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These Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins are soft, moist, and loaded with sweet banana flavor and mini chocolate chips. They’re easy enough for a quick breakfast or after-school snack, and they’re one of my favorite ways to use up those extra-ripe bananas sitting on the counter.
Sweetened with Ripe Bananas
One thing I love about these Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins is that they aren’t overly sweet. The batter only uses ½ cup of brown sugar while very ripe bananas add natural sweetness and plenty of banana flavor. The mini chocolate chips add little bites of chocolate throughout, and the optional coconut gives them even more texture and flavor. They’re soft, moist, and satisfying without tasting like a cupcake disguised as breakfast.
I make these all the time. My little monkeys are crazy about them!
❤️ Elise
Table of Contents
Ingredients
- Wet ingredients: Bananas (very ripe), milk, coconut oil, egg, almond extract
- Dry ingredients: Brown sugar, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt
- Mix-ins: Mini chocolate chips, finely chopped coconut (optional)
Ingredient Additions and Substitutions
This is an easy muffin recipe to change up depending on what you have in the pantry.
- Swap the chocolate chips. Try milk chocolate, dark chocolate, white chocolate, peanut butter, or butterscotch chips.
- Add nuts. Fold in about ½ cup chopped walnuts, pecans, or almonds for a little crunch.
- Leave out the coconut. It’s completely optional, so simply omit it if your family isn’t a fan.
- Use vanilla instead of almond extract. Several readers have asked about this, and vanilla extract works well in its place.
- Try a different milk. One reader reported great results using unsweetened vanilla almond milk.
- Try whole wheat flour. A reader also reported successfully making these with whole wheat flour. Keep in mind that whole wheat flour can give muffins a slightly heartier texture.
- Use another oil if needed. A neutral-flavored oil can be used in place of coconut oil, although the flavor and texture may be slightly different.
How to Make Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Prepare the pan. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners and lightly spray the liners with cooking spray.
- Mix the wet ingredients. Mash the bananas in a large bowl. Add the brown sugar, milk, softened or melted coconut oil, egg, and almond extract. Mix until well combined.
- Add the dry ingredients. Stir in the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt just until the dry ingredients are moistened. Don’t keep stirring once the flour disappears.
- Fold in the chocolate. Fold in the mini chocolate chips and coconut, if using.
- Fill and bake. Divide the batter evenly between the 12 muffin cups. Bake for 14 to 18 minutes, or until the tops spring back lightly and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out without wet batter.
- Cool. Remove the muffins from the pan and transfer them to a cooling rack. Enjoy them warm or let them cool completely before storing.
Recipe Tips
- Use really ripe bananas. Bananas with lots of brown spots are softer, sweeter, and have more banana flavor than firm yellow bananas.
- Soften the coconut oil. When cooking with coconut oil, put it in the microwave for about 20 seconds or so until it softens.
- Don’t overmix. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients only until everything is moistened. Overmixing can make banana muffins heavy or tough.
- Don’t add extra banana. More banana sounds like it would make the muffins better, but too much can make the centers heavy or gummy.
- Watch the muffins near the end of baking. Ovens vary, so start checking at 14 minutes. A toothpick may pick up melted chocolate, but it shouldn’t have wet muffin batter on it.
- For extra crunch: Add half a cup of chopped pecans, chopped walnuts, or almonds to the batter.
- Remove muffins from the pan after baking. Letting muffins sit in a hot muffin tin too long can continue cooking the bottoms and sides.
Frequently Asked Questions
Very ripe bananas are best. Look for bananas that are soft and covered with brown spots. Those bananas are sweeter, easier to mash, and give baked goods stronger banana flavor.
Yes. If you don’t like almond extract or need to avoid it because of an allergy, substitute vanilla extract. A reader asked this exact question, and it’s an easy swap.
The two biggest things to watch are overmixing the batter and adding too much banana. Mix only until the flour is incorporated, and stick with the amount of banana called for in the recipe. Also be careful not to pack too much flour into your measuring cup.
Yes. Mini chocolate chips do spread through the batter more evenly, but regular chocolate chips will work.
The tops should look set and spring back lightly when touched. Insert a toothpick into the center of a muffin. It should come out clean or with a few moist crumbs, but no wet batter. Don’t confuse melted chocolate with wet batter.
Yes, and that’s one of my favorite things about this recipe. Cool the muffins completely, then place them in a freezer-safe bag or airtight container. Freeze for up to two months for the best quality.
Make Ahead and Storage
These muffins are great for making ahead. I especially like making a double batch and freezing half.
To store: Let the muffins cool completely before placing them in an airtight container. Store them at room temperature for a few days.
To freeze: Place completely cooled muffins in a freezer-safe bag or airtight container and freeze for up to 2 months. You can also wrap them individually before freezing if you want an easy grab-and-go breakfast.
To thaw: Set frozen muffins on the counter to thaw overnight, or microwave an individual muffin for about 15 seconds, adding a few more seconds if needed.
I prefer baking the muffins ahead rather than mixing the batter the night before. That way they can go into the oven as soon as the wet and dry ingredients are combined.
Pairing Ideas
For breakfast, I like these muffins with something savory or protein-rich to balance out the sweetness. Serve them alongside our Scrambled Eggs, add fresh fruit and a Make Ahead Yogurt Parfait, or pair one with a Banana Berry Smoothie. You can find even more ideas in our collection of Easy Breakfast Ideas.
More Yummy Muffin Recipes
⭐️ If you make these Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins, please leave a rating and comment below. I’d love to hear how they turned out and whether you added coconut, nuts, or your own favorite mix-in!
Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
Ingredients
- 3 bananas, very ripe
- 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1/3 cup milk
- 1/4 cup coconut oil, microwave 20 seconds to soften
- 1 egg
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 3/4 cups flour
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup mini chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup coconut, finely chopped (optional)
Instructions
- Heat oven to 400 degrees. Line a muffin pan with 12 muffin liners and lightly spray with cooking spray.
- In a large bowl beat together the bananas, brown sugar, milk, coconut oil, egg, and almond extract (the wet ingredients).
- Then stir in flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt- just until moistened (the dry ingredients).
- Fold in the mini chocolate chips and coconut.
- Spoon the mixture into the 12 muffin cups and bake 14 to 18 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
- Remove from muffin tin immediately to cool.
Notes
- Cool completely before freezing. Store in a freezer-safe container for up to 2 months.
- Reheat a frozen or thawed muffin in the microwave for about 15 seconds, adding more time as needed.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I made these with coconut milk since I’m dairy free, coconut sugar instead of brown sugar and just a 1/2 cup of mini choco chips. They took twice as long to bake but turned out fantastic!! Really good flavour and texture and I love the addition of shredded coconut and almond extract to make them tastier than a typical banana muffin. Great recipe!
Thanks for testing a good dairy free version. I’m so glad the substitutions worked. Since you changed several ingredients, the bake time can vary from the original 14 to 18 minutes.
These are so good!! Moist, rise perfectly, and taste delicious. Will definitely make again!
Tried this recipe yesterday and it was a huge hit with my family! Thanks for sharing this aweome recipe.
Yummy! These muffins are my daughter’s favorite for breakfast! So excited to make these again with her! Such a hit here and gone so fast. We absolutely love the combination of banana and chocolate, so yummy!
Oh these are my new favorite!! So easy and the kids loved them too. Thank you!
Pretty decent. A lot of flavors going on. Would definitely make them again though!
I make these muffins whenever I have super ripe bananas! My whole family loves them, and I find myself letting my bananas get brown just so that I can make these!
These muffins are so moist and I love the addition of chocolate chips. The cinnamon is also a nice touch!
I love this recipe and have made it several times, as muffins or a loaf. I don’t use almond extract though. Today I substituted unsweetened vanilla almond milk (for milk) and whole wheat flour. It is so good!
Thank you for sharing your variations on the recipe. It’s always good to get new ideas!
Have you tried to make these gluten free and with coconut sugar.
We haven’t tried those methods but if you do, please let us know how they turn out!
this looks great! however, i’m not a fan of almond extract (both for taste and allergy reasons.) can i sub vanilla instead? thanks.
sure!
Good question…i was wondering the same
I agree that this is perfect timing. I just bought 17 bananas for 1.49! I like to call them “used bananas” because they are ready to be used in muffins or frozen for muffins later 🙂 I love muffins!!
Could you make these with a different kind of oil (canola, olive)?
I haven’t tried it, but I imagine it would work fine. 🙂
Perfect timing – I was just wondering what to do with some overripe bananas!
You will love these, I need to make them again, I am going to have to get some more bananas and keep them all from getting eaten. 🙂