The Best Banana Muffin Recipe (2024)

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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!

The Best Banana Muffin Recipe (1)

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

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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

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  1. Mash your bananas, then add the oil and melted butter.
  2. Stir in the sugar, then add the eggs, vanilla, and buttermilk.
  3. Combine your dry ingredients in a separate bowl, then gently fold them into the wet ingredients.
  4. Portion the batter into a paper-lined muffin tin, filling each liner is ¾of the way full.
  5. Prepare your streusel, if using, and portion over each muffin.
  6. 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!

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can I add nuts?

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.

Can I use a jumbo muffin pan for this recipe?

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!

Can I freeze banana muffins?

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 coolcompletely, 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).

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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 andvideobelow! If you try this recipe, be sure to tag me onInstagram, and you can also find me onYouTubeandFacebook

The Best Banana Muffin Recipe (6)

The Best Banana Muffin Recipe

The BEST Banana Muffin Recipe! The batter comes together in minutes and is baked on two temperatures for the most moist, fluffy banana muffins you've ever had. Can be made with or without streusel topping!

4.97 from 880 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes minutes

Servings: 15 muffins

Calories: 281kcal

Author: Sam Merritt

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ cups (385 g) well-mashed ripe bananas This is typically 3 large bananas for me
  • ¼ cup (60 ml) 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) 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 on425F (218C) for 8 minutes and thenreduce 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

*Please note that this recipe makes about 15 muffins while most muffin tins are only 12-count.

Feel free to add nuts or chocolate chips! Just stir them in at the end.

Nutrition

Serving: 1muffin | Calories: 281kcal | Carbohydrates: 43g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 42mg | Sodium: 173mg | Potassium: 185mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 24g | Vitamin A: 247IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 44mg | Iron: 1mg

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.

Tried this recipe? Show me on Instagram!Mention @SugarSpun_Sam or tag #sugarspunrun!

This recipe was originally published 01/05/2018. Updated with more information and better photos 10/17/2019.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Teresa Markham

    I am in the process of making these muffins (doing them without the streusel topping). Is it really 1 Tablespoon of vanilla?? I’ve never prepared a recipe that called for so much vanilla extract and I just want to make sure it wasn’t a typo, and should really be teaspoon.

    Reply

    • Sam

      Hi Teresa! Yes you will need 1 tablespoon of vanilla. 🙂

      Reply

  2. Joy

    These came up beautifully. Didn’t do the struesel and kept them in the oven for an extra 3 minutes with the oven off cause I like a browner top. They were delicious and moist.

    Reply

  3. Cindy Guetschow

    The Best Banana Muffin Recipe (11)
    Great flavor! love the streusel topping. How do I keep the topping crisp for a couple days?

    Reply

    • Sam

      Hi Cindy! Unfortunately that is going to be very difficult to do. It will naturally soften over time. 🙁

      Reply

  4. Wanda Jackson

    The Best Banana Muffin Recipe (12)
    The best banana muffins you’ll ever make and eat!

    Reply

  5. Loretta O'Donnell

    The Best Banana Muffin Recipe (13)
    I didn’t have buttermilk available so I used half and half. Very moist. I would definitely make this recipe again.

    Reply

  6. Karen Crawford Clifford

    The Best Banana Muffin Recipe (14)
    Amazing! Yummy. They came out so delicious. The second time around making them I added some mini chocolate chips and some walnuts. Again perfect! Thank you for always having great recipes.

    Reply

  7. Colleen

    I make your recipe for Banana Muffins all the time, so, so good. thank you for posting it 🙂

    Reply

  8. Christine

    The Best Banana Muffin Recipe (15)
    I have to say, this the the best recipe ever for banana muffins.
    They are so scrummy and just love the crispy topping.
    Thank you for this recipe
    Chris

    Reply

    • Sam

      I’m so glad everyone enjoyed them so much! 🙂

      Reply

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The Best Banana Muffin Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to moist muffins? ›

How to Make Homemade Muffins Moist: Our Top Tips
  1. Tips to Make Homemade Muffins Moist.
  2. Keep Wet and Dry Ingredients Separately.
  3. Add All Flavorings Last.
  4. Consider Paper Liners.
  5. Don't Overfill the Muffin Cups.
  6. Check the Temperature of Your Oven.
  7. Test if Muffins Are Fully Cooked.
  8. Top Your Muffins with Flavor.
Aug 9, 2021

What is the most popular muffin in the world? ›

Blueberry muffins are probably the single most popular muffin of all time. They are like the Beyonce of muffins. And this recipe is called "To Die For" for a reason. Generously sized with a little bit of crunch in the sugary topping, these are the blueberry ideal.

What is the secret to high muffins? ›

Option #2: High to Low Baking Temperatures

The idea here is to start the muffins in a very hot oven for just a short amount of time. This activates the baking powder and allows the muffins to shoot up in height quickly. We then turn the heat down and continue to cook for longer.

How do you make muffins taste better? ›

Add Fresh or Frozen Fruit to the Batter

Add strawberries to chocolate muffins. You can even experiment with crushed pineapple and mandarin oranges to add a citrus twist to your favorite muffins. We recommend adding 1/2 to 1 cup of fresh or frozen (thawed and drained) fruit. Gently fold into the batter.

Are muffins better with oil or butter? ›

It is possible to replace oil with butter in a muffin recipe as generally most muffin recipes are quite forgiving and you may find that butter gives a better flavour.

What not to do when making muffins? ›

Overmixing the batter.

When you overmix the batter, it crushes the air bubbles and ruins the fluffy texture. → Follow this tip: To ensure a batch of light, fluffy muffins, mix the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients until just barely combined, and no more dry flour is visible.

What does adding an extra egg do to muffins? ›

If there isn't enough egg, your batter or dough may not be able to hold its structure or could end up overly dry or dense. On the other hand, if there is too much egg, your baked goods could lose their shape due to excess liquid, or have a rubbery (or even overly cakey) texture depending on the recipe.

Should you let muffin batter rest? ›

Rest the Muffin Batter

The first, most hands-off way to make your muffins pop (literally) is to let the batter rest. Make the batter, cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and let the batter rest at room temperature for about 1 hour. If you're short on time, just 30 minutes can make a difference.

How to improve banana muffin mix? ›

Stir in cinnamon, nutmeg, or cocoa powder for rich, flavorful muffins.
  1. For example, spice up banana muffins with cinnamon, ground ginger, and nutmeg. Toss in a handful of walnuts for good measure!
  2. Upgrade a basic muffin mix with cinnamon and vanilla.
  3. Enrich pumpkin muffins with pumpkin pie spice and chopped pecans.

Are muffins better with water or milk? ›

Muffin FAQs

We recommend using water; however we know that some Makers prefer to use milk to make muffins. Using milk can change the texture of the muffin to be more like a cupcake.

Why do you put vinegar in muffins? ›

Vinegar helps with the rise of our baked goods

When vinegar reacts with baking soda, it creates carbon dioxide bubbles, which act as leavening agents. So as the batter bakes, these tiny bubbles expand, causing the cake to rise and giving it that light, airy texture we all love.

How to keep muffins moist? ›

If muffins are left exposed, the moisture starts to leak from them and they dry out. To store muffins up to 4 days, line an airtight container or zip-lock bag with paper towel and store the muffins in a single layer. Place another layer of paper towel on top of the muffins as well.

How to get domed muffins? ›

According to O. Corriher, the way to get a perfectly puffed up dome on your muffins is to increase your oven heat. She says that 400° should do it, no matter what the recipe says. The higher baking temperature means that the the outside edges of the muffin will set while the middle is still liquidy.

How do you make muffins less dry after baking? ›

First, prick the muffin tops all over with a toothpick. Next, pour your liquid of choice (e.g., milk or fruit juice) into a bowl, dip a pastry brush into it, and brush the tops of the muffins. The liquid will seep into the muffin's interior, soaking the crumb and softening the muffins, turning them as good as new.

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