Chocolate Banana Muffins

Bananas – it’s a great recipe to use your over-ripe bananas, or use ripe bananas, both work well! As long as they’re not still green, they’re good to go.

Flour – All purpose flour works well for most quick breads. When measuring flour, spoon it into the measuring cup. When you dunk the measuring cup straight into the bag of flour, it gets packed. Packed flour results in too much flour!

Eggs – They’ll need some time to warm up to room temperature prior to using, so give them 30-45 minutes on the counter.

Oil – use a neutral oil like avocado oil, vegetable oil, or canola oil. While avocado oil is usually the best choice, it it a more expensive option out of the three.

Baking Soda and baking powder – Make sure the baking soda is not expired! In order for your baking soda to be potent, you need to use it within 6 months of opening the container.

Mini chocolate chips – use semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips but I highly recommend that you use mini chocolate chips. Mini chips spread much more evenly and will give you an even chocolate consistency in each bite.

Unsweetened Cocoa Powder – Use unsweetened 100% Dutch-processed cocoa powder.

See recipe card for complete information on ingredients and quantities.

Like I mentioned, all you have to do is mix the ingredients with a whisk and pop them in the oven. Of course, there are a couple of other steps and tips involved but you don’t need a mixer. 

To start, place ripe bananas into a mixing bowl and mash them very well with a fork. Once they are completely mashed, add the liquid ingredients and sugar. Whisk it all together. 

Next, add your dry ingredients, except the mini chocolate chips, and slowly whisk to combine. When the batter is nice and smooth, fold in chocolate chips. 

To make sure that all my muffins are the same size, I use an ice cream scoop with release. (Don’t use a scoop without release of you’ll never get the batter in or out.) Use an ice cream scoop to get an even amount of batter and scoop it into the muffin cups lined with cupcake paper liners. Fill each cup about 3/4 of the way full. 

Finally, sprinkle a few more mini chocolate chips on top and bake for about 20-22 minutes at 350°. (Remember that each oven is slightly different so do a toothpick test before taking your muffins out!)

Storing Instructions

You can store banana muffins at room temperature for 2-3 days. Make sure to store them in an air-tight container though. Place a sheet of paper towel on the bottom of the food storage container and place cooled muffins in it in one single layer. Place another sheet of paper towels over the top of the muffins and close the lid. 

PRO TIP: Remember that humidity will affect the shelf life of baked goods stored at room temperature! Shelf life in a humid environment is shorter.

If you want to extend the shelf life of muffins, keep them in the refrigerator for up to a week. Make sure to also keep them in an air-tight container or individually wrapped. I like to warm up cold muffins for just a few seconds in the microwave before eating.

Freezing Banana Muffins

Before freezing, you want to make sure to cool them completely. Wrap each muffin in plastic wrap and place them in a freezer for about 2 hours. Once frozen, you can place them into a large freezer bag. Freeze them for up to 2 months.

To thaw, pull out as many muffins as you need, unwrap, and let them thaw on the counter. You can heat up thawed muffins in a microwave for just a few seconds. 

More Grab-and-Go Breakfast Ideas

• Blueberry Muffins
• Lemon Muffins
• White Chocolate Chip Strawberry Muffins
• Coconut Oat Muffins
• Maple Bacon Streusel Muffins

Here are a few more options for breakfast on the go, like Coconut Coffee Cake, Strawberry Crescent Rolls, Nutella Cinnamon Twists, Lemon Cheesecake Hand Pies, and of course, Coconut Banana Bread.