Chocolate Chunk Banana Muffins

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There's nothing better than soft, warm Banana Chocolate Chunk Muffins fresh from the oven. These bakery-style chocolate banana muffins are big and fluffy, with the moist texture of banana bread, rich pools of dark chocolate, and cozy warm spices. They stir together in one bowl, are ready in about 20 minutes, and freeze beautifully. Perfect for an easy breakfast or a quick afternoon snack.

Want more muffin recipes? Try Banana Carrot Muffins and easy Cake Mix Blueberry Muffins next.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Featured Review

Whipped these up this morning - delicious!! -R. Peterson

banana chocolate chunk muffin half on a white plate.

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📽️Video: How to Make Banana Chocolate Chunk Muffins

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⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Featured Review
📽️Video: How to Make Banana Chocolate Chunk Muffins
❤️These are the Best Chocolate Chunk Banana Muffins
🍌How to Bake Muffins with Frozen Bananas
🥚Ingredients
🍫Which is Better in Muffins: Chocolate Chips vs. Chocolate Chunks
🥣How to Make the Best Banana Chocolate Chunk Muffins
✅Expert Tips
🎁Storage
❓FAQs
😋More Delicious Ways to Use Overripe Bananas
💌Let's Stay in Touch
📖 Recipe

I hope I never have to choose between banana bread and a chocolate chip cookie. But if I had to, I'd go rogue and say C.): Banana Chocolate Chunk Muffins. They're as soft and moist as my favorite sour cream banana bread, and loaded with gooey pools of melted chocolate, like my Chocolate Chip Cookies without Butter. The best of both!

❤️These are the Best Chocolate Chunk Banana Muffins

Fast and easy. When you want banana bread but don't want to wait an hour or wash a pile of dishes.
Big banana flavor. I use a full 2 cups of mashed bananas so they taste just like banana bread in muffin form.
Bakery-style banana muffins. A high-heat start and crisp sugar topping create tall, domed tops with classic bakery look and texture.
Stay moist for days. Oil keeps the crumb soft and tender even after cooling, so they're just as good the next day.
Melty chocolate pockets. Chocolate chunks melt into gooey pockets throughout the muffins.

🍌How to Bake Muffins with Frozen Bananas

If you have a freezer full of overripe bananas (like I do), you can use them in this banana muffin recipe. Thaw them completely, then drain off any excess liquid before measuring. Frozen bananas release extra moisture. Measure after draining so the batter stays thick and the muffins bake up tall instead of dense.

Then bake up a batch of Banana Zucchini Bread, Peanut Butter Banana Blondies, Banana Angel Food Cake, or Banana Bread with Pancake Mix!

🥚Ingredients

See recipe card at the bottom of the post for the full list of ingredients and exact amounts.

Flour. Carefully measure the flour by spooning it into the measuring cup then leveling off the top. Scooping from the bag compacts the flour and you can add too much flour, making dry, tough muffins.
Overripe bananas. Overripe bananas with peels covered in brown or black spots, or even completely black peels, are the sweetest, most flavorful, and mash up the smoothest.
Brown sugar. I use dark brown sugar for the rich molasses flavor. Light brown sugar will also work well.
Oil. I prefer oil instead of butter in this chocolate chunk banana muffin recipe because it keeps them extra moist. Choose a neutral-flavored vegetable oil; I use canola.
Chocolate chips or chocolate chunks. Use what you like or have -- dark, semi-sweet, or milk chocolate chips, chocolate chunks, or chopped chocolate bars. I like to use a combination of dark chocolate chunks for the big, melty pockets of chocolate and mini chocolate chips for little bits of chocolate throughout.
Optional, mix-ins. Substitute some of the chocolate for chopped walnuts or pecans, raisins, or dried cranberries. Keep total mix-ins to one cup.
Coarse sugar. Totally optional, but a sprinkle of raw sugar gives the tops a crunchy texture and that pretty bakery look.

🍫Which is Better in Muffins: Chocolate Chips vs. Chocolate Chunks

There's a difference between chocolate chips and chocolate chunks.

Chocolate chips. Designed to hold their shape while baking, chocolate chips soften in the oven but stay defined and cool to a firmer finish. Mini chocolate chips offer the same texture with more even chocolate distribution throughout the muffins.
Chocolate chunks. When chopped from a bar, chocolate chunks melt more smoothly and creamily thanks to higher cocoa butter and fewer stabilizers, creating gooey pools of chocolate along with small shards and speckles throughout. Store-bought chocolate chunks behave more like chocolate chips but still produce larger pockets of chocolate.
Both. For the best of both worlds, use a mix of chips and chunks for even distribution plus melty chocolate pockets.

🥣How to Make the Best Banana Chocolate Chunk Muffins

Step 1: Mash the banana in a large bowl. Add the brown sugar, eggs, oil, and vanilla, and stir until well combined.

banana muffin batter in white mixing bowl.

Step 2: Stir in the baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Sift in the flour. Stir until just combined -- be careful not to overmix. Gently fold in the chocolate chunks.

banana chocolate chunk muffin batter in a muffin pan.

Step 3: Prepare a 12-cup muffin tin with paper muffin liners. Fill the muffin cups all the way to the top with muffin batter. If desired, add a few extra chocolate chunks and a sprinkle of sugar on top.

banana chocolate chunk muffins in a muffin pan.

Step 4: Bake muffins in a preheated oven at 425 for 5 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 and bake 10-12 more minutes until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool muffins in the pan for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack.

👉Top Tip: The secret to soft, tender banana chocolate chunk muffins is to gently fold the dry ingredients and wet ingredients together. It's okay if there are still a few streaks of flour. Do not overmix, or the muffins will be tough and dense.

✅Expert Tips

For the best flavor, use very overripe bananas completely covered in brown spots.
Baking banana chocolate chunk muffins at a high temperature for a few minutes helps them rise quickly. This is why you can fill the cups all the way to the top!
Using oil instead of melted butter ensures soft, moist muffins.

🎁Storage

Store banana chocolate chip muffins at room temperature in an airtight container for a few days or in the refrigerator for up to one week.
Freeze muffins in a freezer bag for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator.

❓FAQs

Can you make banana chocolate chunk muffins with unripe bananas?

Yes, you can actually "ripen" bananas in the oven. Bake unpeeled bananas at 300 for about 20 minutes or until the peels turn black. Cool, scoop out the flesh, and strain off the liquid. Read more about it in my Banana Bread with Pancake Mix recipe.

Can you use frozen bananas for banana muffins?

Yes. Freezing overripe bananas is a great way to save them at their peak of flavor, and you can absolutely use them in your banana bread, banana pancake, and banana muffin recipes. Read more about it in this banana bread from a mix recipe.

How can you tell when chocolate chunk banana muffins are done?

Banana chocolate chip muffins are done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. I also like to check with a digital thermometer -- they should reach an internal temperature of 195-200 degrees.

Can I use regular chocolate chips in these banana muffins?

Yes. I use this recipe for chocolate chip banana muffins, too. You can use regular or mini chocolate chips, semisweet, milk chocolate, or dark chocolate. Because chocolate chips have less cocoa butter and more stabilizers than a chopped chocolate bar, they will stay defined as they bake, whereas chocolate chunks melt into gooey pools.