Banana Bread Muffins
, Updated Sep 05, 2025
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Banana Bread Muffins are simply perfect for breakfast or as a snack. With just a few simple ingredients, you can have fresh soft and moist muffins in no time. Bake in the air fryer or your oven, baker’s choice 😉
Take a quick look at your fruit bowl and tell me, honestly, are there any brown mottled bananas in there? I am willing to bet the answer is yes 😉 Well no need to waste them – just make these delicious banana bread muffins!
You don’t need any special ingredients, fancy silicone cases or even a mixer – these muffins are truly super easy to throw together and they bake to perfection in your air fryer (or the oven).
A great recipe to get kids baking too – younger kids can help with the banana mashing and stirring, older children can make these all by themselves.
Here’s What You’ll Need
Muffins are made simply by mixing the dry and wet ingredients together so all you need is a mixing bowl and a dough whisk or wooden spoon. The basic ingredients for this banana muffin recipe are below, but remember you can always jazz them with chocolate chips, chopped nuts or whatever takes your fancy.
- Bananas: the riper your bananas the sweeter they will be, so brown speckled overripe bananas are perfect for this recipe
- Melted butter or oil
- Large egg
- Buttermilk or natural yogurt (vanilla yogurt is a great option)
- Vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- Flour: plain / all purpose flour
- Sugar: light brown sugar has a toasted caramel flavor that works well but you can also use granulated
- Baking powder and baking soda (a.k.a bicarbonate of soda) plus salt
- Ground cinnamon, nutmeg or Speculaas spice mix
How to make Banana Bread Muffins
- Add all the dry ingredients – flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, ground cinnamon and salt – into a large mixing bowl, stirring with a small whisk to combine.
- Mash the bananas using a fork or place in a food processor and pulse until you have a smooth purée. Combine the mashed bananas with the egg, melted butter, yogurt and vanilla.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and gently stir together to combine. Do not over mix – use a light folding motion until the batter comes together and no streaks of flour remain. Fold in any additional ingredients such as chopped nuts, fresh blueberries or chocolate chips.
- Divide the batter between 10 large muffin cases, filling about halfway up. Make sure to double or triple the paper cases to make sure they are sturdy enough to hold the batter. You can also use silicone muffin cases.
Bake in the Air Fryer (or Oven)
- AIR FRYER INSTRUCTIONS Preheat the air fryer to 170°C (340°F). Place the muffins in the air fryer basket, spaced slightly apart to allow the air to circulate evenly. You will need to bake the muffins in two batches if you are using a small air fryer. Bake for 22-25 minutes then transfer the muffins to a wire rack to cool.
- OVEN BAKING INSTRUCTIONS Place the cases in a muffin tin and bake in a 375°F (190°C) preheated oven for 20-23 minutes.
Storing and Freezing Banana Muffins
Banana Bread Muffins keep really well — if they last that long! Store them in an airtight container at room temperature for about three days. For longer storange simply freeze them – wrap individually in clingfilm or pop into freezer bags, and they’ll be good for up to three months.
To serve, just thaw at room temp (or give them 20–30 seconds in the microwave if you can’t wait). I love them slightly warm with a pat of butter, a drizzle of honey, or even a swipe of peanut butter — pure banana bread bliss in muffin form.
Air Fryer Baking Tips
Your air fryer is basically a mini oven so there’s no reason you can’t use it to bake all kinds of cakes, cookies and desserts. Here are some essential tips of air fryer baking success!
- Don’t rely on visual cues or recommended baking time for doneness. Always use a toothpick or skewer to test whether your bake is done, inserting it in the center of the cake or muffin. It should come out completely clean. If there’s wet batter or lots of moist crumbs you will need to add a few minutes to the baking time.
- You can also use an instant read thermometer to check whether your bake has reached the optimum internal baking temperature which is 98°C (210°F) for most cakes, cupcakes and muffins.
- Air fryers can vary greatly between models – make a note whether you need to adjust the cooking time or temperature when trying a new recipe. It’s very likely you will need to make similar adjustments in the future.
- Muffins browning too quickly? Reduce the temperature by 10 degrees and bake for a little longer.
- You can use paper cases in an air fryer but it is best to double or triple them to make them sturdier. Don’t overfill the cases, about halfway is enough.
I hope these Banana Bread Muffins bring a little comfort to your kitchen — they’re the perfect way to use up ripe bananas and make a quick treat that feels like a hug in muffin form. If you give them a try, please let me know how they turned out by leaving a comment and star rating below.
Banana Bread Muffins
Video
Equipment
Ingredients
Dry ingredients
- 1 ½ cups (190g) flour all-purpose / plain
- ⅔ cup (190g) light brown sugar
- 1 tsp baking soda (bicarbonate of soda)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp salt
Wet ingredients
- 1 ½ cups (300g) mashed bananas , 3 medium
- 1 large egg , room temperature
- 6 tbsp (85g) unsalted butter , melted (see note 1)
- ⅓ cup (80g) natural yogurt or buttermilk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Optional additions
- ½ cup (85g) chocolate chips or chopped nuts
Instructions
- Add all the dry ingredients – flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, ground cinnamon and salt – into a large mixing bowl, stirring with a small whisk to combine.1 ½ cups (190g) flour, ⅔ cup (190g) light brown sugar, 1 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, ¼ tsp salt
- Mash the bananas using a fork or simply blitz them in a food processor. Combine the mashed bananas with the egg, melted butter, yogurt and vanilla.1 ½ cups (300g) mashed bananas, 1 large egg, 6 tbsp (85g) unsalted butter, ⅓ cup (80g) natural yogurt , 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and gently stir together to combine. Do not over mix – use a light folding motion until the batter comes together and no streaks of flour remain. Fold in any additional ingredients such as chopped nuts, fresh blueberries or chocolate chips.½ cup (85g) chocolate chips
- Divide the batter between 10 large paper muffin cases, filling about halfway up. Make sure to double or triple the paper cases to make sure they are sturdy enough to hold the batter. Alternatively you can use silicone muffin cases which are perfect for air fryer baking.
- To bake in an oven, preheat to 375°F (190°C) and bake for 22-25 minutes. To bake in an air fryer, preheat to 170°C (340°F). Place the muffins in the air fryer basket, spaced slightly apart to allow the air to circulate evenly. Bake, in batches if needed, for 22-25 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.
- Transfer the muffins to a wire rack to cool. These banana muffins are delicious served slightly warm – perfect with a cup of coffee or tea!
Notes
- Note 1: Replace the melted butter with 80ml (1/3 cup) neutral oil such as vegetable or coconut oil.
- Banana Bread Muffins keep really well – store them in an airtight container at room temperature for about 3-4 days. They also freeze beautifully: wrap individually in clingfilm or pop into freezer bags, and they’ll be good for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is always approximate, and will depend on quality of ingredients and serving sizes.
Tried this recipe a few times and they’re absolutely delicious, use extra ripe bananas for more flavour