Banana Muffins

These banana muffins are soft, sweet, and delicious. They make the perfect breakfast treat or a quick snack for any time of day. Let those bananas get ripe, add a few basic pantry ingredients and you’ll have a batch of banana bread muffins ready in no time.

Easy Banana Muffins come together in just a few minutes using ingredients that are in most kitchens already. If you were looking for the perfect recipe to make with ripe bananas, you’ve found it here! 

Sure, you could make a banana cake or brown butter banana bread with ripe bananas. Homemade banana bread is always a good idea! But now that I have this recipe for banana bread muffins, I prefer to make them instead. Muffins are portable and have built-in portion control, making them an amazing breakfast option.

Need more Muffin Recipes? Try these Strawberry Banana Muffins, healthy Morning Glory Muffins, or my absolute favorite Lemon Muffins. 

Why You’ll Love This Banana Muffin Recipe

1. Minimal, Simple Ingredients: There are 10 ingredients in this muffin recipe, and all of them are common items that you probably already have. Banana muffins are an easy, and inexpensive recipe too. 
2. A Three Banana Muffin Recipe: I don’t know why, but when I have leftover bananas that are a bit too ripe for eating, I always have three of them. It’s just a fact at my house. A two banana recipe is never quite enough. Using three whole ripe bananas in this recipe means that the muffins will be moist, sweet, and bursting with banana bread flavor. 
3. Easy to Make: These muffins are so easy to make, you’ll be amazed. No fancy mixer is needed, just a spoon and a couple of bowls. Kids love helping to make easy banana muffins too. 

Key Ingredients

Complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.

• Flour, Baking Soda, Baking Powder, and Salt: These four ingredients show up in almost every baked good recipe. They are the dry ingredients. Baking soda and baking powder work together to make these muffins soft and fluffy. 
• Cinnamon and Vanilla Extract: We’ll add cinnamon to our dry ingredients to add a bit of warm spicy flavor to the banana muffins. Pure vanilla extract is added in later to give the perfect bakery flavor. 
• Granulated Sugar: This simple pantry staple adds a bit of extra sweetness and helps the muffins to brown in the oven. We don’t need a lot of sugar in this recipe as the bananas add a lot of sweetness too. 
• Egg: Here’s a tip: Let your egg come to room temperature before mixing it into the muffin batter. It mixes in much easier that way. 
• Ripe Bananas: You want to use very ripe bananas for baking. They should be yellow with brown spots on them. If they are green or haven’t yet started to turn brown, wait a day or two until they’re ready. 
• Melted Butter: This adds moisture to the muffin batter. I usually melt my butter in the microwave to make things simple. 

How to Make Banana Muffins

Prepare: Preheat the oven to 350°/180°C or 160°C for fan oven, and line a muffin pan with paper muffin liners. Set aside.

Mix Dry Ingredients: Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl and set aside.

Mix Ingredients: Using a whisk, combine the sugar, egg, mashed banana, melted butter, and vanilla extract.

Combine: Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, and stir until just mixed.

Bake: Using a large cookie scoop, divide the batter between 12 muffin liners. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean from the center of a muffin. Allow the muffins to cool on a cooling rack before serving. 

Recipe Tips

Avoid Overmixing: Overmixed muffin batter will create tough muffins that don’t rise in the oven. Stop mixing as soon as the dry ingredients are mixed in. 

Be Sure Your Bananas Are Ready: Don’t try to bake with bananas that aren’t ripe enough. Your bananas should look like the ones in my photo above, yellow with a good amount of brown spots on them. 

Add Some Fun: You can add chocolate chips, oats, nuts, or dried fruit to the batter to make these muffins extra special. I suggest adding no more than ½ cup of any add-ins. If you are adding oats, add a splash of milk as well to keep the batter and the muffins moist. 

Fill Muffin Cups Only Halfway: If the muffin cups are too full, the batter will rise up and overflow in the oven. Use a cookie scoop or a small measuring cup to get evenly filled muffin cups. 

Freezing Muffins

These muffins freeze really well. Make a double batch and store some for later! Simply wrap each muffin in plastic wrap, then place them all in a plastic freezer bag. Eat them within two months for best results.

How to Reheat Frozen Muffins

When you’re ready to enjoy a muffin from the freezer, let it thaw overnight in the freezer. In the morning,  unwrap it and microwave on high for 30 seconds. It will taste like it just came out of the oven! 

What to Serve with Banana Muffins

Banana muffins are a hearty and sweet part of a balanced breakfast! You can pair them with a delicious healthy Spinach Smoothie or a fresh cup of French Press Coffee. 

Spread your banana muffins with some Homemade Nutella or a bit of freshly made Almond Butter. Yum! 

Recipe FAQs

I have a feeling you’ll be making this banana muffin recipe more than once! Make sure you Pin it so you can find it again next week.