The Best Banana Muffin Recipe
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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
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this? Leave a comment below!
This recipe was originally published 01/05/2018. Updated with more information and better photos 10/17/2019.
I have made these muffins several times and they come out perfectly every time. Some folks in my family are gluten free. Can you modify the receipe for me to use almond and coconut flour instead of regular flour?
I’m so sorry Deborah, I am not familiar with using almond or coconut flour. If you try it I would love to know how it turns out. 🙂
These muffins are great! Made them exactly the same way and they tasted and looked great. Crumby and high domes. Just like a coffee shop muffin.
I am so glad you enjoyed the muffins so much, Amrita! 🙂
Can I make this into a banana bread loaf?
Hi Yhara! Yes you can, I do have a banana bread recipe too.
These muffins were incredible! I used 4 bananas because they felt small and then the recipe made 24 muffins. Which at first I was worried about, thinking they’d turn out wrong, but instead I now have plenty more amazing, fluffy muffins! My husband and 3yr old also loved them. THANK YOU!!
I am so glad you enjoyed the muffins so much, Jessica! 🙂
I love your recipe! Quick question. Why use both baking soda and baking powder? Don’t they do the same thing?
Hi Jackie! They each play a separate role in the recipe in terms of when they activate and which ingredients they activate with. I am so glad you enjoyed the muffins! 🙂
I skipped the topping and added chocolate chips. Light, moist, yummy!
Yum! So glad you enjoyed! 🙂
I love this cake it is the best!
I am so glad that you enjoyed it, Kaity! Thanks for trying my recipe. 🙂
These muffins were DELICIOUS and by far the best banana muffins I’ve ever tasted. Easy to make and super moist. The only thing I added was a bit of cinnamon and allspice to the mixture. Tastes absolutely perfect without the streusel topping. Will definitely be making these again. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Thank you so much for trying my recipe, Tracy! I am so glad that you enjoyed the muffins! 🙂
These are the BEST banana muffins I have ever made. They are delicious and delightfully fluffy and moist. Flavor is simple yet addicting. I didn’t try the streusel topping. But it’s still SO GOOD as is. I just love that banana aroma filling up my whole house. It is an antidepressant. I will definitely be giving these muffins as Thank You or Get Well gifts.
I am so happy to hear how much you enjoyed the muffins, Cynthia! The smell of freshly baked banana is heavenly for sure. Thank you for trying my recipe and for commenting. 🙂
So yummy!!!! Can’t wait to make more.
Would I be able to substitute canola oil with coconut oil?
Hi Tiffany! I think that would work fine, but I haven’t tried it. Let me know how it goes. 🙂
What could I use in place of buttermilk? 😄
Whole Milk will work, Danielle. 🙂
Absolutely amazing. Thank you xxxo
Thank you for trying my recipe, Dani! I am so glad that you enjoyed it. 🙂
Would this recipe do well with added walnuts?
Hi, Lacey! Yes, chopped walnuts will be a nice addition. Enjoy! 🙂
This recipie is lovley and I love it!
this is the best thing I ever tasted
Thank you so much, Tooni! I am so glad that you enjoyed it! 🙂
These muffins are so delicious. They’re like a cross between a muffin and a cake. And so tender. I love when I follow a recipe and the result is exactly what it’s supposed to be. I will definitely be trying more of yours. Thanks so much!
I am so glad that you enjoyed them, Kate, and that you found the recipe easy to follow. I can’t wait to hear what recipe you try next. Thanks for commenting. 🙂
We loved these muffins! I’ll definitely make them again. I had made yogurt a couple days ago and saved the whey after straining the yogurt. I used the whey in place of the buttermilk. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Using the whey was such a great idea, Chris! I will have to try that the next time. I am happy to hear that the muffins were a hit. Thanks for trying my recipe. 🙂
I have being looking for a fluffy muffin and these one is a keeper !!! The bonus is the topping !
Ottawa ,ontario
Valérie
I am so glad that you finally found a muffin recipe that you enjoyed, Valerie! Thanks for commenting. 🙂
Moved them. Made exactly as directed. Will be making these often! Thank you!
Awesome! I am so glad that they turned out well, Dawn. Enjoy! 🙂