Banana Muffin Recipe

Our Banana Bread recipe makes enough batter for 12 standard-sized muffins - portion evenly and bake at 170 degrees (fan-forced) for 35-40 minutes.

So, you’re after some Banana Muffins? You’re in the right place!

Not only will we cover 5 easy and delicious Banana Muffin ideas, we will also cover what some of the top questions are that people have when baking them.

5 easy and delicious Banana Muffin ideas?

• Banana Oat Muffins
• Banana Choc Chip Muffins
• Banana Blueberry Muffins
• Banana Coconut Muffins
• Chocolate Banana Muffins

Top questions we will answer in this blog?

• What is the difference between a muffin and a cupcake?
• Can I swap oil for butter in baking Banana Muffins?
• How do I ripen bananas faster for baking?
• How to make Banana Muffins for kids?

5 times that a Banana Muffin may be just what you are looking for!

• A healthy lunchbox treat 
• A breakfast on the go 
• For fussy eaters 
• Hosting a morning tea 
• To use up Spotty Bananas 

So lets get into the detail…

5 easy and delicious Banana Muffin ideas?

1. Banana Oat Muffins

For that extra bit of crunchy oaty goodness, add some healthy oats into your mixture for delicious Banana Oat Muffins. Taking your favourite banana muffin recipe, add ⅔ of a cup of rolled oats to the dry mix and stir carefully until well combined. Add the other wet ingredients and bake as usual. If you find the oats are drying out your mix, add a small amount of additional liquid from your recipe such as oil to the mix.

2. Banana Choc Chip Muffins

Delicious! Do we need to say anything else. Banana Choc Chip muffins are a well loved favourite. To make, add ⅔ cup of your favourite choc chips to the banana muffin mix and stir through well. Bake as per normal.

3. Banana Blueberry Muffins

Who doesn’t love an extra hit of blueberries. And banana blueberry muffins are a favourite to get two of your favourite fruits in the same muffin. Take your already mixed banana muffin recipe and gently fold through ⅔ cup of frozen blueberries. Bake as usual. If you add the blueberries too early in the mixing process, your mixture will turn blue which is why we recommend adding them at the end.   

4. Banana Coconut Muffins

Adding coconut to your banana muffin recipe is the perfect way to add a tropical twist. Add ½ a cup of desiccated coconut to your banana muffin recipe and stir through well. Note that the addition of coconut can dry out your mixture so you may need to add a small amount of additional liquid such as oil to offset this dryness. 

5. Chocolate Banana Muffins

Looking for a chocolate hit in your banana muffins but don’t want chunky choc chips. Add 3 tablespoons of sifted cocoa powder to your mix to get that chocolatey goodness. Cocoa will dry out your mix so you may need to add some additional liquid before baking. 

What are some of the top questions people have about Banana Muffins?

What is the difference between a muffin and a cupcake?

Well, we need to start off with the fact that both are small but delicious cakes. This makes them really versatile and suitable for many occasions. 

You typically find a muffin in a paper case with flavours such as choc chips and fruit in them. They’re the type of cake that are perfect for lunchboxes and a healthy on the go snack.  

A cupcake is more of a treat cake that is topped with icing. And if you’re really lucky, they might even have sprinkles on them. Yum! You'll often find cupcakes at a morning tea or a birthday party!

Can I swap butter for oil in baking Banana Muffins?

Yes, in short, you definitely can swap between butter and oil when baking banana muffins. However, you might want to know that using oil in a muffin recipe generally makes for a lighter and fluffier muffin so keep this in mind when baking.

Replace the amount of butter that your recipe asks for with the equivalent amount of oil. We recommend replacing butter with an olive or coconut oil which is a healthier oil than a vegetable or canola oil.

Likewise, if you’re swapping oil for butter, we recommend using pure unsalted butter (and not a butter spread) for baking.

One thing to be mindful of when using butter in your recipe is how you will be storing your muffins. If storing them in a fridge, the butter may harden meaning a firmer muffin if they’re not brought down to room temperature before eating.

How do I ripen bananas faster for baking?

How often do you have under ripe or ripe bananas in your fruit bowl that never quite make it to the spotty stage because hey, bananas! What it means is that when you want bananas for baking, they’re not quite right. Pro tip: over ripe bananas are perfect for baking as they are generally sweeter from the conversion of starches into sugar, bringing out that banana-ey flavour we all love.

The two best ways to get your bananas riper for baking are: 

• Oven method (the best way to develop the sweet flavours of overripe bananas). Pre-heat a fan forced oven to 160°C and bake unpeeled bananas for 15-20 minutes, turning over half way through until the peel is black. Once cool, scoop the banana pulp from the peel and mash before adding to your recipe.
• Microwave method (this way only softens the bananas and doesn’t increase the sweetness or flavour of the bananas). Microwave peeled bananas for 30 seconds, or until you hear them sizzling. Mash the bananas and add them into your recipe. You might need to add additional sugar to compensate for the lack of sweetness of the under ripe banana. Pro tip: this method isn’t suitable for green bananas.

How to make Banana Muffins for kids

The best thing about Banana Muffins is that they are for kids of all sizes, young and old. The best way to make kids size banana muffins is to use a mini muffin baking tin. This gives kids (especially smaller kids) the chance to love their favourite muffins without there being too much food waste. When making mini muffins, you will also need mini muffin patty cases.

Just remember when it comes to baking mini muffins for your kids, reduce the baking time by half (or cook for approximately 15-20 minutes) as these smaller muffins will bake a lot quicker than a standard sized muffin. 

Now, to get the kids really loving these muffins can be helped with a little something extra decorated on top. Try a slice of banana, choc chips, blueberries or other decorations that you know your kids will love and enjoy when eating their mini banana muffins

5 times that a Banana Muffin may be just what you are looking for!

• A healthy lunchbox treat - banana muffins are the perfect way to get portion control for all of the family. Especially when you have the option of making mini muffins for the really little kids. They are delicious, won’t come home from school or work and they are food safe so they can stay in the lunchbox all day (trust me, that will never happen). What is great about them is that banana muffins contains fresh bananas, meaning you are adding an extra serving of fruit into your family's diet.

• A breakfast on the go - it’s hard enough to juggle multiple things in the morning and with coffee the first thing you reach for, brekkie can often get missed. But that doesn’t mean that you don’t get those cravings for something delicious mid-morning and wished that you had packed something. That’s where banana muffins can be really handy as a breakfast option. If you’re making a batch of banana muffins, keep some in the freezer and defrost the night before so you have a ready to eat muffin in the morning. You can even pop it in the microwave for 20 seconds if you’re looking for that warmth when eating your muffin. And if you’re looking to keep full throughout the morning, add some protein into your mix for a delicious protein banana muffin. 

• For fussy eaters - we all know who the fussy eaters are and how they can make our life so so difficult. But one trick that can help make your life easy is to get them involved in the baking of your banana muffins. If they help with the baking, there is more chance of them eating it which can only be a win for everyone. Add their favourite flavours such as choc chips or fruits they love such as blueberries to the mix. And a great way to really get their buy in is with the decorations on top. Its amazing how choc chips decorated on top of a banana muffin can turn into a smiley face, their favourite shapes or a tv character they love.

• Hosting a morning tea - so how do you make your banana muffins that little bit fancy for a morning tea? Add a swirl of cream cheese frosting and garnish with some banana chips for a decadent and beautiful addition to your morning tea table.

• To use up Spotty Bananas - never waste a spotty banana again, especially those really overripe bananas. This is the perfect time to bake as the starches in the sugar have converted to sugar, bringing out the incredible flavour and sweetness of the bananas. If you don’t have time to bake, peel your overripe bananas, store them in a sealed container or sandwich bag and freeze until you can bake. Make sure you bring frozen bananas to room temperature before you use them in baking and if you’ve run out of time, you can always microwave.

Happy baking!