This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.

Do you have one banana languishing on the counter and need a sweet use for it? Iโ€™m here with a small batch of Chocolate Banana Muffins as a fun way to use it up! This small recipe makes 6 muffins, but you can easily double it to make one dozen.

Two chocolate banana muffins stacked on top of each other in brown wrappers.

I made these chocolate banana muffins for my toddler, and I had every intention of posting them in the baby food section on this site. But, I made the mistake of eating one. I ate it hot, right out of the oven, and immediately knew that we all deserve these as an afternoon treat.

I love that this recipe can be made entirely in one bowl. Itโ€™s almost a requirement for me when Iโ€™m small batch baking. If weโ€™re only making 6 muffins, how many dishes should we dirty? (Answer: as few as possible!)

Six perfectly domed chocolate banana muffins with chocolate chips in a muffin pan.

Over the past 2 weeks, Iโ€™ve made the recipe 4 times and my testers have, too. We all agree theyโ€™re the lightest, fluffiest, most tender and moist little banana muffins around.

You could open a coffee shop with just these chocolate banana muffins on the menu, and I think you would succeed.

Ingredients

Small bowls of flour, sugar, chips, cocoa powder and fruit on a marble counter.
  • Banana. One super ripe banana, mashed. The browner the banana, the better. This recipe makes 6 muffins, so it only calls for 1 medium banana, but you can easily double the recipe. You can also freeze any bananas starting to go brown, and then defrost in the microwave to make this recipe when youโ€™re ready.
  • Granulated Sugar. This recipe just calls for 1/4 cup of sugar, which is less than a tablespoon of sugar per muffin! Weโ€™re relying on the bananaโ€™s natural sweetness here.
  • Oil. Any neutral oil without flavor works here: avocado oil, grapeseed oil, canola oil or vegetable oil. I wouldnโ€™t use coconut oil or olive oil, because they have a strong flavor that might overpower the chocolate.
  • Egg. One large egg.
  • Vanilla Extract. Vanilla extract enhances the flavor of chocolate, do not skip it.
  • All-Purpose Flour. One-half cup of all-purpose flour.
  • Cocoa Powder. This recipe was developed with Dutch-processed cocoa powder, which is why they photograph so dark in color. You can use regular cocoa powder with the exact same results, however!
  • Baking Soda. One teaspoon of baking soda.
  • Chocolate Chips. I like semisweet or dark chocolate chips for these muffins, because they are plenty sweet with bananas and granulated sugar already.
Want to save this recipe?
Enter your email below & weโ€™ll send it straight to your inbox. Plus youโ€™ll get more great recipes and tips from us each week!

How to make Banana Chocolate Muffins

Preheat the oven to 350, and line a muffin pan with 6 cups.

Hand mashing fruit with a fork in a grey bowl.
Bowl with sugar, egg, vanilla and mashed fruit in the bottom for baking.

In a large bowl, mash the banana very well with a fork until itโ€™s smooth. Mash it very well until itโ€™s almost liquid, not lumpy at all.

Next, whisk in the sugar, oil, egg and vanilla extract. Whisk very well until combined.

Flour and cocoa powder sprinkled evenly on a bowl of yellow batter.
Rich dark brown chocolate banana muffin batter with pile of chocolate chips on top.

Sprinkle the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt evenly on top. Using a spatula, stir until well-combined.

Finally, stir in the chocolate chips, saving a few for the top of the muffins.

Raw chocolate muffin batter in muffin pan with chocolate chips on top.

Divide the batter between the muffin cups evenly, and sprinkle chocolate chips on top of each muffin. Bake for 18 minutes, or until the muffins are done. Theyโ€™re done when they spring back when pressed gently on the top.

Recipe Variations

  • Scale-Up: You can double this recipe to make 1 dozen muffins, if needed.
  • Vegan: I have successfully used a flax egg here to keep this recipe vegan. Use 1 tablespoon of flaxseed meal (freshly ground flax seed) mixed with 2.5 tablespoons of warm water. You might also like my vegan banana muffins.

Storage Instructions

These chocolate banana muffins keep well-wrapped in the freezer for up to 3 months. To defrost, either place them in the fridge overnight or heat in the microwave for 15 seconds. Yes, let the muffins cool completely, wrap each one individually in plastic wrap, and place in a freezer bag. Freeze the muffins flat initially, and then once theyโ€™re frozen solid, you can move them and stack them to take up less space.

Although, I donโ€™t think youโ€™ll have any problem with leftovers since it only makes 6 muffins. The muffins are usually gone by the end of the day in my house!

If youโ€™re out of cocoa powder, you can still make my chocolate chip banana muffins.

Next time you have a lonely brown banana on your counter, I hope you think of these muffins! It only requires one banana and one egg to get sublime banana muffins in your face in less than 30 minutes.

Yield: 6

Chocolate Banana Muffins Recipe

Two chocolate banana muffins stacked on top of each other in brown wrappers.

Chocolate banana muffins are a fun way to use up one lonely brown spotted banana! This small recipe makes 6 chocolate banana muffins.

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 18 minutes
Total Time 33 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 large very ripe banana
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 2 tablespoons canola oil
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup cocoa powder*
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips.

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350, and line a muffin pan with 6 cups.
  2. In a large bowl, mash the banana very well with a fork until it's smooth. Mash it very well until it's almost liquid, not lumpy.
  3. Next, whisk in the sugar, oil, egg and vanilla extract. Whisk very well until combined.
  4. In the same bowl, sprinkle the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt on top. Using a spatula, stir until well-combined.
  5. Finally, stir in the chocolate chips, saving a few for the top of the muffins.
  6. Divide the batter between the muffin cups evenly, and sprinkle chocolate chips on top of each muffin.
  7. Bake for 18 minutes, or until the muffins are done. They're done when they spring back when pressed gently on the top.
  8. Move the muffins to a cooling rack, and let cool completely before serving.

Notes

*For extra dark brown muffins, use Dutch-processed cocoa powder. Regular cocoa powder works fine, too!

Scale-Up: You can double this recipe to make 1 dozen muffins, if needed. Vegan: I have successfully used a flax egg here to keep this recipe vegan. Use 1 tablespoon of flaxseed meal (freshly ground flax seed) mixed with 2.5 tablespoons of warm water.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 288Total Fat: 10gSaturated Fat: 3gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 33mgSodium: 373mgCarbohydrates: 44gFiber: 4gSugar: 18gProtein: 6g

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Instagram

About Christina Lane

Christina Lane is the author of 5 cookbooks all about cooking and baking for two. She has scaled down hundreds of recipes into smaller servings so you can enjoy your favorite dishes without the leftovers! Valentine's Day is her favorite holiday.

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

135 Comments

  1. Sherri Murdoch says:

    LOVE THESE!! I used peanut butter chips and will definitely make this a keeper for sure. Only concern was they were somewhat dry. Will watch the temp and cooking time for the next batch.