Moist Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
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Ripe bananas and a handful of chocolate chips give you moist banana chocolate chip muffins that come together in just about thirty minutes. This is a small batch, so it suits a slow morning rather than a bake sale, and the batter only takes about as long as the oven needs to heat.
The Greek yogurt is what keeps these tender past the first day, and I fold the chips in last so they stay put in the batter. Everything below the photo tells you how to get there, and the printable card at the end has the full quantities.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- The yogurt and mashed banana do the moisture work together, so the crumb stays soft rather than drying out by the afternoon.
- You use up two brown-spotted bananas that add natural sweetness to the batter.
- You get mini chocolates throughout, not just in one bite. If you like a fruit muffin without chocolate some mornings, I make these easy blueberry muffins instead.
Ingredients You’ll Need
You’ll need all the ingredients shown in the photograph below.
- Ripe bananas. The browner and softer, the better. Firm yellow bananas mash into lumps and taste flat, so I wait until the skins are heavily spotted before I make these. The same overripe bananas are what I want for my pumpkin banana bread loaf, so a heavy bunch covers both.
- Greek yogurt. This is the ingredient doing the quiet work here. It adds moisture without thinning the batter the way milk would, and it’s why the crumb holds up a day or two later. Full-fat gives the softest result, but plain low-fat works, too.
- Butter and vegetable oil together. The butter carries flavor, and the oil keeps the muffins moist once they cool, since oil stays liquid at room temperature where butter firms up. Using both is deliberate, not a substitution.
- Light brown sugar with white sugar. The brown sugar brings a little molasses depth and helps with softness. White sugar alone gives you a cleaner, plainer muffin.
- Chocolate chips. Semisweet is my default against the sweet banana, but milk or dark both work depending on how sweet you want them. Some go in the batter, and a few go on top.
- Rolled oats. These are only for the topping. They toast slightly in the oven and give the tops a bit of contrast.
How to Make Moist Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
A complete printable recipe and the measurements in both US customary and metric are available in the recipe card below.
Prep the Pan and Mash the Bananas
Heat the oven to 350°F and line your muffin pan with paper liners. Mash the bananas well with the back of a fork, so you don’t get lumps in the finished muffins.
SERIOUSLY GOOD
DESSERTS!
Dessert First is a collection of 61 RECIPES to show you that you can make beautiful, impressive desserts right in your own kitchen, no matter your skill level.
Immediate eBook download. No physical book available.
Includes ad-free recipes like:
∙ Lemon Pound Cake
∙ Key Lime Bars
∙ Boston Cream Pie
∙ No-Bake Chocolate Lasagna
∙ Raspberry Cheesecake
...and much more!
Sieve the Dry Ingredients
Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together. Sifting matters more here than in most bakes because the leaveners need to be evenly spread through the flour, or you get muffins that rise unevenly.
Mix the Wet Ingredients
Cream the butter, oil, and both white and brown sugars until smooth, then beat in the eggs, Greek yogurt, and vanilla.
Combine Dry and Wet Mixture
Fold the dry mix in with a spatula, and stop the moment you no longer see flour. Overworked batter is the single most common reason muffins turn out dense and tough. Fold the chips in at the very end.
It’s the same fold-gently, don’t-overmix method I use for my pumpkin spice muffins, so if you’ve made those, the rhythm will feel familiar.
Fill the Liners and Bake
Divide the batter between the liners, scatter the remaining chocolate chips and the oats over the tops, and bake for 12 to 15 minutes. A toothpick pushed into the center should come out with a few moist crumbs, not wet batter.
SERIOUSLY GOOD
DESSERTS!
Dessert First is a collection of 61 RECIPES to show you that you can make beautiful, impressive desserts right in your own kitchen, no matter your skill level.
Immediate eBook download. No physical book available.
Includes ad-free recipes like:
∙ Lemon Pound Cake
∙ Key Lime Bars
∙ Boston Cream Pie
∙ No-Bake Chocolate Lasagna
∙ Raspberry Cheesecake
...and much more!
Recipe Notes and Expert Tips
- Flour the chips before folding. Toss the chocolate chips in a spoonful of the measured flour first. It stops most of them sinking to the bottom while the muffins bake, so you get chocolate through the whole muffin instead of a layer at the base.
- Bring the eggs and yogurt to room temperature. Cold dairy seizes the creamed butter into little flecks, and the batter never comes together smoothly. Ten minutes on the counter is usually enough.
- Start checking early. Ovens run hot or cool, and a small muffin goes from moist to dry in a couple of minutes. Begin testing at the 12-minute mark rather than waiting for the timer.
Recipe Variations
- Drop a little peanut butter into each cup and swirl it through the batter; it works well against the banana. This one is supported rather than something I’ve measured out, so add it sparingly and the bake time holds.
- Fold in chopped walnuts or pecans. A handful adds crunch and a little butter-toasted depth. I’ve made these with nuts, and the bake is unchanged, so use whatever you have.
- Trade half the chocolate for dried cranberries or raisins and you get a less sweet muffin. I’ve done this, and the timing doesn’t change, though the batter reads a little drier, so keep all the yogurt in.
How to Store Leftovers
Store any leftover muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days. A paper towel in the base of the container catches condensation and keeps the tops from going tacky.
To freeze, cool the muffins fully first, then seal them in a freezer bag for up to a month. Reheat a frozen muffin in the microwave in short bursts, or let it come back to room temperature on the counter.
If you’re making these ahead for a specific morning, freezing gives you a better result than baking a day early and leaving them out.
What to Serve With Moist Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
These are breakfast or mid-morning muffins for me, so I put them out with coffee and not much else.
If you’re building more of a brunch spread, a bowl of no-bake banana pudding with vanilla wafers uses up bananas that have fewer brown spots and needs no oven time, so it fills out the table without a second thing to bake.
FAQs
Almost always overmixing. Once the flour goes in, fold just until it disappears and no further. A few streaks are better than a smooth, overworked batter.
Yes. Thaw them first and drain off the extra liquid they release, or the batter turns too wet. Very ripe frozen bananas mash even more easily than fresh.
I wouldn’t leave it out completely, since it’s what holds the moisture in. Plain sour cream is the closest stand-in and behaves the same way in the batter, so use that if you’re out of yogurt.
More Banana and Dessert Recipes to Try
If you liked how these use up a ripe bunch, here’s where I’d go next.
- Fried Bananas With Brown Sugar. What I make when the bananas are ripe, but I don’t want to turn the oven on; it’s a warm five-minute pan dessert rather than a bake.
- Banoffee Pie. It’s the one for when bananas are the centerpiece, and I want to make more of an occasion of it, with caramel and cream doing the heavy lifting.
- Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies. They hit the same chocolate-chip-and-brown-sugar note, for when I want something to hand around rather than a breakfast muffin.
- Strawberry Bread. This is a softer, fruitier loaf I turn to for a brunch spread when I want a change from the banana.
Ingredients
- 2 ripe bananas
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ cup light brown sugar tightly packed
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- ¼ cup Greek yogurt
- ½ tablespoon vanilla extract
- ¾ cup chocolate chips
- 2 tablespoons chocolate chips for toppings
- 1 tablespoon rolled oats for toppings
Video
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180ºC (350°F).
- Prepare a cupcake sheet with 6 liners.
- Mash the bananas with the back of a fork.2 ripe bananas
- Use a fine strainer to mix and sieve the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt
- In a bowl, mix butter, oil, and sugars with an electric mixer until creamy and smooth. Add the eggs, Greek yogurt and vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture and combine with a wooden spatula. Add the chocolate chips and mix.¼ cup vegetable oil, ¼ cup unsalted butter, ½ cup sugar, ½ cup light brown sugar tightly packed, 2 large eggs, ¼ cup Greek yogurt, ½ tablespoon vanilla extract, ¾ cup chocolate chips
- Transfer the mixture to the prepared sheet. Top with a bit more chocolate chips and oats.2 tablespoons chocolate chips, 1 tablespoon rolled oats
- Bake for 12-15 minutes.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
