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These Apple Banana Muffins are a super alternative to “boxed” cupcakes. Vadim and I love any kind of dessert with fruit. These are especially moist.
You can frost them as cupcakes or enjoy them as muffins with milk or your morning coffee. Kids really enjoy them too; after all, it looks like a cupcake! We each ate 3 right out of the oven.
Ingredients Apple Banana Muffins:
2 apples, peeled, cored and finely diced
1 cup ripe mashed bananas
1 ¼ cups white sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 eggs at room temperature
2/3 cup unsalted butter at room temperature (10 tablespoons or 1 ¼ sticks)
¼ cup buttermilk
1 tsp salt
½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking soda
How to make Apple Banana Muffins:
Pre-heat oven to 375°F.
1. Line 24 muffin cups with paper liners.
2. Mix together 2 cups of flour, 1 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp nutmeg and 1/2 tsp cinnamon.
3. In a large mixing bowl ( I used my KitchenAid), beat 10 Tbsp of butter and 1 1/4 cups of sugar together on medium speed until it has a light and fluffy texture.
4. Without reducing the speed, add 2 eggs one at a time, add 1 tsp vanilla extract and 1/4 cup buttermilk.
5. Finally, beat in the flour mixture.
6. Use a spoon to fold in the 2 diced apples and 1 cup of mashed bananas.
7. Fill the lined muffin cups about half-way.
Bake until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20 to 25 minutes.
I love these frosted with my Russian Cream Cheese Frosting.
Notes: If you only have a 12 count muffin pan, you can fill it first and bake the rest in a small baking dish.
Apple Banana Muffins

Ingredients
- 2 apples, peeled, cored and finely diced
- 1 cup ripe mashed bananas
- 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 eggs at room temperature
- 2/3 cup unsalted butter at room temperature, 10 tablespoons or 1 ¼ sticks
- ¼ cup buttermilk
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp baking soda
Instructions
Pre-heat oven to 375°F and line 24 muffin cups with paper liners.
- Mix together 2 cups flour, 1 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp nutmeg and 1/2 tsp cinnamon.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the 1 1/4 sticks of butter and 1 1/4 cups of sugar together on medium speed until it has a light and fluffy texture.
- Without reducing the speed, add 2 eggs one at a time, add 1 tsp vanilla extract and 1/4 cup of buttermilk.
- Finally, beat in the flour mixture.
- Use a spoon to fold in the apples and banana.
- Fill the lined muffin cups about half-way.
- Bake until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20 to 25 minutes.
Delicious!! Light and fluffy, and very tasty!
Like some of the other reviewers, I didn’t have buttermilk and regular milk worked just fine. I also used a 1/4 cup less sugar as we’ve been trying to cut down our sugar intake and they are still quite sweet and very yummy.
Thanks for sharing the recipe! Blessings from South Africa
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it Tamsyn!
Very good. I like the spice of nutmeg which reminds me of carrot cake! So yummy and awesome.
Excellent! Thanks for your great feedback Lina.
I just tried these and they were a blast! A new favourite! So moist and fluffy at the same time. I put a little less sugar and they were perfect. Thank you!
That’s a great idea! Thank you for sharing that with me Tatiana!
Oh my what a great recipe. I cut it in half, baked 6 large muffins. I added toasted walnuts and a New York crumb cake style topping. Time of 25 mins was spot on. Best muffin I ever made! Thank you very much!!
Sounds like you found a new favorite Trish! That’s so great!
This is such a great recipe. Made them today. My family loved it.
For some reason, I only got 17-18 muffins, not 24 muffins.
Regardless, it’s an awesome recipe.
So great to hear that you loved this recipe. Thanks for sharing that with us and for giving this recipe an excellent rating!
Greetings from Jordan.
Currently at home. Had some bananas and apple and decided to give your recipe a try. We did not have any buttermilk in the fridge and who knows when we will be able to find some. But I used regular milk and it stll turned out great!
I love that the end result is still great despite your lock of ingredients. Thank you so much for your wonderful feedback and for sharing that with us!
Second time commenting… We had run out of of apples, but I noticed I had some blueberries hanging around in the freezer. I tried the recipe with those instead of apples; it was still amazing
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
I made these muffins yesterday. They are delicious. They’re very moist, great flavor,and just the right amount of sweetness. Great recipe.
Isn’t the flavor amazing! Thank you for sharing that great feedback with me, Debra!
Can’t wait to make this I don’t have buttermilk but can I substitute it with milk and sour cream? If so, how much sour cream do you think would be ok?
Hi Jaime, others commented that they used regular milk and it worked great too!
You can add a tsp of vinegar to full fat milk and get the buttermilk effect and flavor. 💕
Oh my goodness! This is the absolute best recipe ever!
Awesome to hear that Kay! Thank you for your great feedback.
These are amazing. Not too sweet, super soft, and they taste amazing right from the oven. I used Whole Milk Yogurt from Stoneyfields instead of Buttermilk, and it worked just fine.
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us Amanda!
Sooooo good!!!! Made these into mini cupcakes and baked for 12 min and they came out perfect!!!! Also I didn’t have buttermilk so I used sour cream and they were soft, moist and had a yummy sour cream tang to it! Thanks for the recipe girl!!!!
Thank you so much for sharing those substitutions with us, Julia! I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe.
Is there any reason not to add golden raisins, plumped in bourbon or hot tea? What kind of chopped nuts would go well with this? And what about chopped chocolate or chocolate chips?
Hi Lee, that does sound like a nice addition, just be sure to drain them well before adding. Chocolate chips would be great and you would probably love this banana muffin recipe even more which has chocolate chips in it.
So I subbed 1 apple for equivalent in dried barberries, white sugar 1/4 cup , brown for 1 cup, used durham flour, and added an additional 1 teaspoon of magic baking powder.. As for the spices 1/2 teaspoon = 1 in my books always.. Also to make it more lactose friendly I used coconut milk in lieu of buttermilk.. Imo.. And everyone else. Mmmmm. ..I will admit I chopped up some leftover chocolate covered ginger chunks.. Totally messed with the recipe and t worked out fabulous.. Thanks so much for the inspiration!
Wow those are some very creative modifications! thanks for sharing and I’m so glad you enjoyed the muffins!
Very delicious and not difficult at all to make. I’m 16 and love to cook, so when we had some leftover apples and bananas that were going bad, I looked up apple and banana recipes and found yours. Thanks for posting!
You’re so welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed this recipe Kat! Thank you for sharing your awesome review with me!
I used 8 tablespoons of butter instead of 10
1/4 of cup Heavy whipping cream instead of buttermilk and they came out DELICIOUS! First time making them.. Thank you,for sharing
Thank you for sharing that with us! I’m so glad you enjoyed that!
I don’t like sugar is it possible that I can exclude it when baking for myself only?
Hi Phelo, I haven’t tested that without sugar. The sugar and butter whipped up help with keeping the muffins shape and rise. One of our readers has reduced the sugar down to one cup and enjoyed that.
Thank you that was very helpful.
Hi
I am wanted to make these but I was wondering if they could be made into a loaf pan or bundt cake instead ? My husband ALWAYS sends me your recipes because he always said how good they look.
Hi Lisa, I haven’t tested that to advise, I wonder how this would taste as a loaf?… Hmmm. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe.
I made these muffins today, and they are absolutely DELICIOUS. I tried my best to adapt it for WW, so instead of two cups of white flour, I went 50/50 white and wholewheat. Also, I reduced the sugar down to one cup (could have even gone with a bit less, as I added the juice of three small clementines that had gone too soft to eat). Also, I replaced the buttermilk with 0% fat Greek yogurt and added a splash of soy milk since the mixture was a bit dry due to the wholewheat flour. Wow, I have to say, they were fabulous. Even with my changes, they did not seem “diet” or “too healthy.” One of the best muffin recipes I’ve ever used. Thank you!
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite!
I just made these to take to a brunch tomorrow because I wanted to use up some apples (I used three) and bananas. I didn’t have any buttermilk, so I subbed greek yogurt as someone else mentioned. They are DELICIOUS. (I also topped each with a sprinkle of turbinado sugar.) I’ve made a few versions of apple muffins, but the banana in these is such an awesome addition that sets these muffins apart. So excited to share these tomorrow. I’m still trying to decide if I should warm them beforehand or serve room temp. We each had one fresh out of the oven with some honey whipped cream for dessert tonight. Thanks for the great recipe!
You’re welcome, Jessica! Thank you for sharing your changes with us!
I just made this recipe and it is so delicious! I love the “marriage” of apples and bananas here. It’s nicely balanced and not too sweet. I did use sour cream+ milk+ white vinegar combo instead of buttermilk, just eyeballing it, but to be 1/4 of cup. Also, for a change, I used rum instead of vanilla, equally good. These muffins are very fluffy, what I really like.
Thank you, Natasha!
What an amazing review! Thanks for following and taking the time to leave such thoughtful comments!
Can I use regular milk instead of buttermilk in apple/banana recipe?
I haven’t tried that but here is what one of our readers said “Didn’t have buttermilk in the fridge so used whole milk plus a little vinegar. Just so so delicious! Now I can’t wait to look through your website and try more dishes 🙂” I hope this helps!
If you don’t have vinegar you can use lemon juice
Hi Jennifer, I wish I had a good answer but I haven’t tested it that way. It’s hard to say how it would affect baking since vinegar is stronger than lemon juice.
I made buttermilk with lemon juice today and the muffins turned out perfectly
I’m so glad! They make for the best breakfast!
Hi Natasha, super recipe, all pairs well together, moist, flavorful, a banana recipe as should be. For more intense flavor I used very ripe bananas, it makes a difference. For my personal taste I added 3/4 cup wild Alberta cranberries, added a tad of honey to compensate for their tartiness, turned out fantastic.
Thank you for this great review, Stan! I’m so happy you enjoyed that!
Hi Natasha. Greetings from Malaysia. I baked the Apple Banana muffins & the Moist Banana bread today. Both recipes turns up well and awesome. Both my husband and kids loved them. My husband said to me “can you just stick to this same recipe, please. The Apple Banana muffins I used brown cane sugar and yogurt as a substitute for buttermilk. In fact, both recipes I used brown cane sugar in it. Thank You so much for sharing this awesome recipes with us. I will continue to follow your recipes for other cakes, muffins etc. Regards: AliceNiki
Hi Alice! Thank you for taking time to write such an inspiring review! I’m so happy you enjoyed this recipe! Sounds like found a new family favorite! 🙂
I made these Apple Banana Muffin yesterday, it was superb…delicious, very soft & awesome taste….I got two thumbs up from the guests…thank you Natasha.
You are so welcome, Estrella! I am so happy you enjoyed these! 🙂 Thank you for the wonderful review!