Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Muffins

These easy chocolate chip banana bread muffins are perfectly soft and moist, with a delicious golden exterior. They have a sweet banana flavor and are bursting with rich chocolate chips in every bite! 

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

There’s something about banana bread muffins that make me feel so warm and cozy. I’m a chocolate lover at heart, so adding chocolate chips makes them even more delicious. The richness from the chocolate is the perfect compliment to the fruity banana flavor. Yum!

My chocolate chip banana bread recipe has been a long standing favorite at our house for years. Instead of making a loaf this time, we decided to make muffins. My kids absolutely loved them! They’re super soft and fluffy with lightly golden muffin tops. The sour cream helps make them perfectly moist and every bite is filled with rich chocolate chips.

These muffins make an easy grab-and-go snack or breakfast and are great for freezing. You can quickly pop one out of the freezer and reheat in the microwave when you get a craving for something sweet. They taste amazing as-is, or with a little dab of butter or peanut butter on top. They have the best banana flavor and taste even better the next day. This is one of those tried and true recipes that you’ll reach for again and again!

Recipe Ingredients

Grab those bananas that are almost too ripe to peel and a few pantry staples to make an incredible treat for the whole family.

• Banana: The key component for giving the muffins that great fruit flavor.
• Semi-sweet chocolate chips: I like the little bit of dark chocolate these offer, but feel free to use milk chocolate chips if you prefer.
• Butter: I use unsalted because I add salt, but you can use whatever you prefer.
• Sugars: Granulated and light brown sugar add just the right amount of sweetness.
• Eggs: These act the necessary binder to keep everything together and help activate the leavening agents.
• Vanilla extract: I love vanilla and bananas, so this is a must-have for me.
• Sour cream: I love the slight tang this adds, as well as how it works to give extra rise to the batter.
• Flour: All-purpose flour is the go-to for giving these muffins texture.
• Leavening agents: I like to use a mix of both baking soda and baking powder to make these muffins extra light.
• Salt: Since I use unsalted butter, I add a dash of salt to enhance all the other flavors.

Variations

• Extras. Feel free to mix in extra ingredients like chopped nuts (pecans or chopped walnuts are a fave), cinnamon or coconut.
• Lighter swaps. You can use Greek yogurt in place of sour cream or swap butter for apple sauce using a 1:1 ratio.
• Chocolate chips. You can easily make half of the muffins with chocolate chips, and the other half without. If using this method, separate the batter into 2 bowls and then fold 1/2 cup chocolate chips into one. Also feel free to use mini chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, or dark chocolate chips.

How to Make Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Muffins

This recipe really only requires mixing and baking, so is a dream to make any day of the week.

• Mix. In a large bowl using an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugars. Add the eggs, vanilla, and sour cream and stir just until combined.
• Whisk. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon just until combined. Do not over mix.
• Fold. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the banana (mash bananas first) and chocolate chips into the mixture.
• Add batter. Fill two muffin tins lined with muffin liners 2/3 of the way full. Press a few extra chocolate chips on top, if desired.
• Bake. Bake in a 375°F oven for 18 to 20 minutes, or until lightly browned and a toothpick comes out clean. Transfer muffins to a wire rack to cool.

Baking Tips

• Use ripe bananas. The riper the bananas, the sweeter your muffins will be. Bananas that are ripe are brown and spotty.
• Don’t over mix. The muffins won’t be as soft and tender if you over mix the batter. Mix just until combined.
• Don’t overfill. You don’t want to fill the muffin cups with batter all the way to the top. Fill them about 2/3 of the way full, so that the muffins have room to rise and don’t overflow.
• Chocolate chips. After filling the muffin cups with batter, I like to add a few extra chocolate chips on top. This makes them extra pretty and gives them an added boost of chocolate flavor.
• Toothpick test. Stick a toothpick in the center of the muffin to test if they are done. You can take them out of the oven when the toothpick comes out clean. If there is batter on the toothpick, continue baking and then retest in a few minutes.

Storing + Freezing

• To store: Make sure they have cooled completely before storing. Then place in an airtight container and store at room temperature for up to 3 to 4 days. Because the muffins are so moist, I like to add a few folded paper towels into the container. It absorbs the moisture and keeps them from getting soggy.
• To freeze: Place in a freezer container and freeze for up to 2 months. When ready to reheat, remove from freezer and cook in microwave until warm (about 15 to 30 seconds).

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