Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins are easy to make, flavorful, and perfectly tender! The batter comes together quickly and they always bake up golden on the outside and moist, chocolate banana heaven on the inside.
Want to double the chocolate? Try these Double Chocolate Banana Muffins next, with a fudgy batter and chocolate chips studded throughout the muffin! And, if you like your muffins decked out and fully loaded, add these Banana Oatmeal Muffins with oats, chocolate chips, and walnuts to your baking lineup as well!
BAD BANANAS GONE GOOD
If you too have a collection of very ripe bananas come the end of the week, these Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins are a must-have in your household. It’s a beautiful thing to avoid waste, take something that’s almost a goner, and turn it into something truly spectacular. A muffin so tender, so flavorful, and so perfectly delicious it sends children running to the breakfast table, collects ooh’s-and-ahhh’s amongst a crowd, and serves as a breakfast on the go. A must-have recipe indeed.
HOW TO MAKE BANANA CHOCOLATE CHIP MUFFINS
Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins are easy to make and come together quickly without the need for any fancy tools or appliances. In fact, this recipe is so simple, it can be broken down into an overview of just six easy steps.
PERFECT MUFFINS IN SIX SIMPLE STEPS
- Melt Butter
- Mash Bananas
- Whisk Dry Ingredients
- Whisk Wet Ingredients
- Mix All Together with Buttermilk
- Bake
MELT THE BUTTER
The muffins start with butter like most good things do. To melt butter, I typically add it to a microwave-safe pyrex measuring pitcher, and microwave it on 30-second increments until melted, watching to ensure it doesn’t bubble over. Once the butter is melted, you’ll set it aside, allowing it to cool down and get started on those ripe bananas.
MASH THE BANANAS
Ripe bananas are sweeter, break down easier, and perfect for baking! For more information on baking with bananas, read over this super-informative post regarding the importance of ripe bananas when making all-time best Banana Bread!
HOW TO TELL IF A BANANA IS BAD FOR BAKING
Overly ripe bananas were practically made for Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins, and if you see more brown than yellow, they’re still okay to use for baking. And, even if the inside is a little mushy, they’re still okay to use for baking your muffins. However, if your bananas are black, show any signs of mold, or have a sour smell to them, they are no longer good for anything but compost.
Muffins are easy to make and whip up quickly. To begin, you’ll want to have your bananas mashed up and ready to go.
MIX THE DRY INGREDIENTS
Once your bananas are nice and ripe, you’ll mash them up with a fork, and set them aside to start on your dry ingredients.
You might have noticed in almost any baking recipe, the dry ingredients are mixed before the wet. This is because once the eggs and sugar come together, chemical reactions start to take place. Having the dry ingredients ready prior helps to prevent any unwanted outcomes.
Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt, and move it on over to the wet ingredients.
THE WET INGREDIENTS
The mashed bananas are considered a wet ingredient in this recipe, and to them, we’ll add the cooled butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla.
Another wet ingredient we’ll be using in our muffins is buttermilk. Buttermilk is highly acidic and this is partially what makes them so perfectly tender.
Whisk to combine, then comes to the dry ingredients and the buttermilk in alternating rounds.
WHY ALTERNATE INGREDIENTS TO FINISH THE BATTER
Adding the dry ingredients and buttermilk in alternating rounds means you’ll add a third of the flour followed by half of the buttermilk, then another third of the flour (which is technically half of the flour left in your bowl), followed by the remaining buttermilk, and finally the last of the dry ingredients. The reason you alternate the ingredients in this manner is to ensure everything incorporates evenly.
Take it easy on the mixing when adding your dry ingredients. Too much mixing can cause a muffin to be tough.
BAKE AND EAT…OR FREEZE
You can bake these muffins in a standard-sized muffin tin or a mini muffin tin. Just note for mini muffins, you will bake them for less time.
If by some miracle you end up with leftover muffins and would like to save them for future use, freezing them is easy.
Allow them to cool completely, then transfer them to a freezer-safe, gallon-sized ziptop bag and place them in the freezer for up to three months.
With only six easy steps and a taste this good, you might find yourself letting those bananas go bad a lit-tle more often. These muffins are one of my family’s favorite breakfast treats, and one that we utilize often for mornings on-the-go thanks to that whole freezer-friendly thing. I’ve no doubt it will be a new family favorite in your household as well. Please, enjoy!
This is one of many muffin recipes you can add to your breakfast lineup. For more ideas to choose from, just keep on scrolling!
An easy recipe for the perfect banana-chocolate chip muffins.
- 1/2 cup melted butter cooled to room temperature
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 ripe bananas mashed
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 cup buttermilk
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
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Preheat the oven to 375° and have ready two greased muffin tins, greased or lined with cupcake liners. Melt the butter and set aside to cool until lukewarm or at room temperature.
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In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Whisk to combine. Set aside until ready to use.
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In a large mixing bowl, whisk together cooled butter, bananas, sugar, egg, and vanilla until well blended.
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Stir in the dry ingredients to the wet in three additions, alternating with the buttermilk, until all of the ingredients have been combined. Add the chocolate chips and stir until evenly dispersed.
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Fill the muffin tins 2/3's of the way full and bake for 18-20 minutes, until the muffins are golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out moist, but not wet with batter. Allow to cool slightly, serve, and enjoy.
Consider using parchment paper muffin liners. If you don't have this kind, it's best to spray the muffin liners and the pan with cooking spray before adding the batter.
Makes 16 muffins.
MORE MUFFIN RECIPES TO TRY
Bakery-Style Chocolate Chunk Muffins are a chocoholics dream come true. Moist and fluffy, these muffins are loaded with chocolate chunks with just a hint of cinnamon.
This recipe for Perfect Blueberry Muffins is loaded with tips and tricks to help you bake the perfect muffin. Tender and light, these muffins are bursting with blueberries, and they’re absolutely everything you could want in a breakfast delight and more!
When the fall rolls around, there’s no muffin that quite compares to these Easy Pumpkin Muffins. They’re quick and easy, loaded with pumpkin spice, and go beautifully with a steaming hot cup of coffee.
My kids would devour these (and so would I)! We always have really ripe bananas around, and there are only so many smoothies you can make. I’ll have to try these, and make a double batch so I can freeze some!