Peanut Butter Banana Muffins
Crumb topping and a peanut butter glaze top these decadent Peanut Butter Banana Muffins for an extraordinary bite. We’re talking soft and tender muffins made with bananas and peanut butter then loaded with chocolate chips, and we don’t even stop there!
The crumble is also packed with chopped peanuts, peanut butter, and chocolate chips and the glaze just takes these muffins over the top. This has to be labeled a dessert because it is seriously a game changer for breakfast… just kidding I love a sweet pick-me-up in the morning!
Try my Maple Glazed Cranberry Coconut Muffins for another beautifully tasting muffin recipe that packs in the flavor.
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Why I love Banana and Peanut Butter Muffins
I can’t find a reason not to love these peanut butter muffins with bananas! The flavor, texture, and layers of goodness will have you craving these little beauties. They’re also pretty versatile if you want to make any adjustments.
- Layers and layers of peanut butter! Easily one of my favorite things about these muffins is how each part includes peanut butter in its recipe. The muffin batter, the crispy crumble and even the glaze incorporate peanut butter in them.
- Each step is pretty simple. This recipe for muffins with a large ingredient list may be intimidating, plus 3 separate layers, but when you break it down and prepare this muffin recipe is so easy to make and you’ll be proud of the results.
- An absolutely decadent treat. These banana muffins are made with so many delicious ingredients that combine for an awe-inspiring dessert or breakfast.
- The texture is divine. The peanut butter muffin is tender and has pops of soft banana baked throughout. Combined with the crisp crumbly topping and smooth sweet glaze, you’ll enjoy many different textures all of which make a perfectly delicious muffin.
I could go on and on about why these peanut butter banana chocolate chip muffins are the bee’s knees, but you’ll just have to make them yourself to truly experience them.
Ingredients for peanut butter chocolate chip muffins
I love recipes that use common pantry items so I don’t have to look far to create a delicious muffin or baked good. Plus, I get to use up my ripe bananas for something more than banana bread!
How to make peanut butter banana muffins from scratch
- Butter – using unsalted butter is best to allow you to control the salt level better. This is where the richness of the muffin shines through.
- Peanut butter – I use creamy peanut butter to evenly distribute through the batter. You could also use almond butter or another nut butter.
- Brown sugar – for a soft deeply sweet muffin, brown sugar works best for this recipe. Regular sugar can be substituted if preferred.
- Other wet ingredients – an egg, vanilla extract, and milk.
- Dry Ingredients – all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon powder, and nutmeg.
- Add-ins – bananas and chocolate chips
Crumble
- Flour – I use all-purpose flour.
- Brown sugar – light brown sugar has the best flavor, or use dark brown for a much richer topping.
- Butter – use softened butter to get the best crumble.
- Peanut butter – creamy or crunchy peanut butter would work for the crumble.
- Ground cinnamon – adding cinnamon will allow the flavors to match from the batter to the topping.
- Peanuts – adding chopped peanuts adds texture and portrays a peanut butter muffin perfectly.
- Chocolate chips – this is optional, but who doesn’t love a chocolatey, crunchy crumble topping? A fun alternative would be peanut butter chips.
Glaze
- Peanut butter
- Milk
- Powdered sugar
See the recipe card for quantities.
How to make peanut butter banana muffins
I follow a certain method to create the batter for these banana peanut butter muffins. This is how I get soft, evenly mixed muffins that are moist and tender.
Mix the batter
In a medium bowl, microwave the butter and peanut butter until completely melted. Do this in 15-second intervals to avoid overheating the butter.
Once melted, remove the bowl and whisk in the brown sugar until combined.
Follow by whisking in the egg and vanilla. Make sure the butter isn’t too hot before adding the egg.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. Then lightly mix into the butter-sugar mixture.
Stir in the milk.
Gently fold in the mashed bananas and chocolate chips (if using).
Divide the batter into the muffin cups.
Make the crumble
Combine the ingredients and then use your hand to squeeze the mixture into large pieces, gently breaking into varying sizes.
Once you add the batter to the cupcake pan, spread the crumble on top evenly.
Bake until a toothpick comes out clean and you have a nice brown crumble.
Allow cooling for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling completely.
Prepare the glaze
In a small bowl, whisk together the peanut butter and milk until it is evenly mixed and smooth.
Add in the powdered sugar and whisk to form a thick glaze. Add a smidge more milk if it is too thick, or alternatively, add more sugar if too thin.
Drizzle over the muffins how you like.
These muffins have the best texture and richness in every bite. From the soft peanut butter muffins with bits of bananas and chocolate chips throughout to the crunchy crumble topping, finished off with creamy peanut butter glaze. There’s so much going on that you’ll just enjoy the simple fact that these are overwhelmingly delicious.
Baker’s Tips for Muffins
I want you to get the best results when you try my recipes so here are a few tips for this peanut butter muffin recipe with bananas and chocolate chips.
Measure the flour. The most common mistake when baking is not measuring the dry ingredients properly which will always lead to dry baked goods. Ensure that you get the best results by measuring the flour with the dip and fill method.
Use ripe bananas. They don’t have to be overripe like when you make banana bread, but they should be ripe. The riper a banana the sweeter it is. You’ll get the most banana flavor from a ripe one, too.
Don’t overmix the batter. For this muffin recipe, there are a few steps to making the batter. Heating both kinds of butter, add the sugar, whisk in the dry ingredients, and fold in the bananas and chocolate chips.
Once the dry ingredients are added, you want to mix everything until JUST combined so as to not overwork the muffin batter. Doing so may lead to a denser or too crumbly muffin. They may also bake unevenly or have lopsided tops.
Make without the crumble topping. The peanut crumble-topping is a showstopper. But you can easily skip adding this and bake. You’ll find the tops to be similar to a bakery-style muffin with a shiny golden-brown rise.
Make them JUMBO! Use a jumbo muffin pan and increase the baking time. For jumbo muffins, bake for 28-33 minutes, checking for doneness around the 28-minute mark.
Substitutions and Variations
I love every bit of this muffin recipe with peanut butter and bananas but there are a few ways to make it unique and fit your taste.
- Use almond butter – Switch out all of the peanut butter in this banana muffin recipe for almond butter. You can even use slivered almonds instead of chopped peanuts for the crumble.
- Switch out the chocolate chips – If you use the chocolate chips, try trading them out for white chocolate or peanut butter chips.
- Add nuts to the muffin batter – For more texture, add some crunchy chopped peanuts into the batter when you add in the mashed bananas. It’ll add an additional texture feature to these peanut butter muffins. Or, you could use chunky peanut butter instead of smooth.
- Use nut milk instead of regular milk. This is an easy exchange and shouldn’t affect the muffin.
- Use oil in place of butter. You can swap out the butter for oil without lose of texture. But, the step you need to change is melting the peanut butter and butter. Instead, melt the peanut butter first, then stir in the oil before mixing the brown sugar in.
FAQs
How do you know when muffins are done baking?
The toothpick method is one of the best and easiest ways to check for the muffin’s doneness. Insert the toothpick into the middle of a muffin while still in the oven. You want it to come out clean or with a few moist crumbs. You can also check if a muffin is done by using a thin knife.
How full do you fill a muffin cup with a crumble topping?
Even with the crumble topping, fill the cup up to ¾ full. Once it rises the crumble with meld into the batter and forms a rounded top. You shouldn’t have to worry about it overflowing because of the crumble.
Why is the bottom of my muffins soggy?
Soggy muffin bottoms usually happen when you leave them in the muffin pan too long after baking. The steam gets trapped under the paper liner. To avoid this, remove the muffins to a cooking rack when they are cool enough to handle.
How do I prevent muffin liners from sticking?
Lightly spray the liner with cooking spray, emphasis on the light! Or, skip the liners completely and bake right in the pan using cooking spray.
Equipment
Muffin pan
Mixing bowl
Whisk and spatula
Measuring cups and spoons
Storage
Store leftover peanut butter crumb muffins covered on the counter for up to 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Freezing – Freeze for up to 3 months by individually wrapping muffins in plastic wrap and then storing them in a freezer-safe bag or container.
More Sweet Breakfast Recipes
- Dulce De Leche Donuts
- Cinnamon Babka
- Bite Size Cinnamon Rolls
- Almond Butter Oat Bars
- Lemon Raspberry Rolls
Peanut Butter Banana Muffins
Ingredients
Peanut Butter Banana Muffins
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup peanut butter
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 2 medium bananas mashed
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips I used gold chocolate
Crumble
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 4 tbsp butter softened
- 1 tbsp peanut butter
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/3 cup chopped peanuts
- 1/3 cup chocolate chips optional
Glaze
- 1/2 cup peanut butter
- 1/4 cup milk
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
Peanut Butter Banana Muffins
- Place the unsalted butter and peanut butter in a bowl and place in the microwave for 15 second intervals until completely melted.
- Add the sugar and whisk to combine.
- Add the egg, vanilla and whisk.
- Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg and mix to combine,
- Add the milk and mix.
- Add the mashed bananas and chocolate chips and mix.
- Pour the batter in the muffin pan.
Make the crumble
- Mix the flour, sugar, butter, peanut butter, cinnamon, peanuts together until a crumb forms, add the chocolate chips (which are optional) and mix to combine.
- Spread the crumbs on top of the muffins evenly.
- Bake in the pre-heated 350 Fahrenheit oven for about 18 minutes.
- Let it cool down completely.
Make the glaze
- To make the glaze mix peanut butter and milk and whisk to combine. If you by any chance keep the peanut butter in the fridge, you want to melt it in the microwave slightly, or let it come to room temperature before using.
- Then add the sugar and whisk to form a thick glaze.
- If the glaze is too thick, add more milk to thin it out. And if the glaze is too thin, add more powdered sugar.
- Drizzle the glaze over the muffins and serve.
