Fluffy and moist with molten chocolate chips on the inside, along with a nutty and crunchy muffin top make these Easy Banana Nut Muffins with Chocolate Chips a must have recipe for your family. No need to go the local bakery when you can make these yourself so easily, they take less than 15 minutes to prepare and are completely done and ready to be eaten in under an hour!
Not only will these banana nut muffins have your home smelling incredible, they use a bunch of simple pantry ingredients and take very little time to put together. You can adjust the amount of chocolate chips included depending on your craving at the time! And if you have overripe bananas in the house, this is a great use for them.
There are quite a few banana nut muffins recipes around, some with chocolate chips – but this recipe will guarantee a moist and fluffy inside along with a crunchy topping that your family will be sure to love. Just be sure to let the muffins cool for a bit when they come out of the oven!
Ingredients
This recipe uses super easy ingredients that can be purchased from a local store if they are not already in your pantry. Read the Recipe Card for the measurements.
- Bananas – What a great way to use over-ripened bananas! The riper your bananas are, the sweeter the muffins will come out.
- Pecans – Pecans go perfectly in this muffin, but you can also use walnuts or leave the nuts out entirely if so desired.
- Maple Syrup – This is used for the nut topping, and offers a touch of sweetness.
- Cinnamon – We love to use this very tasty and healthy spice. The health benefits of cinnamon are well documented.
- Butter – We prefer to use unsalted butter when baking, and then add salt if necessary. If you end up using salted butter, then do not include any additional salt.
- Eggs – The eggs will help bind the muffin ingredients together and help in the baking process to ensure everything comes out just right.
- Sugar – We use regular granulated sugar for these muffins. We limit the amount so that there is just a subtle sweetness.
- Sour Cream – The creamy texture of sour cream adds a bit more moisture to the muffin than using milk.
- Flour – We use all purpose flour, we find this gives these banana muffins the best texture.
- Baking Powder – this leavening agent that produces carbon dioxide gas during the baking process and helps make the muffins light and fluffy.
- Vanilla Extract – That yummy flavor that our kids love!
- Lemon Zest – Adds a bit of a tangy flavor.
- Chocolate Chips – After testing different sizes, we settled on the bigger semi-sweet chocolate chips. The kids love the melted chocolate spread throughout the inside of the muffin.
How to make Easy Banana Nut Muffins with Chocolate Chips:
Step 1: Prep It
Preheat the oven to 350°F and set the rack in the middle position. Line a muffin pan with 12 liners, spray with cooking spray and set aside.
Step 2: Nut Topping
Give the pecans a medium fine chop and add to a small bowl along with the maple syrup and cinnamon. Mix to combine and set aside.
Step 3: Dry Mix
In a large bowl add the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk thoroughly to combine and set aside.
Step 4: Wet Mix
In a medium bowl add the mashed bananas and sour cream. Next, beat with a hand held mixer on medium speed until bananas and sour cream are smooth in texture, (should look like a smoothie) about 1 minute. Then, add the eggs, vanilla and lemon zest continue mixing until fully incorporated.
Step 5: Combine It
To the large bowl with the flour mixture, add half of the banana mixture and softened butter. Then, beat on low to incorporate and continue mixing for 1 minute. With a rubber spatula, scrape down the sides of the bowl as you go.
Next, add the remaining banana mixture in 2 parts, beating on low speed for 30 seconds after each addition.
Finally, add the chocolate chips to the batter; with a spatula, mix to incorporate.
Step 6: Scoop It
Divide batter equally among the prepared muffin tins.
Sprinkle the reserved nut mixture evenly on top of each muffin (about 1 crown tablespoon each). Press gently to adhere the nuts to the muffin batter.
Step 7: Bake It
Bake in the preheated 350°F oven, with the rack set in the middle position, for 20-25 minutes until tops are golden brown or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Let muffins cool in the pan for 5 minutes then turn them out onto a wire rack and continue cooling for an additional 10 minutes before serving.
Banana Nut Muffins with Chocolate Chips
Fluffy and moist with molten chocolate chips on the inside, along with a nutty and crunchy muffin top make these Easy Banana Nut Muffins with Chocolate Chips a must have recipe for your family. These incredible muffins are the perfect use for your Overripe Bananas.
Ingredients
- Nut Topping:
- 1 cup pecans
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- Muffins:
- 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 ripe bananas, mashed
- 1/3 cup sour cream or greek yogurt
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest, packed
- 6 1/2 tablespoon butter, softened
- 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350°F and set the rack in the middle position. Line a muffin pan with 12 liners, spray with cooking spray and set aside.
Nut Topping:
Give the pecans a medium fine chop and combine with the maple syrup and cinnamon; set aside.
Muffins:
1. In a large bowl add the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk thoroughly to combine and set aside.
2. In a medium bowl add the mashed bananas and sour cream. Beat with a hand held mixer on medium speed until bananas and sour cream are smooth in texture, (should look like a smoothie) about 1 minute. Then, add the eggs, vanilla and lemon zest continue mixing until fully incorporated.
3. To the large bowl with the flour mixture, add half of the banana mixture and softened butter. Using the hand mixer, beat on low to incorporate and continue mixing for 1 minute. Add the remaining banana mixture in 2 parts, beating on low speed for 30 seconds after each addition. Add the chocolate chips to the batter and mix to incorporate.
4. Divide batter equally among the prepared muffin tins. Sprinkle the reserved nut mixture evenly on top of each muffin (about 1 crown tablespoon each). Press gently to adhere the nuts to the muffin batter.
5. Bake in the preheated 350°F oven, with the rack set in the middle position, for 20-25 minutes until tops are golden brown or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let muffins cool in the pan for 5 minutes then turn them out onto a wire rack and continue cooling for an additional 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 days, refrigerated for up to 5 day or frozen for up to 3 months.
Expert Tip:
To speed the ripening process of bananas, put them in a paper bag and loosely fold down the top. Add an apple or a couple of already very ripe bananas to the bag to increase the amount of ethylene gas circulating around the green fruit. The bananas should ripen in just a day or two using this method.