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
Amazing! Light and fluffy, can’t wait to bake again!
Omgggg I this recipeeeeee
The best recipe! My muffin is moist and my kids loved it!
These are delicious! What would the bake time/temp be if making mini muffins? Thank you so much!
Hi Mariel, For mini muffins, bake 12–14 total minutes at 350°F (177°C).
I just made these and they are incredible. So light and fluffy. The best banana muffins ever!
Best banana muffins ive ever had
Best banana muffins ever! They are delicious and moist and on rotation in my house.
Good.
Forgot to add my five star rating! Wonderful!
Made these muffins a day added dark chocolate chips. My four year old asked if I could make these everyday..and then said “these muffins are chef’s kiss!”. Great muffin recipe! Thanks Sally
Best muffins I have ever had! Thank you for sharing your recipe.
Olá, Sally! Eu realmente, realmente, realmente adorei esta receita! É tão saborosa e incrível que as palavras não conseguem descrever! Posso tirar a noz-moscada ou é essencial?
Muito obrigada.
Tenha uma boa semana
Andrè
Hi Andrè, yes, you can certainly omit the nutmeg if you wish. So glad you loved these muffins!
These muffins are just are the best. Extremely easy to make and everyone who the same response ….. delicious.
Thank you Sally for this and all the wonderful recipes that you have diligently worked on over the years.
I tried making muffins using your recipe and it turned out super delicious and good. Thank you for sharing your recipe Sally. A big hug and hello from Singapore
Hi, I am planning to use this recipe since I have some ripe bananas that I don’t want to waste. Just wondering for the flour amount, why it says 188g but 1 cup and 1/2 is more than that (about 375). Should I use 375 g or will that make them too dry? I definitely don’t want my muffins to be dry
Hi Evis, One cup of all purpose flour is 125g, so 1.5 cups does weight 188g. You can see the weights listed for most common ingredients in this post: How to Measure Ingredients.
Hi! Nutritional Facts?
Hi Nichole, 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
Sally Definitely builds confidence especially when I was always a cook & grew a love for baking!
Made these for the first time today, and unfortunately I will not be taking them to work tomorrow because they are too dang good! Will make a double batch next week because I want to make sure there are plenty to share!
Amazing! I’ve never been a big fan of muffins in general, I’ve found them to be too sweet, lacking flavor and heavy/ dense, but these muffins are light and flavorful. Crazy delicious!
I only had 2 large bananas, so I drained the juice from a peach fruit cup and used just the fruit in addition to my bananas and it turned out perfect! Wonderful recipe!
Our new banana muffin recipe! Got everyone’s approval today. Can’t wait to try more of your recipes!
Followed the recipe exactly and they turned out perfect! I would definitely make them again.
Another banger, thanks Sally!
I only have two medium sized bananas… Will this recipe work with only two of the four bananas?
Hi AB, you need 1 and 1/2 cups (345g) mashed bananas for this recipe, which is about 4 medium or 3 large ripe bananas.
Hey, can’t wait to try it out. Will it work as a cake, too? It’s just that I’m going to make a large quantity and cakes are easier in terms of prep and washing up.
Hi Alia, 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!
Hello! I mill my own flour using hard white wheat berries. I tried making these and they came out flat? They are still delicious! I just didnt know if I needed to change the flour ratio? I did a 1:1 for the batch I made.
These are so good, I added walnuts and chopped white chocolate (I wanted dark but had none) and they were really great.
I’m going to try them with wholemeal flour next time. So glad to have found an easy and great recipe. Thank you.
Perfect! Followed recipe, adding walnuts and result was great
Moist and flavourful.
Family loved them
Do you think this recipe would halve well? All recipes seem like they would, but sometimes they don’t for me. I always have two ripe bananas, but never three for some reason.
Thanks for all your recipes!
Hi Lace, you can halve all the ingredients for a half batch. You could also try supplementing the missing banana with some applesauce or pumpkin puree, if you still want a full batch. Happy baking!
These are so good! Definitely going to be my go to banana muffin recipe going forward
Well, I have tried the Blueberry Streusel and the fresh Apple with Streusel, both excellent! Banana is next, but will try anything published by Sally. What a gal!! Maureen from Oregon
These were amazing!!! I made them and they were gone in a day. Everyone loved them! So fluffy and delicious
Made the mini muffins this afternoon and again a succuss. Everybody loves them. Thank you for another superb recipe!!