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My 4-ingredient banana muffins are moist, fluffy, and perfect for using your leftover bananas. They’re made in one bowl with minimal added sugar!
Need more recipes for leftover bananas? Use them in my healthy monster cookies, banana mug cake, 4 ingredient banana bread, or banana bread cookies.
You know those bags of super brown and soft bananas they sell for a discount at the grocery store? Yeah, I’m the guy that buys all of those.
That’s because there are SO many recipes to use them in. Most people go straight for banana bread (which I agree is delicious), but when my family requests a grab-and-go option, you better believe I’m making banana muffins!
Table of Contents
Why I love this recipe
- A one-bowl recipe. So you’re not left with a mess first thing in the morning.
- Easy and quick. All you need are 4 kitchen staples and 20 minutes of your time.
- Healthy. Eggs and bananas are two of the four ingredients, which means this is technically a breakfast food, right?
- Freezer-friendly. I always make a double-batch and freeze the leftovers for a muffin emergency.
Ingredients needed
- Mashed bananas. Use the ripest, brownest bananas you have. Those are the softest and will yield sweeter muffins.
- Large eggs. Use room temperature eggs so they’re easier to mix.
- Self-rising flour. Self-rising flour combines all-purpose flour, salt, and baking powder. It’s used to save time and minimize the number of ingredients in a recipe. Do yourself a favor and make my homemade self rising flour to always have it on hand.
- Brown sugar. I prefer brown sugar as it yields a softer muffin, but white sugar also works. Avoid maple syrup or other sticky sweeteners, as they add too much moisture.
- Mix-ins. Optional, but I love to fold in chopped nuts.
How to make 4 ingredient banana muffins
I’ve included step-by-step photos below to make this recipe easy to follow at home. For the full printable recipe instructions and ingredient quantities, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Step 1- Prep. Preheat the oven and line a muffin tin with muffin liners. Spray the liners with cooking spray.
Step 2- Mix. Mash the bananas in a bowl, add the remaining ingredients, and mix until smooth. Fold in any optional mix-ins at the end.
Step 3- Bake. Pour the banana muffin batter into the muffin pan and bake until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let them cool briefly before removing them from the tin.
Can you use non-ripe bananas for muffins?
Yes! If you don’t have ripened bananas, you can quickly ‘ripen’ them by baking them at 350F/175C for around 15 minutes or until the peel darkens. This will soften them and enhance their sweetness.
Arman’s recipe tips
- Make gluten-free muffins. Use gluten-free self-rising flour with xanthan gum added.
- Start at a higher oven temperature. Try baking the muffins at 400F for the first 5 minutes, then cook them at 350F for the remaining time. I find the initial high temperature helps the muffins rise even more.
- Blend the bananas. To guarantee a smooth and soft batter, blend the bananas in a blender or food processor. Alternatively, I find a potato masher or fork does an excellent job.
- Avoid overmixing. Overmixing is the #1 cause of dense muffins, as too much air is lost and too much gluten develops. Only mix until you have a smooth and cohesive batter.
- Swap the mix-ins. Try walnuts, pecans, or chocolate chips.
Storage instructions
To store: Keep the muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days or in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
To freeze: Place the cooled muffins in a freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months.
Frequently asked questions
I haven’t tried this recipe without eggs, so I can’t make promises, though I imagine an egg substitute (like applesauce or flax meal) would do a good job.
Your muffins likely turned out soggy if too much moisture was in the batter. To fix this, add 1 tablespoon of flour at a time and mix until you have a thick but pourable batter.
Yes! To make mini muffins, pour the batter into a mini muffin tin and bake for 8-10 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
More easy muffin recipes to try
4 Ingredient Banana Muffins
Ingredients
- 3 large bananas
- 3 large eggs
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 cups self rising flour
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a 12-count muffin tin with muffin liners and grease lightly.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the bananas and mash them well. Add the eggs and whisk until smooth. Stir through the brown sugar., then fold in the flour until just combined. If adding any mix-ins, fold them through at the end.
- Evenly distribute the batter amongst the muffin tin, filling them 2/3 of the way. Bake the muffins for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Let the muffins cool in the tin for 5 minutes before carefully transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Is there nutrition info anywhere?
Sure, if you plug in the ingredients into myfitnesspal, it will provide it all for you! 🙂
This recipe is brilliant! Everyone in my family loves these muffins. Even my son’s picky friends at school (the ones who only eat junk food) like them. Whenever I bring them to school for my son, the other kids crowd around and ask if they can have one too. And these are kids who eat tons of refined sugar. Anyway, I just wanted to say thanks for this wonderful recipe!
I’ve made these muffins a few times now and they are delicious! My 7-year-old son loves them. I use the mixture minus the chocolate chips as a base and mix in whatever I have on hand, raisins, peaches, apricots, etc. Sometimes when I don’t have enough coconut flour, I mix in rolled oats. The muffins always come out great and my son says they are his favorite muffins of all time. Thanks for creating such a great and versatile recipe!
I made these last night to freeze and take camping this weekend but I left two out in the refrigerator to try ahead of time. I do not have enough words to explain how delicious these are!! I will definitely be trying more of your recipes! GReat job!
🙂 Thanks so much for the feedback, Bobbi!
How many bananas is 3 cups?
It depends on how big they are, I used 5.
Hi! I can’t find coconut flour here where I live. Do you have any suggestion for what I can use instead? Maybe just normal wheat flour?
Hi Eloisa- Unfortunately, this recipe (in these measurements) needs the coconut flour. You could try oat flour, but you’d need 2-3 times the amount 🙂 Let me know if you try it out, I’m interested to hear how it turns out!
These look amazing! However, I only have a jumbo muffin pan. Will these taste and make the same with 6 instead of 12
Hi Kelly- Absolutely! Because they don’t rise (no baking powder!), fill as many as you like and it will be great!
Oh wow, banana bread heaveness (is that a word?!) Soooo good. Thank you, Arman!!! I halved the recipe, and put only 1 ounce of maple syrup as I knew bananas have a natural sweetness to them. I also didn’t put in any chocolate chips because I have yet to find them with unrefined sugar, and I just felt the recipe would be good without them. Next time, I could put even less maple. I also only baked them for 18 minutes, and um, sure, I waited for them to cool. Is it normal to have 3 in one sitting?!?
Maria, I would have been personally offended if you did NOT eat 3 in one sitting 🙂
I’m so glad you enjoyed it- Thanks so much for the feedback!
This recipe is brilliant, but I was wondering if I could use wheat flour instead of coconut flour?
Hi Elise! I’ve never tried it with wheat flour, sorry- Please let me know if you try it and if it comes out 🙂
Do you think i could give this to my son for his first birthday? I’m concerned about the almond butter because he has not had many things with tree nuts.
Hi Rebekah- I’d recommend speaking to your doctor or medical professional first, as I’m unsure, sorry!
Hi, I am unable to use coconut flour and still need to keep them gluten free what type of flour could I use instead? Thank you!
Hi Mysti- I’d recommend using oat flour (GF) or almond flour, but you’d need to adjust them, more than the coconut flour.
Are these considered low glucose and therefore diabetic friendly?
Hi Ceelo! I’m not sure to be honest- My dad is diabetic and enjoys them in moderation but please speak to a professional if you are unsure.