Chocolate Banana Muffins — These chocolate banana muffins are moist and soft in the middle, with a slight chewiness around the edges of the muffin top. The best breakfast treat EVER!
Chocolate Banana Muffins Recipe
Best muffin tops ever. And I’m one to judge. I’ve pilfered oodles of muffin tops in my day, leaving behind only the stumpy muffin cores. No shame.
These chocolate chip banana muffins are moist and soft in the middle with a slight bit of chewiness around the edges of the muffin top. Throw in the texture from the sugar granules, and it’s a perfect bite.
The muffin tops remind me of snow-capped mountains. They’re are as close to snow as I prefer to come.
I hit the jackpot when I recently snagged a big bundle of discounted bananas. Beat up and tired, practically free, and perfect for banana muffins, banana bread, and banana smoothies. When I saw Nikki’s muffins, I knew I had to try a version of her recipe with my banana bounty.
This is an easy, no mixer recipe, with the perfect amount of chocolate to satisfy your chocolate cravings without being too intense for a breakfast muffin, and the chocolate dominates the banana flavor. No complaints there.
Chocolate-banana cake disguised as muffins. Definitely a keeper.
What’s in Chocolate Banana Muffins?
To make the best banana muffin recipe, you’ll need:
- All-purpose flour
- Granulated sugar
- Unsweetened cocoa powder
- Baking soda
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Egg
- Canola oil
- Sour cream
- Vanilla extract
- Mashed bananas
- Mini chocolate chips
How to Make Chocolate Banana Muffins
Whisk together the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet in another, then combine the two. Gently fold in the mini chocolate chips last, then divide the chocolate chip banana muffin batter between 13 or 14 greased muffin cups.
Sprinkle the top of each muffin with granulated sugar — this is what gives these chocolate banana muffins that irresistible crackly topping.
Bake the moist banana muffins until they’re set, domed, springy to the touch, and a toothpick inserted into a crack comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs, but no batter. Be careful not to over bake these muffins! It’s easy to over bake them because the batter is already so dark, so start checking them at the 20-minute mark to be safe.
Can I Use a Sour Cream Substitute?
Yes, plain Greek yogurt can be used in place of the sour cream, if desired.
Can I Freeze Chocolate Banana Muffins?
Yes, once fully cooled I recommend sealing these chocolate chip banana muffins inside a freezer bag. They’ll stay fresh up to 6 months if frozen correctly.
Tips for Making Chocolate Banana Muffins
I’m sure everyone knows this tip, but you can peel overripe bananas, break them into chunks, place in a Ziplock, and freeze. That way anytime you need ripe bananas for baking or smoothies, you’re set.
Although you can use regular-sized chocolate chips in the muffin batter, I love mini chips in muffins because they melt much more evenly and don’t sink to the bottom as easily.
Note that this moist banana muffins recipe makes 13 or 14 muffins, or 1 dozen plus a mini loaf. I love my mini loaf pans for that extra little bit of batter that I hate throwing out, but refuse to dirty another muffin pan for a couple muffins. The loaf pan fits perfectly next to the muffin pan on the same oven rack so everything bakes evenly.
Pin This Recipe
Enjoy AverieCooks.com Without Ads! 🆕
Go Ad Free
Chocolate Banana Crinkle Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- pinch salt, optional and to taste
- 1 large egg
- ⅓ cup canola or vegetable oil
- ¼ cup sour cream, lite is okay; Greek yogurt may be substituted
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups mashed ripe bananas, from about 3 medium/large bananas
- 1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips, strongly recommended but regular size may be substituted
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar for each muffin, for sprinkling
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a Non-Stick 12-Cup Regular Muffin Pan and one mini loaf pan (recipe yields 13 or 14 muffins, or one dozen plus one mini loaf; or simply discard excess batter if that’s easier) very well with floured cooking spray or grease and flour the pan; set aside. (I don’t prefer the cosmetic look of muffin liners).
- To a large bowl, add the first 6 ingredients, through optional salt, and whisk to combine; set aside.
- To a medium bowl, add the egg, oil, sour cream, vanilla, and whisk to combine.
- Stir in the bananas.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry, and stir until just combined. Batter is quite thick and is prone to having dry bits hiding at the bottom of the bowl. Make sure everything is incorporated without unnecessarily over-mixing or muffins will be tough.
- Stir in the chocolate chips until just combined.
- Using a large cookie scoop, 1/4-cup measure, or spoon, turn batter out into prepared pans. Each muffin cavity should be filled to about 3/4 full, but not exceeding, or batter could overflow.
- Sprinkle the top of each muffin generously with sugar, about 1 teaspoon each. It looks like a lot but I like the visual pop and contrast of the white and dark; noting some absorbs and some is lost to the pan.
- Bake at 350F for about 22 to 25 minutes, or until muffins are set, domed, springy to the touch, and a toothpick inserted into a crack comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs, but no batter, noting it’s not a perfect test and you may hit melted chocolate chips which shouldn’t be confused with raw better. Don’t overbake, which is very easy to do with dark-colored items and start watching them closely at 20 minutes.
- Allow muffins to cool in pan for about 10 to 15 minutes, or until they’ve firmed up and are cool enough to handle.
Notes
- Muffins will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 6 months. I find the muffins taste better on day 2 after the flavors have married.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
©averiecooks.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited.
More Easy Muffin Recipes:
Chocolate Lover’s Chocolate Chocolate-Chip Muffins — Topped with Nutella and for serious chocolate lovers!
Flourless Double Chocolate Peanut Butter Mini Blender Muffins (GF) – No refined sugar, flour, oil & only 75 calories! They taste amazing!
Flourless Blueberry Banana Blender Muffins — No flour or oats, no butter, and no added white or brown sugar yet they’re incredibly moist, super soft, perfectly sweet, and are bursting with blueberries.
Flourless Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Mini Blender Muffins – Gluten-free, grain-free, soy-free, dairy-free, oil-free, refined sugar-free, and under 100 calories each
Banana Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins (vegan) – You’ll never complain about eating your vegetables again! Soft, healthy, so good!
Fluffy Vegan Coconut Oil Banana Muffins — Soft and fluffy healthier muffins that you’ll never believe are made without eggs or butter!
Banana Chocolate Chip Streusel Muffins — Banana muffins that could pass for dessert, that are studded with chocolate chips, and that are topped with streusel make me very happy to eat ‘breakfast’.
All I gotta say is: YUM.
These are gorgeous! Banana+chocolate=totally my jam.
Sounds and looks so delicious!! Pinning!
Thanks for pinning!
Why didn’t I think of combining chocolate and bananas in muffin form? I love the flavor combo … once again, Averie, you rock. I think I only have 2 bananas in my freezer now, though …
You could probably get by with 2 bananas as long as they’re big ones. Maybe cut the flour back a tbsp or two depending on how it looks. Otherwise you’re a good enough baker you can make it work. And I have a flourless choc blender muffin linked in the related recipes, those I believe from memory only use 1 or 2 bananas and they’re SO EASY!
I’ve made the flourless choc one before. It’s a highly dangerous recipe–I couldn’t stop eating them! :)
LOL well that’s good to know :)
Looks amazingly good Averie! Good job
These definitely look like the best muffin tops, Averie! I love the looks of them! And combining chocolate and banana is such a winning combination. Pinned!
its like a crinkle cookie but in a muffin form! I LOVE IT!
Great way of putting it!
Just printed the recipe-thanks!
Enjoy – LMK how they turn out!
Hello pretty muffins! I love those sugary tops and that you added chocolate to one of my favorite muffin flavours: banana!
These look Incr-EDIBLE! Pinned!
Thanks for pinning! :)
The chocolate banana combo is always a winner in my book! Perfect way to use up those ripe bananas.
And there’s always bananas to be used, right! :)
Crinkly tops on muffins and cookies are the best! Bananas and yogurt bake up so nicely–never dry but not too dense either. I think it’s perfectly acceptable to eat the muffin top and then smear the bottom with some kind of nut butter!!
I thought you were going to say…and then throw the bottoms out :) Which, given who and where I got the muffin from, depending on how good it was to begin with, well I’ve done. LOL
Know what’s sad? When someone posts photos of delightfully yummy muffins, and you don’t have bananas in the house. {sigh} NOW I HAVE TO GET DRESSED.
LOL well I hope you find yourself a few bananas. They go in spurts with me, seemingly multiplying before my very eyes when I don’t need them, and never having them ripe enough when I do get the bug to bake with them!
These look so yummy…that top looks sugary and crispy…I love that it’s crinkled. Can’t wait to try them.
Okay if you try them, LMK! And btw the Chex Mix because I know you said you were going to make that, people keep writing in that it’s not crispy, which it’s not. But I said that in the post but just wanted to make sure you knew that it’s more chewy and not crispy/crunchy in the traditional Chex Mix sense. Okay, bases covered now :)
Love the sugary tops! That makes muffin tops even more perfect than they already are!
And the recipe is nice and healthy, too. I love using the Greek yogurt. It makes an unbelievable texture!
It totally makes every better and more moist, that’s for sure!
These muffins look so delicious! I think they will become my favorite muffins! I will try it as soon as possible! Thanks for sharing!
I love finding beat up bananas at the grocery store! I did a big haul this summer and froze up enough bananas to bake into breads and whip into smoothies for a good couple months! These muffins are gorgeous, Averie – Pinned!
Thanks for pinning and glad you can relate to finding some ‘gems’ at the store!