In just 30 minutes, you can whip up these bakery-style Banana Chocolate Chunk Muffins! They’re irresistibly tender, fluffy, and packed with gooey chocolate chunks, making them the perfect treat for any time of day. Best part? No mixer needed!
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Banana Chocolate Chunk Muffins
With over 40 years of baking experience and the real-life challenge of raising two picky eaters, I’ve meticulously tested these muffins at sea level and high altitude to ensure they turn out perfectly every time. Because when something is simple, the taste has to be outstanding!
These muffins are inspired by my popular banana bread recipe, refined over countless hours in the kitchen to achieve the perfect banana bread.
As a seasoned baker, I understand the importance of reliable, foolproof recipes that deliver consistent results. My tester’s gobbled these up! Make this nutrient-packed Dragon Fruit Smoothie Bowl to round out breakfast – you won’t regret it!
Best Banana Muffins
Do your bananas seem to go from perfect to mush in no time? Mine too! Here’s a tip: keep that little plastic piece around the stems to slow ripening. If it’s missing, pop your bananas in the fridge once they’re ripe. The skin may turn brown, but the inside will stay fresh longer!
The browner the banana, the better it is for baking! As bananas ripen, their sugars develop, making them extra sweet. And honestly, who wants to eat those soft, smooshy, spotted bananas? Not me! But in banana bread? Absolutely, yes!!
So the next time you have a countertop with questionable, brown, or overripe bananas, bake these muffins!
Why You Will Love These Banana Chocolate Chunk Muffins!
- While I consider myself an expert muffin baker, afterall, there’s a reason that my Pumpkin Muffin recipe and Bran Muffins are #1, but I also consider myself an expert muffin eater! And I’m picky! They must be tender, full of real banana flavor, with puddles of gooey chocolate.
- These muffins freeze well and are great to have on hand for after-school snacks or busy morning breakfasts. Can you say Mom win?
- Easy! They mix up in minutes with just two bowls and no mixer!
Ingredients for Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins
- Bananas: You will need about 4 small or 3 large overripe bananas adding lift and moisture to your muffins.
- Greek Yogurt: I like organic whole milk Greek yogurt in this recipe because the added fat makes the muffins extra tender and adds a little extra protein. But use your favorite percentage.
- Sugars: Use all-natural cane sugar, or regular granulated sugar, plus light brown sugar, but dark would work-this gives the best texture!
- Oil: I used avocado oil for these muffins. I also tested olive oil, coconut oil, and melted butter, all of which worked. If using olive oil, use a mild oil.
- Egg: I always use large eggs in my baking, bring to room temperature for 20 minutes or so before baking.
- Vanilla Extract: Vanilla is a flavor enhancer! Nothing plain about it!
- All-Purpose Flour: I use unbleached organic all-purpose flour in baking.
- Baking Soda & Baking Powder: We use both in this recipe because of the additional acid from the Greek yogurt.
- Chocolate Chunks: I used store-bought chocolate chunks, but you can coarsely chop a bar of semi-sweet baking chocolate or substitute chocolate chips. And use all the leftover shavings from chopping for a chocolate drizzle! Feel free to use regular chocolate chips, white chocolate chips or mini chocolate chips too!
Get the full recipe in the recipe card below.
More Banana Tips
- Make sure your bananas are at least nice and spotty. To ripen them more quickly, put bananas in a brown paper bag with other ethylene-producing fruits (like peaches, pears, apples, or melons).
- Peeled and frozen overripe bananas can be used, but they should be thawed and excess liquid drained before mashing.
How to Make Banana Chocolate Chunk Muffins
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 375° F (190° C) and line a muffin tin with 12 muffin cups or spray pan well. Love these BPA-free muffin liners.
In a mixing bowl, peel and mash the bananas with a fork until there are no large lumps. Measure 1 ½ cups and return it to the bowl, discarding any extra.
Step 2
Add the egg, yogurt, sugar, brown sugar, oil, and vanilla to the bowl with the mashed bananas, then mix until everything is fully incorporated.
Step 3
In a separate, large bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Whisk together.
Step 4
Add the wet ingredients to the bowl with the dry ingredients and fold together with a spatula until there are no lumps or streaks of flour.
Step 5
Fold in the chocolate chunks and continue mixing until distributed. Avoid over-mixing.
Using a rounded 2-ounce scoop or spoon, divide the batter between the muffin wells and top with additional chocolate chunks if desired.
*2 ounces is roughly, 4 tablespoons, the size #16 cookie scoop.
Step 6
Bake at 375° F (190° C) for 16-22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean from the center.
Remember, all ovens bake a little differently, and your pan makes a difference, too! Dark or coated pans (like the one below) will bake muffins quicker, so keep a close eye on them.
Variations & Substitutions
- Gluten-free banana chunk muffins: Replace the flour with a 1 to 1 ratio Gluten-free flour, like King Arthur or Bob’s Red Mill!
- Oil: Use your favorite oil! One of my testers, made using coconut oil and loved them. You can even use melted butter if you prefer!
- Whole Grain: To make a whole grain muffin, replace the flour with whole wheat flour. You will probably need more liquid, so increase the yogurt by a few tablespoons.
- Chocolate: I love to use chunks of chocolate here for large, melty bites of chocolate. However, you can replace the chunks with regular chocolate chips! If you want a sweeter muffin, try milk chocolate. For a less sweet muffin, opt for dark chocolate and even white chocolate chips.
- Nuts: If you like nuts in your banana bread, then you can add some chopped nuts to these muffins! I recommend walnuts or pecans.
Banana Chocolate Chunk Muffin Success Tips
- These bakery-style muffins bake up tall, so it’s okay to overfill the cups slightly. Just divide the batter evenly. My sea-level tester got almost 22 muffins by filling the tins with less batter, making them a bit smaller.
- Oven Temps Vary: If you don’t have one, get an oven thermometer (this is the one I use) to test your oven’s temperature. Most ovens run at 25° F, hot or cold.
- Fully Preheat Your Oven: I have had the misfortune of having several ovens go out on me, and the repair guys have been consistent in saying that ovens take at least 30 minutes to come to their full temperature. Ignore that preheat beep; set a timer and allow your oven to preheat for a full 30 minutes. I promise you will see a difference!
- Don’t Overbake! Check your muffins after 16 minutes and remove them when nicely domed and golden brown and when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. Watch out for those chocolate pieces, though.
- Avoid overmixing the batter to prevent tough muffins. Mix dry and wet ingredients separately before combining.
- Active Baking Powder & Baking Soda: Leavening agents older than 1 year should be tossed. If you want to test whether yours is active, add ¼ teaspoon of baking soda to 2 teaspoons of vinegar in a small jar or glass – active soda will fizz up violently; if it doesn’t, it’s bad. For baking powder, add ½ teaspoon to a jar, and pour over 1 tablespoon to ¼ cup of boiling water, it should foam and fizz.
- Use a 2-ounce cookie scoop with a trigger release for easy portioning. For this recipe, use a rounded scoop to overfill the muffin wells, about ¾ full slightly.
- When measuring, avoid overpacking the flour. The “spoon and level” method or using a kitchen scale can help ensure you get just the right amount of flour for the recipe.
- The color of your baking tin affects cooking time. Dark pans transfer heat more efficiently, so muffins may bake faster.
Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins FAQs
Overripe bananas are super sweet and have lots of brown spots, or they might be entirely brown. To speed up ripening, pop them in a brown paper bag with other ethylene-producing fruits like apples, pears, or peaches. Fold the bag closed and wait a couple of days. Voilà—perfectly ripe bananas!
The “Spoon-and-Level Method” is a great way to measure flour without a scale! Instead of scooping flour directly from the container, hold your measuring cup and spoon flour into it until it forms a heaping mound. Then, use the flat side of a butter knife to level off the excess. Easy peasy and super accurate!
Oven temps and elevation can change baking times, so watch your muffins! Check them early and look for a light golden color. Insert a toothpick into the center of a muffin (avoid the melty chocolate bits), and if it comes out clean, your muffins are perfectly baked!
For the best bakery-style muffins with a nice high dome, fully preheat the oven for 30 minutes. Make sure your baking soda and powder are active, and do not overwork the batter. Mix just until you no longer see streaks of flour.
High Altitude Adjustments for Banana Muffins
These muffins have been tested at high altitudes (5280 ft) at 2000 feet and at sea level. Here are my suggestions:
- Reduce granulated sugar to ⅓ cup.
- Increase flour by 2 tablespoons.
- Decrease baking powder to ½ teaspoon.
Watch your time in the oven, and remove muffins when they are puffed and golden on top and a toothpick inserted comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
Storage Tips
- To Store: Once the banana and chocolate chip muffins are cool, store them in an airtight container or Ziploc bag on the countertop at room temperature for 3-4 days.
- To Freeze: These banana chocolate chunk muffins can also be frozen. I like placing them back in the muffin tin and popping them into the freezer for about 20 minutes or until partially frozen. Flash-freezing them before placing them in a resealable freezer bag will help prevent them from sticking together. Once transferred to a freezer bag, these muffins can be frozen and stored for up to 2-3 months. Simply thaw at room temperature; they won’t take long.
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Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups mashed banana about 3 large or 4 small
- ½ cup plain whole milk Greek yogurt or use your favorite percentage
- ½ cup granulated sugar reduce to ⅓ cup for High altitude
- ¼ cup brown sugar packed, light or dark
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil I used avocado oil, other oils may be used coconut, even olive oil or melted butter
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour I used organic, unbleached, add 2 TBS for high altitude
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder reduce to ½ teaspoon for high altitude
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chunks Or chop up a bar of your favorite dark chocolate
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375° F (190° C) and line a standard muffin tin with 12 paper or silicone liners.
- In a mixing bowl, peel and mash the bananas with a fork until there are no large lumps.1 ½ cups mashed banana
- Add the egg, yogurt, sugar, brown sugar, oil, and vanilla to the bowl with the mashed bananas then mix until everything is fully incorporated.½ cup plain whole milk Greek yogurt, ½ cup granulated sugar, ¼ cup brown sugar, ⅓ cup vegetable oil, 1 large egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- In a separate large mixing bowl, combine flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Whisk together.Add the wet ingredients to the bowl with the dry ingredients and fold together with a spatula until there are no lumps or streaks of flour.
- Fold in the chocolate chunks and continue mixing until distributed. Avoid over-mixing.1 cup semisweet chocolate chunks
- Using a rounded 2-ounce scoop or spoon, divide the batter between the muffin wells and top with additional chocolate chunks if desired. Fill them quite full for bakery-style muffins or ⅔ for smaller and more muffins.
- Bake at 375°F (190° C) for 16-22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean from the center.
Notes
- Bring your egg and yogurt to room temperature for 30 minutes before baking for best results.
- Use packaged chocolate chunks or chocolate chips, or chop your favorite chocolate bar.
Store cooled banana chocolate chunk muffins in an airtight container or Ziploc bag on the countertop at room temperature for up to 3-4 days.
These muffins can also be frozen and stored for up to 2 months. Simply thaw at room temperature. Recipe Tips
- These bakery-style muffins bake up tall, so feel free to fill the tins to the top. Divide the batter evenly for consistent baking. For smaller muffins, fill the tins ½ – ⅔ full. This will yield about 20-22 muffins.
- Do not overcook. When in doubt, use a toothpick to test to see if the muffins are fully baked. Insert a toothpick into the center of a muffin, avoiding the chocolate. If it comes out clean, the muffins are baked.
- Overmixing muffin batter can result in tough muffins.
- Make sure your leavenings are fresh and not expired.
- I use a 2-ounce cookie scoop with a trigger release when making muffins.
- Measure the perfect amount of flour for your recipe using the “spoon and level” method or a kitchen scale.
- Dark baking tins tend to transfer heat more efficiently and usually require slightly shorter cooking times and sometimes a reduction of oven temp by 25° F.
Increase flour by 2 tablespoons
Decrease baking powder to ½ teaspoon Watch your time in the oven. Remove muffins when they are puffed and golden on top and a toothpick inserted comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
Nutrition
Donna Cole
This was a very easy recipe to bake. I changed it up a bit by making mini-bundt muffins
I love that twist Donna!!!
Misti Black
These muffins are beautiful and delicious. We made them with big muffin tops. So easy!
Yay Misti!!! So glad you liked them!!
Sarah
My kids loved them! Thank you for another tasty recipe!
Yay so happy to hear that Sarah!!
Cindy
Starting to get the itch to do some fall baking (too much social media?)…these muffins are awesome! Gifting a few to a friend, but keeping most of them for us! Yum!!
Haha, I love it Cindy, nothing wrong with baking muffins!! Thanks so much!
Paula
These banana chunk muffins were soooo moist and delish!
Vicki P
First: Thank you Kathleen Pope (thefreshcooky.com) for writing instructions that actually included the ingredients and amount needed in each step! No looking back at the Ingredient list! This “no mixer needed” recipe was manageable for me to make with 1 hand (other is broken) so I can visualize it being easier for a parent with young children.
I wanted to use this for kids snacks, so I made 24 mini and 4 regular muffins with remaining batter. I also used 1 cup of mini chocolate chips instead of chunks (could have used less). Mini size took 15-16 mins. And regular took about 19 mins. In my oven. I will freeze for later use in lunchboxes, but warm from the oven- they are delicious! Good banana flavor (4 medium ripe bananas).
Love this, Vicki! I’m so sorry you have a broken hand and I’m so impressed you are baking! Love how you adapted it for you and your family!! Thank you!
Tasia
My family loved these banana muffins! They are so soft and tender and better than the bakery!
YAY! Love hearing that Tasia!