Posted Feb 11, 2022, Updated May 12, 2024 What would you get if banana muffins and brownies had a baby? Answer: these chocolate banana muffins! This bakery-quality chocolate banana muffin recipe is easy to make in one bowl with simple ingredients. It yields an irresistibly moist and intensely chocolatey muffin that has an almost brownie-like texture while retaining a tender crumb. Because chocolate for breakfast is always a good idea (also try these chocolate chip banana muffins and double chocolate muffins)!
Chocolate Banana Muffins: Ingredients & Substitutions
Salted butter. Unsalted butter works well. You can substitute up to half of the butter (¼ cup) with canola oil or even applesauce if you would like. For a dairy-free version use vegan butter (like Earth Balance) or coconut oil (however coconut oil will leave the muffins with a little coconut flavor)! Overripe Bananas. Buy some extra bananas and let them get extra brown just to make this recipe. If you use under-ripe bananas (yellow or greenish) your bread will lack moisture and sweetness. Granulated sugar. white granulated sugar and organic cane sugar work well in this recipe. Light brown sugar. Dark brown sugar and coconut sugar are good substitutes. All-purpose flour. Cake flour or bread flour can be used in place of all-purpose flour. For a gluten-free version use a 1:1 all-purpose gluten-free baking flour. Unsweetened cocoa powder. Choose your favorite variety. For extra-dark chocolate banana muffins use dark cocoa powder. Cinnamon. The little touch of cinnamon in this chocolate banana muffin recipe makes it extra special, you can omit it but I don’t recommend it. Chocolate chips. choose your favorite variety and darkness: milk chocolate, semi-sweet, dark, even white chocolate chips or peanut butter chips can be used to spice things up.
How to Make Chocolate Banana Muffins
This chocolate banana muffin recipe is easy to make in one bowl – but to ensure your success we’ll walk through the process step-by-step and don’t forget to watch the video! Begin by whisking together the wet ingredients in a large bowl. Then add the granulated sugar and brown sugar and until combined and the mixture is smooth. Next, add flour, baking powder, baking soda, sea salt and cinnamon and stir until the mixture is smooth and uniform throughout. Once the batter is smooth, gently fold in the chocolate chips (or your mix-ins of choice). Here are some suggestions:
Chocolate Chips (milk, dark, light, etc.) Walnuts Pecans Cinnamon chips White chocolate chips Blueberries Dried fruit (cranberries, rasins, etc.) Swirl of peanut butter or Nutella Unsweetened coconut
Bake
Lightly grease two standard 12-cup muffin pans, or line the pans with cupcake liners and then grease. Place about ¼ cup of batter into each well of the prepared muffin pan, smooth the tops so they are even. Bake in preheated oven for 13-15 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean. These chocolate banana muffins are baked at 400 degrees F, and I find in my convection oven they only take 15 minutes to bake. I recommend checking them earlier if your oven bakes hot. Cool in the baking pan on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes. Then, remove the muffins from the pan and transfer them to the wire cooling rack and let cool completely. Note: you can also make chocolate banana bread! Yum!
Serve!
These chocolate banana muffins are delicious when served plain without any toppings or spreads, but here are some suggestions .
Slather on some homemade peanut butter. Spread this homemade cinnamon honey butter over warm banana muffins for a special treat. Serve with some homemade vanilla almond butter.
Store/Freeze
Let the muffins cool completely, then store them in a single layer in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week, or the freezer for up to 2 months. If you make and love our recipes, it would mean so much to me if you would leave a comment and rating! And don’t forget to follow along with us on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, and Youtube – be sure to tag @joyfoodsunshine and use the hashtag #joyfoodsunshine so we can see your creations!
