Easy banana muffins with cinnamon streusel
These easy banana muffins are made from scratch, they have a great banana flavor and they are ready from start to finish in under 30 minutes. They are tender and buttery, and topped with a delicious cinnamon streusel.
I’ll give you variations and substitutions where I can, plus helpful tips and tricks for success. Read on for this info as well as the recipe. If you’d like to skip straight to the recipe, use the jump to recipe button at the top of the post.
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Easy banana muffins with streusel
Muffins are a great option for weekend brunches, or an after-school snack. They are a little treat that pairs perfectly with a cup of coffee or tea. And, they make an easy grab and go breakfast for busy mornings.
What you need to know
To make the best banana muffins, you’ll need ripe bananas. They do not have to be on the verge of turning black – a few speckles on the peel is what you’re looking for. The riper the banana, the sweeter it is. Keep that in mind when making these muffins.
Bananas that are really ripe are also softer, which means they are easier to mash up, and you won’t have hard chunks of banana in the muffins.
Lastly, I use tulip muffin papers when I make muffins. The recipe yields 12 large bakery-style muffins, and that’s exactly what you’ll get. However, if you use regular cupcake papers (like the ones at the grocery store), you will get 14 – 16.
Ingredients
One of the best things about these easy banana muffins is the ingredient list. It is likely that you already have everything you need.
- Flour + cornstarch – By swapping out a little all-purpose flour, and replacing it with cornstarch, we’re essentially making cake flour.
- Substitution: You can use 2 cups of cake flour, if you have in the pantry.
- Sugar – If the bananas you are using are very ripe and sweet, you can adjust the sugar by a couple of teaspoons, if you prefer muffins that are not very sweet.
- Baking soda – This reacts with the acid in the yogurt to help the muffins rise.
- Yogurt – Provides tang and moisture.
- Eggs – Provide structure and moisture.
- Bananas – We can’t have banana muffins without bananas.
- Butter – Unsalted butter gives you control over the amount of salt.
- Vanilla – You can use vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste.
- Salt – All baked goods need salt. I like fine sea salt for baking.
How to make
Here’s a quick summary of how to make easy banana muffins. Please see the recipe card at the bottom of this post for the full recipe.
- Prep – Preheat the oven. Mix wet ingredients in one bowl, and dry ingredients in a separate bowl.
- Combine – Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients, and mix to combine.
- Scoop – I use a scoop to ensure that all of the muffins are the same size, which means they will bake evenly, at the same rate.
- Bake – Bake about 20 minutes, until golden brown.
How to make cinnamon streusel topping
This is everything you’ll need to make the cinnamon almond streusel for the muffins.
The streusel recipe for these banana muffins is as easy as it gets. No cutting in butter or working the mixture between your fingers. Mix the sugar, flour, oats, almonds and cinnamon together in a small bowl. Pour the melted butter in and mix with a fork to combine.
Try not to break the chunks of streusel into really small pieces, as it will melt into the muffins instead of staying on top like it is supposed to. You want big pieces of streusel to sprinkle over the tops.
Here are more muffin recipes we’re loving right now: easy blueberry muffins / Hubbard squash muffins / pumpkin cheesecake muffins / blood orange muffins
What is the muffin method?
The muffin method, which isn’t just for muffins, is basically this:
- Dry ingredients in one bowl
- Wet ingredients in another bowl
- Pour wet into dry
- Stir just until it’s all incorporated
- Bake your muffins
Easy banana muffins FAQ’s
If stored in an airtight container, at room temperature, these muffins will last 4 days. To keep for longer, store in the refrigerator.
You can freeze them for up to 3 months, stored in an airtight container.
Baking soda acts as a leavener in your baked goods. When you combine baking soda with something acidic, in this case – yogurt, and then introduce it to heat, it creates little gas bubbles that lift your baked goods to fluffy perfection. One thing about baking soda to remember is that it starts to react as soon as you mix it with your acid (yogurt), so don’t let it sit around, because you’ll lose the leavening power.
Variations and substitutions
- Chocolate chips – Add in 3/4 cup of mini chocolate chips for a banana chocolate chip muffin.
- Nutty – For extra nuttiness, add in 1/2 – 1 cup toasted, chopped walnut, pecans or almonds.
Helpful tools and equipment
- Tulip muffin paper liners are what I use for muffins.
- 2 ounce portion scoop – I use this scoop for cupcakes, muffins, cookies, etc.
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Banana Muffins
Ingredients
Muffins
- 1 ¾ cups all purpose flour 210g
- 4 tbsp. cornstarch UK: cornflour / 30g
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 cup. sugar 200g
- 4 tbsp. unsalted butter melted and cooled / 57g
- 2 large eggs room temp
- 1 ½ cups mashed banana 3 – 4 medium bananas / 350ml
- ⅓ cup Greek yogurt plain / 75ml
- 1 ½ tsp. vanilla
Streusel Topping
- ½ cup flour
- ½ cup packed brown sugar
- ¼ cup butter melted and cooled
- ¼ cup oats
- ¼ cup sliced almonds toasted
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°f / 200°c degrees.
Make streusel topping
- Combine all ingredients for streusel, except butter, in medium bowl. Mix with fork to combine. Drizzle butter over the mixture, then mix with fork until it you have coarse crumbs. (It will look like wet sand)
Make muffin batter
- Combine flour, cornstarch, baking soda, salt & sugar in a large bowl.
- Whisk to thoroughly combine and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk eggs, butter, banana, yogurt and vanilla together.
- Pour wet ingredients on top of dry ingredients and fold gently until just combined, making sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl. Do not overmix. (Your laziness will be rewarded, I promise.)
- Portion muffin batter evenly between the 12 muffin cups.
- Top generously with streusel topping (about 2 tbsps. each) and bake for 20 – 22 minutes. (Check for doneness with a toothpick or wooden skewer)
- Cool in pan for 5 minutes, then remove carefully to a wire rack to cool completely.Store leftover muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.
Notes
- Store leftover muffins at room temperature for up to 4 days in an airtight container.
- To keep muffins longer than 4 days, store in the refrigerator for an extra day or two, or freeze for up to 3 months.
- I use tulip muffin papers when I make muffins. The recipe yields 12 large bakery-style muffins, and that’s exactly what you’ll get. However, if you use regular cupcake papers (like the ones at the grocery store), you will get 14 – 16.
Nutrition
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Originally published 9/24/12, most recent update 9/16/24.
You are Ever So Wise to follow my advice! 😉 Seriously though, I don’t understand why anyone would make a muffin using the creaming method anyway. At that point, it’s just a cupcake. Weird.
They turned out great w/Loverly peaks:)
You are the wise teacher, I’m just the grasshopper ;o)
they were nice peaks!
You acted on good advice, and these lovely muffins are proof! I love the measure of Greek yogurt as well. I too, find comfort in baking. You’re my people, Cheryl. 🙂
Brooks, You are so kind… those of us that find puttering in the kitchen a comfort are a unique breed 😉
Speaking of which: I was setting out my mise for scones about an hour ago. LOL
These muffins were amazing! I don’t even really like banana muffins and I looked down and I’d eaten the whole thing! YUM!!!!!! Thank you!! 🙂
Thank you, Laurie! I’m so happy you liked them!
This is the second recipe I have tried from Cheryl. The first was so good that I immediately checked her site first to see if she had a recipe for banana bread. I am so glad I did because this recipe was another winner. Once you try this recipe I guarantee you will not need another.
Thank you so much, Tia! I’m so happy you liked them!!! 🙂
I just baked these. I assumed it was for 12 regular sized muffins. I wanted to make large ones so I used the batter for 6 large muffins. They rose really high. I’m thinking I might have been able to make 8 out of them. I had to make my own cake flour so I added some cornstarch to regular flour. And I baked them at 400 for the 20 minutes, not quite done in the center so I just lowered the temp to 350 for another 5 minutes and they turned out done and delicious! Thank you Cheryl.
Wonderful, Janis! I’m so glad you liked them and they turned out well! <3
I made these for my dental office this week…many employees there so I made an enlarged batch this time……..you got RAVE reviews on these and I immediately shared your site with them 🙂 Just fyi, lol…..
Janis, you are the BEST!!! <3