These easy pumpkin banana muffins are a soft and fluffy banana and pumpkin muffin packed with warming spices. Perfect for a fall twist to a banana muffin, with pumpkin pie flavours.
Ingredients
For this quick banana pumpkin muffin recipe, you'll need:
- Butter - unsalted butter, softened at room temperature. You can use salted butter in this recipe, but if doing so you may want to reduce the amount of added salt.
- Sugar - superfine granulated sugar or caster sugar.
- Light brown sugar - also known as muscovado. This should be firmly packed when measuring. You can use dark brown sugar as an alternative, but this may lead to a darker batter and a stronger molasses-y flavour.
- Eggs - it is best to use room temperature eggs when baking, so leave these out on the counter for a couple of hours before using. It's not the end of the world if they're still cold though - your muffins will still turn out!
- Banana - a fresh ripe banana, easily mashable.
- Pumpkin purée - use pure pumpkin purée in this recipe, not pumpkin pie filling mix. This is important as pumpkin pie filling includes various spices and additives that may impact the flavour and quality of this bake.
- Flour - all purpose flour or plain flour will work in this recipe.
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Ground Spices - cinnamon, ginger, cloves and nutmeg. Alternatively replace with pumpkin spice mix or mixed spice in the UK.
How to Make Pumpkin Banana Muffins
Making these banana pumpkin muffins is such an easy recipe! The batter can be made in one large mixing bowl.
First, begin by preparing your muffin pan and preheating your oven.
You have a couple of options for your pan - you can either opt to line a deep set 12-hole muffin tin with muffin cases or grease and flour this, like prepping for a cake. I personally like to grease and flour mine. It is a little added effort at the start, but then no hassle with removing cases after baking.
In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and beat to combine.
Next, add the pumpkin purée and banana, beating well. If the banana is well ripened the beaters will take care of mashing this into the mixture. But, if you're worried it is still a bit firm, you may want to mash the banana in a small bowl with a fork separately first.
Finally sift the dry ingredients - the flour, salt, baking soda and ground spices - into the batter. Stir with a spatula until full incorporated, taking care to avoid leaving pockets of flour.
Using a scoop, divide the batter evenly amongst the 12 muffin holes.
Bake in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes before carefully removing from the pan and cooling on a wire rack.
Adding Chocolate
Much like traditional banana bread, a great option to upgrade these muffins is to add a bit of chocolate!
In order to do this, simply add about 3 ounces of chocolate chips to your pumpkin and banana muffin batter at the end of the recipe. Fold this to incorporate and dollop into the muffin tins as directed. Bake as normal.
You can make pumpkin banana chocolate chip muffins with dark, semi-sweet or milk chocolate. Whatever your flavour preference!
FAQs
These easy banana muffins with pumpkin keep well for about 4 days at room temperature if stored in a plastic bag or wrapped thoroughly in plastic wrap.
You can also store these muffins in the freezer if making ahead for later. Allow the muffins to cool completely (overnight) before placing in a freezer safe bag and freezing for up to three months.
Allow the muffins to defrost prior to serving. This is best accomplished by leaving the muffin on the counter for a couple of hours.
Yes! This is essentially a recipe for pumpkin banana bread - in muffin form.
The batter for this recipe will also work to make a single standard loaf of banana and pumpkin bread. Times will vary for baking.
This recipe makes twelve average sized muffins. You can halve the ingredients to make a smaller batch, however, this may be a bit awkward as the full recipe for 12 calls for 1 banana. Halving this will leave you with half of an overripe banana to use up!
Rather than making a smaller batch, I would probably recommend freezing extra muffins. This is a super easy one bowl banana pumpkin muffin recipe, which freezes great - perfect for make ahead quick breakfasts or snacks later!
Looking for some more quick breads and muffins? Try:
- Pumpkin Pecan Loaf
- Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips
- Large Batch Banana Bread
- Nectarine Bread
- Banana Ganache Muffins
Pumpkin Banana Muffins
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup superfine granulated sugar or caster sugar
- ½ cup light brown sugar or muscovado, firmly packed
- 10 tablespoon unsalted butter softened at room temperature
- 2 eggs
- 1 ripe banana
- ½ cup pumpkin purée
- 2½ cups all purpose flour or plain flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- 3 oz chocolate chips (optional) dark, semi-sweet or milk chocolate
Instructions
- Begin by preheating your oven to 350°F (175C/155C Fan) and preparing a 12-hole muffin pan (see note).
- In a large mixing bowl, beat together the sugars and butter with a handheld electric beater or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat for about 2 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs and beat until smooth. Then add the pumpkin purée and ripe banana (see note), beating until incorporated.
- Sift the dry ingredients - the flour, salt, baking soda and spices - into the batter. Beat until just combined (see note). If using chocolate, add to the batter and fold through with a spatula.
- Divide the batter evenly amongst the 12 cavities of the muffin pan.
- Bake in the middle of the oven for 25-30 minutes. Check with a toothpick or skewer inserted in the middle of a central muffin - the muffins are done when this comes out clean.
- Once removed from the oven, allow to cool until able to handle to remove from the pan and place on a wire rack to finish cooling.
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