These banana chocolate muffins are soft and moist, made in one bowl with simple pantry ingredients, not too sweet, and perfect for an easy homemade treat any day of the week.
For more easy muffins recipes, check out our banana oatmeal muffins, oil-free carrot cake muffins, protein apple muffins, and vegan banana muffins.
An Easy, Everyday Treat Made with Ingredients You Trust
These banana chocolate muffins are the kind of bake we make when we want something sweet, familiar, and genuinely satisfying—without feeling heavy afterward 🍫🍌. They’re soft, moist, and deeply chocolatey, with a clear banana flavor that comes from using very ripe fruit. They bake up with wide, gently domed tops and a super tender, almost melt-in-your-mouth crumb.
Louise and I love that this is an easy banana chocolate muffins recipe you can mix in one bowl, using everyday pantry ingredients. There’s no butter, just olive oil, which keeps the crumb tender and fits naturally into a Mediterranean-style way of cooking.
They’re not too sweet, balanced, and feel nourishing thanks to bananas, cocoa, and real dark chocolate. We often enjoy them as a homemade snack or simple breakfast with coffee ☕.
If you’re looking for moist banana chocolate muffins that taste classic, bake reliably, and feel good to share, this recipe delivers—every single time.
Ingredients
Full ingredients and substitutions are in the recipe box below.
- Bananas: very ripe bananas add sweetness and moisture. If bananas are small, use one extra, or substitute mashed ripe pear.
- Flour: all-purpose flour gives a soft crumb, perfect for homemade banana chocolate muffins. Substitute whole wheat flour for a heartier texture or a gluten-free blend if needed.
- Cocoa powder: unsweetened cocoa brings deep chocolate flavor. Dutch-process cocoa works too for a smoother taste.
- Dark chocolate: chopped dark chocolate makes rich pockets of flavor. Chocolate chips or a mix of dark and semi-sweet both work.
- Olive oil: olive oil banana muffins are tender and naturally lower in saturated fat. A neutral vegetable oil is a fine swap.
- Sugar: brown sugar adds moisture, white sugar keeps the flavor clean. Coconut sugar works to although slightly less sweet.
- Egg: binds everything together.
- Vanilla extract: rounds out the chocolate flavor. Almond extract is a nice change.
- Baking powder and baking soda: help the muffins rise evenly. No good substitutes here.
- Salt: a small pinch sharpens the chocolate and balances sweetness.
How to Make Banana Chocolate Muffins
Step 1: Mix the Wet Ingredients
Heat the oven to 350°F (180°C) and line a 12-cup muffin pan. Chop the dark chocolate.
In a large bowl, mash the ripe bananas with a fork. Add the olive oil, sugar, egg, and vanilla. Mix until smooth. This simple method keeps these one bowl banana chocolate muffins easy and low-stress.
Step 2: Add the Dry Ingredients
Add the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to the same bowl. Stir gently until just combined. Stop as soon as you no longer see dry flour. Overmixing can make muffins heavy instead of soft.
Step 3: Add the Chocolate and Fill the Pan
Fold in the chopped dark chocolate. Divide batter evenly between the muffin liners. Filling the liners almost to the top helps create wide, softly domed muffin tops and a tender crumb.
Add a few extra chocolate pieces on top if you like for a bakery-stykle look (totally optional).
Step 4: Bake and Cool
Bake for about 22 minutes, until the tops are set and a toothpick comes out mostly clean. Let the muffins cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a rack. These easy banana chocolate muffins are delicious slightly warm, with soft melted chocolate inside, or simply enjoyed at room temperature.
Tips
- Use very ripe bananas with lots of brown spots. They mash easily and give chocolate banana muffins deeper flavor and natural sweetness.
- Mash the bananas well before adding anything else. A smooth base helps the batter mix evenly without overworking it.
- Stir gently and stop early. Once the flour is mixed in, don’t keep stirring. This keeps the muffins soft, not dense.
- Chop the chocolate, don’t just use chips. Rough chunks melt better and give richer bites, especially in these no butter banana muffins.
- Fill the muffin cups evenly. This helps them bake at the same speed and rise nicely.
- Let them rest before removing. Cooling for 10 minutes helps the muffins set and keeps them from breaking.
- Microwave for melty chocolate. If you like them warm, a quick 15 seconds in the microwave brings back the soft crumb and melted chocolate pockets.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Thaw them fully and drain off excess liquid before mashing. Frozen bananas work well in chocolate banana muffins and still give great flavor.
You can reduce the sugar to ½ cup if you like (we tested this). The muffins are already balanced and less sweet than most, but if your bananas are very ripe or you prefer a lighter sweetness, using a little less sugar works very well.
Absolutely. Wrap each muffin and freeze for up to 2 months. They thaw well and are perfect as homemade banana chocolate muffins for busy days.
Let them cool completely, then store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days, or in the fridge for 4–5 days.
The combination of ripe bananas, olive oil, and gentle mixing gives these muffins their tender crumb.
More Easy Bakes
- Healthy banana cookies
- Protein banana bread
- Vegan apple cake
- Orange cake
- Vegan carrot cake
- Easy vanilla cake
- Banana nut bread
- Apple cinnamon muffins
If you try this Banana Chocolate Muffins Recipe please leave a 🌟 star rating and let us know how it turned out in the comments—we love hearing from you.
Banana Chocolate Muffins (Soft, Moist, and Easy)
Ingredients
- 3 large ripe bananas very ripe with brown spots, or 4 if small
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ⅔ cup dark chocolate a bar chopped into chunks – or dark chocolate chips – about 4 ounces
- ¼ cup olive oil or a neutral vegetable oil
- ¾ cup sugar brown or white – or reduce to ½ cup for less sweetness
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 pinch salt
Instructions
- Mix the Wet Ingredients: Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners. Chop the dark chocolate.Mash 3 large ripe bananas in a large bowl. Add ¼ cup olive oil, ¾ cup sugar, 1 large egg, and 1 tablespoon vanilla extract. Mix well with a fork.
- Add the Dry Ingredients: Add 1 cup all-purpose flour, ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder, 3 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, and 1 pinch salt.Mix gently until just combined. Do not over-mix. Stir in ⅔ cup dark chocolate chopped into chunks.
- Fill the Muffin Pan: Divide the batter evenly into the muffin liners. Add a few extra chocolate chunks on top if you like.
- Bake and Cool: Bake at 350°F (180°C) for 22 minutes, until set. Let the muffins cool in the pan for 10 minutes before taking out of the pan to cool completely. You can enjoy them slightly warm or at room temperature.
Notes
- Bananas → Use very ripe bananas for sweetness and moisture. Swap with mashed ripe pear if needed.
- Flour → All-purpose flour works best. Substitute whole wheat flour or a gluten-free blend.
- Cocoa powder → Unsweetened cocoa is ideal. Dutch-process cocoa gives a smoother, milder chocolate flavor.
- Dark chocolate → Chopped dark chocolate or chocolate chips both work. A mix of dark and semi-sweet is fine.
- Olive oil → Use a neutral vegetable oil if preferred. Both keep the muffins tender.
- Sugar → Brown or white sugar both work. Coconut sugar is fine, but slightly less sweet.
- Egg → Substitute with a flax egg if needed.
- Vanilla extract → Almond extract works for a different flavor.
- Baking powder and baking soda → Needed for proper rise. No good substitutes.
- Use very ripe bananas. They add natural sweetness and moisture.
- Mash bananas until smooth. This helps the batter mix evenly.
- Mix gently and stop early. Overmixing makes muffins dense.
- Chop the chocolate. Chunks melt better than chips.
- Fill cups evenly. This helps muffins bake and rise evenly.
- Cool before removing. A short rest helps them set.
- Warm for 15 seconds in the microwave to soften the crumb and melt the chocolate pockets.
- Store the muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days, in the fridge for 4–5 days, or freeze them for up to 2 months.
Nutrition
Hi! We are Nico & Louise
We’re here to share delicious, easy, and healthy plant-based recipes (vegetarian & vegan) 🌿✨.
Welcome to our blog, we are glad you are here.
Wow! This recipe is amazing. 👏 🤩 It had a perfect amount of sweetness and very moist. Will definitely keep for future banana bread baking. Thank you
Fantastic, Veronica. I’m really happy you loved the texture and sweetness of the muffins.
We always finish them too fast when we bake them 🙂 Thanks so much for trying them and for taking the time to comment here.
Kindest, Louise