These perfectly delicious small-batch banana muffins can be made with one banana, one bowl, and half an hour.
I have two questions for you today:
Do you have one sad browning banana sitting on your counter?
Do you have a bowl and basic kitchen staples?
Yes and yes? Then you can and absolutely should make these small-batch banana muffins (or if you feel like chocolate, try these Small-batch Chocolate Banana Muffins)!
I’m all about recipes that solve problems, and this recipe solves two. It gets rid of that piece of fruit rotting on your counter and makes sure you won’t overindulge in a sweet treat because it only makes four muffins.
That’s right, just four perfect little moist and delicious banana muffins.
And they are so fast and easy to make. They literally go from banana-on-the-counter to in-the-oven in 5 minutes, because you just mash a banana, mix everything in one bowl, scoop into a muffin pan, and bake.
They come out of the oven so moist and soft and good. It’s the perfect impromptu baking project for a lazy Sunday morning or rainy afternoon.
Ingredient Notes
- One very ripe banana: Craving banana muffins but don’t have any ripe bananas on hand? Go read my post on how to quickly ripen bananas.
- An egg white: This recipe calls for just an egg white. Check out my post of Egg Yolk Recipes for ideas on what to do with the leftover yolk (I recommend a small batch of chocolate chip cookies.)
- Flour: I’ve always made these muffins with all-purpose flour, but I’ve had a number of readers tell me they turn out well with gluten-free flour, so if you’re gluten-free, measure for measure/1 to 1 should work great.
Banana Muffin Variations
- Chocolate chip banana muffins: This is one of my favorites, fold ⅓ cup of chocolate chips to the batter before you transfer it to your muffin pan.
- Cinnamon sugar crust: Sprinkle ½ to 1 teaspoon of cinnamon sugar over the top of each muffin before baking.
- Streusel topping: If you’d like to add streusel to the muffins, go make my favorite streusel recipe. The half batch will make slightly too much for 4 muffins, so you can either freeze the leftovers for a later batch or eat it. 😉
More Small-batch Muffin Recipes
- Small-batch Blueberry Muffins
- Small-batch Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Small-batch Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Small-batch Pumpkin Muffins
- Small-batch Apple Crumb Muffins
FAQ
Can I double this recipe?
Absolutely! And if doubling the recipe, you can use 1 whole egg instead of 2 egg whites. To change the recipe yield, hover over the serving size in the recipe card below or click if you’re on mobile, and slide the slider.
Can I use a whole egg instead of just an egg white?
Yes. This is the modification readers most often tell me they’ve made with these muffins, so if you don’t want to go through the trouble of separating an egg, just use the whole thing.
More Banana Recipes
- One Banana Banana Bread
- The Best Banana Pudding
- My Favorite Banana Bread
- Banana Pancakes for Two
- 20+ Banana Recipes to Use Up Your Brown Bananas
Small-batch Banana Muffin Recipe Notes
- Freezing: Banana muffins freeze well! Individually wrap muffins in cling wrap and then store them in an airtight container or freezer bag in the freezer for up to 2 months. Allow them to come to room temperature before eating.
- Storage: Store muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
- Extra bananas: Have more than one sad brown banana? Freeze the rest! Bananas freeze super well for baking. Go check out my post How to Freeze Bananas for all the freezing tips and tricks.
One Banana, One Bowl Small-batch Banana Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 large very ripe banana
- ¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg white
- 1 tablespoon and 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
- ½ cup (60g) all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon cinnamon
- Pinch of nutmeg
- ⅓ cup chocolate chips (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line a muffin pan with four liners (or grease).
- In a medium bowl, completely mash banana with a potato masher or fork. Add sugar, egg white, and oil. Stir with a spoon until just combined (mixture will still be lumpy).
- Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Stir until just combined. If desired, stir in optional chocolate chips.
- Divide mixture between the four prepared muffin cups, filling each about 2/3 of the way full. Bake for 18 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffins comes out mostly clean and the tops of the muffins begin to turn golden.
- Cool in the pan until cool enough to handle before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- Doubling: If doubling, instead of using 2 egg whites, you can use a single whole egg.
- Storage: Store muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
- Freezing: Individually wrap muffins in cling wrap and then store them in an airtight container or freezer bag in the freezer for up to 2 months. Allow them to come to room temperature before eating.
This post may contain affiliate links, which means I receive a small commission if you make a purchase using them. There is absolutely no additional cost to you.
denise says
These are so good-much better than any boxed banana muffin mix. Instead of doing 4 regular size muffins, I made 2 Texas size ones and it was the perfect amount of batter. I will definitely make these again.
Tracy says
So glad you enjoyed them, Denise!!
Joy says
Doubled this recipe (used one egg as instructed) and it’s perfection. Didn’t even need chocolate chips.
Tracy says
So glad you enjoyed them, Joy!
Adriana says
Thank you for this recipe, I’ve made it like 6 times in the past 2 weeks, all my family loves them
Laura V Rudberg says
I have become a full-on baker…something HAS to be made basically everyday. Today there was 1.5 ripe bananas that needed to baked. Used this recipe with 1.5X all the ingredients and baked them off in my “Muffin top” pan, it make exactly 12 and they are lovely. One bowl and 15 minutes was all I needed. Thank you!
Tracy says
I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed them, Laura!!
Aminah says
Absolutely delicious. I have been eating way too many of these during quarantine. Super moist and delicious. I did sub butter for the oil because yanno, oink.
Tracy says
LOL, so glad you enjoyed them, Aminah!!
Christina says
I stumbled upon this recipe months ago and make it every other week with that lone leftover, brown spotted banana that always seems to be sitting on the counter. Okay… I purposely buy too many bananas now just so I can make this recipe! So easy and so yum when you need something sweet! I love mine with crushed up walnuts instead of chocolate chips. I also sub equal amounts applesauce instead of the oil and they are still perfect.
Myrte says
Had leftover egg whites and ripe bananas, so found this recipe by googling. Had my doubts about the recipe while making it, the mix seemed a little too fluid. But after reading the incredibly positive comments, decided to keep it that way. Turned out great! Fluffy and moist muffins which are delicious!
Susan says
Tracy this was perfect! I found the recipe by googling ‘one leftover banana.’ I am a baker and feel comfortable substituting and improvising- put in the whole egg, added a generous teaspoon of baking powder as I was out of baking soda. Added the choco chips and it was like dessert !!
Serena says
I make these all of the time and they always turn out amazing! Would it be possible to replace the flour with almond flour? I’m unable to find flour currently. Thanks!
Tracy says
So glad to hear you enjoyed them, Serena! Unfortunately almond flour can’t be used as a 1:1 swap in recipes for AP flour. I know there are some banana muffin recipes out there that use almond flour, but they’ll have different ingredient ratios and finished texture.
Jessica says
I literally found this recipe this morning and jumped out of bed and made it. With two small over ripe bananas, I wiped this up in no time and it came out perfect. What sealed the deal was when my fiancé said, wow this is good! Coming from someone who doesn’t fancy sweets. I’m super excited to try this again. Thank you
Anu says
Easy recipe. I used the full egg and it still turned out amazing. I had to bake it for 30 mins, maybe because I used the mini over (counter top oven).
Thanks for helping me salvage my overripe banana during this crazy time. 🙂
DT says
Thank you for such a simple recipe! Made it with a little less sugar as I added the streusel and extra choc chips for the topping. Also because i ran out of baking soda i replaced it with three times of baking powder.. thankfully it worked. Delicious!
Pauline says
Thank you so much for such a simple, foolproof and tasty muffin! So easy to whip up and cook in less time than it takes to think about it! I doubled the quantity using one whole egg as you suggested. It took exactly 18 mins in my oven and they were so light and fluffy! Everything else I followed exactly. Now can’t wait to try them again with maybe some walnuts and different variations. Thanks again.
Tracy says
Thrilled to hear they worked out for you, Pauline!!
Natalie says
These are absolutely perfect! I’ve made them a few times and they’ve come out great every time. The last time I added your crumble topping and it was fabulous. I love baking, but I avoid it sometimes because I’ll have way too much leftover. I really appreciate you sharing so many small batch recipes. I can’t wait to try some of your other recipes!
Tracy says
Thanks, Natalie!!
Nancy Kois says
Muffins were tasty, recipe was easy and the serving size perfect for my 2 person family. Next time I am planning on trying the suggestion about doubling the recipe and still making 4 but make the larger sized muffins.
Tracy says
I love that idea, Nancy! So glad you enjoyed the muffins!
DW says
Can you use self-rising flour as a substitute for all-purpose flour?
Tracy says
You probably could, but it’d need some testing. I’d start trying with 1/2 cup self-rising flour and no baking powder or soda, and maybe cut the salt by half. If the muffins are too dense, you can try adding some baking soda back into the recipe, maybe 1/8 teaspoon. If you try it, please let me know how they turn out!