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.
Sherry
I’ve just taken them out of the oven…this is the second time I’ve made them..my husband loves the topping…I’ve been cooking for over 52 years…that’s how long I’ve been married…I love trying new recipes…I’ll be back to try more of them…thank you…
Sam
So happy to have you here, Sherry! Thank you for trying my recipes, I really appreciate it!
Rev
Tried this recipe for the first time. Only change I made was used only half the quantity of sugar and added a little cinnamon. Turned out great and sweet enough with half the sugar. Thanks for the recipe.
Anynomyous
I made these and they tasted SO DELICIOUS. My family love them and are now craving for more! I love them and they came out perfect!
Helena
Oh my, the best muffins I have ever made! I didn’t do the streusel (maybe next time!) and made them as per the recipe except made 12 muffins instead of 15, so had to bake a little longer. Also added chocolate chips. Divine!
Helena
I have to update. Now I’ve made them with pecans and the streusel. Hands down the best muffins we’ve ever had.
Dahlia
Absolute perfection! In the old days it wasn’t too hard to find quality recipes on the internet, but today it feels like pot luck. Thank you so much for this! Perfect banana taste, moist with great texture, and the streusel adds a bit of crunch and sweetness that enhances the banana flavor.
Sherry pigg
Made these today, they were so yummy, even though I accidentally missed the buttermilk. I was worried they wouldn’t turn out, but they were fine,
Helena
I missed the buttermilk too! Because it’s out of order on the list of ingredients. Mine were quite good too, but I made them again tonight with buttermilk and they were divine!
Rebecc
Followed recipe exactly and turned out fantastic. My daughter thought I bought them from the bakery!
Pia
These muffins are fluffy and moist. My daughter loves when I add 1 cup of blueberries.
Laurie Hohisel
Delicious! Perfect!
I just added a little cinnamon to my mashed bananas. Otherwise everything as instructed. I don’t know if I even tasted the cinnamon.
The batter filled my paper cupcake holders to the brim, I still added streusel, seemed to make more than needed. I usually add oats to streusel topping but didn’t this time. I baked at 425 for 8 minutes, then 350 for about 13 more minutes to make sure the centers were done. Results were perfect moist muffins with a cookie top. I cooled, shared one with my husband and froze them for company during the holidays.Thank you for the recipe Sam! 🙂
Lynn
These muffins are sooo delicious! Made them multiple times for family.
Cheyenne Chamberlain
I have made this recipe for 2 years straight over and over. Family and friends rave up and down that they crave these muffins and demand they be made every year. 😋
Iisa
Made this recipe. Eating one while typing. They are moist and fluffy and not overly sweet. Didn’t add the streusel because we are watching sugar. They made 11 muffins. They had a nice rise. Cooking time took much longer. Could be my old oven! Thank you. I’ll be trying your banana bread next- hoping it will also have a nose rise.
JoJo
I made the muffins as suggested in the recipe. I did add 1/4 cup of oatmeal to the topping, and filled the 15 regular sized muffin cups almost to the top. As a result they did take longer than the suggested time to bake. But they did not overflow, just perfectly shaped muffins. They were absolutely delicious and will definitely save this recipe! Am going to add nuts next time I make them.
Alicia
Took them out of the overn about 15 minutes ago. Took a bite they are sooooo good. Fluffy and moist and not overly sweet which I love. I think next time, I’ll add a dash or two of cinnamon to the batter! Thanks!
Jill
I made these this morning and hubby and I really enjoyed them. I only used the 1/2 cup brown sugar and no regular sugar. In my experience, lots of muffin recipes these days are so sweet they are more like cupcakes. The 1/2 cup brown sugar, along with the natural sweetness of the bananas was perfect. I did not do the topping. Just not my thing. I added an extra 1/2 tsp baking powder and used all the batter to fill my 12 cup muffin tin. I was a bit concerned they might flatten out because the batter was a bit thinner than I’m used to for muffins. However, they rose perfectly. The extra 1/2 tsp baking powder might have helped on that. I also thought that maybe, because I added a bit more to each cup to use all the batter, that they might need to cook a bit longer. But the 8 min at 425° and 8 at 350° was perfect. They were moist and tasty. This recipe is going into my favorites file.
Johanna Boekell
I just made Best Banana Muffins and they are. Hade one still a little warm and very good. I figured can freeze some. But first need to share some. The only change was I didn’t have sweet butter. Still excellent. Thank you for recipe.
Heidi
can I make this into bread?
Sam
Hi Heidi! I would recommend making my banana bread instead. 🙂