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
Nice and fluffy! Not too sweet or cloying. Great recipe and super fast!
I put a few skor bits on top for a little sweet treat.
My family loves banana bread, so I was very happy to find this muffin recipe! They are easy to mix up and bake. My grandson especially loves them! When he sees me, he usually says, “Banana muffins!”
I really liked this recipe! It was so easy and quick to come together and it has great banana flavor. I noticed that the cupcake liners got stuck to the muffin, is there a way to prevent this? Also, I’m curious if I could replace the butter with oil?
Hi Shirley, we’re glad you enjoyed them! Some muffin liners can stick more than others. You might try a different brand, and also be sure that the muffins are completely cooled before removing the liners. We recommend melted butter or melted coconut oil for best results, but you can use another oil in a pinch.
I don’t bake sweet things very often but I had bananas to use up. I was very pleasantly surprised at how good these muffins were and will definitely make them again. Not that my waistline will thank me, lol.
Ok now, Sally!! These are beautiful, amazing, fluffy and perfection! (Wish I could post pics)
I made a couple slight alterations:
2 tsp. cinnamon
3tsp. butter
3tsp. coconut oil
Add walnuts and chocolate chips
Was one of the best banana muffins I’ve ever made and also added a brown sugar crumble on top for some crunch. My whole family enjoyed this muffin, thanks so much fir the recipe!
There were easy to make and tasted great. Family is happy with their muffin breakfast
How many calls in each Banaba muff please?
Hi Glynis, 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 put all the ingredients in to this website and it was coming up as 418cal per muffin, how accurate that is I’m not sure but I did everything it asked and inputted all the right grams/cups etc.
These look great. Can I add a cup of chopped strawberries to make them strawberry banana muffins, or will that interfere with the end result? 😀
Hi Alicia, that will work just fine!
Absolutely perfect! Super moist and flavorful. I substituted the butter and milk for about a cup of 4% fat Greek yogurt, and half of the brown sugar for 2 tbsp of date syrup. The result was super soft yet sturdy, perfectly moist muffins that were an instant hit. Thanks for the recipe! Will definitely be using again. 🙂
Oh my goodness!! Let me preface this by saying I am an avid baker and have baked for thousands of people. Let me tell you these are some of the best muffins I’ve ever made or had from a bakery. I made your streusel from your New York style crumb cake with one little change in that I browned the butter. Thank you so much for this recipe. I have made so many of your recipes and you are in my top five of trusted bakers and recipes!
Thank you so much, Suzanne!
I didn’t have any brown sugar too expensive so I used white sugar and 6 tablespoons of canola oil instead they still came out really good thank you for the recipe it’s the only one I use when I have frozen bananas
Sally, I’ve been baker/pastry chef for 55 years, & now I bake for 11 grandchildren & 2 great grandchildren. I grew up with a slide rule, & now have grandchildren texting me for recipes! Stumbled onto your website a few years back, have enjoyed several, & Just wanted to say thank you.
Thank you so much, Tomas!
What’s the reason for starting at a high temp then dropping it?
Hi Martha, see recipe Notes: 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.
Hi there, any suggestions so the tops don’t become sticky and gummy when being stored? I let them cool completely before storing them but this doesn’t seem to help! I’ve tried lining paper towels on top or leaving the lids slightly ajar but of course that just leads to dry muffins but the tops aren’t sticky.
Hi Katie, these are very moist muffins so a bit of stickiness is normal, but perhaps they could use just another minute or two in the oven. Leaving your container opened just a small crack (so that they don’t dry out) will also help prevent too much moisture from getting in. Hope this helps!
These muffins are amazing. I make them as mini muffins and they disappear so quickly at our house. I always give some to my brother and they are his favorite muffins to date. Easy to follow recipe and delicious result. Probably made these 10 times. Definitely recommend using brown sugar, tried with the coconut sugar and found the molasses taste from the brown sugar made a difference not just in the sweetness.
So glad these muffins are a favorite, Hillary!
Indeed the best recipe for Banana muffins. I did add Walnuts and dark chocolate chips (1 cup of each). Soft and delicious with no spreads or toppings needed.
I made these today (x3) and replaced a cup of banana with homemade strawberry paste.. (learnt that from you too) also added walnuts! The aroma in the kitchen right now is so so so good !!! Would love to share photos of the muffin with you!!
Im someone who has always been intimidated by baking but I’ve made these 3 weeks in a row so just call me Martha Stewart lol seriously tho we’re buying bananas just to make these muffins. 10/10
We’re so happy to read this, Ashley! Thanks for giving these muffins a try.
Yummy recipe! I didn’t have a enough bananas so I halved the recipe to make 6 muffins and added chopped walnuts as suggested. The muffins were soft, moist and especially tasty with the addition of cinammon and nutmeg (which I was very generous with). I’ll definitely make them again!
My favorite recipe so far. This one is getting saved. I used self rising flower and excluded levining agents. Turned out Amazing!!!
This is a very simple and fun recipe, and I absolutely love baking these delicious muffins! For any lactose intolerant people like me, leaving out milk is an option, or lactose free milk works, but if anyone, lactose intolerant or not, wants a pinch extra flavor, I made these with almond milk, and it adds a nice pinch of flavor, and the muffins came out amazing!
In all banana muffins recipes I tried, this the best recipe I’ve ever tried. The result is amazing even I forgot to add the milk , the muffin is still moist and soft. The taste is perfect to me. I added chocolate chips and it gives the perfect chocolate chips banana muffins!
They came out GREAT!!
I love this recipe so much seriously they are perfect and soft and moist! I ended up leaving out the milk and they still turned out amazing! I also made my own liners so I could make them a bit bigger ended up with 10 muffins and left the two centers filled with water to help them stay moist in oven and WOW can’t stop making them! I added mini chocolate chips to mine and they baked at the same temp turned out perfect! You must try this recipe!
I let my 9 year old daughter pick a recipe for the 3 very ripe bananas on the counter and, luckily, she chose this one. I enjoyed the specific instructions that let me teach her the importance of spooning/leveling the flour and packing the brown sugar. We split the batter evenly into two bowls and did half with chocolate chips (her favorite) and half with chopped pecans (my favorite) and this recipe made exactly 12 picture perfect muffins. Thanks fora delicious recipe that let me spend quality time with my daughter, making “delicious” memories.
I made this before as a plant free option, perfect I made it today and didn’t like it as much I’d missed the milk out♀️
Sally’s recipes are always a winner 🙂 she’s my go-to site for recipes
So soft and fluffy! By far the best banana bread/muffin recipe I’ve ever tried since it’s not overly sweet nor does it have a rubbery texture like some other recipes I’ve used in the past. I hand-mixed the batter as I don’t have a mixer and it was still really easy and turned out perfectly 🙂
Will definitely make the next time I have overripe bananas!
I made this recipe today with the 4 overly ripe bananas I had in my house. I didn’t use a mixer, and it still worked! I love the taste–it’s authentic and not-too-sweet. It’s just what a real banana muffin should taste like!
Do you have the nutrition info
Hi Naomi, 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
Had anyone tried and had success making this in cake format? Would appreciate any thoughts on changes needed.
Hi Ally, We would bake this batter in an 8×8 pan for a banana cake. Bake at 350, we’re unsure of the exact bake time. Or you may love our banana cake!
I’ve made this recipe several times using an 8″x8″ baking dish. I line the pan with enough parchment to come up the sides, which enables me to lift it out easily to a cooling rack. I increase the baking time by about 10 minutes.
Does it have to be unsalted butter or can I use regular butter?
Hi Elaine, You can use salted butter here without any other changes.