Chocolate Banana Muffins
These moist triple Chocolate Banana Muffins are a great way to use up overripe bananas. They feature a rich chocolate flavor with mashed banana and dark and white chocolate chunks. This chocolate banana muffin recipe is freezer-friendly and the muffins can be baked up in different sizes.
Creating this Chocolate Banana Muffin Recipe
We have what I like to call a “stash” of frozen, over-ripe bananas in our freezer. And it seems as if that “stash” replenishes itself at an exponential rate.
It’s not that the bananas don’t get eaten, because my husband and Logan both love them. But I think every once in a while a batch of bananas ripens a little too quickly.
I don’t do anything special to the over-ripe bananas to store them in the freezer. I know some like to mash and pre-measure amounts for their favorite banana recipes, but I just toss the banana in the freezer. Peel and all.
Our stash is quite often made into Multi-Grain Banana Bread (or muffins). This time I was ready for a change. Something a little different.
Adding chocolate chips to banana bread isn’t a new thing, but I thought I’d try toying with the batter and making that chocolate as well. As Logan would say: “Deeeeeeeeelicious!”
I Love these Banana Muffins with Chocolate!
Not fond of the texture or really even the taste of plain bananas, Madeline and I only like to eat them if they are cooked into something.
These muffins were perfect for me. The banana wasn’t too strong, but it was still there to add moistness and some additional nutritional value to the muffins.
They also froze very well (once completely cooled) in gallon sized Ziploc bags. Perfect for busy mornings during the week…or late evening cravings for chocolate.
Kitchen Tools for Making Chocolate Banana Muffins
Youβll need a few kitchen tools to prepare this recipe for easy chocolate banana muffin recipe. Hereβs what I recommend having on hand before getting started:
- Measuring Spoons and Measuring Cup Set – to measure ingredients when making the muffin batter
- Large Mixing Bowl – to combine the dry ingredients in.
- Medium Bowl – to combine the wet ingredients in.
- Wire Whisk – for whisking the wet ingredients
- Wooden Spoon – for stirring the muffin batter.
- Standard Muffin Tin – to bake the homemade muffins in.
- Muffin Liners – to line the muffin pan with, if desired.
- Ice Cream Scoop or Cookie Scoop – to scoop the muffin batter into the baking cupcake liners.
- Wire Rack – to cool the baked muffins on.
Chocolate Banana Muffins Ingredients
Here’s a quick overview of the simple ingredients you’ll need to make these chocolate banana bread muffins. For the complete ingredient list and detailed instructions, scroll to the bottom of this post for the FREE printable recipe card.
- Unsalted Butter
- Dark Chocolate
- All-Purpose Flour
- Granulated Sugar
- Unsweetened Dark Chocolate Cocoa Powder
- Baking Powder
- Baking Soda
- Sea Salt
- Mashed Banana
- Greek Yogurt
- Large Egg
- Vanilla Extract
How to Make these Chocolate Banana Muffins
The below is simply a quick summary of this easy banana muffins with chocolate. Check out the full recipe in the free printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for all the detailed instructions.
- Prep – preheat the oven and add liners to the muffin tin.
- Dry Ingredients – Mix all the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
- Wet Ingredients – Combine melted butter and melted chocolate to a medium bowl. Then add the remaining wet ingredients and stir.
- Mix the Batter – Gently stir the wet and dry ingredients together, then stir in the chocolate chunks.
- Bake – Transfer the batter to the muffin tin, then bake.
Tips for Making the Best Chocolate Banana Muffins
Chocolate banana muffin batter is best mixed by hand with a wooden spoon and should be slightly lumpy. Batter mixed until smooth, like cake batter, will result in tough muffins.
Your results may produce more or less muffins than listed in the recipe. If you have empty cups, fill them halfway with water to help the keep the heat evenly distributed.
When baking more than one pan of chocolate banana muffins, leave space between pans to allow the heat to circulate in the oven and produce more evenly browned muffins. Additionally, it is helpful to rotate the muffin pans halfway through baking.
The Best Way to Store Triple Chocolate Banana Muffins
These moist muffins will last for up to five days stored properly. Here are my muffin storage tips:
STEP ONE: Transfer the chocolate banana muffins to a wire cooling rack and allow them to cool completely. If you store warm muffins, youβll end up with a lot of excess moisture on your muffins due to condensation (and this causes them to go soggy AND mold).
STEP TWO: Place a sheet of paper towels on the bottom of a large airtight container. You can also use gallon sized ziptop bags with a sheet of paper towel inside. The paper towels will help absorb any excess moisture that is released from the muffins and help prevent them from becoming soggy.
STEP THREE: Transfer muffins to a storage container or zip top plastic bag lined with a paper towel.
STEP FOUR: Place a second paper towel on top of the muffin layer. Depending on how deep your airtight container is, you may be able to fit more than one layer of muffins. In this case, repeat the process β always end with a paper towel on top of the last layer of muffins. A bag will likely fit only one layer.
STEP FIVE: Place the lid on the container (or zip the bag) and store at room temperature. For best results, don’t recommend refrigerating muffins, this can cause them to dry out.
How to Freeze Chocolate Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
If you’re hoping for longer storage, then I recommend freezing these muffins. Head over to my post on How to Freeze Muffins for all the details and tips.
Ways to Use Over Ripe Bananas (Besides Chocolate Banana Muffins!)
Of course you don’t have to use over-ripe bananas for Banana Bread or Muffins. There are lots of other uses for the fruit.
1. Smoothies
Frozen bananas are great added to smoothies. It would be easiest to peel the bananas and freeze them in individual bags for this use. That way you can grab a frozen banana without waiting for it to thaw so you can peel it. Slice, dice and toss it in. Recipe to try: Banana Berry Smoothies
2. Oatmeal
Ripe banana puree would be great stirred into a bowl of your morning oatmeal. A little extra sweetness without any refined sugar.
3. Pancakes
Substitute part of the liquid (milk, butter milk, water, oil, butter…whatever you feel like experimenting with) for some banana puree in your favorite Pancake Recipe.
I haven’t tried it yet, but I bet banana would do well in these Healthier Whole Wheat Waffles.
4. Cookies
Surely you’ve taste or maybe even made pumpkin cookies? Why not swap out the pumpkin puree for banana puree to give it a different flavor?
5. Healthy Ice Cream
That’s right, I said healthy and ice cream in the same phrase. Check out this One Ingredient Banana Ice Cream recipe. What a perfect way to get a sweet fix without busting any New Year’s Resolutions. Or maybe you’d just rather your kids have a healthy treat once in a while.
Make these Chocolate Banana Muffins at Home!
Next time youβre looking for different way to use up brown bananas, give this easy recipe for Triple Chocolate Banana Muffins a try!
Did you love the combination of banana flavor and chocolate muffins? Leave a comment below and give it a review for others to see what you thought of this fun breakfast treat.
On Instagram? Share your photo and tag me with @goodlifeeats and #goodlifeeatsrecipes. Iβd love to see your photo of this great recipe!
More Muffin Recipes to Try
Studded with fresh blueberries and cubes of cream cheese, these Blueberry Cream Cheese Muffins turn out perfectly moist and flavorful every time!
This recipe for Orange Chocolate Chip Muffins is super simple to bake! These muffins get their tangy orange flavor from plenty of fresh orange zest and fresh orange juice!
Pumpkin Cornbread Muffins offer a fun fall take on the traditional Honey Cornbread Muffin. Infused with real pumpkin puree, brown sugar, and fall spices.
This Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffin recipe makes just the right amount to feed two people. Perfect for those moments when you just want a single muffin!
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What other ways do you like to use over-ripe bananas?
Chocolate Banana Muffins
Adding chocolate chips to banana bread isnβt a new thing, but I thought Iβd try toying with the batter and making that chocolate as well. These TRIPLE chocolate banana muffins came out perfectly.
Ingredients
- 2 cups All-Purpose Flour
- 1/3 cup Unsweetened Dark Chocolate Cocoa Powder
- 2/3 cup Granulated Sugar
- 1 tablespoon Baking Powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt
- 6 tablespoons Unsalted Butter, melted
- 2.5 ounces Melted Dark Chocolate (60% cacao)
- 3/4 cup Plain Greek Yogurt
- 3/4 cup Pureed Banana
- 1 Large Egg, beaten
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 2 ounces Dark Chocolate Chunks
- 2 ounces White Chocolate Chunks
Instructions
Prepping for this Recipe
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Prepare muffin tin with liners or cooking spray.
Preparing the Chocolate Muffin Batter
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and sea salt.
- Stir with a wire whisk until well sifted. Set aside.
- In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine the melted butter and melted chocolate. Stir to mix.
- Then, add the Greek yogurt, banana, large egg, and vanilla extract, mixing in between each addition.
- Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Then, pour the liquids into the center and stir gently to combine. Do not beat.
- Add the dark and white chocolate chunks and stir until incorporated
Baking the Chocolate Muffins
- Divide batter evenly among muffin cups.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the muffins spring back when pressed lightly.
- Cool on wire rack for 5 minutes before removing from pan.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 316Total Fat: 13gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 34mgSodium: 283mgCarbohydrates: 44gFiber: 2gSugar: 24gProtein: 5g
GoodLifeEats.com offers recipe nutritional information as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although GoodLifeEats.com makes every effort to provide accurate information, these figures are only estimates.
amber says
hello. do you have to use milled flax? i live in Italy and it’s hard to find flax.
Katie says
No, you can omit it. Just replace the amount with additional flour.
Mandy Cheshire says
Just wanted to let you know I just made a batch of these and they are delish! THANKS!! π I did use white whole wheat (I had regular whole wheat, but I’ve been wanting to try the white) , and I omitted the flax because I didn’t have any! Will certainly add it in next time for nutrition.
Celina, I would guess that this uses ground flax. Whole flax seeds aren’t really absorbed into your system, and the healthy oils are released when they are crushed/ground. HTH! π
Celina says
Is “cold milled flax” flax seeds that have been ground or the whole ones? I have whole flax, could I use that or do you recommend the ground?
Katie says
Sorry for the late reply, I think this question came through while I was out of town in May and I’m just now seeing it. Cold milled flax is a type of ground flax. Cold Milled refers to the process of how the flax is ground, but yes – you do want to use ground flax in this recipe.