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Packed with peanut butter, bananas, and chocolate chips, these Peanut Butter Banana Muffins are an all-time favorite muffin recipe!
My Personal Favorite Muffin Recipe
I have shared A LOT of muffin recipes with you all. From whole wheat blueberry muffins to applesauce muffins to chocolate zucchini muffins, I love muffins of all kinds.
But today, I am sharing with you my all-time favorite muffin recipe: Peanut Butter Banana Muffins.
The combination of creamy peanut butter and rich chocolate is one of the best food combinations ever, as is proven in decadent desserts like Homemade Peanut Butter Cups, Tagalong Cookies, and Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies. Add in sweet bananas and WOW! Perfection.
But instead of a rich decadent dessert, these peanut butter banana muffins, just like my recipes for Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Bars and Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars taste decadent, yet are made with whole grains, naturally sweetened, and oil-free, making these muffins suitable for a wholesome adult or kid-friendly snack or breakfast on the go.
Happy Cooking! xo Kristen
Notes on Ingredients
- Ripe Bananas: This is the time to use those brown bananas! The riper the banana, the more sweet these banana peanut butter muffins will be.
- Peanut Butter: Use natural, creamy peanut butter for best results.
- Applesauce: Be sure to use unsweetened applesauce to keep the added sugar to a minimum.
- Honey: Feel free to use maple syrup but the honey really pairs well with the peanut butter and banana flavor in these muffins.
- Flour: I recommend using whole white wheat flour, which is 100% whole grain, but bakes up lighter and fluffier than 100% whole wheat flour.
- Milk: Use your favorite dairy or non-dairy milk.
- Chocolate Chips: The chocolate chips are optional, but do add a nice flavor. Semi-sweet morsels or mini chocolate chips both are great options.
How to Make Peanut Butter Banana Muffins
This recipe for peanut butter banana muffins comes together easily, and you will find the detailed instructions in the recipe card. However, I do want to walk you through a few expert tips to ensure your peanut butter muffins turn out fluffy, moist, and delicious.
- Mash the bananas first. It is best to mash your bananas up first in a small mixing bowl, before adding the peanut butter, applesauce, honey, egg, milk, and vanilla. That will help to ensure that the bananas are evenly distributed throughout each muffin and make it easier to combine the ingredients.
- Add the chocolate chips to the dry ingredients. After whisking together the dry ingredients together, add the chocolate chips directly to the flour mixture and toss them in the flour to coat. This helps the chocolate chips not sink to the bottom of the peanut butter banana muffins.
- Don't overmix the muffin batter. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and fold the ingredients together using a wooden spoon or spatula until JUST combined and the flour is fully moistened. You don't want to over-mix, as this will activate the gluten and result in dense, tough banana muffins.
- Use an ice cream scoop to keep muffins even in size. You want to fill each muffin cup with about ¼ cup of the peanut butter banana muffin batter. I love using an ice cream scoop to do this as it is a mess-free way to dish out the batter.
- Bake until muffins are just set. You want to bake the muffins until the tops of the muffins are puffed up and set. Overbaking the muffins will result in dried-out peanut butter muffins.
Storage Tips
- Refrigerate for Best Results: Because these muffins are made with whole grains and no preservatives, they should only be kept at room temperature for 2 days in an airtight container. Therefore, I recommend storing these muffins in an airtight container in the refrigerator, where they will last up to 5 days.
- Freeze: Let the muffins cool completely, flash freeze, and then freeze in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months.
Recipe Modifications
- Egg-free: Replace the egg by mixing together 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseed with 3 tablespoons of water. Let that sit for 5 minutes before adding to the batter.
- Dairy-Free: Use your favorite non-dairy milk and dairy-free chocolate chips.
- Vegan-Friendly: I have made vegan-friendly peanut butter banana muffins MANY times with great success. First, replace the honey with maple syrup. You will also want to prepare a flax egg by mixing together 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseed with 3 tablespoons of water to replace the egg. And finally, use non-dairy milk and dairy-free chocolate chips.
- Gluten-Free: I have tested this recipe using a 1:1 gluten-free all-purpose flour blend with great results.
More Favorite Banana Recipes
- Healthy Banana Bread
- Banana Breakfast Cookies
- Banana Oat Pancakes
- Homemade Banana Pudding
- Banana Cake
- Pumpkin Banana Muffins
- Banana Chocolate Chip Bars
Did you make this recipe?
If you enjoyed this recipe, please leave a comment with a 5-star review at the bottom of the post. Thank you!
Peanut Butter Banana Muffins with Chocolate Chips
Video
Ingredients
- 1 cup mashed ripe bananas, about 2 large bananas
- ½ cup creamy peanut butter
- ⅓ cup honey
- ½ cup applesauce, unsweetened
- 1 large egg
- ⅓ cup milk, any variety
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ¾ cup whole wheat flour, or all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon table salt, omit if peanut butter is salted
- ½ cup chocolate chips, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉ (175℃). Grease or line a 12-cup muffin tin with silicone liners.
- In a mixing bowl, mash bananas until smooth ensuring you have 1 cup mashed ripe bananas. To the banana, add in ½ cup creamy peanut butter, ⅓ cup honey, ½ cup applesauce, 1 large egg, ⅓ cup milk, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and mix until well combined.
- In a separate large mixing bowl, whisk together 1 ¾ cup whole wheat flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon baking powder, and ½ teaspoon table salt. Add in ½ cup chocolate chips, if using, and toss with flour mixture. Add the wet ingredients into the large mixing bowl with the flour and using a spatula, fold together until just combined.
- Scoop ¼ cup of the batter into each of the 12 muffin cups, so that each cup is about ⅔ of the way full. Top with additional chocolate chips if desired.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center of the muffin.
- Allow the muffins to cool for 5 minutes in muffin tin and then remove them from muffin pan and cool completely on wire rack.
Equipment
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
These look so decadent! Kind of like a healthier donut!
Yes, that is a great way to think of it Jade 🙂
Ooh, yum, these sound so delicious! Just my kind of muffin.
They are pretty awesome Caroline 🙂
Love the peanut butter filling! Wish I had one to get through the afternoon!
Wish I could send one your way!
I'll take one baker's dozen to go. 🙂 Love these muffins, Kristen. A real treat to have peanut butter, chocolate and banana bread in a muffin. Score!!!!
Thanks Allie--they are pretty awesome 🙂
Mmmm These muffins look incredible ♥
summerdaisy.net
Thanks so much Summer!
Oh my goodness do these look good! I wish I had a bunch right now! Chocolate peanut butter anything works for me.
Me too Denise!
Love these! I could go for a couple with my morning coffee!
They would go great with coffee for sure!