These epic banana bread muffins are foolproof, soft and flavorful, with perfectly rounded dome tops. I’ve adapted them from my favorite banana bread recipe, and the results are everything I want in a muffin. They’re also incredibly fast and easy. You’re going to love these easy muffins! Trust me; just make them!
I never used to be a huge fan of banana bread, but let me tell you- I fell in love with these muffins the moment I tasted them. They’re soft, nutty, moist without being overly sweet or dense.
I’ve gone on to make these many more times since that first batch, and I can safely say we are both hooked.
Recipe Ingredients
For this recipe, you’ll need the following:
- Bananas
- All-purpose flour
- Walnuts
- Granulated sugar
- Baking soda
- Plain yogurt
- Large eggs
- Unsalted butter
- Kosher salt
How to Make Banana Bread Muffins
If you’ve ever made banana bread, preparing these muffins is almost exactly the same process except you use a standard muffin pan instead of a loaf pan. It’s also a very similar process to making muffins:
- Mash super ripe bananas in one bowl.
- Whisk together the dry ingredients in another bowl, followed by the wet ingredients in another.
- Combine the three, divide evenly among greased muffin tins. Bake!
I adapted these muffins from a Cook’s Illustrated banana bread recipe. They have never let me down, and this time was no exception.
I love these so much that I’ve even gone one step further and created brown butter banana bread muffins If you like brown butter as much as I do, I highly recommend checking those out.
Recipe tips
- I chop the walnuts very finely, both because I prefer less texture in the muffins, and because I think you get better flavor distribution that way. If you’re using raw nuts and need to toast them first, spread the walnuts in a thin layer on a baking sheet, and toast in a 350 degree F oven for around 5-7 minutes, shaking the pan once or twice, until fragrant.
- I always recommend weighing the flour over using a measuring cup. I used 10 ounces of flour. If you measure out two cups, it might be 8 ounces (or more/less). You can buy inexpensive kitchen scales on Amazon. So worth it. You can also read more about this in my post How to Measure Flour Correctly.
- I always use plain, full fat or part-skim yogurt in this recipe, but I’d imagine that sour cream works as well. However, I haven’t personally tried it yet.
How to Quickly Ripen Bananas
To speed up ripening, place the bananas in a paper bag and loosely fold the top to seal. If available, add an apple or 1-2 already ripe bananas to the bag to increase the amount of ethylene gas (this is what causes ripening). With this method, your bananas should ripen within 1-2 days.
How to Store
To store banana bread muffins, place them in an airtight container or sealed plastic bag, then store at room temperature for up to three days.
Can You Freeze These Muffins?
Yes, you can absolutely store these muffins in the freezer. It’s a great way to preserve their shelf life! To freeze, store the muffins in resealable freezer bags freeze for up to three months.
Why Egg Size Matters in Baking
This recipe calls for large eggs. Using different size eggs can drastically impact baked goods. Don’t substitute a different size unless you have a kitchen scale to measure an equal weight by volume (ounces or grams) to get the same total amount of egg.
Read more about why egg size matters in baking (and how to make substitutions).
How to Measure Flour
For baked goods (as well as desserts like custard and ice cream), I always recommend using a kitchen scale to measure flour by weight instead of volume. Weight (ounces, grams, etc) will always give an accurate measurement of dry goods; volume (cups) can create varied results.
A cup of flour can weigh anywhere from 3 1/2 to 5 ounces. That could make a big difference in your recipe! If you still want to use cups, there’s a proper technique to make sure you get the best results possible.
My post How to Measure Flour explains all of this in more detail.
More Muffin Recipes
Banana Bread Muffins
Ingredients
- 10 ounces all-purpose flour (approximately 2 cups using the Scoop & Sweep Method)
- 1 1/4 cups toasted walnuts, chopped finely
- 5 1/4 ounces granulated sugar (approximately 3/4 cup)
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 very ripe bananas, mashed
- 1/4 cup plain yogurt (I recommend full or low-fat)
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 12-cup standard-size muffin tin.
- In a large bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and walnuts together. In a separate bowl, combine the bananas, yogurt, eggs, butter and vanilla. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry until just combined. Scoop the batter evenly between the muffin tins.
- Bake until the muffins are golden brown on top, approximately 20-25 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container or sealed plastic bag at room temperature for up to three days. You can also freeze them in a freezer bag for up to three months.
Video
Notes
Please read my full post for additional recipe notes, tips, and serving suggestions!
Nutrition
Recipe Troubleshooting
For immediate help troubleshooting a recipe, please email me using the form on my contact page. I’ll try to respond to urgent questions as quickly as possible! For all general questions, please leave a comment here :)
Debbie says
What is the measurement on flour? 2 cups? Or 1 1/4 cups which would equal 10 oz?
Jennifer Farley says
Hi Debbie! I highly recommend investing in a cheap kitchen scale (they run about $15). I always prefer weighing out ingredients because the volume of flour really varies from brand to brand. I weighed out 10 ounces when I prepared the muffins. According to the authors of the cookbook, the volume measurement will be 2 cups.
kiley says
can I use greek yogurt?
Jennifer Farley says
You sure can!
Madonna/aka/Ms. Lemon says
Ok, I had to comment on this. Thank you for sharing the human side of blogging, and the obsession with props. You made me laugh out loud.
Jennifer Farley says
I’m glad! Thanks for the comment :)
stacey says
These taste great, I like the addition of yogurt. Thanks
saba says
OMG I just made these and they are absolutely delicious… I didn’t have walnuts so I put almonds… Also, I had salted butter so I put less and didn’t put the extra salt. Stil veryyyy delicious and my mother in law approved so I am really happy about that… Thank you sooo much for sharing the recipe.
Jennifer Farley says
I am so happy you liked them! They’re definitely my favorite muffins.
Rachael says
Can you make these without the walnuts? t feel like that is a lot to cut out since it is over a cup! I just don’t like nuts in bread!!
Jennifer Farley says
Hmmm, good question. I made these for my husband on request and I thought about leaving the nuts out for the same reason! I don’t like nuts in bread, either. But he wanted them so my solution was the chop the walnuts incredibly thin. They absorbed moisture from the batter and honestly you can’t really tell they’re there. If you cut them out you might not have enough batter to fill all of the tins but I think the muffins themselves will be fine.
Arli Joy says
Want to try this one. Looks yummy and interesting. But i don’t have yogurt. Can i use buttermilk instead of yogurt?
Jennifer Farley says
Hi Arli! I never tested it with buttermilk instead of yogurt so I can’t guarantee the results. If you try it this way please let me know how the recipe turns out!
Arli Joy May says
Well, I just have to try it with yogurt then. Will let you know. Thanks.
Sarah says
A good substitute for yogurt (and eggs, if need be) is to use soy milk with a splash of apple cider vinegar. I do about 2/3 cup with 1 tsp. of ACV mixed in and let it congeal slightly in a separate bowl (or just in the measuring cup) before mixing it in. I do this for a vegan banana bread, which I sometimes make. To just replace the yogurt and keep the eggs, do 1/4 c. soy milk with about 1/2 tsp. of ACV mixed in. It has the tang of yogurt and helps the bread stay moist.
Jane says
Thanks for this recipe! My daughters love it and quite often request I make them :)
Jennifer Farley says
I’m so happy you like them!
Julia says
Just made them, they’re fantastic! My toddler approves too :)
Candace says
I just made these up, along with a batch of oatmeal cookies. I decided to try cookie muffins, by dropping a spoonful of cookie in the middle of the muffin and covering them a bit with more muffin batter. Anyway, these turned out great! I did add cinnamon, nutmeg, gloves, and ginger….oh and dark chocolate chips shhh… I made about 18 medium sized muffins from this. Thanks (banana ;D ) bunches for the recipe!
Candace says
AND yes, my toddler also approves! *****
Melissa says
Thanks for the recipe, it turned out great! I don’t like nuts so I substituted for 1 cup of raisins and I don’t keep yogurt in the house, but I didn’t use a substitute. They still turned out pretty moist and it was a perfect treat for a fall day!
michele says
maybe I didn’t put in enough baking soda? I didn’t have 3/4teaspoon so I just had to estimate. maybe that was it! Either way–i will check out other recipes in this site–I do love the pics! Thanks!
Mary-Clay @ Cooking with the King says
Just browsing, and I came upon this! I heart banana bread – yum!
Amanda says
Can I use sour cream in place yogurt? If not, what do you suggest?
Jennifer Farley says
Hmmm, I’ve never tried it with sour cream. They obviously have a similar consistency but I’m not sure how that will change the flavor. My guess is that it will be find but I can’t guarantee it. Is there a particular reason you don’t want to use yogurt?
Lisa says
I use yogurt and sour cream interchangeably when baking, depending what’s in the fridge, and have always had good results. In fact, I used sour cream in this recipe for a bake sale last week – fantastic! Almost kept half for my long-suffering boys, who too often don’t get to eat what I bake. Which is why I’ve been shooing everyone away from these last three bananas for days, and will have fresh-baked when they get home from school today. Thanks for the yummy recipe!
Farah says
Made these this morning & my family loved them! I used 1/2 whole wheat & 1/2 white. No nuts (BC baby can’t eat them) & added about 1/2C wheat bran (didn’t measure the bran). So fluffy & perfect! Do you think this would be good as a banana bread in loaf form or should I just go for a simple banana bread recipe? Thank you for sharing & your photos are beautiful!