Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
Banana chocolate chip muffins boast a tender, moist texture with melt-in-your-mouth flavor, thanks to the ripe bananas and chocolate chips. Sweet enough for a light dessert but satisfying for an almost healthy breakfast or after-school snack. Plus, it’s ready in 30 minutes!
I always have bananas in my kitchen. Most of the time, they end up ripening until they’re soft and have a couple of black spots (you know, the ones that make great banana bread). That gives me the perfect excuse to make whatever dessert or sweet bread I’m craving.
If you want a tasty way to use your overripe bananas, I’ve got your back. Banana nut bread and banana cake are incredible, but today, I had to have muffins.
My son has been turning me into a baking machine, which means we’ve been consuming a lot of baked goods lately. But no complaints AT ALL because your girl here loves it, too.
Why Bananas Make Great Muffins
First, they’re in season all year round, making them easy to find. They’re also one of the cheaper fruits and are incredibly versatile. So why not seize the opportunity to make them a part of a healthy diet? But today, we’re not talking healthy unless we’re talking healthy for the soul.
The relatively short list of ingredients, easy preparation, and no need for complicated equipment make this recipe a no-brainer. You don’t even need to get out your mixer. And you bet I’m ready to sign up for any easy baking!
How to Make Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Whisk the eggs, mashed bananas, sugar, sour cream, and vanilla extract in a small bowl. (Photos 1-2)
- Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. (Photo 3)
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix well. (Photos 4-5)
- Pour the melted butter in and gently mix it, scraping down the sides as you go. Then, gently stir in the chocolate chips. (Photos 6-7)
- Divide the batter into the prepared muffin pan. (Photo 8)
- Bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Recipe Tips and Notes
- If you have kids at home, make it a fun activity for them. They’ll love stirring the batter and adding their personal touch. I let my son doll up his muffins to his heart’s desire. The kitchen mess is another story for another time
- Talking about personal touches, feel free to replace the chocolate chips with chopped pecans, walnuts, dried berries, or a combination of several
- Paper muffin cup liners can work, but after many attempts, I prefer greasing the muffin pan and pouring the batter in. Paper baking cups tend to make the muffin bottom soggy. But if you really want them on baking cups, grease the pan before adding them
Make-Ahead and Storage
These muffins make the ideal school snacks for your kids’ snack box or after-school munch when they get home. Kids love anything with chocolate chips. So I make a big batch and freeze half of them for later.
As hard as it is to refrain from eating them straight out of the oven, they do taste better the next day, or at least after they cool. They last 3-4 months in the freezer if wrapped well, a week in the fridge, and 2-3 days at room temperature.
More Delicious Ways to Use Overripe Bananas
- Banana Pancakes
- Brown Butter Banana Bread
- Pumpkin Banana Bread
- Banana Fritters
- Strawberry Banana Bread
This blog post was originally published in August 2017 and has been updated with additional tips and tempting photos
Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 large, ripe bananas, mashed (about a cup)
- ¼ cup (60g) sour cream or yogurt
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon (5ml) vanilla extract
- ½ cup (100g) brown sugar
- ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 2 cups (240g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon (4g) baking powder
- ½ teaspoon (3g) baking soda
- ½ teaspoon (3g) salt
- ½ cup (113g) unsalted butter, melted (or replace with oil)
- 1 cup (175g) mini chocolate chips (see notes)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉ (175℃). Grease a muffin pan with baking spray or line it with cupcake liners, and set aside.
- Whisk the eggs, mashed bananas, sugar (brown and white), sour cream, and vanilla extract in a small bowl.
- In another bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Gradually add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix well.
- Finally, pour the melted butter in and gently mix it, scraping down the sides as you go.
- Pour the muffin batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 20 minutes. If using a loaf pan, it may take an hour or more to bake. Either way, a toothpick inserted in the center will come out clean.
Tips & Notes:
- I used mini chocolate chips for muffins, but regular chips also work. Semi-sweet, milk, dark, and white are all delicious
- You can replace the butter with the same amount of neutral-flavored cooking oil
- Please remember that the nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary significantly based on the products used in the recipe
Moist, and easy to follow directions. I haven’t enjoyed a good banana bread in a while. This will be perfect with my coffee tomorrow.
I baked it in an 8×5 loaf pan for about 50 minutes. I reduced the sugar to 1/4 c brown sugar and 1/8c white sugar and it had the perfect amount of sweetness. I’m Ghanaian and we don’t use so much sugar so the adjustments I made was just right for me. Additionally, I added about 1 Tbsp of cocoa powder and swirled it in half of the batter. I highly recommend this to anyone who wants a foolproof banana bread recipe. The only adjustment you might need to make is with the sugar, that’s if you don’t like overly sweet treats.
Thanks for the feedback. Glad it worked out well for you.
Tried it. Delicious!
Wow these look amazing!! I’m curious if they are okay to eat with a paleo diet?
Sorry, they’re not paleo because they contain flour and sugar, which is a No No in a paleo diet.
Thanks Imma, I tried this banana muffin recipe. It was too delicious. I had to discipline myself not to finish the whole lot in one go. Thanks a lot
Hahaha! I know what you mean Abigail! Thanks for taking the time to let me know.
I know that Breakfast is going to look a whole lot better with these. Thanks again for knocking my socks off. hahaha
My Pleasure Greg!. My little man wishes he could have this for breakfast, lunch and dinner- Naaah. Never going to happen. Always good to hear from you!