Soft and moist Banana Muffins with melty chocolate chips are the ultimate treat and are a great way to use overripe bananas. These banana chocolate chip muffins take less than 30 minutes to whip up, so they are perfect for meal prep, sharing with neighbors and coworkers, and a quick recipe to bake with kids.
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We’ve had so many questions about turning our chocolate chip banana bread into muffins so here you go – your guide to the best banana muffins! While we love classic banana bread, these muffins bake fast (25 minutes) and the flavor is just as good.
Banana Muffins Video
Watch me turn those brown, mushy bananas into the best banana bread muffins with chocolate chips. See how easy this recipe truly is, and then let’s get baking!
Easy Banana Muffin Recipe
If you’re staring at a few browning, speckled bananas on the counter, please don’t toss them! Those ripe bananas add the perfect natural sweetness to this banana muffin recipe. The browner the better, in fact! Once they are smashed up and baked into muffins, you’ll never see how brown they started anyway.
Since chocolate chips make everything better, we’ve tossed a few into the batter. They add great moisture and a gooey chocolate chip is the equivalent of melty cheese in the dessert world. One look at our chocolate chip cookies and you’ll agree.
Ingredients for Banana Muffins
Whip up these banana muffins with just a few pantry staples, like flour and sugar. You’ll need 30 minutes and a muffin pan for the single-serving-sized treats.
- Dry ingredients – flour, baking soda, salt
- Wet ingredients – unsalted butter (to control the sodium level), sugar, eggs, and vanilla
- Ripe Bananas – 3 medium-sized bananas (about 1 cup) mashed up. Brown is best since it has the most natural sugar. Here’s how to determine if they are past ripe. If they aren’t quite ripe, see our tips below on how to ripen them quickly.
- Chocolate Chips – we prefer semi-sweet chocolate chips, but you can use any kind you prefer. You can omit if you’d prefer, or also substitute the chocolate chips with an equal amount of toasted chopped pecans or walnuts for banana nut muffins, or replace them with raisins for banana raisin muffins.
Pro Tip:
To ripen bananas in 24 hours, place the bunch into a brown bag, close and store on the counter for 24 hours. You can also try to bake almost-ripe bananas in the oven at 250°F for 15-20 minutes.
Can I use Frozen Bananas in Banana Bread Muffins?
If you have overripe bananas and aren’t ready to use them, toss them in a ziploc (peel on) and freeze them for later. Before adding frozen ripe bananas to the recipe, thaw completely at room temperature, or in the refrigerator overnight. Frozen bananas tend to release more moisture so peel and lightly pat dry with paper towels to remove excess liquid.
How to Make Banana Muffins
Our easy Banana Muffins recipe comes together in just a few minutes and has that irresistible banana flavor and a moist, spongy crumb.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and place liners in a 12-count muffin tin.
- Cream together butter and sugar then mix in lightly beaten eggs.
- Add mashed bananas and vanilla.
- Whisk together flour, baking soda and salt then mix into batter. Fold in 3/4 cup chocolate chips.
- Scoop batter into your lined muffin tin, sprinkle with chocolate chips, and bake for 20-25 minutes.
Pro Tips for Moist Banana Muffins
There are 3 key points for achieving moist and tender muffin:
- Use very ripe or overripe bananas. Underripe bananas will be difficult to mash and won’t incorporate into the batter well.
- Do not skimp on the butter. Since there is no other ‘liquid’ in this recipe, softened butter is needed for a soft and moist crumb. Watch our video on how to soften butter in 5 minutes.
- Don’t over-bake. If you’re wondering how long to bake banana muffins, test for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center after 25 minutes and continue baking only if you see wet batter on the toothpick.
Make-Ahead
Cooled muffins keep well on the counter in an airtight container for up to 5 days. They keep even longer in the freezer. Make a double batch so you’ll always have muffins on hand!
- Freezing: Place cooled muffins in an airtight freezer container for up to 3 months.
- To Reheat: Thaw on the counter or in the fridge.
Please DO NOT throw away your overripe bananas because they are the secret ingredient for these moist and delicious banana muffins. The browner and spottier the peel, the better!
What is YOUR favorite way to use overripe bananas?
More Muffin Recipes
Enjoy our top-rated, made-from-scratch, bakery-quality muffin recipes. I hope you find some new favorites here.
- Egg Muffins
- Blueberry Muffins
- Mixed Berry Muffins
- Zucchini Muffins
- French Breakfast Muffins
- English Muffins
- Cinnamon Muffins
Banana Muffins Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, (8 Tbsp), softened
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temp, lightly beaten
- 3 bananas, very ripe, coarsely mashed with a fork
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, measured correctly
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips, divided
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350˚ F and line a 12-count muffin tin with paper liners.
- In a mixing bowl, cream together 8 Tbsp softened butter with 2/3 cup sugar. Add 2 lightly beaten eggs.
- Add 3 mashed bananas and 1 tsp vanilla extract and mix until blended.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together dry ingredients: 1 1/2 cups flour, 1 tsp baking soda and 1/2 tsp salt. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until incorporated.
- Fold in 3/4 cup chocolate chips. Divide batter evenly into your 12-count muffin tin and sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup chocolate chips evenly over the tops. Bake at 350˚F on the center rack for 25-30 minutes or until the top is golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes then transfer to a baking rack to cool to room temperature.
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
Natasha Kravchuk
Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
Love this recipe but my muffins always seem to have a sticky top the next day, any suggestions? TIA
Hi Lynn! I’m glad you love this recipe. The sticky tops are likely due to moisture. Be sure to cool the muffing completely before storing them. If they are fully cool and in an airtight container, they should not be sticky. You can also line the bottom and top of the container with a paper towel to help absorb any extra moisture while stored. I hope this helps.
Amazing!!! I used less sugar as our bananas were super ripe. Question, butter and eggs kind of curdled. Not sure why? Any suggestions? Regardless, these muffins were incredible!
Hi Lin! I’m happy to hear you enjoyed it. This often happens if your eggs or butter are too cold.
Don’t they need baking powder? Mine came out flat
Hi K, these just need baking soda. You might check that your baking soda isn’t expired and is still active.
Hi Natasha,
My family and I absolutely LOVE these banana muffins! They’re always the first to go whenever I bake them. I wanted to ask if the batter could be made and prepared the day before and then baked the following day? Would it be ok or can it only be done on the bake day itself?
Cooled muffins keep well on the counter in an airtight container for up to 5 days. They keep even longer in the freezer.
Great thank you! But can I make the batter the day before and store it in the fridge overnight before baking?
I don’t recommend making the batter ahead as it could affect the rise and texture. I have given some “Make Ahead” instructions in the recipe, that’s what I usually do.
Got it, thank you so much for the help and tips!
Hi Natasha, thanks for sharing your recipe. I actually made muffins and it’s delicious. It’s moist and not that sweet. My family loves it. I will definitely save this recipe.
Hi Natasha.. luv cooking not the best baker except for apple pie.. but my muffins exploded over the tin and didn’t look great..also very greasy..what did I do wrong🤔
Hi Shannon. It’s likely due to overfilling the muffin tins. Other things to check: ensure your oven is fully preheated before your start baking and don’t over-mix your batter. Mix just until the dry ingredients are incorporated. I would also check that you measured your ingredients correctly and didn’t use too much leaving or more butter than the recipe called for. Make sure your butter is soften and the eggs are room temperature.
hi Natasha,
what can i use to replace eggs?
Hello! Sorry but I have not tried any substitutions for egg to give some recommendations.
Delicious recipe! Would you share the brand of parchment paper cupcake liners you used and/or where to buy them?
Hi Ana, you can find our favorite kitchen tools in our Amazon Affiliate Shop HERE.
Made these with gluten free flour for myself using mini chocolate chips and made a batch for my husband with peanut butter chips (chocolate allergy) and WOWZA. Thanks for helping me use my over ripe bananas!
You’re so welcome, Kala! I’m so happy you loved this recipe!
We make these all the time and my kids love these! I will say, I recently tried making them with gluten free flour and they are even better! The gluten free flour made them so much less dense and a fluffier texture
Hi Natasha, Have made lots of recipes from you & love them all. For the banana chocolate chip muffins, are you using an actual cup cake tin like in your cup cake recipes or the larger muffin tin. I couldn’t tell, as the muffins in your final product seemed a little smaller than those large muffins you buy in the store?
Hi Patricia. It’s a standard cupcake/muffin pan.
This is absolutely amazing. Love love it!!!
Delicious as all your recipes are. Came out wonderfully and the house smells delicious.
these turned out so goodddd! they tasted scrumptious and i just love the fact that you have a recipe checklist that does not allow me to forget anything. just love your videos as well as the website
Hey Natasha! Just wanted to let you know I just made these delicious muffins. They were extremely moist. I read the comments below and noticed that I did need to be careful on how I measured my flour and how long I cooked the muffins as every oven is Different.
Some changes I made: I added some cinnamon and maple syrup to my mixture I also candied some chopped pecans and walnuts with cinnamon salt and maple syrup in the oven. Crumpled them up once they cooled and added half to my batter. I then topped each muffin with a slice of banana and some more of that delicious Candied nut crunch!
Hi Elizabeth! I’m so glad it turned out for you. Thank you for sharing.