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These Banana Oatmeal Muffins are easy to make and full of flavor and texture. They are perfect for breakfast or snacking.
With over 2 million page views, hundreds of five-star reviews, and almost 100,000 social shares, this is my most popular muffin recipe that readers keep coming back to make again and again.
Excellent muffin recipe! I made them a few weeks ago and I'm making them again right now. My three and a half year old granddaughter loves them! This recipe is a keeper for sure! Thank you!
Oatmeal banana muffins
These tasty banana muffins have plenty of banana flavor and get a chewy texture from the old-fashioned oats. And to take these muffins a step further, I’ve added a delicious oat topping.
No special equipment needed when making these muffins. You need a bowl, a heavy-duty spoon for mixing, and a muffin tin for baking. Whether you’re a novice in the kitchen or an experienced baker, these banana oatmeal muffins will get you rave reviews in your kitchen!
My top tips for making these muffins include
- Use Very Ripe Bananas: Overripe bananas with dark spots or fully brown skins work best, as they provide natural sweetness and a moist texture.
- Don’t Skip the Oats: Use old-fashioned oats for a chewy texture that complements the banana flavor. Quick oats can alter the texture and may not absorb liquid as well.
- Perfect Crumb Topping: Ensure the crumb topping is mixed until it resembles coarse crumbs. This adds a sweet, crunchy layer to the muffins.
- Even Muffin Sizes: Fill the muffin cups evenly using an ice cream scoop.
If you are looking for a little variety, here is another tasty banana muffin recipe to try!
Banana Oat Muffin Ingredients
- Oats - Use old-fashioned oats or rolled oats. They have a thicker texture than quick oats and are perfect in this recipe.
- Flour - Regular all-purpose flour is used. Be certain to measure your flour using the fluff and scoop method.
- Bananas - The riper the bananas, the better. Choose very brown bananas. You’ll need 1½ cups of mashed bananas which is about 3 bananas.
- Sugar - Two types of sugar are used in this recipe. Granulated sugar is used in the muffin batter and brown sugar is used for the topping.
- Oil - The oil adds moisture and helps create a perfect crumb. Use a light-flavored oil like canola or vegetable oil.
- Spices - Ground cinnamon and nutmeg add the perfect amount of spice.
- Vanilla - Use pure vanilla for the best flavor.
- Leavening - One egg, baking powder, and baking soda are all used in this recipe.
How to make Banana Oatmeal Muffins
- Mix the oatmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and sugar in a large bowl.
- In a smaller bowl mix egg, oil, and vanilla. Add to dry ingredients and stir.
- Stir in mashed bananas.
- Fold together until well combined.
- Divide into 12 sprayed or lined muffin tins.
- Mix the remaining oats, melted butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon.
- Sprinkle topping over unbaked muffins.
- Bake in a preheated 375°F oven for 15-20 minutes.
You might also enjoy these muffins baked into a loaf of oatmeal banana bread.
How to store Banana Oat Muffins
Once the muffins are fully cool, store them in a single layer in an airtight container. Store at room temperature for 3-4 days.
To freeze the muffins, place fully cool muffins in a freezer-safe container or bag in a single layer. Muffins are best used within 1-2 months.
Tips for making Banana Oatmeal Muffins
- Use fresh baking powder - baking powder can lose its effectiveness and if old, your muffins might not rise properly.
- Fully preheat your oven - I use a separate oven thermometer in my oven to make certain my oven has reached the proper temperature. My preheat light often turns off before the oven has reached full temperature so I always give it extra time.
- Do not overmix batter. Just stir until everything is mixed in. Over-stirring can cause tough muffins.
- Use an ice cream scoop for even-sized muffins. Plus it makes putting the batter in the tins easy peasy!
If you make this recipe, I’d love to hear about it! Leave a comment below and snap a picture and tag me on Instagram @beyondthechickencoop
Check out all my muffin recipes!
Oatmeal Banana Muffins Recipe
Video
Equipment
- Measuring Cups
- Measuring Spoons
Ingredients
- 1 ½ Cups oats (old fashioned oats or rolled oats)
- 1 ¼ Cups flour
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- pinch ground nutmeg
- 1 whole egg
- ¼ cup oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 ½ cups ripe bananas, mashed (about 3-4 bananas)
Topping
- ½ cup oats (old fashioned oats)
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 Tablespoons melted butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- In a large bowl mix oatmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and sugar together.1 ½ Cups oats, 1 ¼ Cups flour, ½ cup sugar, 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, pinch ground nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon salt
- In a smaller bowl mix egg, oil and vanilla. Add to dry ingredients and stir. The mixture will be very dry at this time.1 whole egg, ¼ cup oil, 1 teaspoon vanilla
- Fold in bananas. Keep folding until all the dry ingredients are mixed in.1 ½ cups ripe bananas, mashed
- Divide into muffin tin that has been either lightly sprayed with a nonstick spray or lined with paper liners.
- In another bowl combine topping ingredients. Sprinkle over muffin batter.½ cup oats, ¼ teaspoon cinnamon, 2 Tablespoons brown sugar, 2 Tablespoons melted butter
- Bake at 375°F for 18-20 minutes.
Notes
- Use very ripe bananas. The peel should have lots of brown spots and the bananas should mash easily.
- When measuring flour, don't overpack the measuring cup. Fluff up flour with a spoon or scoop, and then gently scoop it into the measuring cup and then level the cup.
- The batter may be a bit dry if bananas are not fully ripe.
- If batter is too dry add 1-2 tablespoons of milk.
- Use old fashioned oats or quick oatmeal. Steel cut oats do not work for this recipe.
- The old fashioned oats will add texture to the muffins.
Nutritional Disclaimer:
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and should only be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. To obtain the most precise nutritional information in a provided recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the exact ingredients you are using when preparing the recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Nutrition
Recipe adapted from Mad about Muffins
Tina says
Thank you for including the ingredients under each step, so I don’t have to keep scrolling back up to check! Genius 💡
Kathy Berget says
You're so welcome! 🙂
Betsy says
Had a lot of super ripe bananas and this recipe pinned (I have a dozen banana muffin recipes pinned!). Only modifications that I made were to almost double the cinnamon and nutmeg (I do this for all recipes that call for fall spices) and I used 1 Tbsp instead of two for the topping. The muffins turned out fantastic! Moist (I used 4 SUPER brown bananas), tasty, not overly sweet (which is perfect for breakfast). My topping keeps falling off, but I forgot to press it into the muffin batter. I am going to delete the rest of my banana muffin recipes as soon as I finish this review! I cannot wait to try your other recipes.
Kathy Berget says
Thanks so much! I'm so glad this recipe made it to the top! 🙂
Jenny says
They were perfect and the crumb topping made the muffins look like they came from a professional bakery. Very delicious.
Kathy says
Thanks so much! 🙂
Michelle says
Hi there! Hoping to make these tomorrow, but I need to defrost some frozen bananas for it. Can we use the banana liquid from the defrost in this recipe or toss?
Kathy says
Hi Michelle,
That's a great question. I use frozen bananas in my smoothies all the time, but haven't used them in muffins. I think I'd drain off the liquid. If you find the batter a bit dry, add a tablespoon of two of milk or water to the batter.
Kathy
JoAnne Benson says
I use frozen bananas in this recipe all the time. I take Bananas out of the peel when still partly frozen so the liquid isn’t the brown colour but I don’t drain them and the muffins turn purple perfect every time.
My Grandchildren love these muffins. I reduce the sugar and throw some chopped dates in the batter, they think are chocolate chips.
Kathy says
Thanks so much for your tips! 🙂
Arielle Dumaine says
First time making these and they are FABULOUS! Super moist and flavorful!
Kathy says
Thanks so much! 🙂
Julia says
I made these this morning, replaced the flour with oat flour and replaced the egg with a flax egg and they turned out perfect. Nice and moist, delicious!
Kathy says
Thank you! Thanks for sharing your substitutions. 🙂
Julie Carlson says
I made this today, and made one substitution. I used 1/4 cup of plain applesauce instead of an egg, since my daughter is allergic. They turned out so good!
Kathy says
Thanks so much!
bob says
These didn't have a lot of flavor or enough sweetness I felt
Kathy says
Thanks for your comment. They are not an overly sweet muffin. Are you wanting more banana flavor or more spice? Make certain your bananas are really ripe (very brown) for the most banana flavor. You can increase the amount of cinnamon and nutmeg to get a bit more spice.
Kathy
Alma says
The flavor is good but wow, that is dry! even with the 2 tablespoons of half and half that I used instead of milk. My kids wouldn't eat it.
Kathy says
Hi Alma,
I'm sorry these turned out dry for you. This is usually a result of too much flour, which can be caused by the method you use for measuring your flour. It's easy to compact the measuring cup, which results in too much flour and can make the muffins dry. My other tip is to use really ripe bananas and make certain you have a full 1 ½ cups of mashed bananas. I hope you give them a try again. They really are a delicious muffin.
Kathy
Tidawee says
These are great! First time making them and they came out perfect. Super moist and not too sweet. 10/10 would recommend.
Kathy says
Thanks so much! 🙂
Erica says
I'd like to swap sugar for maple syrup - do you have any recommendations?
Kathy says
Hi Erica,
I'm afraid I don't have experience with baking with maple syrup.
Kathy
Beth says
I just made these using half sugar and half maple syrup, I usually substitute out sugar in most baking (Hyper kids don't need more sugar). Still turned out lovely.
Kathy says
Wonderful! Thanks for sharing your tip! 🙂