Chocolate Chip Banana Muffin Recipe (one banana) - Dessert for Two (2024)

If you have one over-ripe banana on the counter, then I have an easy breakfast or snack recipe for you. These Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins made with just one banana! This small batch of banana muffins is perfect for using the last super ripe banana in the bunch!

You will love this Chocolate Chip Banana Muffin Recipe

I've always got one lonely brown banana on my counter. If I had a band, I would name it One Brown Banana, and the cover art would capture the loneliness, of course!

I buy a big bunch of bananas for the week, and between my baby banana pancakes in my baby breakfast ideas rotation and my double chocolate banana muffins, most are gone quickly! Speaking of, I should really add to my baby breakfast ideas recipe collection, because I've been experimenting a lot lately.

Since we're only using 1 banana, this recipe makes a small batch of banana muffins; 6 muffins, to be exact!

Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins ingredients

• Banana. Just one lonely banana, the more brown spots the better. Completely brown is fine, too!
• Egg. One large egg, egg yolk and egg white.
• Vanilla Extract. I always bake with the real thing: pure vanilla.
• Oil. You can use any flavorless oil, such as canola, avocado or grapeseed oil.
• Flour. All-purpose flour that has been fluffy, spooned into a measuring cup and leveled with a knife.
• Baking Soda. We're just using baking soda in these muffins for incredible rise, no baking powder today.
• Granulated Sugar. You can use white granulated sugar or coconut sugar here; the choice is yours. Don't use brown sugar, though--it has a bit too much moisture.
• Chocolate Chips. Semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips are the best here, but you can use dark chocolate or even milk chocolate chips for extra sweetness.

I almost always have all of these ingredients on hand, which means I can have banana chocolate chip muffins anytime! Any chocolate chips are fine here--dark, semisweet, milk or even white chocolate chips! If you're low on chocolate chips, chop up a 3 ounce chocolate bar.

Do bananas need to be brown for muffins?

Yes, bananas need to be spotty brown (the darker, the better) for muffins, because it means the banana is fully ripe and fragrant. Fully ripe bananas give the best flavor to banana baked goods.

How ripe should bananas be for muffins?

The more brown spots the better. Completely brown is fine, too! Truly, the riper, the better.

How to make Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Make these Banana Muffins with Chocolate Chips with kids!

This is a perfect recipe for baking with kids, because everything comes together in one bowl. I've found that kids do better with small batch recipes in the kitchen, because they lose interest after scooping just a few cookies or muffins out. Small batch recipes also create less mess in the kitchen when cooking with kids, too!

If you want to reduce the sugar a bit in this recipe for kids, you absolutely can. Similarly, if you're baking egg-free, simply replace the egg with ⅓ cup of applesauce. If you always bake without eggs, you need my eggless banana bread recipe and my chocolate chip cookies without eggs, too!

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins Recipe storage

These muffins can be stored for one day on the counter at room temperature. Beyond that, it is best to place them in an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to 1 week. They can also be frozen for up to 3 months in air-tight food storage bags. To serve, microwave for 15 seconds.

Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins Recipe FAQs

Why is my banana muffin hard?

If your muffins are hard, it seems like you overcooked them, I’m sorry.

How do you know when banana muffins are done?

To test a muffin to see if it is done, insert a toothpick in the center of the muffin. When you remove it, it should only have moist crumbs clinging to it and no wet batter. Be mindful of poking into chocolate chips so that your data isn’t skewed.

How do you keep banana muffins moist?

Store them in air tight containers with a slice of bread.

What makes muffins more fluffy?

My favorite trick for super fluffy muffins is to preheat the oven 50 degrees higher than normal, and lower it down once you add the muffins to the oven. So, for this recipe, preheat the oven to 400, and lower the heat to 350 right when you add the muffins to the oven.

Next time you have a craving for banana muffins, grab one banana and make this recipe! I know you're going to ask, so let me say YES, you can easily double it, too. You can also make a version with pumpkin: chocolate pumpkin muffins.

Other one banana recipes:

Double Chocolate Banana Muffins

One Banana Bread

Banana Sheet Cake (uses 1 cup of mashed banana)

Vegan Banana Muffins

Banana Pudding for Two