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
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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’.
I made these this morning and my kids LOVED them!!
Oh that’s awesome! Glad the kiddos approved!
Muffin Tops and I go way back…love these! Especially the addition of the chocolate chips! Pinning!
These muffins look amazing!! Love those muffin tops!! :)
Why can’t we just have muffin tops!!? Love the crinkles because there’s usually ‘gooey’ just below!
Unrelated to these gorgeous muffins, but still info I have a hinger for: Do you have a macro lens? I’m very impressed with your closeups. GREG
It the 100mm macro Canon, the L glass version (there’s another one that’s not) https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002NEGTSI/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B002NEGTSI&linkCode=as2&tag=lovvegyogruna-20&linkId=4HEOOSXKELHB2LUW
Love this lens. I’ve had it for about a year and truly has replaced every other lens (bye 24-70mm) other than my 50mm 1.2 for top down shots only. Everything else, that macro lens. Loooooove.it.
I thought so! I want that lens. I’ve wanted it for two years. I just knew it was fabulous. Great pics. GREG
Hi! I’m going to make this recipe today for a play date and I’m wondering if I could make it in loaf form. I think that will make this yumminess go farther without having to double the recipe (don’t have enough bananas) and make extra muffins (because I would eat them all). Do you think I could make this work as a loaf?
I think it will be fine in a loaf pan. Just watch the baking time and bake til done. Enjoy! :)
gorgeous! I just love the muffin tops, Averie. And chocolate + banana can do no wrong in my mind. mini chocolate chips are a MUST in muffins! more in each bite.
Better *distribution of* chocolate when using mini. I can’t even bear full size chips in muffins anymore. They just don’t cut it like mini chips do :)
These are about as close to snow as I would like to get as well, thank you very much. Also, I really need to get my hands on a mini muffin pan! I’ve been coveting them for months and months.
Mini loaf pan AND full size muffin pans are what I used for this recipe, just clarifying for anyone reading comments :)
I love a good muffin top…as long as it’s not hanging over my jeans!!
Great tip with the frozen bananas. You can also use them to make ice cream.
LOL re the jeans comment, SO TRUE!
I love banana ice cream, too. One of my first blog posts in early 2009…banana ice cream :)
Muffin tops really are the best part, especially when they are like these, crackly on top and a little chewy at the edges!
Muffin tops are always the best part!! These look so yummy – love the sugar on top, and you can never go wrong with chocolate and banana.
YUMMMY!!! Currently have some ripe ones, woo! Will be making these :)
XO Chloe
A Latte Lipstick
Thank you for mini-loaf tip! I always get bothered by having to clean a whole extra muffin pan for the extra one or two muffins. Why haven’t I thought of that before?! Anyways, muffins tops are the best and I love these photos!
It’s a total dishes saver! You dont have to wash out a whole 2nd pan just to use 2 holes of it. I hate drying all those muffin holes! Plus, 1 pan + mini loaf fits on one oven rack whereas 2 full-size pans don’t!
Mini chocolate chips and bananas are a match made in heaven. I too am a muffin top thief so I am super pumped to make these!
These look pretty AND delicious!
Yay, muffins! These look AMAZING. :)