These moist banana muffins are a quick and easy breakfast treat or grab-and-go snack that are ready to eat in just 30 minutes.
I can almost always count on having perfectly overripe, banana-bread-ready bananas hanging around, so I’m always looking for new ways to put them to good use. As much as I love adding them to oatmeal, pancakes, or my very favorite banana bread, incorporating them into muffins might be my favorite of the bunch (pun totally intended). A while back I was inspired by this Toasted Pecan and Coconut Banana Bread recipe from fellow food blogger and baking goddess Naomi, from Baker’s Royale, which I turned into these banana bread muffins with a coconut, crunchy topping. They’re stellar.
But because my daughter eschews nuts in her muffins (who IS this child??), that’s where this unadulterated banana muffin recipe came to be. These banana muffins are everything a muffin should be—easy to make, perfectly moist, with a tender crumb that bakes up beautifully every time. They’re low-effort and I can whip them up in 30 minutes. They’re also full of potassium, vitamin C, and fiber, thanks to the 3 bananas you’ll use in this recipe. Sometimes I sprinkle cinnamon sugar on top, but they’re honestly so delicious on their own, they never fail to satisfy that banana muffin craving.
What’s in These Banana Muffins
These easy banana muffins don’t require any special ingredients, making them a good recipe to have up your sleeve when a banana bread craving hits.
Here’s what you’ll need to make them:
- All-purpose flour
- Baking soda
- Kosher salt
- Cinnamon
- Nutmeg
- Ripe bananas
- Granulated sugar
- Egg
- Buttermilk (use regular milk or dairy-free if you need to)
- Butter (feel free to use canola, vegetable, or coconut oil if you’re dairy-free)
- Vanilla extract
How to Make Banana Muffins
This recipe for banana bread muffins will have warm muffins in your hot little hands in about 30 minutes, and in just three easy steps. Here’s how to make them:
Whisk together the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
Beat the eggs and bananas together until combined. First, mash your bananas, then combine all of your wet ingredients and incorporate them with a mixer. Gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet.
Grease or line a muffin tin, and scoop or spoon the muffin batter into a prepared muffin pan (you can spray the pan or use foil or paper liners). I use a jumbo 6-muffin tin for extra large muffins filling them halfway with a 3-ounce scoop. If using a regular muffin-sized 12-cup tin, fill each a little over half as well.
Bake those bronzed banana babies until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and the edges begin to pull away from the sides of the tin. Cool on a wire rack.
Banana Muffin Variations
Switch up the flavor profile by adding up to 1 ½ cups of mix-ins total to these banana muffins—just don’t add any more, otherwise you’ll have more mix-ins than muffins.
Here are some tasty ideas:
- Dried fruit such as coconut, cranberries, raisins, or blueberries
- Fresh fruit such as strawberries or blueberries
- Toasted, chopped nuts like pecans, walnuts, or almonds
- Swirl in some Nutella, or add chocolate chips
- Swap some of the all-purpose flour for some whole wheat flour
- Sprinkle cinnamon sugar on top before baking
- Swirl in peanut butter or almond butter
Can I Freeze Banana Muffins?
These banana muffins are terrific for freezing. Allow them to cool to room temp before sealing them inside a freezer bag. To reheat, either set them on your counter to thaw or gently reheat them in the microwave.
You can store these banana muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for a few days, but they’ll keep longer if you store them in the refrigerator.
Tips for Making Banana Muffins
- Use very ripe, almost black bananas for these easy banana muffins. If your bananas aren’t ripe enough, roast them in the oven for 10-15 minutes, then cool completely before adding them to the batter.
- You could make these as mini muffins, but note that your baking time won’t be quite as long.
- Serve these muffins with a side of Greek yogurt drizzled with honey or maple syrup for a little extra protein, as a complete breakfast.
