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.
Cindy
I made these last year a couple of times and my family loved them. We have had a rough couple of months with my husband having gallbladder surgery & me back surgery. And now housebound due to current situation so I thought I would bake with my 3 & 4 year old granddaughters! And what else would be more appetizing & fun your banana muffins! Thank you for the great receipe!
Sugar Spun Run
Oh Cindy, I am so sorry you have had a rough year. I hope that you and your husband have or are on your way to recovery. Thank you for trying my recipe. I hope that you and your granddaughters had fun making this recipe together. I happy that you all enjoyed the muffins. 🙂
David Wooten
These are INSANELY good muffins! I too added a 1/2 cup of chocolate chips. They are the best muffins I have ever made. Thank You!
Sugar Spun Run
Thanks for trying my recipe, David! I am so glad that you enjoyed the muffins! 🙂
Margaret
Used half and half because I didn’t have any milk. Added one half cup of chocolate chips. Yummy…
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that you enjoyed the muffins, Margaret, and that they turned out well with your substitutions. Thanks for trying my recipe. 🙂
Laurie S
Made these this morning—so good. I did not add the streusel topping and didn’t miss it. Excellent!
Sugar Spun Run
Thanks for trying my recipe, Laurie! I am so glad that you enjoyed the muffins. 🙂
Colleen
I made a batch of these this morning. They were put together in no time, and came out tasting so moist and good. I did not add the topping, but it really didn’t need it. Will definitely them again. 🍌🍌
Sugar Spun Run
Thanks for trying my recipe, Colleen! I am so glad that you enjoyed the muffins. 🙂
Wendy
Good Morning from Fort Lauderdale Florida… I just took a batch out of the oven… they look terrific.. I used yoghurt ILO buttermilk or your subs method.. rose beautifully.
Sugar Spun Run
I am so happy to hear that they turned out well, Wendy! Thanks for commenting. Enjoy your muffins! 🙂
Monica
BY FAR this is the best recipe for banana bread/muffins! They are so light and fluffy and delicious and the streusel adds that bit of deliciousness.
Sugar Spun Run
Thank you so much, Monica! I am so glad that you enjoyed them! 🙂
Frederick Jackson
Why did I stop making muffins from scratch..store bought no more.. these were the best.followed your directions to not over beat. Skipped streusel just by choice..i would use less sugar in the batter as well..I think the ripe bananas added enough sweet to cut sugar at least by a third..All in all out of the oven and into my mouth..yum yum yummy.Wife liked than sweet! Home bound and baking
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that you enjoyed the muffins, Frederick. Thanks for trying my recipe and for commenting. 🙂
Elle Callahan-Mitchell
Absolutely amazing! I added dried coconut to the streusel and cinnamon to the batter. Thanks for a great recipe!
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that you enjoyed the muffins, Elle! I love the idea of the dried coconut as well. I will be sure to try that next time. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
MARISSA REGII
Hi!
I’m planning to make this today, but I only have 2 bananas :/ What can I do?
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Marissa! Since you only have two bananas, I would add one additional egg white to the mixture. This will act as a replacement for the missing banana. Keep me posted on how it turns out. Fingers crossed it turns out perfectly. 🙂
Lisa
I made these tonight using 1 1/2 cups of gluten free flour (one to one type) and 1/2 cup almond flour. (Side note: When I bake for my gf family members I find I get the best results using more than one type of gf flour; other favorites are coconut flour and tiger nut flour – all are available on Amazon.) The muffins were light, fluffy and deliciously banana flavored. I can’t wait to try one in the morning after the buttermilk flavor has a chance to meld in. Great recipe!
Sugar Spun Run
Thank you so much for sharing your method using gluten-free flour, Lisa. I am so glad that the muffins turned out well and you enjoyed them. Thanks for commenting. 🙂
Rachel Alexis
Delicious! Sprinkled them with mini semi sweet chocolate chips! Yummy!
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that you enjoyed them, Rachel! Thank you so much for commenting. 🙂
Faith
How long would you bake it for a loaf
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Faith! I actually have a banana bread recipe that uses similar ingredients that you can try or use as a reference. 🙂
Emily
Hi! I was wondering if you could use whole milk instead?
Sam
Hi Emily, I would recommend using my buttermilk substitute (you just need whole milk and either lemon juice or vinegar).
Janice
These muffins are the best!
Sugar Spun Run
Thank you so much, Janice! I am so glad that you enjoyed them. 🙂
Vikki
These are the BEST Banana Muffins recipe EVER! My family just loves theses! They are on the level of a bakery style muffin! Mmm delicioso!
The only thing I added was walnuts to the batter and streusel topping!
Thank you for sharing this simple but absolutely scrumptious muffin recipe!
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that you enjoyed them, Vikki! Thank you for trying my recipe and for commenting. 🙂