Banana muffins are hands down the easiest way to use up those spotty bananas sitting on your bench.
They're soft, sweet and ready in 25 minutes flat, just like my one-bowl Banana Bread and my fruity ABCD Muffins.
A Quick Look At The Recipe
✅ Recipe Name: Banana Muffins
🕒 Ready In: 25 minutes
👪 Serves: 12 muffins
🍚 Calories: 201kcal per muffin
🥣 Main Ingredients: ripe bananas, self-raising flour, honey, cinnamon
📖 Dietary Info: Vegetarian, freezer-friendly, dairy-free option, Thermomix method included
⭐ Why You'll Love It: One bowl, 25 minutes and a seriously good way to use up spotty bananas.
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"Super quick and easy! They are absolutely delicious." - Teegz
Teegz isn't wrong, these really are that easy. If you're on a banana kick, try my Banana Nutella Muffins, my Greek Yogurt Banana Muffins, or go all in with a loaf of Fudgy Chocolate Banana Bread.
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Why You're Going To Love This Recipe
- Just one bowl and a wooden spoon does the job, so there's barely any washing up.
- Ready in 25 minutes, which makes it perfect for a last-minute lunchbox scramble or an after-school snack attack.
- Freezer-friendly, so you can bake a double batch and stash half away for busy mornings.
- Kid-tested and lunchbox-approved. Even my fussiest eater asks for seconds.
Banana Muffins Ingredients
Banana muffins are made with everyday pantry staples, which makes them a budget-friendly choice for snacks and lunchbox fillers.
- Bananas - the riper, the better! Go for bananas that are brown and spotty all over, not just a few freckles. That's when their starches have turned to sugar, so you get natural sweetness and way more banana flavour without adding extra sugar.
- Honey adds a touch of sweetness and helps keep the muffins moist for longer. You can swap it for maple syrup in a pinch, though the flavour will be a little different.
- Raw sugar sprinkled on top before baking is optional, but it gives you that crunchy, bakery-style muffin lid. Turbinado or demerara sugar work just as well if that's what's in your pantry.
Variations
- Gluten-Free - swap the self-raising flour for a gluten-free self-raising flour blend.
- Dairy-free? Swap the butter for melted coconut oil and use your favourite plant-based milk instead.
- Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins - fold through 200g of milk or dark chocolate chips for a banana-choc twist.
- Banana Berry Muffins - add 150g of fresh or frozen blueberries, raspberries or strawberries for a fruity upgrade.
- Stir in ½ cup of chopped walnuts or pecans for banana nut muffins with a bit of crunch.
- Want tall, domed bakery-style tops? Bake at 200 degrees celsius for the first 5 minutes, then drop the oven down to 180 degrees for the rest of the cook time. That initial blast of heat is the trick cafes use to get their muffins standing up tall.
How To Make Banana Muffins
This is hands down the easiest banana muffin recipe going, and it all comes together in one bowl whether you're going the microwave, stovetop or Thermomix route.
Quick tip before you start: we're using both bicarbonate of soda and baking powder here, not just one or the other. That combo is what gives you lovely tall muffins instead of flat, dense ones, so don't be tempted to skip either.
- Step 1: Mix the wet ingredients. Melt the butter and stir in the vanilla, honey and milk. Whisk in the eggs one at a time, then add the mashed banana and whisk until combined.
- Step 2: Sift in the dry ingredients. Sift over the self-raising flour, caster sugar, baking powder, bicarb soda, cinnamon and salt.
- Step 3: Fold gently. Use a wooden spoon and fold everything together until just combined. Don't overmix or you'll end up with tough, dense muffins.
- Step 4: Divide and bake. Divide the mixture into the muffin cases, filling each about two-thirds full. Sprinkle with raw sugar if using, then bake for 15 minutes or until golden and springy in the centre.
Team Thermomix? The full Thermomix method, with exact speeds and timings, is in the recipe card below.
Recipe Tips
- Use really ripe bananas. The riper they are, the sweeter and more flavourful your muffins will be.
- Don't overmix. Gently fold until just combined for soft, fluffy muffins rather than tough ones.
- Want bakery-style tops? Sprinkle with raw sugar before baking for a crunchy lid.
- Cool completely before storing so you don't end up with soggy muffins.
- Storage - keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
- Freezing - wrap muffins individually and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature or warm in the microwave for 20 seconds for that fresh-baked taste. If you're building up the lunchbox freezer stash, my Finger Buns freeze just as well.
- You can easily double the batch. They go fast, especially with kids in the house.
Banana Muffins FAQs
Really ripe. You want bananas that are brown and spotty all over, not just a few freckles. At that stage the starches have turned to sugar, which gives you naturally sweet, super flavourful muffins. Underripe bananas won't mash properly and your muffins will taste flat.
Yes. Wrap them individually once completely cool and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature, or pop one in the microwave for 20 seconds if you want it warm.
Absolutely, they're one of my most-made lunchbox recipes. They're nut-free as written and hold up well at room temperature for a few hours, so they're a safe, easy option for school or daycare. Just check your school's specific allergy policy if you're adding nuts in one of the variations.
A few things, really. Use bananas that are properly ripe (brown and spotty, not just yellow) since they add moisture as well as sweetness. Don't overmix once the flour goes in, a few lumps are totally fine. And the honey in this recipe isn't just there for sweetness, it helps the muffins stay moist for days instead of drying out by day two.
Yes. Just thaw them completely first and drain off any extra liquid before mashing, otherwise your batter can end up too wet.
More Banana Muffin Recipes
Still got bananas left on the bench? Here are a few more banana muffin recipes worth adding to the baking rotation.
Banana Muffins
Ingredients
- 80 g butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 125 g (½ cup) milk
- 2 eggs
- 2 large bananas mashed
- 250 g self-raising flour
- 100 g caster sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- pinch of salt
- 2 tbs raw sugar optional
Instructions
Conventional Method
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius (fan-forced).
- Line a 12 hole muffin tray with muffin liners.
- Melt the butter in a microwave-safe bowl for 30-60 seconds or until melted. Allow to cool slightly.
- Add the vanilla extract, honey and milk and whisk together until well combined.
- Add the eggs one at a time and whisk between each addition.
- Add the mashed bananas and beat for a further 20 seconds or until well combined.
- Sift over the self-raising flour, caster sugar, baking powder, bi-carbonate soda, cinnamon and salt and fold through with a wooden spoon.
- Divide mixture evenly between the muffin cases (filling to ⅔ full).Sprinkle with the raw sugar (optional).
- Cook for 15 minutes or until the muffins are lightly golden and spring back when touched in the middle.
- Allow to cool in the tray for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Thermomix Method
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius (fan-forced).
- Line a 12 hole muffin tray with muffin liners.
- Place bananas into the Thermomix bowl. Mash for 10 seconds, Speed 8. Pour into a bowl and set aside.
- Place the butter into the Thermomix bowl (don't worry about cleaning it) and melt for 1 minute, 100 degrees, Speed 2. Scrape down the sides and melt for a further 30 seconds, 100 degrees, Speed 2 (if needed). Allow to cool slightly.
- Add the vanilla extract, honey and milk and mix together for 20 seconds, Speed 4. With the blades spinning, reduce to Speed 3 and add the eggs one at a time through the MC hole.
- Add the mashed bananas and mix for a further 20 seconds or until well combined.
- Add the self-raising flour, caster sugar, baking powder, bi-carb soda, cinnamon and salt and mix for 5 seconds on Speed 4 (use the spatula to help mix).
- Divide mixture evenly between the muffin cases. Sprinkle with raw sugar (optional). Cook for 15 minutes or until they spring back when lightly touched in the middle.
- Allow to cool in the tray for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- Gluten-free - Swap the self-raising flour for a gluten-free self-raising flour blend.
- Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins - Fold through 200g of milk or dark chocolate chips for a banana-choc twist.
- Banana Berry Muffins - Add 150g of fresh or frozen blueberries, raspberries or strawberries for a fruity upgrade.
- Banana Nut Muffins - Stir in ½ cup of chopped walnuts or pecans for extra crunch.
- Bananas - my recipe calls for 2 large bananas. One large banana weighs approximately 135g, so for this recipe you'll want to use around 270g of mashed banana. However, this is a very forgiving recipe, so it wont matter if you use a little more or less. The riper the bananas, the better! Overripe bananas will give you super sweet banana muffins.
- Use really ripe bananas - the riper they are, the sweeter and more flavourful your muffins will be.
- Don't overmix - gently fold until just combined for soft, fluffy muffins.
- Want bakery-style tops? Sprinkle with raw sugar before baking for a crunchy lid.
- Add rice to the bottom of the muffin tin holes - (this stops the paper cases from getting greasy).
- Cool completely before storing to avoid soggy muffins.
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
- Freeze individually wrapped muffins for up to 3 months. Perfect for lunchbox planning!
- Warm in the microwave for 20 seconds before serving for that fresh-baked taste.
- You can easily double the batch - they go fast!
Teegz says
Super quick and easy!
They are absolutely delicious.
Lucy says
Thank you!
Kelly says
Another great family recipe, thank you!
Lucy says
Thank you!