Make these delicious banana bread muffins for breakfast on the go, picnics or packed lunches. Moist and tasty, a guaranteed family favorite.
There can never be enough excuses to bake with bananas, it’s one of my favorite ingredients. I often find a few leftover, slightly tired looking bananas in the fruit bowl at the end of the week. A great way to use up these sad brown bananas is to make these flavorful muffins!
Why This Recipe Works
- Using overripe, browned skin bananas adds extra flavor and moisture to the muffins as older bananas are sweeter and contain more moisture than yellow bananas.
- Buttermilk adds a nice tang and even more moisture
- Using a mixture of butter and oil adds moisture and a buttery flavor that can’t be beat.
- Brown sugar adds not only sweetness, but a caramel taste that’s truly delicious.
- A touch of cinnamon and nutmeg add spice without overpowering the banana flavor.
The Best Bananas for Banana Bread Muffins
It may be surprising, but the best bananas to use in baking aren’t yellow; they’re brown or black. Spotty bananas are perfect. The blacker the better, but try to avoid using bananas that are oozing or growing mold as these are most likely past their best!
How To Quickly Ripen Bananas
If you don’t have overripe bananas, you can easily use yellow bananas by softening them first to bring out extra flavor and moisture. Just slice the bananas, place in a microwave-safe bowl and cook on high in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time until tender and easy to crush with a fork.
Ingredient Notes
- Bananas: Use medium to large bananas. It’s always best to use the ripest bananas you have in your fruit bowl, the riper they are the more banana flavor.
- Brown Sugar – I use light brown sugar, but dark brown sugar will work too.
- Buttermilk: Use full-fat or low fat buttermilk. If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, simply combine ¼ cup milk with ½ teaspoon vinegar and allow to stand for 5 minutes.
- Butter: I use salted butter in my baking as a preference, but you can use unsalted too.
- Oil: I use canola oil in this recipe, but you can use most vegetable oils, coconut oil or olive oil.
How To Make Banana Bread Muffins
- Mash the bananas.
- Combine the dry ingredients.
- Mix the wet ingredients together.
- Combine wet and dry ingredients.
- Pour into a muffin tin.
- Bake for around 25 minutes.
- Serve and enjoy!
Step By Step Instructions
Mash the bananas into the warm melted butter.
Add the oil, buttermilk, beaten eggs, and vanilla. Mix well to combine.
In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients.
Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture and mix to combine.
Divide the batter equally into a greased muffin pan or line the pan with paper liners.
Bake for around 25 minutes.
Allow to cool on a wire rack.
Serve and enjoy!
Love traditional banana bread? Be sure to try my award winning banana bread recipe!
Tips & Variations
- Be sure to follow the recipe closely. Mixing the dry and wet ingredients well before combining them helps to avoid overmixing (which can create a dense, tough muffin).
- To measure the flour correctly, use a measuring cup for dry ingredients. Fill the cup by scooping and level off the top of the cup once full. This will ensure you’re not adding extra, which could result in a muffin.
- For extra texture, add some walnuts or a mixture of nuts of your choice to transform them to banana nut muffins.
- Add dark chocolate chips to appeal to the kids (and adults too of course) for banana chocolate chip muffins.
Storage Instructions ❄
- Store at room temperature: These banana bread muffins can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days. They often taste better the day after baking.
- Freezing Instructions: You can freeze these muffins for up to three months, just add to a freezer bag and place in a freezer for up to 3 months.
FAQs
The difference between banana bread and banana cake is simply banana bread is more dense and less sponge like than banana cake.
You can use both butter and oil in muffins, butter adds taste and oil helps create a moist tender crumb.
Bananas can’t be too ripe for banana bread, as long as they aren’t moldy they are perfectly fine to use.
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Let’s Make Banana Bread Muffins
Ingredients
- 3 bananas very ripe to black
- 5 tablespoons butter melted and cooled
- 1 tablespoon canola oil or vegetable oil
- ¼ cup buttermilk at room temperature
- 2 eggs beaten
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups flour
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon optional
- ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray or line with muffin liners.
- Add the bananas to a bowl with the warm, melted butter and mash using a fork or potato masher.
- Add the oil, buttermilk, beaten eggs, and vanilla. Mix well to combine.
- In a second large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, brown sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg until combined.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix together with a wooden spoon until combined (the mixture will be thick).
- Divide batter between 12 muffin cups and bake for 20-25 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool for five minutes before removing from the pan. Serve warm or cooled.
- Store remaining muffins covered at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Tips + Notes
- Be sure to follow the steps of the recipe closely. Mixing the dry and wet ingredients well before combining them helps to avoid overmixing (which can create a dense, tough muffin).
- Measure the flour correctly by using a measuring cup for dry measurements, then level off the top of the cup once the flour is scooped. This will ensure you’re not adding extra, which could result in a dry muffin.
Cynthia G. says
I just made this recipe and it came out great! I added 1 cup of blueberries I had in the fridge, yummm! Thanks for all the tips that make prepping easier.
Erren Hart says
Thank you for trying our recipe Cynthia, we’re glad to hear you enjoyed it! Adding blueberries is a great idea, we love that addition. Thanks for the feedback on the tips; we’ll keep them in mind when creating future recipes.
KAREN R says
Excellent!!! Even my husband who is not a banana muffin eater love them!!!!
Erren Hart says
So great to hear and thank you for taking the time to comment! 🙂
Ruth G says
I’ve made these muffins twice now. Once with the spice and once without and both times they were delicious!
Erren Hart says
How great! I’m happy to hear it! 🙂
Olive says
I made these for a Sunday brunch and they were great! The perfect amount of spice to not overpower the banana flavor.
Erren's Kitchen says
Thank you Olive, I’m so glad you enjoyed them 🙂
Linda T says
I made these over the weekend. They were just perfect! Thanks, Erren!
Erren Hart says
So great to hear, Linda! Thanks for letting me know! 🙂