Banana Bread Muffins
Updated Apr 06, 2026
Banana bread muffins recipe with ripe bananas, cinnamon, and walnuts baked into soft, easy grab-and-go muffins for breakfast or snacking.
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Jump to Section
banana bread muffins are soo easy and soo good!
I make banana bread muffins when the bananas are way past anybody wanting to eat them, and I don’t feel like waiting for a whole loaf to bake (muffins take 20 mins compared to the 50 minutes a loaf takes). Muffins are just easier. I can get them in the oven, pull one the next morning, and not have to slice anything.
These banana bread muffins have the same thing I want from banana bread, just in a form that’s easier to deal with. I usually add walnuts because I like the little crunch, and they keep well enough that I can make a batch and be glad they’re there the next day.
Happy Cooking!
– Yumna
Banana Bread Muffins Ingredients
- Bananas, eggs, brown sugar, butter, and vanilla: Use very ripe bananas with plenty of brown spots since they bring most of the sweetness and moisture. Mash them well so you do not end up with big chunks in the batter. Room temperature eggs mix in more smoothly, and melted butter should be slightly cooled so it does not hit the eggs while still hot. Light brown sugar is what’s called for, but dark brown sugar works too if that is what you have.
- Walnuts: Fold the chopped walnuts in at the end so they stay evenly mixed through the batter. You can leave them out if needed, but the little crunch is nice here. If you want them smaller throughout the muffins, chop them a bit finer before adding.
- Dry ingredients: The all-purpose flour, baking powder (aluminum-free), baking soda, salt, and cinnamon get whisked together first so everything is evenly distributed. Spoon and level the flour if you can, since too much will make the muffins heavier.
How to Make Banana Bread Muffins
Banana Bread Muffins Recipe
Video
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 3 large ripe bananas about 1 ½ cups mashed
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- ½ cup packed light brown sugar packed
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup walnuts chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 12-count muffin pan with cupcake liners.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, mash the bananas. Whisk in the eggs, brown sugar, melted butter and vanilla. Pour the dry ingredients on top of the wet ingredients and continue to whisk until combined. Fold in the chopped walnuts.
- Pour the batter into the prepared muffin pan and bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.
Recipe Variations
- Add chocolate chips. Stir in a half cup of chocolate chips when adding the walnuts. Everyone loves a little bit of chocolate, and it’s so yummy combined with walnuts. Try my gluten-free chocolate chip muffins for a flourless version.
- Add a swirl of peanut butter on top. Spread on some toppings for serving, like some homemade peanut butter or another homemade almond butter.
- Add shredded coconut. For a chewy banana bread muffin, shredded coconut is such a delicious addition. You can also sprinkle some on top of the batter so it toasts up a bit before sinking into the rising batter.
- Add a streusel on top for some texture. Combining oats, crushed nuts, butter, and brown sugar and crumbling them on top of these muffins adds a deliciously sweet crunch.
Recipe Tips
- Use ripe bananas. There is only ½ cup of sugar in these muffins, so most of the sweetness will come from the ripe bananas. The riper the batch, the sweeter it is!
- Use more bananas if needed for volume. It matters more that you use 1 ½ cups of mashed bananas than using 3 bananas. It will still work with fewer bananas, but you may end up with fewer than 12 full muffins.
- Mash bananas on a flat surface. Even though this creates one extra thing to wash, mashing bananas on a flat surface takes half the time compared to mashing them in a bowl. When you’re mashing three bananas, that makes a huge difference. Try it!
- For easy cleanup, use paper liners. Paper liners, especially parchment ones, make for much easier cleanup and removal of the muffins. Place the liners in your muffin tin and scoop the batter into each one.
FAQs
Dry muffins usually result from adding too much flour or not enough moisture. To ensure you get the best results, try the spoon method of measuring flour. Instead of dipping the measuring cup into the flour, use a spoon to scoop some into the cup and scrape off the top to level it.
Also, measure your bananas. This recipe calls for 3 bananas, which should measure out to 1 ½ cups. If you use smaller bananas, you may need just a bit more to get the right amount.
For the same reason, a muffin may be too dry. It may also be too wet a batter from too many bananas. Get the perfect wet-to-dry ingredient ratio by taking an extra step: measure the banana to 1 ½ cups.
Overmixing the muffin batter will result in an overworked muffin mix. The key here is to combine the ingredients until just mixed.
Comments
Can I use oil instead of butter?
Hi! Yes, you can use oil instead of butter. I would use ¼ cup neutral oil like avocado or vegetable oil in place of the 4 tablespoons melted butter. Olive oil can also work, but it may add a slightly stronger flavor. Hope you enjoy them!
Yes!
I hope you loved the recipe, Soreya!
I made your recipe tonight, followed it to the letter — and wow, the muffins were unbelievably good! Next time I’m definitely throwing in some chocolate chips 🤤
Yum! So glad you enjoyed them!! Thank you, Fatima!
On nutrition, you mentioned it is 231 kcal. I think you meant 231 cal.
Hi there! Calories (cal) and kilocalories (kcal) are actually the same thing; kilocalorie is the official scientific energy measurement unit while calorie is used more commonly.
Are you baking them in a fan oven?
No, I have a conventional gas oven.
Can this recipe use bananas that are frozen?
Yes, of course! Just be sure to let your bananas warm up to room temperature and drain any excess moisture when you mash them. Enjoy!
Hello Yumna, this recipe is simply amazing!! I make it every week. I always double the recipe. I noticed that if I double or triple the recipe the quantity of the actual bananas increases, but the measurements in cups remains the same. 😊 does this make a difference? Thank you so much
Great question! As long as you’re doubling or tripling the number of bananas it should be the perfect amount.
Easy to make, perfect for using up ripe bananas!
So happy you liked it, Kalani!!
I couldn’t make banana bread taste good and moist in muffin form. Until I found this recipe on TikTok! They turned out great and I share this recipe to everyone now. Although I messed up a bit and did the mixing steps out of order, they still turned out moist and yummy. Thanks!
So glad to hear, thank you for sharing!
I made these using 1 to 1 gluten free flour and they turned out perfect! The texture is so nice. Only thing is they got stuck to the liners. 🙁 next time I’ll spray the liners before pouring in the batter.
I made these with 1:1 gluten-free flour and only had 1/2 cup walnuts but they turned out well! Not too sweet.
So glad you liked them!
These were so good .
Thank you so much!
These were great. Five stars just for the tip on mashing bananas on a flat surface! Wish I’d known this 30 yrs ago. Also, measuring the mashed bananas really made a difference.
So glad you like them!
I tried this yesterday with a few tweaks. I used almond flour, halved the sugar and replaced butter with oil also halved. The muffins are so amazing. I ate one today around 10 and was still not hungry in the evening. Thank you
So glad you enjoyed the muffins!
So Good! The recipe is so easy and the taste is so delicious my 4 year old daughter loves them! Thank you for the recipe .definitely will make it again!
Yay! Glad they were a hit! Thanks for sharing!
I want to make it as a banana bread/loaf which size pan and for how long to bake at what temperature
Thanks
Yes you can try it in a loaf pan at 350 for 50 minutes. I haven’t tried it myself, though!
I have a recipe similar to this one. It makes one loaf of banana bread or 12 standard size muffins. 350° , 50 minutes for the loaf or 350°, 20 minutes for muffins. This recipe should work for a loaf or muffins. I’m making the muffins today!