Chocolate Banana Muffins

These delicious double chocolate banana muffins include white whole wheat flour, coconut palm sugar, ripe bananas, cocoa powder, and other wholesome ingredients.

Each muffin is so chocolatey, rich, decadent, and pillowy soft you’ll think you’re indulging in dessert instead of enjoying a healthy snack!

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Meet your new favorite muffin recipe! Seriously, next time you have ripe bananas, grab a bag of chocolate chips and put this on the meal plan. 

In our house, breakfast includes green smoothies, steel-cut oats, or breakfast burritos. So, we save these double chocolate banana muffins for snacks or whenever a chocolate craving hits. 

If you have a morning sweet tooth, make a batch of muffins to eat for breakfast throughout the week to prevent a trip to the drive-through!

Reasons You’ll Love This Recipe

  1. It uses all healthy, wholesome ingredients – White whole-wheat flour and coconut sugar replace all-purpose and refined sugar in this recipe. There’s no butter either; instead, nutritious coconut oil takes its place.
  2. Rich and indulgent chocolate flavor – Every bite is a chocolate lover’s dream!
  3. Tender and moist – Ripe bananas and greek yogurt are the secret ingredients to this muffin’s fantastic texture.
  4. You can be made these muffins ahead of time for easy snacks. These chocolate banana muffins can be made for the week or frozen for snacks all month! I’ll share more meal prep tips below.

Ingredients

Ripe mashed bananas – Ripe bananas provide a natural sweetness without a lot of extra sugar.

I use 2 cups of ripe bananas, which is about 3-4 medium-sized bananas. I recommend measuring out the mashed banana to make sure the amount is accurate.

Vanilla Greek yogurt – Greek yogurt is my secret weapon to a perfectly tender pillowy soft muffin. I use vanilla flavor Greek yogurt, but plain yogurt will work too.

Vanilla extract and cinnamon – Both add a warm, delicious flavor to the chocolate banana muffin recipe.

I love cinnamon in chocolate recipes; it complements the flavor without overpowering it.

White whole wheat flour – This swap adds more fiber along with other nutrients. You can also swap out half of the white whole wheat flour for all-purpose flour if you prefer.

I’ve also made with gluten-free by using all oat flour instead.

Coconut palm sugar – For a healthy swap, I use coconut palm sugar in place of brown or white sugar. Coconut palm sugar is one of my favorite ingredients. It adds a caramel flavor to this healthy muffin recipe that is super tasty. You can substitute brown sugar 1:1 for the coconut palm sugar. 

Coconut oil – This is another secret ingredient I use to create a tender, delicious muffin recipe. And, don’t worry, the muffins won’t taste like coconut.

If you prefer to use melted butter, you can. However, this will create a more crumbly texture.

Unsweetened cocoa powder – This is the first layer of chocolate in these double chocolate banana muffins and makes them sinfully chocolatey.

Make sure you purchase the unsweetened cocoa powder and not hot chocolate powder. 

Milk (not pictured)- I love using unsweetened coconut milk in muffin recipes. Its thick, creamy consistency adds to the moist texture of the muffins. However, any milk will work in this recipe.

Chocolate chips (not pictured) – I use regular milk chocolate chips in this muffin recipe, but you can switch it up with dark chocolate, peanut butter, or white chocolate chips.

FAQs

Why didn’t my banana chocolate muffins rise?

A few reasons muffins struggle to rise are:
1. Your leavening agent (baking soda) is old.
2. You didn’t distribute the leavening agent enough. When you don’t mix the batter enough or mix the ingredients too quickly, some dry ingredients clump together and don’t distribute evenly.
3. Overmixing the batter. Not only does this cause the muffin to get tough and chewy, but it also prevents it from rising fully.
4. Your oven isn’t hot enough. All ovens heat differently, so if all else is correct, then check the temperature of your oven.

What is the secret to baking a moist muffin?

Nobody likes a dry muffin! Here are some tips for baking a moist, tender muffin every single time.

Use oil instead of butter. Oil creates a tender moist muffin texture, while butter creates more of a crumbly cake-like texture. I love using coconut oil in muffin recipes, but any oil will work.

Add moisture to the batter. Greek yogurt is one of my favorite tricks to baking a perfectly moist muffin. You can also add fruit purees.

Don’t over-mix the batter.  Over-mixing the batter is the first step to dry tough muffins. You only need to mix the batter until all the ingredients are blended. 

Don’t overcook  – This is the best way to bake a dry muffin! Check the muffins at the earliest cook time. Stick a toothpick into the center of the muffin, if it comes out with crumbs attached, the muffin is done. 

Cooking notes

I’ve made these banana chocolate muffins numerous times. Here are some of my best tips:

Melt the coconut oil in the microwave. Coconut oil is sold in a container and comes solid. You’ll want to turn the oil into a liquid before adding it to the recipe. 

Do this by placing solid coconut oil into a glass measuring cup and microwave it for 20-40 seconds or until the oil turns into a liquid. If you need more, add additional oil into the container, and it will melt. 

If you end up melting more than what’s required, then pour the oil back into the jar, and it will turn back into a solid.

Purchase a large container of Greek yogurt to use. I use Greek yogurt in many baking recipes, so I like to purchase a 32-ounce or larger container instead of many individual containers. 

This way, I can accurately measure out the amount needed for the recipe. You can find large containers of yogurt in most grocery stores.

Switch out cacao nibs for the chocolate chips. Cacao nibs have a bitter taste compared to milk chocolate. However, if you’re looking for a less processed option, cacao nibs will work. Swap out ½ cup of cacao nibs for the chocolate chips.

Use vegan chocolate chips – to create a vegan chocolate banana muffin recipe, swap out the chocolate chips for vegan chocolate chips.

Supplies to make these muffins

  • Mixing bowls – This simple set from Pyrex is the one I have, and it’s never let me down!
  • 12-cup muffin pan – I love my Wilton muffin pan! It creates the perfect muffin every time.
  • Whisk – This helps to blend all of the wet ingredients.
  • Spatulas – I can’t live with my silicone spatulas. They work wonders in carefully folding the dry ingredients into the wet.
  • Batter scoop – I use a batter scoop to get all the muffins to be the same size.
  • Wire rack – This is the wire rack I use for all of the baked goods I make.

How to Make Delicious Double Chocolate Banana Muffins

  • Set the oven heat to 350 degrees.
  • Whisk together the ripe bananas, greek yogurt, vanilla extract, eggs, and coconut palm sugar.
  • Next, whisk in the coconut oil and cocoa powder until it’s thoroughly blended. I like to add the cocoa powder to the wet ingredients because then I can whisk the ingredients as many times as needed without worrying about overmixing the batter.
  • Stir in the milk to the wet ingredients.
  • Add the white whole wheat flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon to the top of the wet ingredients. Use a spatula to stir all of the ingredients together until blended. Remember to mix slowly and only until all the ingredients are blended. You can mix the wet and dry ingredients separately and then add the wet to the dry. However, I like to keep this a one-bowl recipe.
  • Last, slowly stir in the chocolate chips. Save some chocolate chips to sprinkle over the top of the muffins.
  • Spray a 12-cup muffin pan with cooking spray. Using a cooking scoop, fill each cup to the top with muffin batter. I use about two scoops of batter per cup. Please note, this recipe makes about 17-18 muffins.
  • Bake for 18-20 minutes.
  • Remove the chocolate banana muffins from the oven. Let the muffins cool for about 3-5 minutes in the pan, and then place them on a wire rack to finish cooling. Enjoy!

Store and Reheat

To store: After the chocolate banana muffins are cooled, place them into a plastic bag (reusable bag works too) with a paper towel to absorb extra moisture. You can also store the muffins in a glass or plastic container at room temperature for up to 5 days. To increase longevity, I like to keep the muffins in the refrigerator too. 

To freeze: Muffins can be frozen for up to 3 months – you can do this in a couple of different ways. 

First, place all of the muffins in a plastic freezer bag and lay them flat. Freezing the muffins this way helps them to freeze without sticking together. After the muffins are frozen then place the bag wherever you want in the freezer. 

You can also wrap each muffin individually in plastic wrap and then place it into a freezer bag and freeze. This method works great for on-the-go lunches and snacks.

To reheat: Frozen muffins will thaw in about 20 minutes on the counter. Or reheat in the microwave for about 45 seconds. 

chocolate banana muffins

Chocolate Banana Muffins

These delicious double chocolate banana muffins are so chocolatey, rich, decadent, and pillowy soft you’ll think you’re indulging in dessert!

5 from 4 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Breakfast, breakfast recipe, muffin recipe

Cuisine: American

Keyword: banana chocolate muffins, Chocolate banana muffins, double chocolate banana muffins

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 18 minutes

Rest time: 8 minutes

Total Time: 28 minutes

Servings: 18 people

Calories: 211kcal

Author: Tammy Overhoff

Ingredients

  • 2 cups mashed ripe bananas about 3-4 bananas
  • 1/2 cup vanilla Greek yogurt
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup coconut palm sugar can substitute dark brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup melted coconut oil can substitute canola oil, vegetable oil, or melted butter
  • 1/2 cup cocoa powder
  • 3/4 cup unsweetened coconut milk can substitute dairy milk or other non-dairy milk
  • 1 1/2 cups white whole-wheat flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 cup milk chocolate chips

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

  • In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the ripe mashed bananas, Greek yogurt, vanilla extract, eggs, and coconut palm sugar.

  • Add to the ingredients the melted coconut oil and cocoa powder. Whisk the ingredients until the cocoa powder is completely blended.

  • Stir in the unsweetened coconut milk.

  • On top of the wet ingredients add the flour, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda. Using a spatula slow mix all the ingredients together. Do not over-mix the batter.

  • Put aside 1/4 cup of the chocolate chips and then slowly stir the rest into the batter.

  • Spray a 12-cup muffin pan with cooking spray and then using a batter scoop fill the cups with batter. I use 2 scoops per cup. Sprinkle the muffins with chocolate chips.

  • Bake the muffins for 18-20 minutes.

  • Let the muffins cool for about 3-5 minutes in the pan and then remove from the pan and place onto a wire rack to finish cooling.

Notes

Store and reheat 

To store: After the chocolate banana muffins are cooled, place them into a plastic bag (reusable bag works too) with a paper towel to absorb extra moisture. You can also store the muffins in a glass or plastic container at room temperature for up to 5 days. To increase longevity, I like to keep the muffins in the refrigerator too.  To freeze: Muffins can be frozen for up to 3 months – you can do this in a couple of different ways.  First, place all of the muffins in a plastic freezer bag and lay them flat. Freezing the muffins this way helps them to freeze without sticking together. After the muffins are frozen then place the bag wherever you want in the freezer.  You can also wrap each muffin individually in plastic wrap and then place it into a freezer bag and freeze. This method works great for on-the-go lunches and snacks. To reheat: Frozen muffins will thaw in about 20 minutes on the counter. Or reheat in the microwave for about 45 seconds. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1muffin | Calories: 211kcal | Carbohydrates: 30g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 18g

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