Pumpkin Banana Muffins (VIDEO)

These pumpkin banana muffins are crazy moist, with fragrant Fall spices and gooey chocolate chips - the perfect snack or quick breakfast. Have you been waiting to try making homemade muffins from scratch? Now is the time! Pumpkin banana muffins are the best tall, fluffy muffins full of spiced pumpkin flavor, the perfect easy muffin recipe to try this pumpkin season.

Jump to:

• 🌟 Why this is the best recipe
• 📝 Ingredient notes
• 👩‍🍳 How to make this recipe
• ✨ Flavor variations
• 🥣 Equipment Notes
• 🎓 Expert tips
• ❓Recipe FAQs
• 🧁 More breakfast recipes
• 🎃 More Pumpkin recipes
• Pumpkin Banana Muffins (VIDEO)

🌟 Why this is the best recipe

1. They are so easy. These pumpkin banana muffins make a simple grab and go breakfast and are pantry-friendly, using ingredients that you are likely to have already in your store cupboard.
2. They taste amazing. I never compromise on taste and the combination of pumpkin and banana purees in these delicious homemade muffins delivers both flavor and a perfectly moist texture. The delicate spices add a fragrant depth to the recipe and just make them the perfect Fall muffin. You will love them!
3. They are dairy free. This is a pumpkin banana muffins no butter recipe that uses oil instead as the fat content. It helps keep the muffins super moist!
4. They make a great breakfast! Who doesn’t love a grab and go Fall breakfast? I also love to enjoy these pumpkin muffins as an afternoon snack, or even a dessert.
5. They are nutritious too. Pumpkins are high in vitamins A, C and E as well as being a source of beta-carotene. Bananas are high in potassium and B6, and both pumpkins and bananas add valuable fibre, making these pumpkin banana muffins healthy as well as moist and fluffy.
6. No special equipment is required. You can make these easy pumpkin banana chocolate chip muffins with just a few easy kitchen items that you probably already have at home and you are good to go.
7. They are so versatile. You can add other spices in varying amounts, chopped nuts like walnuts or pecans, dried fruits (for example raisins), a rich and creamy frosting on top, or whatever takes your fancy. Feel free to experiment!
8. They smell so good! The sweet and spicy ‘just baked’ aroma of these pumpkin banana muffins will fill your whole house and you won’t be able to wait before eating them warm and freshly baked straight out of the oven.

📝 Ingredient notes

1. Granulated sugar and brown sugar: I use a mixture of both granulated and brown sugar which gives a deeper flavor to Fall theme recipes. Read my sugar guide for more information on how to use different types of sugar in baking.
2. Eggs: Take your eggs out of the fridge an hour before making this easy muffin recipe, as room-temperature eggs emulsify better than cold eggs.
3. Vegetable oil: This is an oil-based muffin recipe (no butter), which keeps the muffins incredibly moist and prevents them from going hard in the fridge, which can happen with butter. Use a neutral vegetable oil with no flavor.
4. Pumpkin puree: This can be store-bought but buy a good quality, thick pumpkin puree that isn’t too watery, which might mean you need to cook it down to evaporate some of the water and get the right consistency. You can also easily learn how to make your own homemade pumpkin puree! Do not use pumpkin pie filling as this contains other flavorings and additives that will affect the bake.
5. Banana puree: Banana puree is easy to make by mashing ripe bananas with a fork until they form a smooth puree. To ripen bananas faster, place them in a brown paper bag. But don’t wait until they are black, that’s too far! The ideal ripeness of banana for this recipe is a yellow banana with brown spots.
6. All-purpose flour: I use all-purpose flour in this banana pumpkin chocolate chip muffins recipe, which is a medium protein flour also known as plain flour in some other countries like the UK. To learn more about different types of flour and baking, read my flour guide.
7. Baking powder and baking soda: I use a combination of baking powder and baking soda to help the muffins rise and form a perfect domed top.
8. Salt: It might seem strange to use salt in a sweet muffin recipe but it helps balance the flavors! Salt is a flavor enhancer, rather than seasoning and is important in both sweet and savory recipes.
9. Pumpkin spice mix: You can make your own homemade pumpkin pie spice mix using ground cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger mixed together.
10. Chocolate Chips: Try to use high-quality milk chocolate chips and avoid using “baking chocolate”. I use Valrhona or Callebaut in my recipes which I find to be the best chocolate chips for baking. You can use any size, I sometimes like mini chocolate chips for a more subtle chocolate hit.

Make sure you use digital scales to weigh all of the ingredients for these healthy pumpkin banana muffins, baking is a science so precision is key. Measuring cups are too much of a risk!

🛒 You’ll find detailed measurements for all ingredients in the printable version of the Recipe Card at the bottom of this post

👩‍🍳 How to make this recipe

These pumpkin banana muffins with chocolate chips are fluffy, moist, and tall and so easy to prepare. If you follow these easy instructions you'll have no trouble at all and check out my expert tips for perfectly baked homemade muffins.

1. Step by step process for moist, tall muffins

1. Prepare your muffin tin with 6 large muffin cases and pre-heat the oven to 175 degrees Celsius / 347 degrees Fahrenheit (no fan).
2. As always, make sure your ingredients are all at room temperature.
3. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the egg, oil, and 2 different kinds of sugar with an electric hand mixer for a few minutes until creamy and fluffy.
4. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the pumpkin and banana puree to keep the batter light and airy.
5. Sift together the all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spices to remove any lumps, and then fold this dry mixture into the wet mixture by hand (using a rubber spatula). Do not use a mixer at this point.
6. Lastly, fold in chocolate chips still using the rubber spatula to avoid knocking the air out of the pumpkin banana muffin batter.
7. Pour the batter into each of the muffin cases

💡 Top Tip: It's better to overfill muffin cases as we want lovely high peaks, unlike cupcakes where a flat top for piping frosting is needed.

2. How to bake

Always preheat the oven first and use a digital thermometer to check it is at the right temperature.

Every oven is different so you might need to adjust the time slightly but in my oven, I bake the Pumpkin banana muffins for 25 minutes. But with regards to muffin baking time, focus on the texture, not the time.

Use the toothpick test to check whether the pumpkin banana chocolate chip muffins are done by poking a toothpick into the muffin. If they are fully baked, the toothpick should come out clean with no wet batter attached. But also try not to overbake these muffins, as that will result in a dry texture.

Serve the tall fluffy muffins warm straight from the oven or store them at room temperature in an air-tight container. Consume within 2-3 days.

Visit my baking guide for information on how to store muffins to keep them fresh.

💡 Top Tip: Preheat the oven to +20C / 68F to the given temperature as the oven temperature will drop when you open the door to put the muffins inside. Once the muffins are in the oven, turn the temperature down to 175 degrees Celsius / 347 degrees Fahrenheit (no fan).

✨ Flavor variations

There are some elements of baking that are fixed, like the balance between fat and sugar, heat, mixing methods, and sequence of combining different ingredients. But there are so many ways you can add variety and experiment too and I love it. Here are some ways you can play around with flavor variations in these easy pumpkin muffins and adapt them to suit you, or what’s in your cupboard.

1. Dried fruit - Try adding a large handful of raisins to the batter, which is a flavor that goes well with pumpkin. You could also try dried apricots, or sultanas, experiment, and have fun! Add them by stirring through at the final stage before pouring the batter into the muffin cups and baking.
2. Chopped nuts - Walnuts or pecans stirred into the muffin batter will add delicious texture and crunch. Chop the nuts small and mix them into the muffin batter at the final stage.
3. Dark chocolate - If you prefer these muffins to be less sweet, use high-quality dark chocolate chips
4. White chocolate - Alternatively, try white chocolate for extra rich sweetness.
5. Cream cheese frosting - Make these pumpkin banana muffins extra deluxe by adding a smooth and silky cream cheese frosting. You could also add chopped nuts on top of the frosting.
6. Coffee glaze - Get pumpkin spice latte vibes by topping the pumpkin banana muffins with a coffee glaze also used in this Cardamom cake.
7. Citrus - Stir a tablespoon of orange zest into the muffin batter for a citrus tang. Citrus is a flavor enhancer and orange and pumpkin traditionally work well together as a lovely Fall flavor combination.
8. Purees - Make this easy muffin recipe with just pumpkin or just banana puree (such as I make my banana mini muffins) if that suits you. Just be sure to measure the correct amount to compensate.
9. Spices - Add ground cloves or even a pinch of ground cardamom for extra fragrance and spice. You can adjust the levels to suit you and your taste buds.
10. Streusel - Top the muffins with streusel before baking for extra crunch

🥣 Equipment Notes

Always make sure you measure the ingredients with the help of a Digital scale. Baking is a science and is all about precision, so we need exact measurements, and no matter how simple the recipe, it's the only true way to know that you are using the correct amounts.

Use a digital oven thermometer to correctly measure the oven temperature before baking your pumpkin banana muffins. All ovens can vary by a few degrees but we often don't realize exactly how much, which can affect the outcome of our Fall baked goods.

For whipping the egg and sugar I suggest using an Electric hand mixer and then switching to a rubber spatula when incorporating the dry ingredients and chocolate chips into the wet mixture.

For baking these pumpkin banana muffins you will need a 6-cup Cupcake tin and muffin cases. The best muffin tins allow for good heat distribution and an even bake.

🎓 Expert tips

1. Preheat the oven to +20C / 68F to the given temperature as the oven temperature will drop when you open the door. Then once the pumpkin muffins are in the oven, turn the temperature down to what is required in the recipe for baking.
2. Always make sure that your muffin ingredients are all at room temperature before you start for proper emulsification.
3. Use high-quality chocolate chips so that they melt properly and don’t burn.
4. Do not overwork the muffin batter. After the wet ingredients are whipped up, switch to a rubber spatula to incorporate the dry ingredients and avoid knocking out the air. This ensures a light and fluffy muffin texture!
5. Fill the muffin cases to ¾ full so that the batter rises into a beautiful smooth dome as it bakes.
6. Use the right size muffin cases for the muffin tray to get an even bake.
7. Feel free to experiment with using other spices, eg. pumpkin spice mix, cardamom, vanilla bean, etc which are all great fit for pumpkin season.
8. Avoid over-baking your pumpkin banana muffins as that would result in a crumbly texture. When applying the toothpick check, focus on the middle part of the muffin where they are at their highest.

❓Recipe FAQs

🧁 More breakfast recipes

🎃 More Pumpkin recipes