The Most Delicious Recipe for Chocolate Banana Muffins

Chocolate banana muffins are a fun way to use up one lonely brown spotted banana! This small recipe makes 6 chocolate banana muffins.

I made these chocolate banana muffins for my toddler, and I had every intention of posting them in the Baby Food section on this site. But, I made the mistake of eating one. I ate it hot, right out of the oven. Oh, Mama.

The warm, tender chocolatey muffin with two types of chocolate were just too good.

This recipe is based on my vegan banana muffins recipe. I received a question last week about a substitute for the flaxseed. I forgot to tell you that the flaxseed mixed with water is an egg substitute, which keeps the muffins vegan. If you want to substitute it, use a real egg! It's not vegan then, of course, but it worked for her.

So, I made these chocolate banana muffins with an egg. I cut back on the sugar a touch--just ¼ cup for 6 muffins isn't bad, right? I added chocolate chips and Rodelle's Dutch-processed cocoa powder. They're perfection.

Over the past 2 weeks, I've made the recipe 4 times and my testers have, too. We all agree they're the lightest, fluffiest, most tender and moist little banana muffins around.

You could open a coffee shop with just these chocolate banana muffins on the menu, and I think you would succeed.

I think the key is Dutch-process cocoa. It has a dark, rich flavor that makes the muffins almost black instead of brown. More color = more flavor, especially when it comes to chocolate.

Next time you have a lonely brown banana on your counter, I hope you think of these muffins! It only requires one banana and one egg to get sublime banana muffins in your face in less than 30 minutes.

Chocolate Banana Muffins Recipe Ingredients

• Banana. One super ripe banana, mashed. The browner the banana, the better. This recipe makes 6 muffins, so it only calls for 1 medium banana, but you can easily double the recipe.
• Granulated Sugar.
• Oil. Any neutral oil without flavor works here: avocado oil, grapeseed oil, canola oil or vegetable oil. I wouldn’t use coconut oil or olive oil, because they have a strong flavor that might overpower the chocolate.
• Egg. One large egg.
• Vanilla Extract. Vanilla extract enhances the flavor of chocolate, do not skip it.
• All-Purpose Flour.
• Cocoa Powder. This recipe was developed with super dark Dutch-processed cocoa powder, but you can use regular, too.
• Baking Soda.
• Chocolate Chips. I like semisweet or dark chocolate chips for these muffins, because they are plenty sweet with bananas and granulated sugar already.

Banana Chocolate Muffin Recipe Variations

• Scale-Up: You can double this recipe to make 1 dozen muffins, if needed.
• Vegan: I have successfully used a flax egg here to keep this recipe vegan. Use 1 tablespoon of flaxseed meal (freshly ground flax seed) mixed with 2.5 tablespoons of warm water.

How to make Banana Chocolate Muffins

1. Preheat the oven to 350, and line a muffin pan with 6 cups.
2. In a large bowl, mash the banana very well with a fork until it's smooth. Mash it very well until it's almost liquid, not lumpy at all.
3. Next, to the bowl with the banana, whisk in the sugar, oil, egg and vanilla extract. Whisk very well until combined.
4. In the same bowl, sprinkle the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt evenly on top. Using a spatula, stir until well-combined.
5. Finally, stir in the chocolate chips, saving a few for the top of the muffins.
6. Divide the batter between the muffin cups evenly, and sprinkle chocolate chips on top of each muffin. Bake for 18 minutes, or until the muffins are done. They're done when they spring back when pressed gently on the top.

 Chocolate Banana Muffins Recipe Tips

First, mash the banana very well with a fork before stirring in all of the liquid ingredients. When it comes time to add the dry ingredients, use a whisk to break up any lumps. The cocoa powder will be sufficiently sifted with the whisking action.

I love that this recipe can be made entirely in one bowl. It's almost a requirement for me when I'm small batch baking. If we're only making 6 muffins, how many dishes should we dirty? (Answer: as few as possible!)

You can definitely double this recipe and make 1 dozen muffins.

How to store Chocolate Banana Muffins

These chocolate banana muffins keep well-wrapped in the freezer for up to 3 months. To defrost, either place them in the fridge overnight or heat in the microwave for 15 seconds.

Can this recipe for Chocolate Banana Muffins be frozen?

Yes, let the muffins cool completely, wrap each one individually in plastic wrap, and place in a freezer bag. Freeze the muffins flat initially, and then once they’re frozen solid, you can move them and stack them to take up less space.

Although, I don't think you'll have any problem with leftovers since it only makes 6 muffins. The muffins are usually gone by the end of the day in my house!

If you're out of cocoa powder, you can still make my chocolate chip banana muffins.

Chocolate Banana Muffins Recipe FAQs

Why is my banana muffin hard?

If your muffins are hard, you over-baked them, sorry. Also, if you use coconut oil and chill the muffins, the coconut oil solidifies at cool temperatures and makes muffins hard and not fluffy.

What is the secret to fluffy muffins?

Personally, my secret to fluffy muffins is to use oil instead of butter. Oil blends into the batter better, and bakes up to make moist, fluffy muffins. Also, be sure to follow the recipe instructions for best results. Do not let the muffins cool in the pan, because they will over-bake and become tough.