Banana Bread Muffins

by Brenda Score on May 12, 2023

These Banana Bread Muffins are moist and tender, buttery, and sweetly scented with cinnamon. This is an easy recipe made quickly by hand, no mixer required. The BEST banana muffins, a longtime family favorite!

Easy Banana Bread Muffins

I’ve been baking this easy Banana Bread Muffins recipe for what seems like forever. These banana muffins are perfectly moist and tender, buttery, and scented with cinnamon. Plus they mix up quick and easy by hand, and are ready in about 30 minutes!

While I love, love, love me some sour cream banana bread, these banana muffins are what we bake most often. This muffins recipe is quicker to make, mostly because the muffins don’t need to bake as long. Plus I like their individual, portable portions!

This banana muffins recipe also freezer super well. So whenever I have a surplus of ripe, spotty bananas hanging around, I like to bake a double batch – then I throw some muffins in the freezer. It’s a welcome stash of homemade deliciousness that’s easy to thaw when we’re wanting some last-minute brunch muffins or a quick snack.

This is my favorite banana muffins recipe. I hope you like it, too!

a banana muffin with a couple bites taken out

Why You’ll Love This Banana Muffins Recipe

There are so many reasons why I love this banana muffins recipe – let me list thy ways!

Great banana flavor and texture. I love most anything made with bananas – have you tried this amazing banana pudding cheesecake – my family is CRAZY for it! So these muffins are an easy win – they’re soft and moist and tender, and flavored softly with butter and cinnamon plus plenty of fruity, sweet banana.
Quick & easy. From start to finish, I can pull a pan of baked banana bread muffins out of the oven in just a little over 30 minutes!
Basic kitchen ingredients. Besides needing some spotty ripe bananas, the rest of the 8 ingredients are basic kitchen staples.
No mixer required. This recipe comes together easily by stirring dry ingredients into wet ingredients. There’s no need for a mixer!
Mix-ins are always welcome. Our family likes to mix in (or sprinkle over the top) chocolate chips and/or chopped maraschino cherries. See more ideas in the “Variations” section below!
Easy to make ahead & store. These muffins keep well, in an airtight container, on a cool countertop or in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Freezer friendly. This banana muffins recipe freezes extremely well. I do this ALL THE TIME.

What You’ll Need

This muffins recipe has a short, easy ingredients list. Here’s what you’ll need!

Butter – This adds rich flavor and texture. Melt it gently and then let it cool until it’s just slightly warm.
Bananas – Use bananas that have some brown spots, that are soft and very ripe, for the easiest mashing and best sweet banana flavor. For this recipe you’ll need 3 to 4 large, very ripe bananas.
Sugar – For additional sweetness and moisture.
Egg – This binds all the ingredients together and adds rich flavor and texture.
Flour – All-purpose flour is the base for the muffins.
Salt – For added flavor, a nice contrast to the sweetness.
Baking soda & baking powder – Helps the muffins to rise, plus adds tenderness.
Cinnamon – Adds a lovely sweet spiced flavor and scent.

Can I use frozen bananas?

While I always prefer to use bananas that haven’t been frozen, it’s completely acceptable to use frozen bananas in baking – this is a great way to make sure you never waste bananas!

To freeze bananas for baking, I peel spotty, very ripe bananas and place them in a freezer baggie or an airtight container for up to 3 months.

To thaw frozen bananas, I leave them out at room temperature for 1-2 hours, or place them in the fridge overnight. (You could also defrost them in the microwave at 50% power, checking on them every 30 seconds.) Then I drain off any excess liquid and proceed with the recipe instructions. Frozen/thawed bananas will have a much softer texture, so I take care to not overly mash them – I try to leave some chunks.

mashed bananas, melted butter, and sugar in a clear bowl

pouring melted butter into a clear bowl with mashed bananas

How to Make Banana Bread Muffins

I love that I don’t have to plug in a mixer for this recipe. There’s just something special about an easy recipe that you can quickly make by hand!

Combine wet ingredients: In a large bowl, stir together the mashed bananas, sugar, and egg. Then stir in the melted and cooled butter.

banana muffins batter in clear bowl, with wooden spoon

Combine dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon.
Combine wet & dry ingredients. Add dry ingredients to the banana mixture and fold to incorporate.

Bake, then cool. Divide batter between the 12 muffin cups and bake for 18-20 minutes. Remove pan from oven and let cool for 2 minutes, then transfer individual muffins to a cooling rack.

Do These Banana Muffins Taste Like Banana Bread?

Yes, these muffins do taste like banana bread!

But if you’re used to eating my sour cream banana bread, you’ll find that this banana bread muffins recipe has a soft moist texture while the sour cream banana bread has a dense moist texture. Both recipes are super yummy, just different.

Can I Make This Recipe in a Loaf Pan?

Another YES! If you’d rather make a loaf of banana bread with this recipe, you surely can!

Here’s how to convert this banana muffins recipe to banana bread:

Preheat oven to 375° F and lightly spray a 4″ x 8″ loaf pan with non-stick spray.
Prepare the banana bread muffins batter as instructed and add to prepared loaf pan.
Bake in the center of the oven for 45-50 minutes, until center of loaf is set and a toothpick comes out just barely clean.
Remove pan from oven and set on a baking rack to cool for 20 minutes. Then run a knife around the perimeter of the pan, release the banana bread, and let cool on the baking rack.

Variation Ideas to Try

We usually make these banana bread muffins plain, or with chocolate chips and/or maraschino cherries. Here are a few variations for you!

Chocolate chips – Regular chocolate chips or mini. Semi-sweet, milk chocolate, or dark chocolate – it’s ALL good! You can stir them into the batter or just sprinkle some over the top – we do this both ways, just like we do when making pumpkin chocolate chip muffins.
Maraschino cherries – This is something I grew up with, so it’s a nostalgic favorite for me. Mom would mix chopped maraschino cherries into her banana bread and muffins. And I LOVE it. It’s now a favorite for our daughters as well!
Blueberries – I’m a huge fan of blueberry muffins, and often like to fold some into this banana bread muffin batter.
Nuts – While this would never pass in our house (I’m under a strict “no nuts in baked goods” rule that’s enforced by the other 3 family members in our house), I do need to mention it. Because I know many of you like nuts in your muffins and breads! This recipe would do especially well with roasted & salted chopped pecans or walnuts.
Coarse sugar – For a crunchy sugar topping, sprinkle turbinado sugar generously over the batter before baking.

How to Store & Freeze Banana Bread Muffins

Store any leftover banana bread muffins in an airtight container on a cool counter for up to 3 days, or in the fridge for up to 5 days.

To freeze for up to 3 months, place the muffins in a freezer baggie or container and place in the freezer. Then thaw in the fridge overnight or on the counter for 1-2 hours, or gently microwave for 20-30 seconds.

More Muffin Recipes to Try

Muffins are loved for their individual, portable portions. Here are a few more you might like!

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