These easy Pumpkin Banana Bread Muffins are the perfect fall muffin recipe, blending sweet ripe bananas with smooth pumpkin puree and warm baking spices. Moist, fluffy, and fully of cozy flavor, they’re simple to make and ideal for breakfast, snacks, or fall/holiday baking. If you love banana bread and pumpkin bread, this recipe gives you the best of both worlds in one delicious muffin. Did I mention I added chocolate chips (optional)?
Fall for me means back to school – for my kids and therefore packing lunches – for me. As I mentioned in my Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread recipe, I am always looking for homemade treats that are easy to tuck into a lunchbox. These pumpkin banana muffins fit the bill nicely, sweet enough to feel like a treat but made with wholesome ingredients you can feel good about. Other good lunchbox snacks you should check out include my Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread, Chocolate Chipless Cookies, Cottage Cheese Blueberry Muffins, Banana Chocolate Chunk Muffins, and Strawberry Scones.
Why You Will Love This Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread
- Best of both worlds – combines the sweet, moist flavor of banana bread with the cozy warmth of pumpkin bread.
- Moist and fluffy – ripe bananas and pumpkin puree keep the muffins soft and tender.
- Easy to make – a batter that comes together quickly with minimal equipment – mixing bowls and a spoon!
- Perfectly spiced – warm pumpkin spice gives a cozy fall vibe.
- Wholesome ingredients – bananas, and pumpkin add natural sweetness and nutrients.
- Lunchbox friendly – great for school snacks, breakfast on the go, or an afternoon pick-me-up.
- Freezer friendly – bake a batch and freeze extras for quick treats later.
- Customizable – I add chocolate chips which are optional, but you could do nuts, dried fruits, or even a streusel topping to make them your own.
Equipment Needed
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This recipe only calls for basic baking tools, but if you’re stocking up or upgrading your kitchen gear, these items will come in handy:
- Measuring spoons
- Measuring Cups
- Large Mixing Bowls
- Mixing Spoon
- Muffin Tin
- Cooling Rack
- Muffin Liners
Ingredients
List of ingredients along with their full measurements can be found in the recipe card near the bottom of the post.
Dry Ingredients
All-purpose flour – provides the structure for the bread allowing it to hold its shape and still remain tender.
Granulated sugar – brings sweetness to this treat – you can adjust to meet your preference.
Brown sugar – brings sweetness and a bit of depth in flavor. Also is acidic and reacts with the baking soda to aid in leavening.
Pumpkin pie spice – adds the warm cozy fall flavors. If you don’t have any on hand you can check out my recipe for making your own pumpkin pie spice.
Baking powder and baking soda – leavening agents
Salt – helps to enhance all the flavors.
Wet Ingredients
Bananas – Adds moisture and natural sweetness.
Pumpkin puree – Adds moisture as well as acidity to react with the baking soda.
Vegetable oil – Helps to keep the muffins moist.
Greek yogurt (can sub with milk or nut milk if need be) – Adds moisture and acidity to react with the baking soda.
Eggs – helps with leavening as well as structure of the muffin.
Vanilla extract – a warm flavor enhancer.
How to Make Pumpkin Banana Bread Muffins
In a large mixing bowl combine the flour, white sugar, brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set the bowl aside.
In another large mixing bowl, mash the bananas with a fork or potato masher. Once the bananas are well mashed, stir in the pumpkin puree and vegetable oil. Stir in the eggs, Greek yogurt, and vanilla extract until it is all well mixed.
Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Mix with a spoon until just combined.
Fold in Chocolate chips or add-ins of your choosing. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rest for 30 minutes on the counter (or in the fridge if it is really hot out).
While the batter is resting, preheat the oven to 425℉
Fill a muffin tin with muffin liners in every other hole, and spray liners gently with oil. See Pro Tips and Tricks.
Fill muffin liners with batter almost to the top.
Place a few extra chocolate chips on top of each muffin (makes a nice decoration)
Place in the oven at 425F for 7 minutes. Lower heat to 350F and continue baking for 15-20 minutes until tops are brown and muffins are fully baked (a toothpick inserted should come out clean). See Pro Tips and Tricks.
Allow to cool in pan for 5 minutes.
Remove muffins and finish cooling on a cooling rack
Serve warm or at room temperature.
Pro Tips and Tricks
- Allowing the batter to rest for 30 minutes gives the baking soda time to work to give a good rise to your muffins.
- Some recipes say to fill the muffin liners 3/4 full, but if you want big muffins, you need to fill them close to the top!
- Filling the muffin tin in every other hole allows for better heat circulation which leads to a better rise and larger muffin tops. Don’t fill the empty muffin holes with water as some recipes call for, this will decrease heat circulation. Using this method you will have to bake two batches instead of one. I don’t recommend baking with two muffin pans in the oven at the same time as it will also decrease heat circulation which may affect the rise of the muffins. But if you are in a rush and high domed tops isn’t a big deal to you, you can bake two pans at once, just rotate the pans halfway through baking. Or bake them all in the same pan without leaving space between the muffins.
- Starting with the oven hot at 425F makes higher domed muffin tops. The higher heat causes the edges of the muffin to set quickly while the middle is still expanding, this creates extra steam and lift. Once this initial rise is done you can turn the oven down to finish baking without drying out or burning your muffins.
- Inserting a clean toothpick into the center of the muffin can allow you to check for doneness. It should come out clean (unless you hit a chocolate chip).
FAQs
Can I use fresh instead of canned pumpkin? Yes, but make sure it is well-cooked and blended until completely smooth. Fresh pumpkin puree can sometimes be more watery, so you may need to drain off excess liquid to keep the muffins from turning out too soft.
What’s the best way to mash bananas? Use bananas that are very ripe with lots of brown spots. A fork or potato masher works well, but you can also use a hand mixer for an extra smooth mash.
Can I make these muffins gluten-free? I haven’t tried it, but you could substitute the all-purpose flour with 1:1 gluten-free-all-purpose flour blend. I imagine the texture will be a bit different, but it still should have all the great flavors. If you try it, let me know how it goes in the comments below.
Can I make these dairy free? Yes, you can sub a nut milk for the Greek yogurt, and just make sure your chocolate chips or add-in don’t contain dairy.
Do these muffins freeze well? They really do! Once they are completely cool you can freeze them in an airtight container to zipper top bag for up to three months. Thaw at room temperature or warm gently in the microwave.
How should I store pumpkin banana bread muffins? Store them in an airtight container at room temperature for about three days, or in the fridge for up to a week. See above for freezing.
Why didn’t my muffins rise or get domed tops? This can happen if your baking powder or baking soda is old, or if the oven temperature wasn’t hot enough at the start.
Can I bake this recipe as a loaf instead of muffins? Yes, just pour the batter into a greased loaf pan and bake at 350F for about 60 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out mostly clean.
Pumpkin Banana Bread Muffins
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, spooned and levelled (194g)
- ½ cup granulated sugar (105g)
- ½ cup brown sugar (101g)
- 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
Wet Ingredients
- 2 ripe bananas medium sized
- ¾ cup pumpkin puree (187g)
- ¼ cup vegetable oil (51g)
- ¼ cup Greek yogurt (62g)
- 2 large Eggs
- ½ tsp Vanilla extract
- 1 cup Chocolate chips (optional) (192g)
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl combine the flour, white sugar, brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set the bowl aside.
- In another large mixing bowl, mash the bananas with a fork or potato masher. Once the bananas are well mashed, stir in the pumpkin puree and vegetable oil. Stir in the eggs, Greek yogurt, and vanilla extract until it is all well mixed.
- Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Mix with a spoon until just combined.
- Fold in Chocolate chips. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rest for 30 minutes on the counter or in the fridge if it is really hot out.
- While the batter is resting, preheat the oven to 425℉
- Fill a muffin tin with muffin liners in every other hole, and spray liners gently with oil. See Notes.
- Fill muffin liners with batter almost to the top.
- Place a few extra chocolate chips on top of each muffin (makes a nice decoration)
- Place in the oven at 425F for 7 minutes. Lower heat to 350F and continue baking for 15-20 minutes until tops are brown and muffins are fully baked. See Notes.
- Allow to cool in pan for 5 minutes.
- Remove muffins and finish cooling on a cooling rack
- Serve warm or at room temperature.
Notes
- Allowing the batter to rest for 30 minutes gives the baking soda time to work to give a good rise to your muffins.
- Some recipes say to fill the muffin liners 3/4 full, but if you want big muffins, you need to fill them close to the top! Filling the muffin tin in every other hole allows for better heat circulation which leads to a better rise and larger muffin tops. Don’t fill the holes with water as some recipes call for, this will decrease heat circulation.
- With this method you will have to bake two batches instead of one. I don’t recommend baking with two muffin pans in the oven at the same time as it will decrease heat circulation which may affect the rise of the muffins. But if you are in a rush and high domed tops isn’t a big deal to you, you can bake two pans at once, just rotate the pans halfway through baking, or bake them all in the same muffin tin.
- Starting with the oven hot at 425F makes higher domed muffin tops. The higher heat causes the edges of the muffin to set quickly while the middle is still expanding, this creates extra steam and lift. Once this initial rise is done you can turn the oven down to finish baking without drying out or burning.
- Inserting a clean toothpick into the center of the muffin can allow you to check for doneness. It should come out mostly clean (unless you hit a chocolate chip).
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These were such a hit with my kids. I will definitely be making these again next week.
Hi Stephanie, glad to hear the kiddos enjoyed them.
I love this recipe and especially for this time of year! Thank you!
I love pumpkin recipes this time of year too!
These look amazing! Can’t wait to try!
My family are a big fan, hope you enjoy them too!
Love the combo of bananas and pumpkin — made these extra cozy! Looking forward to making these again soon.
These Pumpkin Banana Bread Muffins look so cozy and delicious. I’m definitely saving this recipe to make for fall breakfasts!