These Banana Muffins are delicious, easy to make, packed with flavor, and ready in a little over 30 minutes. The perfect way to use up overripe bananas!

A batch of banana muffins on a round cooling rack.

Do you always end up with too many bananas on your counter at the end of the week? Over the years I’ve shared some of my favorite way to use up overripe bananas with my homemade banana bread, banana cake, and blueberry banana baked oatmeal.

So today I wanted to share another fantastic way to use up those ripe bananas with these easy banana muffins. One of the things that I love about this recipe is that you don’t need a mixer to make it. You only need a couple of bowls and about 30 minutes to make these muffins.

I think these muffins are fantastic plain, but if you want to add some chopped nuts, chocolate chips or even blueberries I’ve added some options for that as well. These also freeze well, so you can make a batch and leave them in the freezer for an easy breakfast or snack when you need it!

A white bowl with the dry ingredients whisked together and a banana peel and milk in the background.

How To Make Banana Muffins

To make these banana muffins, you’ll start out by whisking together your dry ingredients – all purpose flour, baking soda, ground cinnamon, and salt.

  • All-Purpose Flour: As with all of my recipes, you want to make sure to spoon and level your flour. Too much flour can lead to really dense muffins, so make sure to measure your flour correctly first.
  • Baking Soda: This helps the muffins rise nice and tall and browns them a little too.
  • Ground Cinnamon: I love the addition of the cinnamon in these muffins, but feel free to leave it out if you prefer.
  • Salt: To help balance out the sweetness and enhance the flavor of the other ingredients.

A glass bowl with the wet ingredients whisked together on a distressed gray surface.

Once the dry ingredients are mixed up, you’ll whisk together the wet ingredients in a separate bowl. For the wet ingredients, you’ll be using some melted butter, brown sugar, an egg, vanilla extract, and mashed bananas. Let’s break down each ingredient:

  • Melted Butter: To make this recipe a bit easier, I decided to just use melted butter so you don’t have to use a mixer. I suggest using unsalted butter, but if you use salted butter you’ll want to reduce the salt in the recipe to just a tiny pinch.
  • Brown Sugar: The flavor of the brown sugar pairs beautifully with the banana flavor and it helps to keep the muffins moist too.
  • Egg: It’s best to use a room temperature egg for this recipe so that the melted butter doesn’t get cold again. If you need to bring your egg to room temperature quickly, just place it in a bowl of warm water for 5-10 minutes.
  • Vanilla Extract: For a little extra flavor!
  • Mashed Bananas: Because you can’t have banana muffins without bananas, right?! Remember the darker and riper the bananas, the better!

The dry and wet ingredients being mixed together in a glass bowl with an extra banana in the background.

Once the dry and wet ingredients are mixed up, you’ll mix the two together until just combined. You may see a few lumps in your batter, but this okay! You want to avoid overmixing the batter because that can lead to denser muffins.

Then, just line a 12-count muffin pan with liners and evenly distribute the batter between all 12 liners. The muffins will need to bake for about 16-20 minutes, you’ll know they’re done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. I suggest removing them from the pan and letting them cool slightly before you enjoy them.

A group of banana muffins on a gray surface with one on its side and a bite taken out to show the texture.

FAQ’s

How many bananas will I need?

You’ll need about 3 medium bananas for this recipe.

How do you freeze these muffins?

Once the muffins have cooled, you can store them in a freezer bag or container for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to enjoy them, thaw to room temperature or microwave individual muffins for 20-30 seconds.

Can I make these muffins with whole wheat flour?

I don’t suggest using only whole wheat flour because it can dry the muffins out and make them dense. You can use 1/2 whole wheat and 1/2 all-purpose flour in this recipe if you prefer though.

A single banana muffin resting in its wrapper on its side with a bite taken out.

Recipe Variations

As I mentioned, these banana bread muffins are fantastic plain but here are a few ways that you can change up the recipe:

  • Banana Nut Muffins: Add 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts
  • Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins: Add 1 cup of semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips
  • Blueberry Banana Muffins: Add 1 cup of fresh or frozen blueberries. If using frozen blueberries, do not thaw and stir them into the batter gently. If using blueberries, you’ll likely need to make more than 12 muffins and adjust the baking time slightly.

Baking Tips

  • When measuring your flour, avoid scooping it from the container. Instead, stir the flour around to aerate it, spoon it into your measuring cup, and level it off with the back of a knife.
  • Avoid overmixing the wet and dry ingredients together, this can lead to denser muffins that don’t taste as good.
  • Need to ripen your bananas faster? You can place them in a brown paper bag and close it tightly for 2-3 days to help ripen them quickly.

Recipe Video

Banana muffins sitting on a round wire rack.

Banana Muffins

5 from 60 ratings
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
These Banana Muffins are delicious, easy to make, packed with flavor, and ready in about 30 minutes. The perfect way to use up overripe bananas!
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Ingredients

Servings: 12 muffins
  • 1 and ½ cups (190 grams) all-purpose flour spooned & leveled
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 6 tablespoons (85 grams) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
  • ⅔ cup (135 grams) light brown sugar, packed
  • 1 large egg room temperature
  • 1 and ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 1 and ½ cups (375 grams) mashed ripe bananas

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Line a 12-count muffin pan with muffin liners and set aside.
  • In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking soda, ground cinnamon, and salt until well combined. Set aside.
  • In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the melted butter, brown sugar, egg, vanilla extract, and mashed banana until fully combined.
  • Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix together until just combined, making sure not to over mix the batter.
  • Evenly distribute the batter between all 12 liners in the muffin pan.
  • Bake at 375°F (190°C) for 16-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean. Remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then carefully remove the muffins from the pan, and place them on a wire rack to cool completely.

Notes

Store muffins in an airtight container or in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Freezing Instructions: Once the muffins have cooled, place them in a freezer bag or container and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw to room temperature before serving or microwave individual muffins for 20-30 seconds.
Unsalted Butter: I recommend using unsalted butter so you can control the amount of salt in the recipe. If using salted butter, just use a tiny pinch of salt instead of 1/4 teaspoon.
Egg: A room temperature egg is best for this recipe. To get your egg to room temperature quickly, place it in a bowl of warm water for 5-10 minutes.
Bananas: The riper the bananas, the better! You will need about 3 medium bananas to yield 1 and 1/2 cups of mashed banana.
Recipe Variations:
  • Banana Nut Muffins: Add 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts to the batter.
  • Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins: Add 1/2 - 3/4 cup of semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips to the batter.
  • Blueberry Banana Muffins: Add 1 cup of fresh or frozen blueberries. If using frozen blueberries, do not thaw and stir them into the batter gently. If using blueberries, you'll likely need to make a few extra muffins.
Cuisine: American
Course: Breakfast
Author: Danielle Rye
Did you make this recipe?Mention @livewellbakeoften on Instagram or tag #livewellbakeoften.