Easy Banana Muffins – These simple, quick to make muffins are perfect for baking with toddlers, deliciously moist and make a yummy treat or a breakfast on the go.
(Originally published on 4th August 2015 and updated 19th March 2019)
I first blogged about these banana muffins way back in 2015, and they still are one of the most popular recipes on my blog. I thought it was about time that they had a bit of a facelift and some new photos as I still make them every couple of weeks with George and Harri.
I mean, what’s not to like?
- So easy to make – These banana muffins are the perfect intro to baking with kids. Just five ingredients and in 30 minutes they are ready.
- Uses up leftovers – Over ripe bananas make the best muffins, so there is no need to throw those lingering brown bananas away.
- Packed lunches for the week – These muffins are so moist due to the fruit content, they will last in an airtight container for a week so they are the perfect make ahead snack.
Often muffin recipes are American, which means that they use vegetable oil (and cup measurements) in the UK we are most accustomed to using butter in our baking so I wanted to come up with a English alternative recipe. This recipe also uses self raising flour, to give the muffins a light and fluffy texture.
How to make Banana muffins:
These Banana Muffins are made using a really simple cake batter.
I used the same method in my Nutella Muffins recipe. (Which would also be amazing with bananas added in.)
The Banana Muffins are mixed up in just a few minutes. Preheat your oven to 180C. Then start by creaming your butter and sugar together, either using a mixer or wooden spoon.
They should be pale and fluffy. Wipe down the sides of the bowl with a spatula as you go to make sure everything is well mixed.
Next, add you eggs, self raising flour and bananas.
Some recipes tell you to mash your bananas before adding, but if your bananas are REALLY ripe (like, very brown and spotty on the peel and very soft inside) I tend to just add at the same time for a little shortcut as they get squished with the batter mixing.
If your bananas are not quite OVER brown, to be safe and make sure that your Banana Muffins aren’t lumpy, you can mash the bananas before adding to the mixture.
Next you need to line a muffin tray with paper cupcake cases.
Then scoop your mixture evenly between the cases. I use an ice cream scoop for this. It’s my favourite cupcake and muffin baking trick and kids LOVE using a scoop too.
Pop into the oven for about 25 minutes or until springy on top and golden.
You could top these with icing if you fancy, or drizzle with melted chocolate. I tend to keep it simple as they are pretty sweet already.
HOW DO I KNOW IF MY BANANA MUFFINS ARE COOKED?
These Banana Muffins should take around 20 – 25 minutes to cook, once out of the oven they should look golden and springy on top.
To make sure they are properly cooked, take a metal skewer and put it into the centre of the muffin. When you pull out the skewer it should be clean. If there is any batter on your skewer return the Banana Muffins to the oven for a few more minutes.
What I used to make this recipe for Banana muffins:
- My favourite muffin tray for big chunky muffins.
- Cupcake liners – I like really good quality paper ones, you can use coloured or plain white for this Banana Muffin recipe. Just bear in mind that some supermarket cupcake cases can go a bit see through when cooking buttery cakes. If this happens to you, it’s not you; it’s the cases! This doesn’t happen so much with these ones I use.
- I use this Ice Cream Scoop to fill the cases quickly and with the right amount of mixture every time.
- My much loved (now 10 year old!) mixer
Top tips for making the Banana Muffins recipe:
- You could add chocolate chips, a spoonful of peanut butter or for more grown up muffins, some chopped walnuts.
- These banana muffins will keep in an airtight container for a week, and they can also be cooked, and once cooled frozen for up to one month, before defrosting fully at room temperature.
- If you have enough brown bananas to sink a ship and no time to cook the muffins you can also freeze the whole bananas in their skins and defrost when you have time to bake.
- This basic recipe makes a great base for lots of other muffin flavours. You could try adding in blueberries, raspberries or chopped apples.
Fancy some other sweet treats? Check out my:
Now, in case you have a spare 5 minutes and fancy going back in time with me..
When I first blogged this recipe, my lovely friend Emma at BrummyMummyof2 and I cooked this recipe with our teeny tiny children. It’s captured forever more in video below!
It feels like a life time ago now and watching this back, all I can think is, HOW WERE THEY SO SMALL! And.. Whilst I’d love to just cuddle those tiny babies again, life is SO much easier now!
I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do. I’d love to know how you got on and what you thought of it if you make this Banana Muffins recipe. Please rate the recipe and leave me a comment below if you do.
Finally, if you fancy showing me a photo by tagging me on Instagram (@tamingtwins) I LOVE to see your creations.
How to make the Banana Muffins Recipe:
Banana Muffins
Easy Banana Muffins - These simple, quick to make muffins are perfect for baking with toddlers, deliciously moist and make a yummy treat or a breakfast on the go
Ingredients
- 100 g Unsalted butter
- 150 g Caster sugar
- 3 Medium eggs
- 150 g Self raising flour
- 3 Very ripe peeled and mashed bananas
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 180C.
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Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
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Add the eggs, flour and mashed bananas and beat until combined.
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Scoop the banana muffins into 12 cupcake liners in a muffin tray.
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Bake for 20 minutes until golden and springy.
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Enjoy!
We often cook banana muffins to use up the last of bananas. So easy and such fun for the kids! x
I LOVE how crazy that video is, just like our house!! We make apple crumble at least once a week because it’s so easy (and no eggs, bonus!!). I chop the apples, the girls spread them out and make the topping
im loving the screaming at having to share a bowl, the endless chants of egg egg and also the immortal “I want to do it myself!” Brilliant!!!!
They look delicious and love the video, so cute and well done getting 4 toddlers to bake!
EGGGGGGSSSSSS EGGGGGSSSS EGGGGG! EGG. Someone give that boy an egg! Happy days xxxxxxx
Sweet video — darling children and very patient mums! I love to see parents getting their children involved in the cooking.
I made these today and they were so quick, easy and tasty! I also drizzled some melted chocolate on top! My toddler loves them!
So pleased you enjoyed them Belinda! 🙂
A great recipe! We had friends around and one of the children said “mummy! You soooo have to make these. I am about to make another batch for a May bank holiday picnic. Have a lovely bank holiday and thank you.
Jim xx
Thanks for your lovely comment Jim. So pleased they went down well!
Thanks – I used this great recipe today to make banana muffins with my 2 year old son… he refused to eat them, but his sisters enjoyed them after school!
Very tasty and easy to make. It was fun to make them with my son. One of the best recipes for muffins I’ve tried. Thank you.
So happy to read this! Thanks Petra!
Hi, I love the sound of those muffins. Would you be able to freeze them?
I’ve loads of bananas that need using up!
Yes they freeze really well!
i found that 2!
So easy to make! I just had the one very ripe banana to use up so I used a third of the other ingredients (added a little extra flour as the batter was quite runny) but they’ve come out perfectly! My 18 month helped me make them and now she’s just demolished one for pudding. So easy and such a great recipe!
Oh so pleased you and your little one both loved them! Thanks for rating the recipe too 🙂
So Nice!! Just made them! lovely with melted Chocolate on top!
Fantastic recipe! It worked out great, the cupcakes were light and fluffy and absolutely delicious!
However: Mine stuck a bit to the cupcake cases…any advice how to improve on that? Sally xx
My husband and 2 year old made these together today – they found them sooo easy, and they’re SO delicious! They taste really really banana-y. Really yummy, thanks Sarah! 🙂
I made these muffins second time today and absolutely adore them. My daughter who is 2 years old loves them and keeps asking for more. What a fabulous easy recipe for making some very tasty muffins!
Thank you for the recipe. Very easy to make and taste lovely. I don’t think they’ll last long.
I think next time I’ll try adding some nuts.
Delicious! So moist and tasty… I doubled the recipe as we had SO many ripe bananas and added choc chips to the second half. They did sink to the bottom as the mixture was quite runny but still tasted amazing! Great recipe 😋
Fantastic simple recipe that my two girls (5 and 9) could follow easily (they love the video too)! I’ve made similar muffins before but never banana ones…this is definitely going to be a regular one for us 👍🏻
Made them today and took them to the office , only 3 left, everyone loved them. Will definitely be making them again. Currently trying lots of recipes for banana muffins to find my favourite . These are the best to date. Thank you.
So pleased to hear they went down well LuLu!
Moist, delicious and easy for kids to make!
Really great recipe. I filled the muffins 3/4 of the way and I substituted the butter with coconut oil (I didn’t have enough butter) – they came out really well! Very moist and bouncy. Made many variations of banana cakes / muffins and this was my favourite batch.
So easy to make with the children and they love them! Lovely healthier alternative to the normal sweet treats. These are a firm favourite of ours 😊
I made these this morning as I wanted a quicker bake than a whole loaf cake. Wow!! Crispy outsides, delicious fluffy insides, really impressed. I will definitely make again! Thank you 😊
Ii made the muffins last. They are beautiful and most on the inside. My kids and my partner loved them so much I made more.
Winner!