Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

How to Make Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Ingredients for Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins:

• Bread flour – Although bread flour does work best in this recipe, you can also use all-purpose flour instead. If you can, opt for King Arthur All-Purpose Flour, which has a higher protein content.
• Baking powder and baking soda – Be sure they’re fresh and active! Learn about baking soda vs. baking powder and how to test for freshness here!
• Fine salt – To balance out the sweetness.
• Ground cinnamon and nutmeg – To add a delicious warm spice to the muffins.
• Bananas – The star ingredient! Make sure your bananas are very ripe – more details on this below.
• Granulated sugar and Light brown sugar – For sweetness and moisture. Learn more about all the things sugar does in your baking here. 
• Unsalted butter and Vegetable or canola oil – I always prefer unsalted butter in baking – learn why here. We are using both oil and butter in this recipe for multiple reasons – more on this below.
• Eggs – Eggs bring so much to baking, such as structure, tenderness, moisture, and more. 
• Vanilla extract – For flavor. 
• Semisweet chocolate chips – You could also use milk, dark, or white chocolate chips if you prefer. Mini chocolate chips will work just fine, too. 
• Coarse sugar – For garnish, if desired.

How Ripe Should Bananas be for Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins?

Be sure to use overripe bananas for these Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins. Here are some of my best banana baking tips:

• The best bananas for baking should be very well-speckled or even nearly black.
• Overripe bananas are actually significantly sweeter and will contribute more banana flavor AND more moisture to the recipe.
• If you use underripe bananas (and when I say ‘underripe,’ I mean for baking specifically!), your muffins will be bland and dry.
• This is important when baking banana bread, banana muffins, banana cake, or banana cupcakes!

Can I Add Nuts to These Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins?

Sure! I created these muffins to include chocolate chips, but you can add some coarsely chopped nuts in place of some of the chocolate chips if you prefer. Just keep the same total volume of mix-ins the same as written in the recipe, for best results. I recommend lightly toasting your walnuts or pecans before adding them to the batter. 

Do I Need To Adjust This Recipe For High-Altitude Baking?

Reduce baking powder to 2 teaspoons if you are at high altitude. You may need to adjust more or less depending on your altitude.

How Do I Bake Tall Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins?

Tall Muffin Tip #1: Use Bread Flour!

• Bread flour has a higher level of protein content than all-purpose flour.
• That extra protein will allow the flour to absorb more moisture and add more structure.
• The result? Extra tall muffins that are still super moist and tender!

Tall Muffin Tip #2: Bake At A High Temperature!

• In this recipe, we bake at a high temperature for 425°F the entire time to get tall, beautiful muffins.
• You may have seen techniques that call for an initial burst of heat and then require you to drop the temperature down for a longer bake. I personally don’t love this method because all it takes is one time when you forget to lower the temperature, resulting in scorched muffins.

Tall Muffin Tip #3: Fill Your Muffin Cavities 3/4 Full With Batter!

• For tall muffins that have a bit of a muffin top, it’s essential to fill each cavity of your muffin pan pretty full with batter. For this recipe, I find that filling each cavity 3/4 full using a standard 12-cup muffin tin works beautifully.
• If you want slightly smaller muffins or have a muffin pan with smaller cavities (each bakeware brand is different!), then feel free to fill the cavities 2/3 full. You’ll just need to fill 15 cavities across two pans.

Check out all my tips for baking tall muffins here.

How Long To Bake Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

This recipe was designed to bake at a higher temperature for a shorter period of time, just 14 to 15 minutes. Those overripe bananas help to keep the muffins moist instead of drying out in the hot oven.

How To Avoid Overbaking Muffins

Don’t use a dark-colored nonstick pan when baking muffins. It simply conducts heat too aggressively and can lead to burnt bottoms and dry edges. My favorite pan for muffin baking is either this Wilton or this USA Pan.

How Do I Make Moist Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins?

Follow the tips above for using overripe bananas for the best guarantee of moist muffins!

Use A Combination Of Oil And Butter!

This is the second best bet. Use some oil for the sensation of moisture on the palate. This happens because oil is liquid at room temperature. It’s also my preference to use some melted butter so you get that beautiful distinct taste that only butter provides. This way, you get moistness and flavor! Learn more about oil and butter in baking here.

Does An Overnight Rest Of The Batter Work For Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins?

I wouldn’t particularly recommend an overnight batter rest for these Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins.

If you’ve followed me for a little while, you may have seen my overnight muffin batter fridge trick. Basically, for muffin recipes that use baking powder, if you cover the batter and allow it to rest overnight in the fridge, then the muffins will bake up extra tall and tender the next day. Check out my full article on How to Bake Tall Bakery Style Muffins here.

However, this banana nut muffin recipe is a little different. It uses both baking powder and baking soda. Baking powder is double acting so it activates upon being mixed with liquid, and also when it hits the heat of the oven. Baking soda only acts upon being mixed with something acidic (like brown sugar). The baking soda in the batter will lose strength the longer it sits before being baked.

You can chill this batter in the fridge if you’d like to get a jump start on breakfast or brunch the night before. You’ll likely lose a little browning on the muffins while they bake. If you’re curious about learning more about baking soda vs. baking powder, click here!

How to Store Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Can you Freeze Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins?

Place cooled Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins on a baking sheet and freeze until solid. Remove them to an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months. You can reheat in the microwave directly from the freezer (about 15 to 20 seconds) or thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat in the oven.