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.
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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.
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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’.
You aren’t kidding; those muffin tops look spectacular!
These look great! I definitely used to be a “save the best for last” kind of girl and eat the bottom of a muffin first to get it out of the way. These are probably delicious through and through, though :)
I just made banana muffins, but now I wish they had chocolate inside. OMG!! Pinned, obviously.
Thanks for pinning and I hadn’t made any choc-banana muffins in oh, 3 months? So for me I was way overdue :)
Holey moly – these look so AMAZING! Banana and chocolate, for me, are definitely one of the best flavour combos out there, especially in a muffin. I love it how these muffins have a sugary-snow cap and slightly rise up onto the edges of the muffin pan. Pinned 1000% ! x
Thanks for pinning and the great compliments! Every single thing you said, I was hoping!! to capture in the photos and I am glad I did! In person, these were some stunners!
Can these muffins be any more gorgeous? LOVE !! Beautiful photos, Averie! I’ve been playing with macro as well. Love getting close up with the food. :) Pinning and sharing!
Thanks, Anna. I’ve had my macro lens for a year or so and realized that the details are where it’s at for me. That old adage, ‘step BACK from your food’ it is true, to a point. But sometimes the zooming in is what I want and love to see in my pics and other’s pics, too. It just kind of depends I guess what the food is. But thanks for noticing and pinning!
Chocolate and banana is one of my fave combinations when it comes to food! And those muffin tops? PERFECT!
Thanks, Nora!
Oh how lovely are these???? I can only imagine how delicious they must taste too!!
Thanks, Aimee!
I love those crinkle tops!
I’m usually really happy with y green smoothie for breafat, but now I NEED a muffin
I can relate :)
I’m definitely an – eat the top and throw away the bottom – girl, too. These look fantastic!
So glad you can relate to that!!
That is one impressive muffin top there Averie! And I love the tip about using mini chocolate chips so they don’t sink to the bottom. PERFECT!
Oh you didn’t know that? Well glad it’s new to you! I swear I say it so often I feel like a broken record but you never know who will see what, and when.
I just saw your pumpkin bundt on FG and pinned it. PERFECT cake!
I love no mixer recipes. My mom is a muffin top connoisseur, I’m sending her this recipe right now!!
LOL well then I think she’ll be very happy :)
You had me at “best muffin tops ever”! Definitely will make them, thank you!
Ok well LMK how it goes!
Chocolate tastes so good with banana! I love the crinkle top of these muffins too! Pinned!
Thanks for pinning!
I love the idea of using a mini loaf pan for the leftover batter. This looks delicious!!!!
I always do because it tucks in right next to my regular muffin pan on the same oven rack. My oven really can’t comfortably fit 2 full size muffin pans and it’s annoying washing/drying all those little muffin wells when you only really dirtied two!
I use mini chips only and I have converted nearly every baker I know to do the same. It isn’t less chocolate, it’s a more even distribution of chocolate.
My SIL posted a photo on facebook of her break room where someone ate the top and left the bottom of a muffin and she was shocked. I was all, MEH. I’d have probably thrown out the bottom, but still.
You’d be surprised how many people still don’t know to peel and chop bananas before freezing them. I just told my best friend last summer and her mind was blown.
It isn’t less chocolate, it’s a more even distribution of chocolate. = WELL SAID!!!
Muffin top pilfering is nothing new, at least I didn’t think. Especially in places like break rooms, where it’s probably day, or three-day old, muffins from a mediocre groc store bakery to begin with, so the really only salvageable part of the muffin IS the top! The bottom is worthless :)
And the banana tip, as well as the mini chips not sinking, etc…people ALWAYS comment they didn’t know it, already in this post, so….every time I think it’s wasted breath, it’s not. So I keep on with it!