Small Batch Banana Muffins with One Banana

These small batch banana muffins are moist, fluffy, and flavorful! They make the perfect light breakfast or snack. This recipe makes 6 bakery-style muffins and is a great way to use that one lone brown banana sitting on your counter.

If you have more than 1 overripe banana to use up, try these banana recipes too- honey banana bread, almond flour banana muffins, and caramelized banana French toast.

Who needs to go to the bakery when you can make the same quality muffins in your kitchen? Think it's impossible? Wait until you try these small batch banana muffins.

These bakery-style banana muffins are made with just one ripe banana and have a fluffy texture with a soft, moist crumb similar to banana bread. They're delicious with sky high muffin tops everyone loves!

This recipe makes just 6 delicious muffins, which is perfect if you live with one other person or a couple of roommates.

Like my small batch blueberry muffins, banana bread mini muffins, chocolate chunk banana muffins, and mini blueberry muffins, this recipe is so easy! All you have to do is mix the wet ingredients and dry ingredients together and bake. There's no special instructions or frills here- my favorite kind of recipe!

Why You'll Love This Recipe

• Small batch muffins- We love small batch recipes here at Dollop of Dough. Like my small batch red velvet cupcakes, small batch chocolate chip cookies, and small batch brownies, this recipe makes just enough muffins for 2-3 people!
• So much banana flavor- One lonely brown banana is enough to give these easy banana muffins so much flavor! Butter and oil keeps them rich and moist while baking at an initial high temperature gives them extra tall tops.
• Easy recipe- There's no hand mixer required to make these fluffy muffins! You only need simple, basic ingredients too.

Ingredient Notes

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

• All purpose flour- This gives the muffins structure and heartiness but keeps the crumb tender and moist. Measure it in grams with a digital kitchen scale for the best results. Too much flour makes the muffins dry!
• Baking powder- This leavener helps the muffins rise by adding air bubbles to the batter. Make sure your baking powder is less than 6 months old since it loses rising power over time. Don't use baking soda as it's too strong.
• Ground cinnamon- Cinnamon adds a warm, deep and cozy flavor. Use any kind you like.
• Salt- Muffins need salt or they'll be sickly sweet. Use fine kosher salt or sea salt. If your salt isn't finely ground, add another ¼ teaspoon. 
• Unsalted butter- Butter adds fat for tenderness and flavor. You can use salted butter if you want, just omit the additional salt.
• Vegetable oil- Using both oil and butter makes muffins light and fluffy with a rich flavor.
• Granulated sugar- This sweetens the muffins and locks in moisture. Caster sugar and cane sugar work as substitutes.
• Brown sugar- This adds sweetness, moisture, and depth of flavor. Light or dark brown sugar work, just make sure it's fresh and moist, not dried out.
• Egg- One large whole egg binds the ingredients together. Make sure it's room temperature so it mixes in evenly; pull it out an hour before baking.
• Vanilla extract- Pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste enhances all the flavors and rounds out the flavor profile.
• Mashed banana- A single banana adds sweetness and flavor. Use a banana that is ripe and soft with brown speckles for the sweetest flavor. Avoid green or hard bananas.
• Buttermilk- Buttermilk adds tang and moisture and tenderizes the gluten. This makes the muffins ultra fluffy and soft! Pull it out of the refrigerator with the egg to reach room temperature.

Substitutions and Variations

• Vegetable oil: Use any mild oil you have on hand, like avocado oil, canola oil, or grapeseed oil. Even olive oil can work, which I used in this no butter banana bread.
• Egg: Use a flax egg or chia egg as a substitute. Mix 1 tablespoon ground flax seed with 3 tablespoons water and let it sit for 5 minutes in the refrigerator for the flax egg. To make a chia egg, combine 1 tablespoon chia seeds with 2.5 tablespoons water and let it rest for 5 minutes to thicken.
• Buttermilk: If you don't have buttermilk on hand, you can make your own with whole milk and vinegar! Combine ¼ cup whole milk with ¾ teaspoon of vinegar or lemon juice. Mix, let it sit for 10 minutes to curdle, and you're good to go! Plain kefir and Greek yogurt also make good substitutes. Banana muffins with sour cream are also delicious!
• Chocolate chips: Fold ⅓ cup white, dark, or milk chocolate chips into the batter for chocolate chip banana muffins!
• Nuts and dried fruit: Add chopped pecans, walnuts, macadamia nuts, or almonds to the batter for banana nut muffins or raisins, craisins, or dried apricots.

Helpful Equipment and Tools

• You need a 12-well muffin tin sprayed with cooking spray or lined with cupcake liners or muffin cups. I don't recommend using a glass muffin pan since it conducts heat differently than metal, which I used to test this recipe. Don't use a silicone pan because your muffins will burn.
• I use a balloon whisk and rubber spatula in almost all of my recipes! Use the whisk for the wet ingredients and the rubber spatula for incorporating the dry ingredients.

Step by Step Instructions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit /220 degrees Celsius. Place 6 paper liners in your muffin tin, leaving a space between each (this allows each muffin to bake evenly and rise more), and set aside.

Step 1: First, whisk the all purpose flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt together in a medium bowl for about 10 seconds and set aside.

Step 2: Add the melted butter, oil, granulated sugar, brown sugar, egg, and vanilla to a separate large mixing bowl and whisk until well combined. After that, whisk in the mashed banana and buttermilk until everything is smooth with very few lumps.

Step 3: Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Use a silicone flat spatula to gently fold together, scraping around the sides of the bowl and pulling through the center. Do this until no dry streaks of flour are left. It's ok if there are some lumps!

Step 4: Use a large cookie scoop or spoon to scoop the banana muffin batter into each muffin liner. Fill each liner only ¾ full or they might overflow in the oven. Sprinkle a little coarse sugar or turbinado sugar on top if desired.

Step 5: Bake at 425°F/220°C for 5 minutes, reduce the oven temperature to 400°F/200°C, and bake for 10-15 more minutes. The muffins are done when the tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs.

Step 6: Remove the pan from the oven and let it cool on the counter for about 10 minutes. Take the muffins out of the pan and transfer them to a wire cooling rack so condensation doesn't form inside the liners and make the bottoms soggy.

Let the banana muffins cool on the wire rack for 30 more minutes or until they reach room temperature. Serve them with a warm cup of coffee or tea and enjoy.

Expert Baking Tips

• Use a brown banana. This is key for making banana bread, banana bars, and muffins! Make sure your banana has lots of brown spots with no hints of green. The riper the banana, the sweeter the muffins! If your banana isn't ripe enough, place it in a brown paper bag. As the banana ripens, it lets off ethylene gas which causes it to brown. The paper bag traps the gas, causing the banana to ripen faster.
• Don't overmix. Overmixing muffins deflates air bubbles and overdevelops the gluten. This results in tough and gummy muffins. To make them light and fluffy, gently fold the wet and dry ingredients until there are no dry streaks of flour.
• Don't overfill the muffin liners. Fill them ¾ of the way full or they could overflow and make a giant mess in the oven.
• Bake at a high temperature. Baking muffins at an initial high temperature of 425°F for a few minutes causes them to rise quickly, creating tall, domed muffin tops.

Storage and Freezing

Even though this is a small batch recipe, you might have some muffins left over. The best ways to store them are in the freezer or at room temperature.

Banana muffins will stay fresh for 3-4 days in an airtight container at room temperature. I don't recommend storing them in the refrigerator since a low-humidity environment can dry them out.

Freezing

To freeze, first let the muffins cool to room temperature before wrapping each in plastic wrap transferring to a freezer-safe bag or container. Freeze them for up to 3 months.

When you're ready to enjoy, let the muffins thaw on the counter or in the fridge for a few hours. You can also reheat them in the microwave for about 20 seconds or in the oven for 5 minutes at 350°F/180°C.

Frequently Asked Questions

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