My well-loved Banana Muffin recipe makes incredibly soft, moist muffins with tall, bakery-style tops, sweet banana flavor, and an optional streusel topping. Recipe includes a how-to video!
Your New Favorite Breakfast Muffin
Today I’m re-sharing one of my favorite muffin recipes on the blog, and apparently, it’s one of your favorites too! With nearly 500 five-star ratings, this banana muffin recipe is so well-loved–and for good reason. These aren’t bland, boring, or basic banana muffins; they’re fluffy, moist, and loaded with banana flavor! And if that’s not enough, I recommend topping them with a crumbly, buttery streusel topping…yum.
It took a lot of tries and tweaks to get this recipe just perfect, but it was well worth the trial and error. This recipe makes the softest, most flavorful banana muffin I’ve ever tasted–with or without the streusel on top–and I’m so proud to share it with you!
What Makes My Banana Muffin Recipe the BEST:
- It produces big, beautiful muffin tops, thanks to a nifty oven trick.
- They truly taste like banana muffins, not banana bread in muffin form.
- No mixer needed–these come together easily by hand!
- They take just 30 minutes from start to finish.
What You Need
I found I needed several key ingredients for super flavorful banana muffins:
- Three ripe bananas. Ripe bananas mash easier and impart a stronger banana flavor, so save this recipe for those dark brown bananas lingering at the bottom of your fruit basket (unlike the ones pictured above!).
- Butter and oil. We’re using a blend of both for the best flavored and textured banana muffin (same reason I use a blend of the two in my vanilla cake!). Stick with a neutral oil like canola, vegetable, or grapeseed, and make sure your butter is unsalted.
- Sugar. Using some brown sugar gives the muffins a rich flavor that granulated alone wouldn’t provide.
- Buttermilk. This keeps the muffins nice and moist. If you’re low on buttermilk, give my easy buttermilk substitute a try!
SAM’S TIP: Overmixing your batter can lead to muffins that are too tough and dense. To avoid this, I strongly recommend stirring your banana muffin batter completely by hand. Luckily, we’re using melted butter in this recipe, so mixing by hand is a breeze!
Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make Banana Muffins
- Mash your bananas, then add the oil and melted butter.
- Stir in the sugar, then add the eggs, vanilla, and buttermilk.
- Combine your dry ingredients in a separate bowl, then gently fold them into the wet ingredients.
- Portion the batter into a paper-lined muffin tin, filling each liner is ¾ of the way full.
- Prepare your streusel, if using, and portion over each muffin.
- Bake your muffins for 8 minutes, then reduce the temperature and bake for another 7-8 minutes until done.
SAM’S TIP: While I personally love and recommend the streusel topping, I know not everyone wants the extra sugar or dishes. As you can see, the “naked” banana muffin pictured below baked up beautifully with an even tidier, higher muffin top. So feel free to skip it!
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, although I do have a separate banana nut muffin recipe you might want to try (it uses browned butter too 🤤). You can add between 1-1½ cups of add-ins (chocolate chips work well!) to this banana muffin recipe. I recommend adding them when you’re almost done incorporating the dry ingredients.
Yes! To do this, you’ll follow the same instructions I provide for my bakery-style chocolate chip muffins:
Bake at 425F for 8 minutes, then reduce the oven to 350F (don’t open the door!) and continue baking until the muffins begin to turn golden brown. This can take anywhere from 7-15 minutes, so keep an eye on them!
This banana muffin recipe freezes very well! In fact, I did this in preparation for Luke’s arrival so I always had a quick breakfast handy during his newborn phase.
If you want want to freeze yours, allow them to cool completely, wrap individually in plastic wrap, place in a Ziploc bag, and freeze. To thaw, either set your muffins out at room temperature or microwave them (just use the defrost setting or they’ll become hard).
So, do you agree? Is this the BEST banana muffin recipe? Let me know in the comments!
Enjoy!
Let’s bake together! I’ll be walking you through all the steps in my written recipe and video below! If you try this recipe, be sure to tag me on Instagram, and you can also find me on YouTube and Facebook
The Best Banana Muffin Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups (385 g) well-mashed ripe bananas This is typically 3 large bananas for me
- ¼ cup (60 ml) avocado oil or vegetable oil or canola oil (may substitute vegetable or avocado oil)
- ¼ cup (60 g) unsalted butter melted and cooled at least 5 minutes
- ½ cup (100 g) sugar
- ½ cup (100 g) light brown sugar tightly packed
- 2 large eggs room temperature preferred
- ¼ cup (60 ml) buttermilk room temperature preferred
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
Streusel (optional)
- ½ cup (65 g) all-purpose flour
- ½ cup (100 g) brown sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup (60 g) unsalted butter, cold
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425F (220C) and line a muffin tin with paper liners*
- Place peeled bananas in a large bowl and use a fork or a potato masher to mash them – bananas should be well-mashed.1 ½ cups (385 g) well-mashed ripe bananas
- Add oil and melted butter and stir well.¼ cup (60 ml) avocado oil or vegetable oil or canola oil, ¼ cup (60 g) unsalted butter
- Stir in sugars until well-combined.½ cup (100 g) sugar, ½ cup (100 g) light brown sugar
- Add eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla extract and stir well. Set aside.2 large eggs, 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract, ¼ cup (60 ml) buttermilk
- In a separate bowl, whisk together your dry ingredients — flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour, 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt
- Add dry ingredients to your wet batter and gently fold in until ingredients are just combined (don't over-mix the batter!).
- Portion batter into prepared muffin tin, filling each liner ¾ of the way full. Set aside and prepare your Streusel topping.
Streusel Topping (optional)
- Combine flour, brown sugar, and salt in a medium-sized bowl and use a fork to stir the ingredients together.½ cup (65 g) all-purpose flour, ½ cup (100 g) brown sugar, ¼ teaspoon salt
- Using a pastry cutter, cut in your cold butter until the butter is well-worked in and your mixture resembles coarse crumbs.¼ cup (60 g) unsalted butter, cold
- Sprinkle streusel topping evenly over each muffin.
- Bake muffins on 425F (218C) for 8 minutes and then reduce the oven temperature to 350 (175C) (do not open the oven door or remove the muffins, just leave them in and reduce the temperature) and bake another 7-8 minutes on 350F (177C). A toothpick inserted in the center of the largest muffin should come out clean or with few moist crumbs (no wet batter) to test for doneness.
- Allow muffins to cool before enjoying.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
This recipe was originally published 01/05/2018. Updated with more information and better photos 10/17/2019.
Justyna
Hi!I never made muffins before and my bananas are about to go bad so I figured why not make banana muffins 😀 I don’t have pasty cutter? Any substitute? Thank you
Justyna
Also can I use grapeseed oil instead of canola?
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Justyna! Grapeseed oil is considered one of the most neutral oils so I think that it SHOULD work fine. Having not tried it myself, I’d love to know how it turns out. 🙂
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Justyna! A perfect solution for over ripped bananas! If you don’t have a pastry cutter, a fork will do the trick. Happy Baking! 🙂
Jessica
These are the best muffins. I followed the recipe exactly and they turned out amazing. I was going to bake banana bread and it tends to turn out dry. However I found this recipe and I am so glad I made them. This recipe is a keeper. Thank you for the wonderful recipe
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that you enjoyed the muffins, Jessica! Thank you so much for commenting. 🙂
Yvette
Just made them now. They are amazing!!! Softest and fluffiest banana muffins I’ve ever eaten! How do they last in the refrigerator and/or freezer for? Do they still end up being as moist?
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that you enjoyed them, Yvette! I don’t reccomend storing them in the fridge, since it tends to dry them out. You can freeze them and thaw or reheat when needed easily. 🙂
Megan
Just finished making these and they are delicious! So easy to make as well
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that you found the recipe easy to follow and delicious, Megan! Thanks for commenting. 🙂
Helen
OMIGOSH! These were so YUMMY!!! I added chocolate chips. Due to time constraint, I didn’t do the topping, but still so YUMMY!!! What a great recipe and a keeper! (My bananas almost always ripen faster than I can eat! LOL!) Thank YOU!
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that you enjoyed the muffins, Helen! Thanks for trying my recipe. 🙂
Lisa from CO
Sugar Spun Run! You have created a formed, crumbly, delicious and tempting muffin whose texture and flavor are incredibly good! Thank you for your experimentation to make a wonderful item — whether for breakfast, snack or dessert!
I used whole wheat pastry flour rather than all purpose, because that’s what was on hand. I also made the buttermilk at home. And I used sunflower oil instead of canola oil. The recipe is adaptable!
They are so good — especially with added chopped pecans and dark chocolate chips. And I didn’t make the streusel topping.
Note: I live at 8,000 ft. elevation and your recipe yielded a dozen each of large & medium sized muffins. I wonder if they’ll last long enough, especially when I can share them with staying-at-home neighbors, to freeze! Again, thank you!!
Sugar Spun Run
Thank you so very much, Lisa! I am so glad that they were such a hit. Sharing them with your neighbors at this time is such a kind gesture. I hope that they love them too. Thanks for commenting. 🙂
Vanessa
What if I only have cake flour? What measurements should I use?
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Vanessa! You are in luck, cake flour will work. If you are measuring by weight it will be a 1:1 substitution. If you are measuring in cups, you use 1 cup + 2 Tbsp of cake flour for every cup of all-purpose flour that is called for. I hope that helps! 🙂
Vanessa
Thank you for the measurements! And I’ll comment if It works this is my first time using cake flour lol
Sugar Spun Run
Absolutely! Keep me posted. I hope that they turn out perfectly for you, Vanessa! 🙂
Catrina
Hello,
I am looking forward to making these muffins, I just have a quick question. During this time of staying at home and using up all the groceries you have in your home, I am wondering if these can be made with just 2 egg whites? I used the yokes to make cookies yesterday and want to use up the whites. What are your thoughts?
Thank you for your thoughts
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Catrina! I have never tried just using eggs white with this recipe, but I think that it will work fine. The only difference is your muffins will be lighter and may not stick together as easily. Having not tried it myself, I’d love to know how it turns out for you! 🙂
Catrina
Thank you for the quick response! These turned out great!!! The egg whites seemed to work just fine. Thank you so much
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that it worked out so well and you were able to use what you had on hand. Thanks for the feedback, Catrina! 🙂
Eden Stringham
Amazing! Best I’ve ever made, thank you!!
I didn’t have buttermilk so I used almond milk with 1/4 tbs lemon.
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that you enjoyed the muffins, Eden, and I am happy that the almond milk worked well as a substitute. Thanks for trying my recipe! 🙂
Rebecca
Help! I just made your buttermilk substitute and made the big mistake of dumping the entire cup of buttermilk into this recipe instead of 1/4 cup. Before I throw it away, would you try to salvage it? 😩
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Rebecca! You can drain some of it out of the batter. Hopefully, this will help. 🙂
Kathy
One of the best banana muffin recipes I’ve tried. Light, moist and very tasty. This is the one I use from now on.
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that you enjoyed the muffins, Kathy! Thank you for trying my recipe and for commenting. 🙂
Marisol
Hi would I be able to make a loaf out of this recipe, if so what would be the cooking time?
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Marisol! I actually have a banana bread recipe that is similar that is baked in a loaf pan that you can use instead. Enjoy! 🙂
Rose
Made these today and will continue making this recipe over any other banana muffin recipe! Perfect in every way! Made blueberry ones and chocolate chip ones! Thank you for this!
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that you have enjoyed it, Rose! Thank you for using it to create your own variations. I am glad that it has become a favorite of yours. 🙂
Lynn
What’s the reason for starting at a higher temp then reducing it? I was wondering if it had anything to do with the crumb topping. I made a batch without it and they were amazing but just a tad overcooked. I just sprinkled turbinado on top before baking. I am making two more batches today and will probably skip starting at the higher temp unless it is truly needed. Maybe make one batch with the topping just to try it. I added black walnuts and will perhaps add good quality choc chips to my 2nd batch. This really is a “keeper” recipe. Many thanks.
Sugar Spun Run
Thank you so much for trying my recipe, Lynn, I am so glad that you enjoyed it! To answer your questions, the initial 425°F oven temperature promotes a fast rise. It encourages the batter to puff, extending upwards out of the liner for a taller, more domed muffin top result. 🙂
Lindsay Greenwood
Hey Sam – how long would you say the load lasts fresh if it’s in Tupperware?
Thanks
L
Sugar Spun Run
It will stay fresh for about 1 week. 🙂