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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Helpful Reader Review
“My kiddos loved how these turned out. I loved making these for us all. The easiest most delicious and moist muffins. I’ve made this 4 times already and came here to make it for the 5th time. I can tell this is going to be a repeat recipe for me so I better memorize now.“ – Fayeza ★★★★★
Banana Muffins Video
Watch me turn those brown, overripe 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 Chocolate Chip Muffins
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.
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 are irresistible with melted chocolate morsels.
Banana Muffin Ingredients
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, and sugar
- Wet ingredients – unsalted butter (to control the sodium level), eggs, and vanilla
- Ripe Bananas – 3 medium-sized bananas (about 1 cup) mashed up. Browned bananas work best since they have the most natural sugar. If they aren’t quite ripe, see my 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 to make 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 it, and store it on the counter for 24 hours. You can also 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 the batter. Fold in 3/4 cup chocolate chips.
- Scoop batter into your lined muffin tin (a trigger-release ice cream scoop makes it easy), sprinkle with chocolate chips, and bake for 20-25 minutes.
Natasha’s Tips for The Best Banana Muffins
There are 3 “secrets” or key points for achieving tender and moist muffins:
- 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.
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?
Banana Muffins
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
- Room Temperature: Cooled muffins keep well on the counter in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
- Freezing: Place cooled muffins in an airtight freezer container for up to 3 months. Thaw on the counter or in the fridge.
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
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I think I might have over baked them a tiny bit but they were still quite moist! I probably should have checked at the 20 minute mark. Also noticed there aren’t cooling instructions, I’ve made the mistake of leaving muffins in the tin for too long and they got all soggy…. Might be helpful to include those for novice bakers like myself 🙂 Love how yummy and easy this recipe is!
Hi Eline, did you possibly use convection bake mode rather than conventional? That would need a temperature or time adjustment as it bakes up faster on convection. I hope that is helpful. Also, you are 100% correct – I missed the cooling instructions. Thank you! I went in and added them now.
I’ve not made these yet but I’m hoping I can today, looks like I have everything needed except for unsalted butter can I use regular butter ?
Hi Mary, if you use salted butter, you may need to omit or adjust the salt in the recipe.
I am going to make these today but am wondering about a muffin basket. How would I adjust the baking for a jumbo muffin?
Hi Peggy, I have not tested this in a jumbo muffin tin, but my guess would be to start with a couple of mins longer in the oven and keep checking them! Good luck. 🙂
First recipe where quantities are written in the instructions.
I haven’t finished the recipe yet but I LOVE that.
Thanks
I’m so glad that’s helpful! Thank you for your feedback, Ossne!
It was really delicious! I just wish the recipe was more specific as far as what tools to continue using in the mixing process. I couldn’t tell if I was supposed to continue using the hand mixer, the whisk, or the just a regular spoon to mix during the other steps and was kind of confused but thankfully my assumptions turned out right and the muffins turned out good 👍🏼
Thank you for your detailed feedback, Jenn. We’re always trying to get better and we appreciate suggestions and feedback.
Now that was an awesome recipe! It was quick to make and the chocolate chips topped it off. Nice and moist and baked well in the silicon baking cups.
Thanks 👍
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us, Michelle!
My husband begs me to make these muffins. I’ve even frozen them with great reviews that when they are defrosted taste like I just made them the day before. I always double this delicious recipe now every time I make them. Although they don’t even last long in the freezer.
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite, Janay! Thank you for your great review!
These are amazing! Easy to make, uses a good amount of bananas and they turned out perfect! Super moist and plain great. Family loves them.
So glad to hear that, Sarah! Thank you for sharing.
I made these last night and they are DELICIOUS! Everyone in the family, even picky eaters, is gobbling them up. Thanks for this yummy recipe!
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us, Krista!
Way better than banana bread. I don’t know why but these taste so much better. Kids hubby everyone loves them. Great texture.
Hi Angie! I’m glad they were a hit. Thank you for your feedback.
I LOVE these muffins! I’ve made them multiple times. Perfect moisture, sweetness, and they make a great breakfast (though they never last more than a few days)! I will make them again and again!
Thank you for sharing, Annie! That’s great to hear. We love this recipe. I’m glad you did too.
These muffins are so easy to make and they are delicious! The whole family loved them. I had to stop the kids after eating two muffins…they wanted a third. Thanks Natasha for such a tasty and easy recipe! Happy holidays too!
That’s wonderful, Sherley! So glad it they were a hit!
Perfect recipe. These are incredible muffins. The gooeyness of the chocolate is a great complement to the rest of the muffin. Just right after 25 minutes.
That’s great to hear! So glad you loved the recipe.
Made this for my kid’s potluck during their Christmas Party.. Made 2 Batches. I ran out of butter so I use half butter and half oil. Topped it with raisins. It turns out so delicious, fluffy, and moist. Thanks for the Recipe.
The perfect recipe for a kid’s potluck! I hope they all loved it!
Thank you so much for this recipe! I have been making banana bread and banana muffins for years and could never find a recipe that I want to use consistently until this one. The kids love these and told me not to change a thing. Thank you.
That’s wonderful! I’m so glad they were a hit!
I made these with 1 -1 gf flour. They are delicious! My favourite muffin recipe now.
That’s great, Darlene! Thank you for the feedback.
Great recipe! I always swirl nutella on top and they turn out delicious!
YUM! I”m sure it’s amazing. Thank you for sharing, Amelia!
Fabulous version of your choc chip banana bread (which I make often). My husband loves them. I topped each muffin w some roughly chopped walnuts or peacans and WOW! They looked as great as they tasted. Will make a great gift!
Thanks for the awesome feedback, Christine!
I made this today, and they turned out amazing! Next time I will add an extra banana because I personally feel they could use a touch more. We are banana crazy in this house. The only thing I did differently was I oiled my cupcake pan and used some flour and each muffin popped out perfectly!
Thank you so much for sharing!
That’s wonderful. Beth! Thank you for sharing. So glad you loved it.
Hi Natasha! This is my favorite banana bread/muffin recipe! Kids and hubby love it! My question is, how do you know when your bananas are just not good to make banana bread? When do you say, these bananas are way over ripe and just toss them?
Hi Cathy! I’m glad your family loved this recipe. Sometimes when bananas are too far gone, they have an odd or off-putting odor and taste. Some bananas can have a liquid or a mushy substance leaking out of them and should be discarded.