Chocolate Banana Muffins (Printable)
Moist, tender muffins combining ripe bananas and rich chocolate chips. Easy to make and perfect for any time of day.
# What You Need:
→ Wet Ingredients
01 - 2 large ripe bananas, mashed
02 - 2 large eggs
03 - 1/2 cup vegetable oil
04 - 1/2 cup milk
05 - 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
→ Dry Ingredients
06 - 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
07 - 1/2 cup granulated sugar
08 - 1/4 cup brown sugar
09 - 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
10 - 1 teaspoon baking powder
11 - 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
12 - 1/4 teaspoon salt
→ Mix-ins
13 - 2/3 cup chocolate chips, plus additional for topping
# How-To:
01 - Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners or lightly grease the cups.
02 - In a large mixing bowl, whisk together mashed bananas, eggs, vegetable oil, milk, and vanilla extract until the mixture reaches a smooth consistency.
03 - In a separate bowl, sift together all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
04 - Add the dry ingredient mixture to the wet ingredient mixture. Stir gently until just combined, taking care not to overmix the batter.
05 - Fold the chocolate chips into the batter using a spatula or wooden spoon.
06 - Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups, filling each approximately two-thirds full. Top with additional chocolate chips if desired.
07 - Bake for 18 to 22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin emerges with a few moist crumbs attached.
08 - Allow muffins to cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
# Expert Tips:
01 -
- The cocoa powder and ripe bananas create this perfect moisture balance where the muffins stay tender for days (though they rarely last that long in my house).
- You can absolutely convince yourself these count as breakfast since they contain fruit, while still satisfying that chocolate craving that hits at odd hours.
02 -
- Do not overmix the batter after adding the dry ingredients - I counted once and found that 12-15 gentle folds with a spatula is the sweet spot before the gluten develops too much.
- The centers might look slightly underdone at the 18-minute mark, but they continue cooking from residual heat after removing from the oven - pulling them out slightly early is better than overbaking and ending up with dry muffins.
03 -
- Freezing overripe bananas in their peels until youre ready to bake actually increases their sweetness - just thaw them in a bowl (theyll release liquid) and add everything, liquid included, to your wet ingredients.
- If your muffins stick to the paper liners, youre probably trying to unwrap them while theyre still warm - letting them cool completely solves this frustrating problem every time.