Banana Bread Muffins (Quick & Easy Recipe)

These banana bread muffins are tender and moist with a perfectly sweet banana flavor. They’ll be your favorite breakfast on the go!

You’re probably thinking, what makes these banana muffins better than banana bread?

Don’t get me wrong, banana bread is top-notch. But if you’re looking for a portable snack, muffins are the way to go.

Plus, they have crunchy-chewy muffin tops, which are pretty hard to resist.

With the same banana flavor plus a significantly better texture, these banana bread muffins are the clear winner. 

Easy Banana Bread Muffins

These muffins are so easy to make, you can almost do it with your eyes closed!

First, the ingredients are all pretty basic. You need flour, bananas, sugar, vegetable oil, baking soda, and a few other staples. In fact, you probably already have them on hand.

You won’t need any special equipment either, not even an electric mixer. Just a wire whisk or a spatula will do.

Also, everything comes together in one bowl, making cleanup a breeze.

Ingredients

• Granulated Sugar – To sweeten the muffins. If you have a sweet tooth, you can increase the amount of sugar to 1 cup. 
• Vegetable Oil – To moisten the muffins. Some recipes call for butter, but I prefer oil when making muffins and sweet breads, as it makes them incredibly moist.
• Egg – It binds the ingredients and helps give structure to the muffins.
• Vanilla – Just a splash can enhance the flavor of any baked good.
• Bananas – The riper, the better! Don’t add more bananas thinking it’ll make the muffins sweeter. This will only make them dense and heavy.
• Walnuts – Something crunchy to contrast the muffins’ tenderness.
• Flour – The base of the batter.
• Baking Soda – The leavening agent to lift the muffins. Be sure it’s still active! Expired baking soda won’t work at all. To test it, drop a teaspoon of baking soda into a bowl of vinegar. If it foams up upon contact, it’s still active.
• Salt – A bit of saltiness to balance out the sugar.
• Cinnamon – The bananas and cinnamon combo is a no-brainer!

How to Make Banana Bread Muffins

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a muffin tin with liners.

One recipe makes 12 muffins, so you need 12 liners.

2. Combine the sugar and the wet ingredients.

In a bowl, whisk together the sugar, oil, egg, and vanilla. Then, mix in the bananas and walnuts. Be sure the bananas are mashed well so there are no mushy lumps in your muffins!

Pro-tip: toss the walnuts with flour before adding them to the mix. This will keep them from sinking to the bottom.

3. Mix in the dry ingredients.

Sift in the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Sifting will keep the batter from being lumpy. This way, you won’t have to mix too much to get a smooth mixture. And don’t overmix the batter! Stop as soon as you no longer see streaks of flour.

4. Bake the muffins.

Spoon the batter into the muffin tins and fill them 2/3 full. Bake them for 30 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow the muffins to cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Transfer them onto a wire rack to cool completely.

You can also enjoy them warm for a special treat!

How to Keep Banana Bread Muffins Moist

The key to keeping these muffins moist is using a perfect ratio of wet and dry ingredients. Too much flour, for instance, will yield dry muffins.

On the other hand, adding too many bananas will make your muffins overly wet. Don’t add more bananas thinking it’ll improve the muffins’ flavor.

Also, vegetable oil is key. Other banana muffin recipes call for butter. But use oil if you want them to be insanely moist.

Tips for the Best Banana Bread Muffins

• Measure the flour using a kitchen scale. This will give you the most accurate amount. Adding more flour than necessary will make baked goods dry.
• Use very ripe bananas for the best flavor. The darker the peel, the mushier the flesh, the sweeter the bananas.
• Speed up ripening. If your bananas haven’t reached maximum ripeness yet, you can speed things up by placing them in a brown paper bag with a ripe apple. 
• Bake the bananas first. You can also bake the bananas at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 to 30 minutes. This will soften and sweeten the bananas right up.
• Grease the tins. If you don’t have muffin liners, grease the muffin tin with butter or non-stick spray to keep the muffins from sticking.
• Use a wire whisk or spatula. Don’t use an electric mixer, as you risk overmixing the batter. An overmixed batter will result in a dry and rubbery baked good. Use a wire whisk or spatula and stop mixing once all the streaks of flour disappear.
• Don’t overbake the muffins. You want them light and moist, not dense and dry. Poke the centers with a toothpick to test for doneness. You know they’re ready when the toothpick comes out clean. 

Variations

• Chocolate goes well with everything, bananas included. Mix 1/2 cup of chocolate chips into the batter to make chocolate banana muffins.
• Switch up your nuts! Try almonds, cashews, or hazelnuts, too!

Tip: Lightly coat the mix-ins with flour before you add them to the batter. This will keep them from sinking to the bottom of the muffins.

How to Store Banana Bread Muffins

These muffins stay moist for days! You won’t even need to refrigerate them. Just place them in an air-tight container and leave them on the counter. They’ll stay fresh for up to 3 to 4 days. You can also refrigerate them if you want to keep them fresh longer, about a week.

Can You Freeze Banana Bread Muffins?

For sure! That’s what makes these muffins such a fantastic make-ahead snack. 

Just whip up a whole batch and pop it in the freezer. The muffins will keep well for up to 3 months.

Be sure to let the muffins cool completely first. Wrap them individually with plastic wrap and place them in freezer-safe bags.

To thaw, let them sit out on the counter for an hour. Or to speed things up, just microwave them for 20-30 seconds on low power.

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