If you have one over-ripe banana on the counter, then I have an easy breakfast or snack recipe for you. These Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins made with just one banana! This small batch of banana muffins is perfect for using the last super ripe banana in the bunch!
You will love this Chocolate Chip Banana Muffin Recipe
I've always got one lonely brown banana on my counter. If I had a band, I would name it One Brown Banana, and the cover art would capture the loneliness, of course!
I buy a big bunch of bananas for the week, and between my baby banana pancakes in my baby breakfast ideas rotation and my double chocolate banana muffins, most are gone quickly! Speaking of, I should really add to my baby breakfast ideas recipe collection, because I've been experimenting a lot lately.
Since we're only using 1 banana, this recipe makes a small batch of banana muffins; 6 muffins, to be exact!
Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins ingredients
- Banana. Just one lonely banana, the more brown spots the better. Completely brown is fine, too!
- Egg. One large egg, egg yolk and egg white.
- Vanilla Extract. I always bake with the real thing: pure vanilla.
- Oil. You can use any flavorless oil, such as canola, avocado or grapeseed oil.
- Flour. All-purpose flour that has been fluffy, spooned into a measuring cup and leveled with a knife.
- Baking Soda. We're just using baking soda in these muffins for incredible rise, no baking powder today.
- Granulated Sugar. You can use white granulated sugar or coconut sugar here; the choice is yours. Don't use brown sugar, though--it has a bit too much moisture.
- Chocolate Chips. Semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips are the best here, but you can use dark chocolate or even milk chocolate chips for extra sweetness.
I almost always have all of these ingredients on hand, which means I can have banana chocolate chip muffins anytime! Any chocolate chips are fine here--dark, semisweet, milk or even white chocolate chips! If you're low on chocolate chips, chop up a 3 ounce chocolate bar.
Do bananas need to be brown for muffins?
Yes, bananas need to be spotty brown (the darker, the better) for muffins, because it means the banana is fully ripe and fragrant. Fully ripe bananas give the best flavor to banana baked goods.
How ripe should bananas be for muffins?
The more brown spots the better. Completely brown is fine, too! Truly, the riper, the better.
How to make Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
Preheat the oven to 350, and line a muffin pan with 6 cups. 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.
Next, whisk in the sugar, oil, egg and vanilla extract. Whisk very well until combined.
In the same bowl, sprinkle the flour, baking soda, and salt on top. Using a spatula, stir until well-combined.
Finally, stir in the chocolate chips, saving a few for the top of the muffins.
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. Move the muffins to a cooling rack, and let cool completely before serving.
Make these Banana Muffins with Chocolate Chips with kids!
This is a perfect recipe for baking with kids, because everything comes together in one bowl. I've found that kids do better with small batch recipes in the kitchen, because they lose interest after scooping just a few cookies or muffins out. Small batch recipes also create less mess in the kitchen when cooking with kids, too!
If you want to reduce the sugar a bit in this recipe for kids, you absolutely can. Similarly, if you're baking egg-free, simply replace the egg with ⅓ cup of applesauce. If you always bake without eggs, you need my eggless banana bread recipe and my chocolate chip cookies without eggs, too!
Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins Recipe storage
These muffins can be stored for one day on the counter at room temperature. Beyond that, it is best to place them in an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to 1 week. They can also be frozen for up to 3 months in air-tight food storage bags. To serve, microwave for 15 seconds.
Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins Recipe FAQs
Why is my banana muffin hard?
If your muffins are hard, it seems like you overcooked them, I’m sorry.
How do you know when banana muffins are done?
To test a muffin to see if it is done, insert a toothpick in the center of the muffin. When you remove it, it should only have moist crumbs clinging to it and no wet batter. Be mindful of poking into chocolate chips so that your data isn’t skewed.
How do you keep banana muffins moist?
Store them in air tight containers with a slice of bread.
What makes muffins more fluffy?
My favorite trick for super fluffy muffins is to preheat the oven 50 degrees higher than normal, and lower it down once you add the muffins to the oven. So, for this recipe, preheat the oven to 400, and lower the heat to 350 right when you add the muffins to the oven.
Next time you have a craving for banana muffins, grab one banana and make this recipe! I know you're going to ask, so let me say YES, you can easily double it, too. You can also make a version with pumpkin: chocolate pumpkin muffins.
Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins
Chocolate chip banana muffin recipe made with just one banana.
Ingredients
- 1 large very ripe banana
- ¼ cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons flavorless oil*
- 1 large egg
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup semisweet chocolate chips.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350, and line a muffin pan with 6 cups.
- 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.
- Next, whisk in the sugar, oil, egg and vanilla extract. Whisk very well until combined.
- In the same bowl, sprinkle the flour, baking soda, and salt on top. Using a spatula, stir until well-combined.
- Finally, stir in the chocolate chips, saving a few for the top of the muffins.
- 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. Move the muffins to a cooling rack, and let cool completely before serving.
Notes
*Flavorless oil can be canola oil, vegetable oil, grapeseed oil, or avocado oil. Coconut oil is awesome here, too, though it does have a flavor.
Storage: These muffins can be stored for one day on the counter at room temperature. Beyond that, it is best to place them in an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to 1 week. They can also be frozen for up to 3 months in air-tight food storage bags. To serve, microwave for 15 seconds.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 71Total Fat: 6gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 31mgSodium: 12mgCarbohydrates: 5gFiber: 1gSugar: 2gProtein: 1g
Other one banana recipes:
Double Chocolate Banana Muffins
Banana Sheet Cake (uses 1 cup of mashed banana)
Madison says
The taste was good but they turned out quite dry. I think my banana was too small or 18mn was too long for my oven. I’ll try again! Thanks for these mini recipes.
Christina Lane says
Oh no, not dry muffins, I'm so sorry! Yes, maybe your banana was tiny? You can check the muffins 2 minutes before the bake time ends...if a toothpick comes out with only moist crumbs, you're good. Also, did you let them cool in the pan? That can make them continue to cook and over-cook and dry out?
FizzyBlonde says
I just made these and they are a winner! I added a couple of ounces of peanuts to the batter for protein and crunch. One question - you sure about the calories above? 71 seems awfully low - are you sure you didn't mean 271?
Christina Lane says
Hmmm...let me double the calories. The batter is pretty fluffy...Thanks for this!
Madison says
Hello, me again. I tried again with 2 small bananas and 15mn baking time. Turned out moist and great!🙂
Christina Lane says
Awww that's great news, thanks so much for letting me know! I was thinking about you...I actually made this recipe again to make a video for it on Instagram, and I overbaked it by 2 minutes and they were dry! I was wondering if that's what happened to you or not. But I'm glad you got it solved :) Thanks for writing :)
Jill says
Made these into mini muffins and they were delicious! Perfect on the go snack for my kids. Thank you!
Carrie says
Quick, easy, and tasty! I subbed whole wheat flour and they came out great. I did end up baking a bit longer, but I had two small bananas to use up so my batter was probably a little wetter. Perfect recipe to throw together on a Saturday night. :)
Adriana C says
Where did you get the wooden-handled measuring cups?
Christina Lane says
They're from Magnolia Market (Joanna Gaines' shop) Thanks for asking :) If you lived close to me, I would gift you a set--I accidentally ordered 6 online!
Peggy W says
I used 2 small bananas and baked for about 22 minutes. They came out great! Are you sure about the nutrional information though? My recipe builder shows 207 calories per muffin, not 71. Big difference if you are counting calories!
Debbie says
Note... I just posted this comment with a wrong email address.
I made this and followed the recipe. I put them in for 15 minutes and they were still not ready. So I did one more minute. Checked they were still not ready so I did two more minutes. And took them out. They came out very good but they were a little dense. Would you have any idea why? We microwaved them for about seven seconds and it softened up a little. They were better. I enjoyed your video on the pancakes I would love a video on this. Your videos are very simple and easy to follow you make everything so easy. I hope you do videos on every one.
Amy J Lehman says
Subbed blueberries for the chocolate chips (only bc I've had enough chocolate over the holidays lol), and it was delish!
Jo says
Wonderful recipe! So moist, yummy and tender (not dense at all). Banana sizes vary, but mine was what I thought to be a medium size banana plus another half and it worked great. My oven took an extra couple of minutes, but your instructions were clear on testing the tops until it springs back (better to check early than to over bake). Thank you for sharing a great recipe!