Easy Pumpkin Banana Muffins for Snacking or Lunch

Muffins are the handiest little morsels — and they’re easy to make, too. These pumpkin banana muffins may become your new favorite muffin! You can pop them into a lunchbox, enjoy them for breakfast, or easily freeze them to last weeks.

Originally published September 2019; this post has been updated.

close up of pumpkin banana muffin in a white cupcake liner.

Easy Pumpkin Banana Muffins

These muffins are a perfect way to sneak some fruits and vegetables in! While the recipe doesn’t call for it, you can feel free to toss in a handful of raisins or walnuts, too. So much goodness in one little muffin. 

ingredients for making pumpkin banana muffins on a marble backdrop.

Ingredients

Bananas  You know those overripe bananas sitting on the counter? Those are ideal for making these muffins. 

Flour  When I bake with all purpose flour I opt for the unbleached version. Bleached flour is very white, but it’s also treated with bleaching agents that I don’t really need in my food. If you’d like to amp up the fiber in these apple pumpkin muffins, you can safely replace up to half of the all purpose flour with whole wheat flour.

Sweeteners — Thanks to the sweetness of ripe bananas, this muffin recipe requires very little added sugar in the form of both granulated sugar and honey. If you’re really trying to cut sugars, try using this monk fruit brown sugar replacement. It’s a natural sweetener. (I’ve been very happy with it in recipes.)

Eggs — Fresh eggs, store bought, use what you have readily available.

Pumpkin puree — One cup canned pumpkin puree (without the spices) gives these muffins their characteristic flavor. We like to make our own pumpkin puree, which is great in recipes like this.

Butter — You can use either salted or unsalted butter in this recipe. I tend to keep salted butter on hand, so that’s what I’d use. 

Leavening —  This recipe calls for both baking soda and baking powder; I bet you have both on hand!

Chocolate chips —  Semi-sweet chocolate chips are a favorite, but there’s no reason you can’t use milk chocolate chips or dark chocolate chips.

4 panel image showing process of combining ingredients in glass bowls.

Making Them

Like many baked goods, this muffin recipe calls for combining the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet ingredients in another. You’ll then combine the wet and dry ingredients just until they’re combined. Overmixing can create a tough muffin. 

Fold in the chocolate chips and transfer to a prepared muffin tin.

close up of dough with chocolate chips added.

Using a regular muffin tin to make these pumpkin muffins nets about twelve. If you’re cooking for little kids, try making mini muffins; you’ll get about 30 of those — they’re a good size for adding to lunch boxes! (This is a great recipe for incorporating some sneaky fruits and veggies.)

uncooked batter in muffin tin.

Mini muffins are also a great addition to an easy brunch menu. Smallify (sure, that’s a word!) these pumpkin banana muffins along with some of our other favorite muffin recipes and serve in cloth lined baskets. Easy, peasy.

pumpkin banana muffins

Eco-Friendly Muffin Liners

Cleaning up after muffin making is so much easier with paper muffin liners. Trouble is, those paper liners often come in a plastic container, leaving you with another unnecessary piece of plastic in the trash. Seek out the If You Care brand of baking cups for a product that is made from unbleached paper, certified compostable, and packaged in cardboard. They’re available at health food stores and online. 

Storage

If you have leftovers, tuck these muffins into an airtight container and store at room temperature for several days. 

pumpkin banana muffins from above

close up of pumpkin banana muffin in a white cupcake liner.

Easy Healthy Pumpkin Banana Muffins

Yield: 12
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 18 minutes
Total Time: 33 minutes

Thanks to the sweetness of ripe bananas, these pumpkin chocolate chip muffins require very little added sugar.

Ingredients

  • 3 ripe bananas, mashed
  • 2 eggs
  • ⅓ cup butter, melted and cooled
  • 1 ⅓ cup pumpkin puree
  • ½ cup honey
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  2. Prepare a 12-cup muffin pan with cupcake liners.
  3. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, sugar, pumpkin pie spice, and cinnamon. Set aside.
  4. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together mashed bananas, pumpkin, eggs, butter, and honey.
  5. Stir together wet and dry ingredients until just combined.
  6. Fold chocolate chips into the batter.
  7. Divide the batter into 12 muffin cups. Top with additional chocolate chips, if desired.
  8. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes.
  9. Allow to rest in muffin tin for 5 minutes before serving, or cool and store in an airtight container.

Notes

Makes 12 regular sized muffins. 

If you're trying to cut sugars, try using a monk fruit brown sugar replacement. It's a natural sweetener.  You can use canned pumpkin puree or homemade pumpkin puree. For spiced banana pumpkin muffins, stir in 2 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice blend.

You can pop them into a lunchbox, enjoy them for breakfast, or easily freeze them to last weeks.

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1 muffin
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 326Total Fat: 11gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 45mgSodium: 290mgCarbohydrates: 57gFiber: 3gSugar: 32gProtein: 5g

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muffins on a white cutting board

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About the author: Kris Bordessa is an award-winning National Geographic author and a certified Master Food Preserver. Read more about Kris and how she got started with this site here. If you want to send Kris a quick message, you can get in touch here.

4 comments… add one
  • Carolan Batchelder Aug 31, 2020 @ 0:34

    Hi – doesn’t say how to add flour ingredients to wet mixture. Thanks.

    • Kris Bordessa Oct 26, 2020 @ 12:35

      It says: Stir together wet and dry ingredients until just combined. (You might have missed it between the photos!)

  • Phyllis Morgan Feb 6, 2020 @ 6:59

    Do you used paper liners that are recyclable or could one just oil the muffin tin so as not to waste?

    • Kris Bordessa Feb 6, 2020 @ 7:29

      The paper liners are compostable, but I often just oil the tin itself.

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