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) 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 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.
Kyle
DELICIOUS!! I just made these with my sister for the first time and they are DELICIOUS
Josie Havea
I’ve never made muffins before, found this recipe and holy they are amazing! We froze a bunch, warmed them up again at 30 seconds and they came out tasting just as good as when you freshly bake them. Crazy!
Stephanie Lanzalotto
I only had 1 1/2 bananas so I halved the recipe exactly qs written. These are truly delicious and I will be mkaing them gain and again.
Julie
The bottoms of my muffins were slightly burned…..any suggestions? They were still delicious!
Sam
Hi Julie! I’m so sorry to hear this! I would recommend baking them for less time. 🙁
Lindsey
Turned out great with nicely risen muffin tops! I had doubled the recipe and ended up with 18 muffins and 12 mini bundt cakes (they looked like cute mushrooms with the risen tops/stems).
I substituted the buttermilk for heavy whipping cream and half a lemon and they turned out nice and fluffy. I didn’t have time to make the streusel topping and I regretted it. While they were nice enough as a sweet muffin, I did long for that extra buttery kick or another flavor to make these feel complete. I imagine nuts or fall spices would also make great add-in variations.
Shayla
Amazing muffins! I doubled the recipe and made 36 muffins. About 18 with the streusel topping (I didn’t double that) and the remaining batter a little less than 3/4 filled to make them younger kid sized. My entire family loved them.
Kerry
I doubled mine too. I didn’t have buttermilk so I dared to use heavy whipping cream. Wow! These are super moist— definitely add the topping everyone!
Diane Jenner
OMG… definitely a keeper!
Mélanie
I made it without the strudel. I’m very happy with how that recipe turned out even if I forgot to read to the end and baked the muffins almost all the way at the highest temperature but they turned out fine. I will certainly make this recipe again!
—
Personal preference: The recipe as it is would have way too much sugar for me and I bake muffins to eat them as healthy snacks, not as a dessert.
I reduced the added sugar content to 35g and it’s perfect that way. The ripe bananas are already super sweet and I love adding chocolate chips to my muffins.
Note that I freeze the muffins the same day they were made so the reduced sugar will not have a negative impact on shelf life.
Kellie Powell
you reduced both sugars??
Mélanie
Yes, total added sugar was 35g
Ashley C
These were excellent! This will be my new streusel recipe. The salt is genius.
Vicky
Can I sub the buttermilk for almond milk?
Sam
Hi Vicky! I’m not sure almond milk will work quite the same here. 🙁
Robin MacGillivray
I want to make these ahead of time. If serving on Sunday, can I make them on Friday?
Sam
Hi Robin! They are always best fresh, but they should be fine to make Friday and serve Sunday. 🙂
Sarah
Really good muffins. I made a dozen rather than 15 and baked a little longer at 350, ended up being for 13 min. Came out big and beautiful! I also added a little nutmeg to the batter and cinnamon to the topping.
Marissa Rilee
I make this with vegan butter instead of regular butter and oil. I just doubled the vegan butter. I also add cinnamon and a tiny bit of nutmeg. It is amazing! And a good dairy free option.
Zoe
very delicious!!! I added toasted black walnuts
Sherrie W.
I made these today for the first time and they turned out beautifully!
Carla @ Foodie Digital
This banana muffin recipe is pure magic. Two kinds of fat, two kinds of sugar and two baking temperatures – 100% worth it for the best muffin results I’ve ever had. The only sub was oat milk+lemon juice in place of the buttermilk. And I added chocolate chips.
Lynda
I love this recipe! They turn out wonderfully every time. My mother in law especially loves it when I make these.
I’d like to make some mini muffins for my toddlers using a 24 mini muffin tray. Do you know how long I’d need to bake them for if I did this?
Sam
Hi Lynda! I believe they would need to bake for 11-13 minutes. 🙂