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Put those overripe bananas to good use with the best recipe for Easy Banana Muffins! These simple, one-bowl, moist banana muffins are a perfect make-ahead breakfast or snack — and they’re freezer-friendly, too! Best of all, they rise high and have tall, puffy, sugar-coated domes. Add chocolate chips, nuts, or blueberries for the ultimate bakery-style treat!
Moist Banana Muffins
We buy (and eat) a lot of bananas around here, but inevitably I find a few stragglers on our counter that turn brown and spotty before we can get to them. That’s where these easy Banana Muffins come in. They’re made with simple ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry, they’re quicker to bake than a loaf of banana bread, you only need one bowl to stir them together, and they rise nice and high. Needless to say, this homemade muffin recipe is a family favorite!
Ingredients
Here’s a quick overview of the ingredients that you’ll need to make this easy banana muffin recipe. As always, the specific measurements and complete cooking instructions are included in the printable recipe box at the bottom of the post.
- Granulated sugar: for just the right amount of sweetness!
- Vegetable oil: keeps the muffins moist.
- Eggs: for structure and lift.
- Mashed banana: the riper, the better! Measure the banana after it’s mashed so that you know you have the correct amount. For this recipe you’ll need about 3 large bananas or 4 medium bananas to equal 1 ½ cups .
- Vanilla extract and almond extract: for flavor.
- Baking soda and baking powder: the leavening agents that help the muffins rise high!
- Salt: to enhance the flavors in the muffins.
- All-purpose flour: sifted so that there are no big lumps in the muffins.
- Cinnamon and nutmeg: warm spices that add a special touch to the batter.
- Coarse sugar: an optional finishing touch, but I love how the big sugar crystals give the tall muffin domes a slightly crisp finish — just like you’d find in a bakery! This is the brand that I use.
How to Make Easy Banana Muffins from Scratch
It seems like a simple task: just turn a classic banana bread recipe into muffins! But trust me…I tried that, and I wasn’t pleased. I tested batch after batch of banana muffins to get these just right. While my favorite banana nut bread created muffins with excellent flavor and texture, I just wasn’t happy with their relatively flat tops. It is so hard to find an easy banana muffin recipe that rises high in the muffin cups, resulting in those great bakery-style domes that we all know are the best part of a muffin! That’s why I was so excited to finally achieve the elusive mile-high banana muffins that I was dreaming of — and now I can share them with you!
- Whisk together sugar, oil and eggs in a large bowl.
- Add mashed banana, vanilla extract and almond extract.
- Sprinkle baking soda, baking powder and salt over top, then whisk until well blended.
- Stir in the flour, cinnamon and nutmeg just until everything is combined — do not over-mix.
- Let the batter rest for about 5-10 minutes.
- Divide the batter evenly between 12 paper-lined muffin cups (you might only get 11 muffins out of this recipe if you make them nice and big)!
- Sprinkle the coarse sugar on top of each muffin.
- Bake in a 375° F oven for 17-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.
Why should I let the batter rest?
It’s best to let the batter rest for at least 5 minutes, or up to 15 minutes, before scooping it into the cups. During this rest period, starch molecules in the flour absorb the liquid in the batter, causing them to swell, giving the batter a thicker consistency. The thicker the batter, the taller the muffins! It also allows the leavening agents time to react.
How to Keep Banana Muffins Moist
Nobody likes a dry, crumbly muffin! These banana muffins stay nice and moist thanks to a balanced ratio of wet-to-dry ingredients. The mashed banana and the oil contribute fat, moisture and flavor to the muffins, without making the batter so wet that the muffins won’t rise.
It’s also important to make sure that you don’t over-mix the batter. Stir just until everything is combined, and then stop. A few lumps in the batter are fine!
How many cups is one mashed banana?
This can be tricky! If a recipe calls for 3 bananas, how much is that? We all know that measurements are important in baking, so the difference between a very small banana and a very large banana can be significant when making a batch of muffins.
My recipe calls for 1 ½ cups of mashed banana. One large banana yields about ½ cup mashed, so I used 3 large bananas for a total of about 1 ½ cups. If you’re working with smaller bananas, you’ll need at least 4 (and maybe even 5). Measuring is always the safest way to make sure that your banana muffins turn out perfectly moist, sweet and delicious!
How to Ripen Bananas in the Oven
Want to make these muffins right away, but your bananas aren’t ripe yet? You can ripen the bananas in the oven! To do so, preheat the oven to 300° F. Place bananas (in their peels) on a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake for 30-45 minutes, or until mushy and sweet. The banana peels will turn a black, shiny color (and look really weird!), but don’t worry — the insides will be perfect. Just let the mashed banana cool completely before using in the recipe.
Are banana muffins bad for you?
While you’re getting some health benefits from the bananas in this recipe, I wouldn’t consider banana muffins “healthy.” There’s definitely plenty of sugar, fat and refined carbs in this recipe. That said, they’re not deep-fried (like donuts) and the mashed banana allows you to use a lot less fat and sugar than you otherwise might need for a traditional muffin recipe. You can certainly do worse when it comes to sweet treats!
Assuming that you get about 11 muffins from one batch, each muffin includes about 253 calories, 36 grams of carbohydrate, 4 grams of protein and 11 grams of fat.
Serving Suggestions
Serve the muffins warm, at room temperature, or even straight from the refrigerator! They’re a great option for breakfast or snack when paired with a mug of hot coffee or tea.
The muffins are delicious on their own, but you might also enjoy them with butter, honey butter, a drizzle of local honey, cream cheese, almond butter or peanut butter. Add some yogurt or eggs and fresh fruit on the side for a perfect morning feast!
Preparation and Storage
- Store the muffins in an airtight container or bag at room temperature for up to 3 days.
- If you want to keep the muffins fresh for more than a couple of days, freezing is your best bet. Wrap the muffins tightly in an airtight container or bag and store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- Thaw the frozen muffins on the counter overnight, or take a muffin straight from the freezer and pop it in the microwave for about 30 seconds (or until warm).
Recipe Variations
- I make these banana muffins with oil, but you can replace the oil with an equal amount of melted, unsalted butter. Melted coconut oil will also work!
- Banana Nut Muffins: stir about 1 cup of chopped walnuts or pecans into the batter.
- Add whole grains by swapping out half of the all-purpose flour and replacing it with 1 cup of whole wheat flour.
- Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins: Add 1 cup of your favorite chocolate chips to the batter.
- Banana Blueberry Muffins: Mix 1 cup of fresh or frozen blueberries into the batter.
- Mix in 1 cup of raisins or dried cranberries.
- Add more spices. I like just a subtle hint of cinnamon and nutmeg in the background, but you can use more of the spices for a more prominent flavor.
Tips for the Best Banana Muffin Recipe
- I recommend lining the muffin tin with paper liners. I have found that the muffins rise higher with the paper liners, as opposed to just greasing the muffin cups without liners.
- Fill your muffin cups full with batter for the highest domes.
- Use very ripe bananas for maximum flavor and sweetness. You want them to look quite speckled and brown!
- Be careful not to over-mix the batter. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients just until they’re combined. Too much mixing and the muffins will come out tough, dense, or dry. The key to moist banana muffins is NOT over-mixing.
- Almond Extract. It might seem somewhat unusual, but I love the addition of almond extract in these banana muffins. It adds such a unique flavor to baked goods (like cookies, coffee cake, and fruit crisp). I like ¼ teaspoon in this recipe for a subtle taste, but you can increase it to ½ teaspoon if you prefer a more prominent touch of almond. You can also omit the almond extract altogether.
What else can I do with really ripe bananas?
Have even more bananas sitting on your counter? Here are a few more ways to enjoy them:
- Best Ever Banana Nut Bread
- Whole Wheat Banana Blueberry Muffins
- Banana Peanut Butter Overnight Oats
- Quick and Easy Banana Pudding
- Banana Blueberry Smoothie
- Strawberry Banana Smoothie
Easy Banana Muffins
Ingredients
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 2 eggs
- 1 ½ cups mashed very ripe banana (about 3 large bananas or 4 medium bananas)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- Coarse sugar (for topping)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375° F. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, oil and eggs. Add mashed banana, vanilla extract, and almond extract. Sprinkle baking soda, baking powder and salt over top. Whisk until well blended.
- Stir in flour, cinnamon and nutmeg; be careful not to over-mix. Let the batter rest for about 5-10 minutes.
- Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups, filling each muffin cup almost to the top. Sprinkle coarse sugar on top. Bake for 17-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in a muffin comes out clean.
Notes
- I recommend lining the muffin tin with paper liners. I have found that the muffins rise higher with the paper liners, as opposed to just greasing the muffin cups without liners.
- Fill your muffin cups full with batter for the highest domes.
- Use very ripe bananas for maximum flavor and sweetness. You want them to look quite speckled and brown!
- Be careful not to over-mix the batter. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients just until they’re combined. Too much mixing and the muffins will come out tough, dense, or dry. The key to moist banana muffins is NOT over-mixing.
- Almond Extract. It might seem somewhat unusual, but I love the addition of almond extract in these banana muffins. It adds such a unique flavor to baked goods (like cookies, coffee cake, and fruit crisp). I like ¼ teaspoon in this recipe for a subtle taste, but you can increase it to ½ teaspoon if you prefer a more prominent touch of almond. You can also omit the almond extract altogether.
