Double Chocolate Banana Muffins

Super soft, fluffy, and moist Chocolate Banana Muffins are made with mashed bananas, peanut butter, and DOUBLE the chocolatey goodness with both cocoa powder and chocolate chips. You can easily make this healthy muffin recipe vegan and gluten-free with a few simple ingredient swaps, too. Meal prep them for a healthy dessert, afternoon snack, or even breakfast bread recipe!

Chocolate Banana Muffins Recipe

While I still love my Paleo Chocolate Banana Muffins. it’s nice to switch things up sometimes.

I did just that! With a little creativity and other ingredients swaps, this Chocolate Banana Muffins recipe was born.

They’re super moist, ultra fluffy, and have the perfect balance of bitter cocoa powder, creamy peanut butter, and sweet mashed bananas.

Not to mention a delicious surprise of mini chocolate chips in every bite!

Since unrefined sugars are used, they’re also healthy enough to eat for breakfast or for an after-school snack.

Or… you can warm them up and serve them a la mode for a delectable after-dinner dessert!

Ingredients

The simple ingredients you need to make this chocolate banana muffin recipe include:

• Flour. Either all purpose flour or a gluten-free 1-to-1 blend can be used. You can also make your own gluten-free flour at home, too.
• Cocoa powder. Regular cocoa powder will give your muffins more of a milk chocolate taste while dark cocoa powder will make these a bit more bitter.
• Bananas. Two medium-sized, fresh bananas that are FULLY ripened will be needed for these muffins. Mashing brown bananas up completely is a crucial step in the process.
• Peanut Butter. A smooth, no sugar added peanut butter was used when testing this recipe. Almond butter or cashew butter may also be used if you have a peanut allergy.
• Oil. Using coconut oil in place of butter makes the muffins extra moist and also dairy-free. However, feel free to use melted butter if that’s what you have on hand.
• Eggs. Large eggs help give these muffins their fluffy texture. If you’re vegan or avoiding eggs, you can also substitute with flax or chia eggs.
• Maple Syrup. Instead of using your typical processed white sugar, pure maple syrup is used. You can also substitute with honey or agave nectar.
• Coconut Sugar. This is a slightly healthier alternative to regular sugar and I promise, it does not add any coconut flavor to your muffins! If you don’t have this ingredient on hand, you can also use regular sugar or brown sugar instead.
• Chocolate Chips. Mini chocolate chips are the best to use since they will evenly disperse throughout the batter. Regular-size chips, white chocolate chips, dark chocolate chips, or peanut butter chips can also be substituted.

How to Make Chocolate Banana Muffins

Below are the steps to make these banana chocolate chip muffins at home:

Mash the Bananas

In order to get perfectly soft and moist chocolate chip banana muffins without any huge banana clumps, you’ll want to make sure you fully mash the fruit before adding it to your batter.  And as a side note, fully ripened bananas mash MUCH more easily than underripe bananas.

One way you can mash bananas is to add them to a medium-sized bowl.  Use a large fork to mash the bananas until no large clumps remain.

An alternative method to mashing bananas is to add them to a Ziploc plastic bag and mash them with your hands.

Once mashed you’ll want to measure out ¾ cups.

Make the Batter

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Mix together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium-sized bowl.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the oil, maple syrup, coconut sugar, eggs, mashed banana, peanut butter, and vanilla. Be sure there are no lumps remaining.

Combine your wet ingredients and dry ingredients. Fold together until JUST smooth. If you overwork the batter, you’ll have dense rather than fluffy muffins.

Add the Chips and Fill Muffin Cups

Add the chocolate chips into the muffin batter and gently stir. Again, be careful not to overmix.

Fill the muffin tray with cupcake liners. Pour enough batter into each cup until it is almost full.

Sprinkle some extra mini chocolate chips on the top of the muffins for an impressive presentation.

Bake Muffins in Oven

Bake muffins in a 350°F preheated oven for 22-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Be sure not to over-bake for the perfect texture.

Once the muffins are cooked, you can either store them at room temperature or in the refrigerator.

Meal Prep and Storage

• How to prep ahead of time: These muffins are delicious for a couple days after baking, so feel free to make them early.
• How to store: Keep muffins in an airtight container or cover with plastic wrap. If stored at room temperature these muffins will last for up to 3-4 days. Storing in the refrigerator will increase their storage time to 5-7 days.
• How to freeze: It’s also extremely easy to freeze muffins for later. To do this, make sure you remove the muffin cup liners before freezing. Place the muffins in a single layer on a baking sheet and freeze for 6-8 hours, or until firm. Once partially frozen, add them to a freezer bag and store for up to 4-6 months.

Dietary Modifications

The recipe you’ll find below is already vegetarian and gluten-free as written. Here are some adjustments and substitutions you can make to help it fit your other dietary requirements:

• Vegan: Use chia or flax seed eggs in place of the regular eggs 

How to know when bananas are ripened?

Bananas are perfectly ripened and ready for a bread or muffin recipe when the skin starts to turn brown but it’s still slightly firm to the touch. This process typically takes about 4-6 days after being purchased from the grocery store.

How do you get bananas to ripen quickly?

If you would like to speed up the ripening process, you can place your bananas in a paper bag along with a cut apple or already ripe banana. Adding these fruits will increase the amount of ethylene gas in the bag, thus speeding up the ripening process.

Expert Tips and Tricks

• Brown is good. Overripe bananas are best; they are naturally sweeter and easier to mix in.
• Two, please. Mix the wet and dry ingredients in separate bowls, then stir the dry into the wet. 
• Get the real deal. Stick with pure maple syrup, not pancake syrup.
• Small is key. Mini chocolate chips are perfect for getting some in each bite.
• Check first. Insert a toothpick in the middle to check for doneness.

More Banana Recipes

Banana is delicious in so many recipes. Be sure to try one of these next.

If you love a good quick bread, whip up some Banana Nut Muffins, Zucchini Banana Bread, or Pumpkin Banana Bread.

Of course, bananas are perfect in a Strawberry Banana Smoothie or a Peach Banana Smoothie.

Peanut Butter Banana Overnight Oats is the ultimate breakfast or afternoon snack.

Other Healthy Muffin Recipes

Here are a few other healthy muffin recipes you might enjoy next time.

In the fall, you can’t miss out on these Pumpkin Muffins, Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins, and Applesauce Muffins.

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins, Lemon Zucchini Muffins, and Lemon Blueberry Muffins are so refreshing.