Name: Easy Banana Muffins with Sour Cream
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 45 min
Ingredients: 1-3/4 cup (220 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour; 1-1/4 teaspoon baking soda; 1 teaspoon kosher salt; 1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter (melted); 1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar; 1/4 cup (50 grams) packed light brown sugar; 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon; 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg; 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger; 1-1/2 cups (227 grams) mashed bananas (about 3 medium bananas); 2 large (100 grams) eggs (room temperature); 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract; 1/2 cup (120 grams) full-fat sour cream (room temperature)

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These moist Banana Muffins are muffins at their best with the sweetness of ripe bananas, the slight tang of sour cream, and a hint of spice from ground cinnamon and ginger. This easy muffin recipe is adapted from my banana bread recipe, but you can whip it up by hand (no mixer required). I even use a special baking method—a quick burst at 400°F for 5 minutes to create that lovely muffin top, followed by a gentler bake at 350°F. The result? Muffins that are perfectly moist and tender. Plus they're the perfect grab-and-go breakfast or snack.

Banana muffin on a small plate with the muffin liner peeled down. A small bowl of butter is behind the muffin with a wooden knife next to the muffin

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Why You'll Make These Muffins Again and Again
The Baking Science of This Recipe
Key Ingredients for Banana Muffins
How to Make Banana Muffins
Instant Read Thermometer
Serving Suggestions for These Muffins
How to Store and These Banana Muffins
How to Freeze the Muffins
More Muffin Recipes
Tips for Successfully Making Banana Muffins
Easy Banana Muffins with Sour Cream

Why You'll Make These Muffins Again and Again

If you love muffins then you'll love how quick and easy it is to make these banana muffins. The batter is ready in 20 minutes and in less than an hour you can have fresh baked muffins. Smear them with butter or my homemade honey butter recipe for a special treat.

These muffins are moist and soft with perfect banana flavor, but what I really like are the spices, especially the ground ginger which gives the muffins a hint of heat. They're so delicious. You'll especially love these muffins if you're a beginning baker and you're looking for a recipe to build your confidence.

The Baking Science of This Recipe

This recipe uses the muffin method, which means all wet ingredients are combined in one bowl and dry ingredients are combined in another bowl. The dry ingredients are added to the wet ingredients (or vice versa) and stirred just until combined, creating a tender, light texture by minimizing gluten development.

Starting the muffins at 400°F causes a quick burst of steam from the liquid in the batter This creates a powerful lift pushing the batter upwards. The high heat also sets the edges quickly which forces the batter upwards instead of outward.

Key Ingredients for Banana Muffins

Banana muffin ingredients - all-purpose flour, brown sugar, ground nutmeg, ground ginger, bananas, ground cinnamon, kosher salt, vanilla extract, large eggs, unsalted butter, granulated sugar, sour cream, baking soda

Ripe Bananas: Ripe bananas are the best to use in terms of flavor and texture. They're easy to mash and incorporate with the other ingredients. The bananas should have some brown spots, but don't use completely brown or almost black bananas.
Unbleached All-Purpose Flour: Flour provides structure for the muffin. For the best results, use a kitchen scale to weigh the flour. Too much flour will dry the muffins, and too little will cause them to sink.
Granulated Sugar and Brown Sugar: Sugar adds sweetness and moisture. Don't decrease the amount of sugar otherwise, the muffins will be dry and have a rubbery texture.
Baking Soda: Baking soda provides the rise for the muffins. Without it or enough of it you won't get the soft texture or beautiful dome top. It may seem like a lot for 12 muffins, but bananas are mildly acidic, and when you add brown sugar and sour cream there are enough acidic ingredients to react with the baking soda.
Unsalted Butter: Butter provides moisture and flavor. Use room-temperature butter so it mixes well with the other ingredients.
Full-Fat Sour Cream: The sour cream provides moisture and a little tang to the muffins. Use room-temperature sour cream. If you add cold sour cream to the batter, you risk resolidifying the butter.
Large Eggs: Eggs provide moisture, flavor, and structure. They should be at room temperature also.

Full ingredients, measurements, and instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

How to Make Banana Muffins

Step 1: Place the flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium-sized bowl and whisk to combine. Set the dry ingredients to the side.

Brown sugar, granulated sugar, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, and ground ginger in a ceramic mixing bowl

Step 2: Place the brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ground ginger in a large bowl and whisk to combine

Sugar spice mixture with 2 large eggs in a large mixing bowl

Step 3: Add the eggs and whisk until the batter is lighter in color and smooth.

Mashed bananas in a medium sized mixing bowl

Step 4: Mash the bananas with a fork, then whisk them by hand to make them smoother.

Smashed bananas added to the muffin batter

Step 5: Whisk in the pureed bananas, melted butter, and sour cream. Let the batter sit for 5 minutes

The flour mixture added to the banana muffin batter

Step 6: Add half the flour and fold it in with a silicone spatula. Add the remaining flour.

The banana muffin matter in a large ceramic mixing bowl

Step 7: The batter is now ready to bake.

The banana muffin batter divided between 12 muffins cups

Step 8: Divide the batter between a 12-cup muffin pan lined with paper liners.

The baked banana muffins in the muffin tin

Step 9: Bake the muffins first at 400°F, then at 350°F for a total baking time of 20-22 minutes.

Instant Read Thermometer

An instant-read thermometer is one of my favorite tools in the kitchen. I use it all the time to check the doneness of my baked goods. I rely on a combination of time and appearance to tell me when something is done, but since different ovens and oven brands perform differently, you should never rely on time alone.

The instant-read thermometer gives the best indicator of done for most baked goods. For muffins, the internal temperature should be 200-205°F (93-96°).

Step 10: Remove the muffins from the oven and let them cool in the muffin tin for 5 minutes, then finish cooling them on a wire cooling rack.

Banana muffin on a small plate with the rest of the muffins in the background on a wire rack

Serving Suggestions for These Muffins

The banana muffins are good all by themselves, especially while still warm, but I like to eat them with a schmear of salted butter. For something extra special serve them with my homemade Honey Butter.

A banana muffin cut in half and smeared with honey butter

How to Store and These Banana Muffins

The nice thing about these muffins is they will keep for a few days which means you'll have a nice breakfast or grab-and-go snack for most of the week.

Room Temperature. Cool the muffins completely and then place them in an airtight container. Store the muffins for up to 3 days.
Refrigerator. Store the muffins in an airtight container for up to 7 days. Bring them to room temperature before eating, or warm slightly in the microwave for 10-15 seconds.

How to Freeze the Muffins

If you these banana muffins to last a little longer then freeze them.

Freeze the Muffins. Cool the muffins completely, then wrap each muffin individually in plastic wrap. Place the muffins in a large freezer bag. Label the bag with the date and freeze for up to 3 months.
Thaw the Muffins. Thaw the muffins overnight in the refrigerator or for 1 hour at room temperature. Warm the muffins in the microwave for 15-20 seconds or 5 minutes in a 350°F oven.

Seven muffins on a wire rack. There is a small container of butter and a single muffin on a small plate next to the rack. There is cup of tea to the right of the muffins.

More Muffin Recipes

Muffins are great any time of the week. Here are a few more muffin and quick bread recipes you might want to try.

Tips for Successfully Making Banana Muffins

These muffins truly are easy to make and they're the perfect recipe for the beginning baker, but here are my tips for successfully executing this recipe:

Use room temperature eggs and sour cream. Room temperature ingredients blend more evenly and create a better emulsion. Room temperature is 65-68°F. Take the eggs out about 60 minutes before baking and the sour cream 30 minutes before.
Use a kitchen scale. Weighing the flour ensures deliciously consistent results, and adding the sugar directly into the bowl means fewer dirty dishes.
Use a silicone spatula. When combining wet and dry ingredients, use a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, not a whisk or electric mixer.
Start with a higher temperature (400°F/200°C) for the first 5 minutes to create a good "pop" of steam for rising, then reduce to 350°F/175°C for the remainder.

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