These easy banana muffins are ready to go into the oven in about 10 minutes! Perfectly pillowy, with a tender crumb, they are addictively soft and buttery. Banana muffins are a simple way to use up those overripe bananas sitting on your kitchen counter. Added bonus: You don’t need any special equipment or fancy ingredients to whip up a batch, either.
For the best banana muffins that look like they’re straight out of a bakery, I have a mind-blowingly easy tip: Start the muffins off at a very high temperature in the oven so they grow tall, then reduce the temperature and continue baking. I have all the details for you below! You’ll wow your family with these beautiful and delicious banana muffins. If you’re looking for more easy muffin recipes, try my blueberry muffin recipe, easy chocolate muffins, and morning glory muffins.
What You Need to Make this Recipe
Leavening — baking powder and baking soda help the muffins puff up and give them that real bakery-style look.
Cinnamon — for a hint of warmth and comforting flavor.
Bananas — make sure the bananas are overripe, as in, the peels need to be mostly brown, and the flesh should be very soft. See below for my easy hack to ripen bananas in 10 minutes!
Butter — since this banana muffin recipe already has salt in it, use melted unsalted butter.
Sugar — you need white and brown sugar for the perfect sweetness with molasses notes.
Eggs — eggs help to bind everything. Ensure they are at room temperature before you start baking.
Vanilla — use a high-quality vanilla extract, not vanilla essence, which is artificially flavored.
How to Make Banana Muffins
1. Whisk together all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, ground cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl. In a medium bowl, whisk the mashed banana, melted butter, granulated sugar, light brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract until well combined. Don’t try to make the mixture completely smooth — a few lumps are ideal.
2. Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients.
3. Stir until combined, but don’t overmix.
4. Divide the batter amongst a 12-cup muffin tin lined with paper liners.Bake in an oven preheated to 425°F for 5 minutes to get the muffins really tall, then reduce the oven temperature to 350°F. Bake for another 15 minutes or until the centers are springy and the tops are golden brown. Allow the muffins to cool in the muffin pan for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
Pro Tips for Making this Recipe
- Measure the flour correctly. Using too much flour is a surefire way to end up with dry muffins. The best way to measure flour is using a kitchen scale. If you don’t have one, fluff up the flour in its container, spoon it into your measuring cup, and level off the top with a butter knife.
- Use room temperature ingredients. Set out the eggs about 30 minutes before you start baking, so they warm to room temperature. This will help them incorporate better into the batter.
- Ripen bananas in 10 minutes: If your bananas aren’t ripe, place them on a baking sheet and bake at 350°F for about 10 minutes or until blackened. Let cool completely, then peel and mash.
- Don’t overmix the batter. Stop mixing when everything is just combined. Mixing too much yields dense, tough muffins.
- Mix-in options: You can add chopped nuts like pecans or walnuts, as well as chocolate chips (or just try my banana chocolate chip muffins). Add about ½ cup of nuts or 1 cup of chocolate chips to the batter right at the end, when the batter is just about ready.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! Thaw them completely at room temperature and then drain the excess liquid before you mash them.
Baking time can vary depending on your oven, but I find 20 minutes total works very well. Start off the first 5 minutes with a high temperature so the muffins spring up, and then reduce the temperature and finish baking for about 15 minutes. The muffins should be springy and golden brown.
At room temperature in an airtight container, they will last for 3 days. If you refrigerate them, they will keep for up to a week.
You can freeze banana muffins. Once they have cooled completely, wrap each one in plastic wrap and a layer of aluminum foil and store in a freezer bag or freezer-safe container. This is great because you can thaw one or two at a time.
If you love this recipe try these out!
If you’ve tried this banana muffin recipe, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!
Banana Muffins
Video
Equipment
- Muffin tin
Ingredients
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour (180g)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1½ cups mashed overripe bananas (about 3 bananas)
- ½ cup unsalted butter melted (113g/120ml)
- ½ cup white sugar (100g)
- ¼ cup packed light brown sugar (55g)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the banana, butter, both sugars, eggs, and vanilla until well incorporated but the bananas are still a bit lumpy. Pour the banana mixture into the flour mixture and stir until combined. Divide the batter among each paper liner (they will be almost full).
- Bake for 5 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 350°F and continue baking for another 15 minutes or until the centers are springy to the touch and the tops are golden brown. Let the muffins cool in the pan for a few minutes, then remove and place on a wire rack. Serve warm or cool completely on the rack.
Notes
- Measure the flour correctly. Using too much flour is a surefire way to end up with dry muffins. The best way to measure flour is using a kitchen scale. If you don’t have one, fluff up the flour in its container, spoon it into your measuring cup, and level off the top with a butter knife.
- Use room temperature ingredients. Set out the eggs about 30 minutes before you start baking, so they warm to room temperature. This will help them incorporate better into the batter.
- Ripen bananas in 10 minutes: If your bananas aren’t ripe, place them on a baking sheet and bake at 350°F for about 10 minutes or until blackened. Let cool completely, then peel and mash.
- Don’t overmix the batter. Stop mixing when everything is just combined. Mixing too much yields dense, tough muffins.
- Mix-in options: You can add chopped nuts like pecans or walnuts, as well as chocolate chips (or just try my banana chocolate chip muffins). Add about ½ cup of nuts or 1 cup of chocolate chips to the batter right at the end, when the batter is just about ready.
Donna says
Glad i found this recipe. I’ve been craving for banana bread for a wbile now and I just got into baking a little less than a month ago. Banana bread sounds great but banana muffins sound BETTER lol. Made this but I added some dried figs I have lying around and sprinkled dark brown sugar on top. So good, so moist and the cardamom just sneaks up on yoy in a great way. Will make this again for sure!!
John Kanell says
Thanks Donna!
Xan says
Really fantastic recipe. The only thing I changed was 16 minutes, not 18 minutes, at 350 (after the first 5 at 375). Otherwise, this was just perfect. Thank you!
Jan Mackenzie says
Made these today. Followed recipe exactly but added some sultanas. With the addition of the sultanas you could cut back on the sugar if desired. Absolutely yummy.
Kimnee Manalo says
This is my 2nd time following your recipe…. my banana muffins turns into perfect and delicious one…. thank you so much for sharing your recipes with us… God bless
John Kanell says
Thank you Kimnee!
Hzz ! says
This was mouth-watering chewy and yummy! Definitely try it out!
Theresa Gibbon says
Loved these. Absolutely in my top 3 banana bread recipes. Well done.
John Kanell says
Thank you!!
Emily says
My three year old and I made this today, during our home isolation baking series. Thank you for the much needed levity and stress-relief. They turned out awesome – I’ve made alot of banana bread in my day, but this one was the best. We also made your 3 tier blueberry lemon cake for dad’s birthday a couple of weeks ago. Love your recipes, thanks again!
John Kanell says
Thank you so much Emily! my fondest memories are of baking with my mom so I know your child will remember this!
Ellie says
Made these for my fam and they were a huge hit. I replaced the sugar for coconut sugar and added chocolate chips to them and they turned out great! Thank you so much for the recipe!
Ria says
I made this on sunday and this is the best banana muffin recipe
Jennie says
These are the lightest muffins I’ve ever made! Followed the recipe exactly except just buttered the muffin tin instead of using papers and no sugar on top, I’m kind of a plain Jane Love your recipes, thank you so much, John
John Kanell says
Aww thanks Jennie!