This Small Batch Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins recipe is the best. Super moist, tasty and full of melting chocolate, this easy muffin recipe is a brilliant way to use those browned bananas. Made in one bowl, and baked in under 45 minutes, you’ll soon be making these at the drop of a hat!
I created this small-batch recipe last year during the throws of our first lockdown. At the time we were all stationed within our home, unable to mingle and unable to share our bakes with friends, family and work colleagues. Designed so that you wouldn’t have a mountain of bakes sat on your work surface, these muffins joined many other bakes that have fast become some of the most popular recipes on my site. Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies, Dark Chocolate Walnut Blondies and Gluten-Free Orange Almond Cake are the ones to be tried out!
If you love small batch recipes, then you’ll be sure to love the Small Batch Dessert E-book I created a little while ago. Filled with scrumptious dessert recipes such as Individual Tiramisu Cups, Orange Rosemary Shortbread and Apple Hazelnut Cake, you can download this FREE e-book right away when subscribing.
These cupcakes are filled with banana making them super tender and moist, but they also have chunks of melting chocolate throughout the sponge which creates little pockets of loveliness when bitting through! We actually sell these muffins on Dear Coco, our street coffee van, and they sell out every time!
Why you'll love this recipe
- Easy to make. With only a few steps to the recipe, these muffins could not be easier to make.
- Pantry Ingredients. You'll most likely have all these ingredients on hand already. I love a recipe that doesn't require an extra shopping trip! Oh yes, and they are a fab way to use up those overripe bananas sitting on the countertop!
- Made in under one hour. From start to finish, you'll have these ready in under one hour. There's no stopping you now!
- Flavour packed. These taste just like banana bread but with the added bonus of melted chocolate. For the win!
- Can be enjoyed any time of day. These muffins are so quick to make they are perfect as a breakfast treat. Also great to fill lunchboxes, fill hungry tummies as an afternoon snack, and even serve warm with a scoop of ice cream for dessert.
Ingredients needed
- Butter - Room temperature, unsalted butter. It gets creamed with the sugar until pale and creamy.
- Sugar - Granulated or caster sugar, either will do. Provides the perfect amount of sweetness.
- Egg - Only 1 large one needed but it helps bind the ingredients and help the sponge become light in texture.
- Sourcream - Just a touch to add the perfect moisture to the muffin. Sub with greek yogurt if necessary.
- Banana - Browned, overripe bananas are best. At a pinch, if your banana isn't over rip then wrap in foil and place in a hot oven for 10 to 15 minutes. Then scoop out the banana filling.
- Flour - Plain (all-purpose) is what we need here
- Baking powder and baking soda - Two leavening agents to give extra lift to make super tenser, soft muffins. We use baking soda here as it reacts with the acidity of the banana.
- Salt - Always needed to season the batter - but just a little is needed.
- Milk Chocolate - You can choose whether to use chocolate chips or chop up a block of chocolate. I personally prefer chocolate chunks as I can vary the size of the chunks so that you get little pockets of melted chocolate. With chocolate chips, especially if you scatter some on the top of the batter in the muffin case, you'll get that more uniform look of a chocolate chip muffin. You do you here and choose your preference. Equally, use dark chocolate instead of milk chocolate if you fancy too.
Step-by-step instructions
*Be sure to see the recipe card below for the full ingredients list & instructions!*
1. Pre-heat the oven and prepare the pan. Turn the oven to hotter than you normally bake a cake at. Preheat to 200°C (390°F) and then line your cupcake or muffin pan with muffin cases. (Image 1)
TIP: If you want to make your own muffin cases then check out my How to Make Muffin Cases post. You'll see just how quick and easy they are to make. You'll never be caught short again!
2. Cream butter and sugar. Using hand-held beaters (or an electric stand mixer if you would prefer), beat the butter and sugar together for a good 4 to 5 minutes until it has visibly lightened in colour and is pale and creamy. (Image 2)
3. Add the wet ingredients, then the dry. Add in the egg, sour cream, mashed banana and vanilla extract and beat until combined. The mixture will look curdled but don’t worry! (Image 3 & 4) Then add the flour, baking powder and soda, salt and chocolate. Fold through with a rubber spatular until a few streaks remain. (Image 5 & 6)
TIP: It's important to fold the batter only until there are a few flour streaks remain as this will stop you from overworking the batter. If you do over mix then you might find the turns out dense. Our aim is to have a soft, light, tender crumb for maximum deliciousness!
4. Divide between muffin cases and bake. Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin cases. (Image 7) There is a fair bit of batter in each case but not to worry, the paper cases will hold it together.
Note: You can make these in cupcake cases- you will get more out of the batch as the volume of batter used in each case will be slightly less.
5. Decorate. This bit is optional - but trust me when I say it's good! Dollop a teaspoonful of melted Nutella onto the top and decorate with banana chips. That divine melty chocolate alongside the sweet crunchy banana chips is heavenly. Well worth it in my opinion! (Image 8)
Variations / Substitutions
These banana chocolate chip muffins are hands down one of the easiest and most delicious recipes and I love them even more because you can create your own variation easily.
- Blueberry Banana Muffins: Substitute the chocolate for fresh or frozen blueberries for a fruity alternative.
- Dark Chocolate Walnut Banana Muffins: Substitute the milk chocolate for dark chocolate chips or chunks and add in chopped walnuts. The rich dark chocolate will complement the nutty walnuts every time!
- Peanut Butter Banana Muffins: I don't know about you but I love toast slathered in peanut butter with sliced banana on top. Delicious. This is my version in a muffin. Swirl a tablespoon or two of peanut butter into the batter and dollop some PB on top after baking too!
Pro tips
- Use overripe banana. The more the skin browns, the sweeter the banana gets inside - which is a win in the flavour department. If they aren't ripe enough then bake the bananas for 10-15 minutes (details in the Ingredients section above)
- Don't over mix. The best muffins are light and tender in the middle and mixing the batter until just combined is one way of achieving this.
- Bake correctly. We don't want to ruin all our hard work in making beautiful muffins, and then go and over bake them- it's so disappointing. To test that they are done, press the centre of the sponge top and it should spring back. Also, a toothpick inserted into the centre should come out clean.
Frequently asked questions
Absolutely! In the recipe card, there is a toggle for you to scale up super easily. When I bake these to be sold on Dear Coco, I use the toggle to scale up to make 20 muffins at a time!
Again. Absolutely. You can use both mini and standard cupcake cases to make your banana chocolate chip muffins. You’ll have to adjust the baking time though. For mini cupcakes, bake for 12-14 minutes. For standard cupcakes, bake for 15-20 minutes depending on your oven.
At a guess it would be the amount of flour you put into the mix- especially when measuring with cups. For such a small amount of batter, the smallest increase in flour can affect the consistency of the muffin batter and then the rise too. I suggest measuring with digital scales for the most accuracy.
How to store and freeze
To store: The best way to store Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins is to place them in an airtight container, or in a ziplock bag and store them at room temperature. They keep around 3-4 days. I find a 10-second blitz in the microwave brings them back to life if they have dried out. I personally wouldn’t refrigerate them as the sponge tends to stiffen and dry.
To freeze: Place Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins in a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 2 months. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature before eating. A 10-second burst in the microwave will warm the muffin nicely.
Tools you’ll need
- Cupcake pan: You can use a 6 hole or a 12 hole muffin pan. Either will work perfectly.
- Muffin cases: Muffin cases are readily available in your supermarket or high street. But if you want to make your own then I have a How to Make Your Muffin Cases guide to help you.
- Medium Mixing Bowl. Made in such small quantities, this recipe doesn't need a huge bowl to mix the batter in.
- Handheld beaters: For such a small batch the half held beaters work perfectly. If your electric stand mixer is readily available then by all means use it too. If I double or triple this recipe then 9 out of 10 times, I use the stand mixer.
More snack recipes that you may like
If you tried this Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please let me know how you go in the comments below. I love hearing from you. Also, please leave a star rating whilst you're there!
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This post was originally published in April 2020 but has been updated with new content.
Banana Chocolate Chip Muffin Recipe (Small Batch)
Ingredients
- 60 g unsalted butter, room temperature
- 65 g granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, room temperature, lightly beaten.
- 30 ml sour cream, (or milk)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 100 g ripe banana, 1 large or 2 small, mashed
- 110 g plain flour (all-purpose)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 100 g milk chocolate, chopped (or chocolate chips)
To serve, optional
- dollop of nutella per muffin
- 20 g banana chips
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven and prepare the pan. Pre-heat oven to 200°C (390°F). Line your cupcake tray with 4 muffin liners.
- Cream butter and sugar. In a medium mixing bowl, using hand-held electric beaters, cream the butter and sugar for three minutes, then scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Add the wet ingredients, then the dry. Add the egg, milk, vanilla extract and banana and mix until combined. It may look a little curdled, but don't worry.Sift into the bowl the flour, baking powder and baking soda. Add the chopped chocolate and using a rubber spatula, fold until just combined.
- Divide between muffin cases and bake. Divide batter between 4 muffin liners. Bake at 200°C (390°F) for 5 minutes before turning down the oven to 180°C(350°F) and baking for another 15-20 minutes. If the muffin tops brown too quickly, then cover with foil until they have finished baking. The muffin needs to spring back when touched.
- Decorate (optional). Remove the tray from the oven and place muffins on a wire rack to cool further. To serve, sprinkle with banana chips and a dollop of warmed Nutella.
All recipes are developed and tested in Metric grams. I strongly recommend that you bake using digital scales for a more accurate result. I have provided a conversion to US customary in the recipe but please note that I haven’t tested using this method.
JK Bakes (Josh and Kirstie)
We gave these chocolate banana muffins a go today and honestly they were absolutely delicious! The recipe was so easy to follow and it’s great being able to do a small batch as it’s so difficult to find ingredients at the moment. Definitely recommend, thanks so much for great recipe!! 🙂
Emma
That’s great news Josh and Kirstie! They are so easy to make yet so satisfying!
Andie
These muffins are super! The pantry was lacking so had to make some substitutions- all-purpose flour for SR flour, and I only had baking soda so Emma suggested using 1 tsp baking soda and 1 tsp lemon juice. It worked a treat and the result was super fluffy and light muffins. Will definitely make these again!
Emma
Well done going ahead with the substitutions Andie- so happy that they worked out!
Becky
I’ve had banana bread a few times but it’s never really done much for me but these muffins looked amazing from the moment I saw them. They are so easy to make and taste absolutely gorgeous- especially warm from the oven. My mum also had one the next day her word was “wow”!! I used dark choc and for me I’d def prefer that to milk choc but either way totally awesome & I’ll b making these again as soon as I get more bananas!! Thank you so much for this recipe Emma.
Emma
Wow what a brilliant review for the banana bread- glad that you were able to sub for your favourite dark chocolate. And that your mum loved them too! Win Win! Thanks for leaving the comment Becky x
Debbie
Just want to thank you for sharing your lovely recipe. It was not easy to find a recipe in grams on the internet! This was my first muffin attempt and they turned out beautifully! So delicious, will definitely give it another go using other fillings.
Emma
Hi Debbie, This is such a lovely message to receive- thank you SO much!
Emma
Claire Anderson
You had me at a dollop of Nutella! I loved making these, great recipe, and tasted fabo, starting with the obligatory mixture taste. They were a big hit with friends, I would make these again and again…I always have a stash or scary but perfect freezer bananas!
Emma
The nutella is a winner isn’t it!The recipe can easily be doubled so when we can meet in large numbers again you can please lots of your friends!
Sarah
Thank you for sharing such a fantastic Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins recipe. I love how you can use chocolate chips or chocolate chunks- whatever you have on hand really. I make this recipe all the time for my kids after school and the fact that they are SO easy to make and come together in under and hour AND are small batch is perfect!! I love this recipe!
Emma
This is amazing to hear. Aren't they so easy to make for the kids? Perfect to fill little tummies with! You've made my day Sarah!