Quick and Easy Banana Bread Mini Muffins

Ingredient Notes

Here are notes about some of the key ingredients. For quantities and full instructions, see the recipe card below.

• Bananas- When baking banana muffins, banana bread, and other treats, choose soft, overripe bananas. Bananas with totally brown skins or plenty of brown spots are ideal. The riper and mushier the bananas, the sweeter and more flavorful your baked goods will be!
• Oil- Adds fat to keep the mini muffins moist. You can use a flavorless oil like canola or vegetable oil. Olive oil or melted butter work too for a rich flavor.
• Egg- A large egg helps hold the ingredients together. Make sure it's room temperature so it mixes evenly into the batter. Take it out of the fridge 1-2 hours before you start baking.
• Apple cider vinegar- Vinegar's acidity helps cut the gluten strands from the flour, making the banana mini muffins extra soft.
• Vanilla extract- Vanilla adds a lot depth. I use it in all of my recipes! Use pure vanilla extract for the best flavor.
• All purpose flour- Makes up the muffins' tender structure. Measure it in grams with a kitchen scale for the best results! It's very easy to over-measure flour with a measuring cup, and too much flour creates dry muffins.
• Granulated sugar- White sugar sweetens the muffins and holds on to moisture. Don't reduce the amount of sugar or the muffins will be a bit dry.
• Baking powder and baking soda- These leaveners work together, reacting with heat and acid to make the muffins rise and get fluffy in the oven. Make sure to check the expiration date before you use them. If they're expired, they won't work as well.
• Salt- Use fine Kosher or sea salt to balance the sweetness.
• Ground cinnamon- Cinnamon perfectly complements the sweet banana flavor. Instead of cinnamon, try using nutmeg, cardamom, or any of your favorite warming spices.

Substitutions and Variations

• Add chocolate- Add ½ cup of semi-sweet regular chocolate chips to the batter after adding the dry ingredients for mini banana chocolate chip muffins. Mini chocolate chips work perfectly.
• Top with streusel- Make a half batch of streusel from this banana bread with streusel recipe and sprinkle it on top of the muffins before baking.
• Banana nut muffins- Toasted chopped walnuts or pecans are so good in these! Fold in ½ cup before baking.
• Full-sized muffins- This recipe makes 12-16 full-sized muffins. Just use a standard muffin pan filled with paper muffin cups. They take 18-25 minutes to bake.

Helpful Equipment and Tools

The most important piece of equipment you need is a metal mini muffin tin sprayed with non-stick cooking spray or filled with paper mini muffin liners. You can find these at most grocery, home, and craft stores.

You can use your mini muffin pan to make these mini blueberry muffins, mini cinnamon muffins, and mini chocolate cupcakes too!

Expert Baking Tips

1. Choose overripe bananas. Bananas with brown skins and a slightly mushy texture are ideal for these muffins. If your bananas are still yellow or have a hint of green, you can speed up the ripening process. Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake at 300°F (150°C) for 15-20 minutes until the peels turn black. Allow the black bananas to cool before scooping out the fruit to use.
2. Measure the flour accurately. The best way to measure flour is in grams with a kitchen scale. You can also scoop it into your measuring cup and level it off with a knife. Packing flour too tightly can lead to dry muffins.
3. Avoid overmixing the batter. Mix the ingredients just until they are just incorporated. It's okay if the batter has a few lumps! Overmixing can result in dense, chewy muffins rather than light and fluffy ones.