Banana Bread Muffins

Whether you’re making them for an on-the-go breakfast or an after-school snack, these easy and delicious banana bread muffins are sure to be a family favorite.

We make and eat muffins year-round at our house. But there’s still something about muffins that makes me think of back to school season.

I guess because I love digging into my muffin recipes and whipping up a batch as snacks for my girls. And they are always great for freezing for quick and easy weekday breakfasts, too.

Dominique Ansel’s banana bread is a family favorite around here, so I decided it was time to tweak the recipe and turn it into banana bread muffins. 

I know I’ll be making these on repeat when my oldest goes back to school next month. If you are already anticipating a busy fall season, save this recipe to help simplify at least one area of your life.

I can’t solve all of life’s problems, but at least I can offer you some amazing muffins.

How to make my banana bread muffins

From fruity strawberry banana muffins to cozy apple cinnamon muffins or decadent double chocolate muffins, muffins are a great thing to know how to make. 

They’re easy enough that beginner bakers can whip them up in no time, but still delicious enough to keep advanced bakers coming back again and again.

If you’ve made Dominique Ansel’s banana bread or any of my variations – like chocolate chip banana bread or cranberry banana bread – then this recipe will look pretty familiar to you.

These banana bread muffins have all of the flavor, richness, and moist crumb of the original bread recipe, but packed into muffin size. Pack them into a lunchbox, grab one on the way out the door for breakfast, or serve them up for an afternoon snack.

Ingredients you’ll need

For my banana bread muffins, you will need:

• 1 ¾ cups granulated sugar
• 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 ½  teaspoons baking powder
• ¾  teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 3 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups mashed ripe bananas 
• 10 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
• coarse sugar (for topping)

Just like any time you’re baking, make sure you know how to measure flour correctly before you get started. That way, your muffins will come out perfect every time.

I typically need 4 bananas to get 2 cups of mashed bananas. These muffins taste best when the bananas are super ripe; they’re a great way to use up bananas you forgot about on your counter.

I know 10 tablespoons sounds like a lot of butter for a muffin recipe. But this actually makes 18 muffins, so it turns out to not be that much per muffin in the end. Plus, it’s worth it for how delicious they are!

I like topping these banana bread muffins with a little bit of coarse sugar for a crunchy top. Feel free to leave this off or even swap it for some cinnamon sugar. 

Making these muffins

As I mentioned above, this recipe makes 18 muffins. Line 18 muffin cups with paper liners (I recommend grease-proof liners) or lightly grease them with baking spray.

In one bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: the sugar, flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and baking powder.

In another bowl, whisk together the eggs with the vanilla and mashed bananas.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir just until combined. Pour in the melted butter and mix until it is fully incorporated into the batter.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared muffin cups. I like to use a large cookie scoop to make this quick and easy. The wells will be very full – that’s ok.

Sprinkle the top of each muffin with some coarse sugar before baking at 400°F for 20-22 minutes. The banana bread muffins are done when a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the muffins comes out clean.

Let the muffins cool in the pan for a few minutes before moving them to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Banana bread muffin FAQs