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Home » RECIPE » Breakfast » Easy Banana Muffins

Easy Banana Muffins

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By: Shinee Published: 4/27/2022Updated: 4/27/2022

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Soft and tender banana muffins with delicate moist crumbs and full of banana flavor! Simple one-bowl muffins in less than 30 minutes!

Banana muffins on a blue plate.
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Table of Contents

  • Why you’ll love this recipe:
  • Key Ingredients:
  • What’s the secret to making moist banana muffins?
  • How to freeze bananas:
  • How to make this muffin recipe:
  • Tips for Mashing Bananas:
  • Muffin Storing Tips:
  • FAQs:
  • Video:
  • Try Some of My Other Muffin Recipes:
  • Easy Banana Muffins

Why you’ll love this recipe:

I halved my popular banana bread recipe, which makes 2 loaves, and made it into muffins!

The same amazing flavor, but in a convenient, portable size.

Muffins (both regular and mini ones!) are especially popular among young kids!

  • Simple pantry ingredients
  • Quick and easy to make – no special equipment required!
  • Intense banana flavor
  • Moist and tender texture
  • Reduced sugar and butter without compromising on flavor
Mini muffins on a gray plate.

Key Ingredients:

  • Bananas – You want to freeze ripe, or even overripe bananas for this recipe. Ripe bananas are sweet and intensifies the banana flavor in the muffins.
  • Butter – I recommend unsalted butter to control salt amount in the muffins.
  • Sugar is reduced to the minimum amount that yields perfect texture and balanced sweetness.
  • Flour – I recommend all-purpose for this recipe.
  • Baking soda in this recipe plays a significant role in browning the muffins.
  • Baking powder, on other hand, is here to produce fluffy and tall banana bread muffins.
Banana muffins ingredients.

What’s the secret to making moist banana muffins?

Using frozen bananas is the secret to the moist and tender banana muffins.

My recipe doesn’t call for any liquids. And that’s not a mistake!

When you defrost frozen bananas, you’ll get lots of flavorful liquid along with mashed bananas. And that’s GOLD!!

Side by side image of ripe and frozen bananas.

How to freeze bananas:

Method 1:

When you have ripe bananas that are starting to turn soft, put them in the freezer. This way, you can make delicious banana bread or muffins later.

Unpeeled bananas freeze well for up to 3 months!

Method 2:

You can also peel the bananas, mash them and freeze in an airtight container for up to 1 month.

Peeled bananas tend to freezer-burn, so that’s why it’s best to use them within a month.

How to make this muffin recipe:

1. Prepare the bananas

Place frozen bananas under hot running tap water for about a minute.

Then peel them and place in a large bowl.

Microwave the bananas for 5 minutes to thaw completely.

Tip

Do NOT drain excess liquid from thawed bananas. Use it all in your batter for extra moist and flavorful muffins.

Side by side images of peeling frozen bananas.

2. Make the batter

  1. Mash bananas well with a wooden spoon.
  2. Add sugar, melted butter and vanilla extract and mix until well combined.
  3. Then stir in lightly beaten egg. (TIP: I add the egg later to prevent the eggs from scrambling in a hot bananas.)
  4. Finally, add the rest of dry ingredients and mix the batter until just combined. Don’t over-mix it.
Step by step photos of making the banana bread batter.

OPTIONAL STEP… You may add some chocolate chips and/or chopped nuts at this point too.

Banana muffin batter with chocolate chips.

3. Bake

Line muffin cups with paper liners, if desired. Then lightly spray with non-stick cooking spray.

Tip

Since this is a low fat muffins, they tend to stick to the paper liners. That’s why I like to spray with a cooking spray. It’s totally optional though.

Preheat oven to 375°F. Fill 16 muffin cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake 18-20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Side by side images of raw and baked banana chocolate chip muffins in muffin pan.

Tip

I like using this large cookie scoop to divide the batter evenly. 1 scoop in each muffin cup.

Tips for Mashing Bananas:

It’s important to mash the bananas well before making the batter. You can use a fork or a wooden spoon to mash the bananas. If the bananas are thawed, they should be soft enough to mash with a wooden spoon.

Using a wooden spoon, cut the bananas into small chunks and then mash them with the back of the spoon.

Bananas don’t have to be completely smooth, small chunks are ok. Just avoid leaving big chunks, or you’ll end up with wet spots in your muffins.

Banana muffins with one muffin cut in half.

Muffin Storing Tips:

  • Store muffins, covered, on the counter for up to 3 days.
  • You may also refrigerate the muffins, in an airtight container, for up to a week.
  • These muffins also freeze well. Place them in an airtight container or a freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months.

FAQs:

Why do you use baking soda in banana muffin?

My banana muffins recipe calls for baking soda, even though there is no acid present that would react with it.
That’s because baking soda helps to brown the muffins beautifully.
Without baking soda, muffins come out pale as pictured below.Very pale baked banana muffins in a baking pan.

Which bananas are best for muffins: overripe and frozen bananas?

You would want frozen overripe bananas for the best result. Simply freeze the bananas when they turn soft and with lots of black spots.

Can you freeze banana bread muffins?

Absolutely. Banana muffins freeze well for up to 3 months in an airtight container, or freezer bags.

Video:

YouTube video
Watch How to Make This Below!

Try Some of My Other Muffin Recipes:

  • Easy Chocolate Cherry Muffins
  • Almond Berry Muffins
  • 4-Ingredient Pumpkin Cheesecake Muffins
  • Blueberry Cheesecake Muffins
Banana muffins on a blue plate.

Easy Banana Muffins

Soft and tender banana muffins with delicate moist crumbs and full of banana flavor! Simple one-bowl muffins in less than 30 minutes!
5 from 19 votes
serves: 16 muffins
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 20 minutes
Total : 35 minutes
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Ingredients

  • 4 frozen medium-to-large bananas thawed Note 1
  • ¾ cup granulated sugar
  • ¼ cup unsalted butter melted
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 large egg lightly beaten, at room temperature
  • 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup toasted chopped walnuts optional
  • ½ cup bittersweet chocolate chips optional
US Customary – Metric
Note: I test all my recipes with both measurements for the most precise and accurate result!

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).
  • Line 16 regular-size muffin cups with paper liners and lightly spray with non-stick spray. (Note 2)
  • In a large bowl, mash thawed bananas with a fork or wooden spoon.
  • Add sugar, melted butter and vanilla extract, and mix everything until combined.
  • Then stir in lightly beaten egg.
  • Add flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Mix until just combined. Don't overman the batter.
  • Add walnuts and/or chocolate chips, if using.
  • Divide the batter evenly into the prepared muffin cups. (TIP: Use a large cookie scoop to evenly divide the batter. 1 scoop into each muffin cup.)
  • Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until the inserted toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely before serving.

Tips & Notes:

Note 1: 4 medium bananas equal to 2 cups of mashed bananas. Do NOT discard the juices from thawed bananas, use everything for making the batter.
Note 2: Since this banana muffin recipe has lower fat content, I prefer to spray the paper liners with cooking spray. That way, muffins don’t stick to the paper.
Mini Muffins: You can also make 24 mini muffins instead. Bake mini muffins for about 15 minutes.
Storing Directions:
– Store muffins, covered, on the counter for up to 3 days.
– Or refrigerate for up to a week.
– These muffins also freeze well. Place the muffins in airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months.

Nutrition Facts:

Serving: 1muffin Calories: 213kcal (11%) Carbohydrates: 29g (10%) Protein: 3g (6%) Fat: 10g (15%) Saturated Fat: 4g (25%) Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g Monounsaturated Fat: 2g Trans Fat: 1g Cholesterol: 18mg (6%) Sodium: 179mg (8%) Potassium: 191mg (5%) Fiber: 2g (8%) Sugar: 15g (17%) Vitamin A: 124IU (2%) Vitamin C: 3mg (4%) Calcium: 45mg (5%) Iron: 1mg (6%)
* Disclaimer: All nutrition information are estimates only. Read full disclosure here.
Author: Shinee
Course:Breakfast, Snack
Cuisine:American
Banana muffins on a blue plate.
Did you make this?Show me your creation! Tag me @shineshka and hashtag it #sweetandsavorybyshinee!
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This recipe was originally published in March, 2020.

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  1. Cynthia says

    Posted on 22 January 2023 at 2:00 pm

    Came out quite delicious with 2 cups sliced, then mashed frozen bananas, a combo of WW, AP and coconut flour, oil instead of butter and 1/2 cup each walnuts and mini chocolate chips. Thank you for the recipe!

    Reply
  2. Sarah says

    Posted on 23 December 2022 at 11:43 am

    5 stars
    Such a great and easy recipe.

    Reply
  3. Sharon Myles says

    Posted on 6 February 2022 at 1:05 pm

    5 stars
    Moist and delicious & will keep this recipe

    Reply
  4. Diana says

    Posted on 15 January 2022 at 12:28 pm

    5 stars
    These are SO DAMN GOOD!! So easy Thank you!! Yes, I did add chocolate chips 👍🏼

    Reply
  5. Linda from Ontario, Canada says

    Posted on 25 November 2021 at 1:30 pm

    5 stars
    I decided to make SOMETHING out of frozen bananas other than smoothies, and I’m so glad I found this recipe! We have construction workers here for the week, and boy were they thrilled to get homemade Banana Chocolate Chip muffins as a treat! Thanks so much Shinee 🙂

    Reply
    • Shinee says

      Posted on 28 November 2021 at 4:33 pm

      YAY, so happy you tried and loved this recipe, Linda! Thank you for your feedback!

      Reply
  6. Ali says

    Posted on 23 September 2021 at 9:02 pm

    5 stars
    Absolutely love this recipe! Comes out perfect every time and I’m lazy and don’t freeze my bananas!

    Reply
    • Shinee says

      Posted on 24 September 2021 at 1:16 pm

      Thanks for your feedback, Ali!

      Reply
  7. Karen Teeling says

    Posted on 2 September 2021 at 11:51 am

    Surprised at amount of baking soda and salt for this muffin recipe. Your “bread” recipe halved would equal 3/4 tsp soda and ont 1/4 tsp salt – why are they more in this recipe?

    Reply
    • Shinee says

      Posted on 2 September 2021 at 2:52 pm

      Hi, Karen! Great question and observation! When doubling a recipe, you could double pretty much all of the ingredients, except for baking powder and baking soda. You don’t need that much baking powder/soda for double batch, and typically it’s advised to reduce the amount of those ingredients slightly when doubling a recipe. As for salt, it’s just a personal preference. 1/2 teaspoon of salt works for single and double batch. You may reduce to 1/4 teaspoon for single batch, if you prefer.

      Reply
  8. Karen C says

    Posted on 15 June 2021 at 7:39 pm

    5 stars
    These are the best banana muffins I have ever had.

    Reply
  9. Isabelle Valois says

    Posted on 20 April 2021 at 4:25 am

    5 stars
    Wow excellent and fast and truly in one bowl. It took me 15minute from the “get go”. Perfect banana muffin.

    Reply
    • Shinee says

      Posted on 20 April 2021 at 10:50 am

      Yay, so happy you tried and loved the recipe. Thank you for your feedback, Isabelle!

      Reply
  10. Tungalag says

    Posted on 7 January 2021 at 10:18 pm

    Hi Shinee, my Vanilla extract is expired, do you think I can still use it in the muffin?

    Reply
    • Shinee says

      Posted on 8 January 2021 at 12:35 am

      Hi, Tungalag! Yeah, I’d say you can still use it. Typically vanilla extracts have indefinite shelf life.

      Reply
  11. Cee says

    Posted on 2 January 2021 at 12:38 pm

    Hi there – can I cut the sugar from 3/4 cups to 1/2 cup? Wpuld I need to make any other adjustments? We are using hersheys mini semi-sweet chipits. Figured that should be sweet enough for us.

    Reply
    • Shinee says

      Posted on 2 January 2021 at 2:48 pm

      Hi, Cee. These banana muffins are not sweet at all. I’ve reduced the sugar amount to the lowest possible. You can, of course, lowering it to 1/2 cup, if you want to. But it might affect the texture, rise and look of the muffins.

      Reply
      • Stella says

        Posted on 25 July 2022 at 9:23 am

        5 stars
        Hi both,

        I have halved the sugar and the muffins came out very sweet. I know it’s personal taste but I think that very ripe bananas add already A LOT of sweetness. Lovely muffins!

        Reply
        • Shinee says

          Posted on 8 August 2022 at 11:12 am

          So happy to hear that! As long as you’re happy with texture and look of the muffins, nothing is wrong with reducing the sugar. Thanks for your feedback, Stella.

  12. Thelma says

    Posted on 7 December 2020 at 9:39 am

    5 stars
    Can I use “frozen” bananas and do use that liquid, before adding them to the batter? Thank You.

    Reply
    • Shinee says

      Posted on 7 December 2020 at 11:01 pm

      Not sure what you mean by “frozen”? My recipe calls for frozen banana and yes, including all the liquid.

      Reply
      • Thelma says

        Posted on 8 December 2020 at 7:57 am

        You answered my question – Thank You. ( I meant once I defrost the bananas, do I use the liquid) .

        Reply
  13. Thelma says

    Posted on 7 December 2020 at 9:35 am

    Hi…Going to try these muffins, for the 1st time.. (for a Christmas plate giveaway) I would like to add crushed pineapple. Do I have to substitute something to do that ??? Many thanks !!

    Reply
    • Shinee says

      Posted on 7 December 2020 at 11:00 pm

      Hi, Thelma. I don’t have an advice on this, as I’ve never tested the recipe with crushed pineapples. You may want to use crushed pineapple for half of the banana?

      Reply
      • Thelma says

        Posted on 8 December 2020 at 7:58 am

        Thank You…. I’ll do that !!

        Reply
  14. Jordan says

    Posted on 5 December 2020 at 11:42 am

    5 stars
    I love this recipe! I’ve made it as muffins and as a loaf. For the loaf, I took the suggestion of another commenter and baked at 350f for approximately 45 minutes. This is a perfect use for all the frozen bananas I’ve been storing up for smoothies!

    Reply
    • Shinee says

      Posted on 5 December 2020 at 10:51 pm

      So happy to hear you loved the recipe!! It’s our family favorite too! Thank you for your feedback, Jordan!

      Reply
    • Sheila says

      Posted on 16 October 2021 at 8:52 pm

      Hello,
      Can I add blueberries to this recipe? If yes, how many cups? Also, when adding nuts, what amount should be added?
      Thanks

      Reply
      • Shinee says

        Posted on 22 October 2021 at 3:28 pm

        Hi, Sheila. Although I’ve never tried it, I supposed you could add blueberries. As for nuts, you can add up to 1 cup of nuts.

        Reply
  15. Lisa says

    Posted on 23 November 2020 at 8:39 am

    5 stars
    These were absolutely delicious and moist, using toasted walnut and semi sweet mini chips.

    I will be making these again and again. Thank you for sharing your recipe with us.

    Reply
    • Shinee says

      Posted on 23 November 2020 at 4:33 pm

      Hi, Lisa. So glad you tried and loved the recipe. Thank you for your feedback.

      Reply
  16. Menam says

    Posted on 29 October 2020 at 9:15 am

    5 stars
    made this recipe as a loaf and baked for ≈45 minutes tasted amazing! i loved the overall taste and everyone else did too! It was gone in less than a day!

    Reply
    • Shinee says

      Posted on 29 October 2020 at 2:51 pm

      Yay, so happy you enjoyed it, Menam. Thank you for your feedback!

      Reply
  17. AP says

    Posted on 19 October 2020 at 4:03 pm

    5 stars
    Delicious 😋 😋

    Reply
    • Shinee says

      Posted on 20 October 2020 at 8:28 pm

      Thank you!!

      Reply
  18. Dor says

    Posted on 19 September 2020 at 7:23 pm

    5 stars
    Just wondering if “¾ cup 150gr sugar” means 3/4 cup sugar + 150g sugar… Thanks!

    Reply
    • D says

      Posted on 19 September 2020 at 9:15 pm

      The reasons I am asking are 1. 1.5 cups of flour seem to be 128 grams and 2. when I adjust the # of muffins, only the cups/tsps changed. It’d be great if you could confirm if the grams are there to correspond the amount for 12 muffins.

      Sorry for asking this silly question, I’m new to baking.

      Reply
      • Shinee says

        Posted on 19 September 2020 at 9:44 pm

        Hi, Dor. Sorry for confusion. Not a silly question at all! You’ll need only 3/4 cup of sugar, which is 150g in metric system. And as for flour, you’ll need 1.5 cups of all-purpose flour, or 190g.

        (We recently switched our recipe display system, and things are a little wonky! I so appreciate your question, because you brought the issue to my attention. 🙂 And I just fixed everything. It should look better now. Let me know if you have any questions.)

        Reply
        • Dor says

          Posted on 24 September 2020 at 9:28 am

          Thank you for answering Shinee 🙂 I shall try the recipe soon!

  19. Su says

    Posted on 24 July 2020 at 4:12 pm

    5 stars
    I’ve never baked anything that turned out to be good–I’ve always been under the impression that baking is not for me. This recipe changed that! It is simple and the muffins turned out amazing!!! thank you!!!

    Reply
    • Shinee says

      Posted on 26 July 2020 at 9:31 pm

      Hi, Su! Yay, so happy you made these muffins and loved them! I truly believe anyone can be a good baker, and I’m so happy to read your comment. Hope you’ll be baking more and more. And thank you for sharing your feedback!

      Reply

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