Moist and tender with the most perfect dome I’ve ever seen, these Honey Banana Muffins are a banana muffin recipe that delivers! I love the delicate, floral sweetness that honey adds to these hearty muffins.
These honey banana muffins rely on ripe bananas for some of their sweetness, with the remainder coming from – you guessed it – honey instead of refined sugars. I also like how the honey helps contribute to a nice, moist banana muffin.
The Story Behind the Recipe
We’re huge into muffins around here. I probably come up with a new muffin recipe every week. Seriously! Muffincrazytown, I tell ya.
In fact, I actually make an active effort to not post too many muffin recipes. So I try to pace myself, blog-sharing-wise. Except it looks like I went too far in the opposite direction last year – I only posted four new muffin recipes for the entire year!
So this year, more muffin recipes are clearly in order. First up: Honey Banana Muffins!
I chose an unrefined sweetener and whole wheat flour for these honey banana muffins to make them wholesome yet still delicious.
Honey Banana Muffin Recipe Ingredients
- White whole wheat flour: White whole wheat flour is made from white wheat, so when it’s milled, it’s whiter in color without needing to be bleached or otherwise refined. I also like how fine and fluffy it is. Perfect for baking. Feel free to sub in your favorite flour, be it all-purpose, whole wheat, or a one-for-one gluten free blend.
- Baking powder: This leavening agent helps lift honey banana muffins, giving them a tender crumb and perfect dome.
- Cinnamon, nutmeg, & ginger: I really like these warm, cozy spices in my banana muffins. You can leave out one or more, or add another cozy spices to the equation if you like.
- Salt: To highlight the flavors and balance out the sweetness.
- Bananas: Use very ripe bananas for the best sweet banana flavor.
- Butter or coconut oil: For moist and tender muffins.
- Honey: Use your favorite honey.
- Milk: You can use dairy milk or your favorite unsweetened dairy milk.
- Vanilla: For an extra boost of sweet flavor.
Substitutions & Adaptations
- If you prefer not to use honey, pure maple syrup is a great substitute.
- For gluten-free banana muffins, sub in your favorite 1-to-1 GF flour blend.
- To make these dairy-free, opt for coconut oil and a dairy-free milk.
- For vegan muffins, make the dairy-free substitutions and leave out the egg. I haven’t yet tested them this way, but the banana should be enough of a binder to hold them together. Or, try my vegan banana bread muffins!
How to Make Them
- In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.
- Mash the bananas in a separate medium-size bowl.
- Mix in the butter, honey, and egg and mix well. Then, add the milk and vanilla and mix again.
- Pour the wet ingredients over the dry and mix just until corporate.
- Divide the batter among muffin cups.
- Bake until the tops spring up when you touch them.
- Remove from oven, let cool for a bit, and enjoy!
Tip for Success
- For a more textured muffin, leave the bananas a little lumpy. For a smoother, more perfectly domed banana muffin, mash the bananas until completely smooth.
How to Store Honey Banana Muffins
Store muffins in an airtight container at room temperature. They will keep for up to 4 days.
Freezing Honey Banana Muffins
Honey banana muffins freeze really well! Place them in an airtight container or freezer bag and place them in the freezer. Thaw at room temperature for 30 minutes to an hour.
I love how these honey banana muffins contribute to a hearty breakfast or make a nice snack in and of themselves without making you feel like you just ate a cupcake for breakfast.
Honey Banana Muffins Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups white whole wheat flour (can sub all-purpose flour)
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 medium very ripe bananas
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter (1/2 stick, melted [can sub melted coconut oil])
- 1/3 cup honey*
- 1 egg
- 1 cup milk
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease 12 standard-cup muffin tins or line with liners.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and salt.
- In a medium bowl, mash the bananas. For a more textured muffin, leave the bananas a little lumpy. For a smoother, more perfectly domed muffin, mash the bananas until completely smooth. Stir in the butter, honey, and egg. Mix well. Add the milk and vanilla and mix until blended.
- Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and, with a wooden spoon or spatula, mix just until incorporated.
- Divide batter between muffin cups, about 1/3 cup of batter each.
- Bake until the tops spring when you touch them and a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, 14-18 minutes.
- Muffins keep in an airtight container or zipper bag at room temperature for 3-4 days. They also freeze well!
Notes
Gluten-free option:
For gluten-free banana muffins, sub in your favorite 1-to-1 GF flour blend.Dairy-free option:
To make these dairy-free, opt for coconut oil and a dairy-free milk.Vegan option:
For vegan muffins, make the dairy-free substitutions and leave out the egg. I haven’t yet tested them this way, but the banana should be enough of a binder to hold them together.How to Store
Store muffins in an airtight container at room temperature. They will keep for up to 4 days.Freezing
Honey banana muffins freeze really well! Place them in an airtight container or freezer bag and place them in the freezer. Thaw at room temperature for 30 minutes to an hour. I love how these honey banana muffins contribute to a hearty breakfast or make a nice snack in and of themselves without making you feel like you just ate a cupcake for breakfast. 3/23/2024 recipe update: Based on reader feedback and additional testing, updated the baking temp from 400 to 375 and changed the cooking time from about 12 minutes to a range of 14-18 minutes. 10/16/2026 recipe update: Added a note about mashing the bananas. For a more textured muffin, leave the bananas a little lumpy. For a more smooth, perfectly domed banana muffin, mash until completely smooth.Nutrition Facts
More Banana Muffin Recipes
- Super Moist Vegan Banana Bread Muffins
- Dairy-Free Banana Muffins with Brown Sugar Ripple
- Vegan Tropical Muffins with Crunchy Coconut Streusel
- Spiced Banana Streusel Muffins
- Peanut Butter Quinoa Mini Muffins
- Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chip Mini Muffins
- Chocolate Banana Marble Muffins
Hi! I’m Karen – I’m a real person with real, vetted recipes – over 900 of them! Since 2009, every recipe on Kitchen Treaty is thoroughly tested and loved before I hit “publish.” I’m a home cook, certified plant-based pro, and mom. I’m a vegetarian married to a carnivore, and my goal is to coexist deliciously.
I need to go to muffin town soon!
I made these muffins this morning, and they were delicious, but I found the baking time of 12 minutes was not nearly long enough! I ended up taking them out after 15 minutes, but they were still undercooked so I put them back in the oven for a few more minutes. Did you find your muffins were completely cooked after just 12 minutes? I’m wondering what went wrong for me.
My oven might run a bit hot. I’ll have to measure the temp again to make sure I’m as accurate as possible in my recipes. Because everyones’ ovens are different, that’s why these days I write recipes with a description of what they should look like when done and then an estimate of how long that should take. But it can vary for everyone! If they were springy on top and no uncooked batter in the middle, I’m sure you did it right! 🙂
What type of Honey did you use? Please be as pacific as you can.
We love muffins in our house too – I mean, cake for breakfast? Bring that on! I love the idea of honey sweetened banana muffins. They are two ingredients that just complement each other perfectly. And I just happen to have some banana-muffin-ready bananas sitting in the fruit bowl. It must be fate 🙂
I just made these and they are delicious! Mommy & toddler approved. I too found that 12 minutes wasn’t quite enough time. I took them out around 15 minutes and they are still slightly underdone on the bottom, but perfectly delicious. Thank you!
The temperature is perhaps on the higher side? Mine burnt on the surface and were all gooey inside.
Hi, tried these as my hubby decided to cut out refined sugar. I followed the recipe but was dubious about the 1 tablespoon of baking powder but followed the recipe. Is it supposed to be a teaspoon not a tablespoon?? they have a horrible aftertaste. Thanks in advance
I cut out the nutmeg and ginger and added chocolate chips instead. Got delicious banana chocolate chip muffins. Great recipe!
These are very good muffins and I will definitely save the recipe! Next time though, I will add a bit more spices and some walnuts or pecans, as I like very spiced, nutty muffins. Thank you! A great afternoon snack for the whole family!!
I have a fan oven so set it to 180 degrees which is the fan equivalent… mine were raw… put them back in 3 times… definitely need the oven at 200 degrees not the fab recommended ….
What shelf in the oven works best??? Higher or lower in the oven?
I cooked them for 12 mins and they were raw in the middle. After cooking them longer the curved tops fell flat. They ended up only being cooked on the top. I wonder if the absence of baking soda could have contributed to this happening. It’s too bad they didn’t turn out as my house smelled lovely.
My cupcakes came out really doughy. 12 minutes wasn’t enough, an additional 15 minutes and then additional 20 minutes…still doughy
How many grams of carbs in one?
Messing with your recipe as a starter point. Goal: Healthy shit.
Used 1 cup of finely ground spelt and added 3/4 psyillium fibre. Result: the fibre made it fluffy and offset the cakey-ness of the spelt. Needed 10 extra minutes to bake as it became a large muffin as to opposed the 3/4 in a medium silicone muffin cup. And sprinkled nuts on top. Thanks so much for the recipe!