Easy Banana Muffin Recipe

When it comes to busy mornings, the last thing we want to do is put together an elaborate breakfast. Between the time spent and the dishes it creates in the sink, sometimes, it's just not worth it.

Luckily, there are plenty of hearty grab-and-go options for those hectic mornings (or for cozy mornings with a mug of coffee depending on your preference). And this banana muffins recipe may just make it to the top of your list.

While banana bread normally gets all the fame and glory when it comes to banana-focused baked goods, these muffins are definitely making their own case to take the crown. They're soft, moist, and jam-packed with delicious flavor to provide the perfect jump-start to your day. And the best part? There's no stand mixer or complicated tools required. With just a mixing bowl and spoon, you can whip up a batch of beautiful banana muffins in a matter of minutes.

First things first: It's important to prep the bananas before you dive into making this recipe. After all, the bananas are the star of the show!

For this banana muffins recipe, you'll want to be sure you're using incredibly ripe bananas. When bananas begin to turn brown and are over-ripe for eating, many people will put their bananas in the freezer to utilize later. This is the perfect recipe for those bananas! If you don't have any in your freezer, you can still use other bananas, but be sure they're showing brown spots on the peel. As bananas ripen, the sugar in the fruit develops even further, which gives this recipe great flavor.

In a small bowl, add your four bananas and mash them with a fork or a potato masher. You'll want to fully mash them ahead of time so there's no need to mash or mix the batter more once it's complete.

In another small mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients for your banana muffins. Measure out the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon and stir until well-combined. 

Once your wet ingredients mixture is ready, gradually pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients mixture while stirring. You'll want to stir this mixture gently to be sure all of the ingredients are fully combined. But be sure not to stir too vigorously or too long so your batter won't be over-mixed. 

Once the flour has been added to the batter mixture, it's important to only stir until the dry ingredients are just moistened. Continuing to stir will further develop the gluten in the mixture too much. And if the gluten in the mixture develops further than desired, the finished batter will result in muffins with a denser, chewier texture rather than a nice light and fluffy crumb.

Certainly, the banana flavor of these muffins is the star of the show. And truly, that delightful flavor stands on its own without needing any other flavor additions. However, if you want to add more to these banana muffins, this recipe is certainly easily adaptable to be able to do so.

Adding chopped chocolate is a great way to introduce another depth of flavor to these banana muffins. Simply chop up a semi-sweet baker's chocolate bar into rough, small pieces and add the chocolate to the batter before baking. Stirring in mini or regular-sized chocolate chips is another great addition.

If you want to add a bit more protein to these banana muffins, stirring nuts into the batter is certainly an option as well. Chopped walnuts and pecans add great flavor and texture. Dried flaked coconut or dried fruit are two other great options to dress this recipe up. The possibilities are seemingly endless.