Chocolate Banana Muffins Chocolate Chips

There's something about the smell of chocolate and banana baking together that stops me mid-morning, no matter what I'm doing. A friend brought these muffins to a book club once, and I spent the whole evening asking for the recipe instead of discussing the actual book. The combination felt like chocolate cake and banana bread had decided to become something better, and I've been making them ever since on mornings when I need a little comfort in a paper liner.

I made these for my daughter's soccer team's bake sale, and they were gone within the first twenty minutes—which I know because she texted me a photo of the empty plate with a trophy emoji. It became our thing after that; whenever she had an early morning game, I'd wake up even earlier to get these in the oven so she'd have them for the drive.

Ingredients

• All-purpose flour (1 3/4 cups): This is your structure—it keeps the muffins from turning into banana bread pudding, which I learned the hard way once.
• Unsweetened cocoa powder (1/3 cup): Don't skip the unsweetened; it cuts through the sweetness from the sugar and bananas and makes the chocolate flavor actually sing.
• Baking soda and baking powder (1 teaspoon and 1/2 teaspoon): They work together to give you that tender crumb—baking soda reacts with the acidity in the bananas, which is the real magic.
• Salt (1/2 teaspoon): This small amount makes the chocolate taste deeper and keeps everything from tasting flat.
• Ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 cup from 2 large): They need to be soft enough that they practically mash themselves—if they're still yellow, wait a day or two.
• Granulated sugar (2/3 cup): Enough to sweeten without overwhelming, especially since the chocolate chips add their own sweetness.
• Vegetable oil or melted butter (1/2 cup): Oil keeps them tender longer; butter gives a richer flavor if you have time to let them cool and set.
• Eggs (2 large): They bind everything and help create that signature moist texture.
• Vanilla extract (1 teaspoon): It rounds out the flavors and makes the chocolate feel warmer somehow.
• Milk (1/3 cup): This keeps the batter from being too thick—you want it thick but still pourable.
• Semi-sweet chocolate chips (1 cup, plus extra for topping): The soul of the muffin; use good ones if you can because they're doing most of the heavy lifting on flavor.

Instructions

Get your oven ready:

Preheat to 350°F and line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners or grease it lightly. If you forget this step, you'll know it the moment you try to get them out.

Whisk the dry team together:

In a large bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt, making sure there are no cocoa lumps hiding in the corners. This is where you're building the foundation, so take thirty seconds to do it properly.

Blend the wet ingredients until smooth:

In a separate bowl, whisk mashed bananas with sugar, oil, eggs, vanilla, and milk until the mixture looks uniform and the sugar has mostly dissolved. You'll know it's ready when it smells like banana cake batter before the chocolate even shows up.

Bring it together gently:

Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients and fold with a spatula using as few motions as possible—overmixing is the only real way to ruin these, and it creates tough, dense muffins instead of tender ones.

Fold in the chocolate chips:

Add the chocolate chips and give it maybe three more gentle folds until they're distributed throughout. Some chunks are fine; actually, they're better than fine.

Fill the muffin tin:

Divide the batter evenly among the cups—an ice cream scoop helps here and keeps them uniform. Top each one with a few extra chocolate chips so they get those caramelized edges.

Bake until barely set:

Bake for 18 to 22 minutes; you're looking for a toothpick that comes out with a few moist crumbs clinging to it, not completely clean. If it comes out wet with batter, give them two more minutes, but don't go much longer or they'll dry out.

Cool with patience:

Leave them in the pan for 5 minutes—this lets them set just enough to handle—then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. The chocolate is still soft inside at this point, which is exactly the point.

Save

My neighbor came over once and caught me eating a still-warm muffin with my hands standing over the cooling rack, and instead of judging me, she asked if she could have one too. We ended up sitting on my kitchen counter sharing the whole batch and talking for an hour, which somehow made these muffins taste even better because they turned into something we shared instead of something I just made.

When to Serve Them

These are perfect warm from the cooling rack when the chocolate is still soft and the crumb is still releasing steam, but they're also great the next morning toasted and spread with a little butter or cream cheese. I've brought them to work, packed them in lunches, and honestly, they disappear so fast it barely matters when you eat them.

Variations That Actually Work

If you want to push them in different directions, sour cream or Greek yogurt (about 1/4 cup) adds an almost tangy moisture that makes the chocolate taste sharper and more interesting. You can also swap out half the chocolate chips for chopped walnuts or pecans if you want a little texture contrast, or add both for the kind of muffin that feels like a complete breakfast on its own.

Storage and Keeping Them Fresh

They keep in an airtight container at room temperature for about three days, though honestly they never last that long in my house. You can also freeze them for up to two months—just wrap them individually and pull one out whenever you need a moment of chocolate-banana comfort.

• Toast a frozen muffin for thirty seconds and it tastes almost fresh-baked again.
• They thaw at room temperature in about an hour if you forget to plan ahead.
• Make the full batch even if you're serving fewer people, because leftovers are the whole point.

Save

These muffins are the kind of recipe that feels like it's been in your family forever, even if it hasn't. They're simple enough to make them again tomorrow, but good enough to make you grateful you did.

Recipe FAQs

→ Can I use frozen bananas?

Yes, thaw them completely and drain any excess liquid before mashing to keep the batter consistency correct.

→ How should I store these muffins?

Store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 3 months.

→ Can I substitute the oil?

Melted butter works well for a richer flavor, though oil helps keep them moist for longer.

→ How do I know when they are done?

Insert a toothpick into the center; it should come out with a few moist crumbs but not wet batter.

→ Can I add nuts?

Absolutely, chopped walnuts or pecans can be folded in with the chocolate chips for added texture.