thank you so much! I first found your recipes when i was around 24 with no knowledge of baking whatsoever. You have been teaching me how to bake ever since. I’m almost 32 now and people tell me I bake the best foods and it’s all thanks to you. I found this recipe and was blown away as was everyone else. Thanks again sally!
Made these delicious muffins during THE . They were FABULOUS! My whole family enjoyed the muffins. Thanks for sharing this spectacular recipe!!!
Hi Sally,
Can I substitute yogurt with sour cream? If yes, is it one to one? Thanks.
Yes and yes!
The bomb… fantastic muffins. Always great recipes.
Momma never made ’em like this. Wonderful.
I just made these as mini muffins for a school event. These are spectacular. I really hope they make it out of my house before the kids find them! So good. I love your recipies. Thanks so much!
WOW!!! This recipe is a keeper! The combination of goodness is amazing and so delicious 🙂 My boyfriend and I can’t get enough of them. Thanks for the wonderful recipe Sally!
Sally! These look so great – making them tonight! Do you think you could use coconut oil?
– Amy
creaming coconut oil should be fine here Amy– enjoy!
Made these today…. absolutely perfect!!! Thank you again!
I just wanted to say that these muffins were BEYOND amazing! I loved them!!! I will be making these again for sure! 🙂 hmmm…those bananas are starting to turn brown…
Thank you so much for sharing your recipes, I really love them. I am now a fan of yours and usually try to bake your recipes and all of them are really delicious.This is the perfect banana muffin that I have baked. I will try to bake more of your other recipes, I am just a newbee, but everytime I try to bake your recipes, it’s really perfect.
Super moist Muffins these will be my go to banana chocolate chip Muffins every time, I also used 2 pkg of brown sugar instant oatmeal for the streusal topping and added extra cinnamon and brown sugar to that thx Sally these are amazing