These Easy Cinnamon Banana Bread Muffins are jumbo bakery style muffins with a crunchy cinnamon sugar top! They are super soft thanks to the 3 brown bananas and sour cream in the batter, and they're filled with the best banana and cinnamon flavor. This banana muffin recipe will give you a moist and flavorful homemade breakfast or snack in less than an hour!
I love giant banana muffins from Costco, and I wanted to create an at-home, Fall twist on them (like how I made my own version of Almond Poppy Seed Muffins)! So, I made my own banana bread muffins with cinnamon in the batter and added the crunchy cinnamon sugar coating from apple cider donuts on top.
These cinnamon banana muffins are an easy, one-bowl recipe that have quickly become a regular part of my baking rotation! If you enjoy these muffins and have a sourdough starter, try my Sourdough Discard Banana Bread! Or, if you prefer using honey instead of sugar as a sweetener, I have a Honey Banana Bread recipe you'll love!
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- The cinnamon and banana flavors are like a hug in a muffin.
- It's a simple muffin recipe to add to your weekly rotation when you have 3 overripe bananas to use up. If you have even more bananas sitting around, I highly recommend also trying my Chocolate Chip Banana Bundt Cake!
- It has a crunchy, cinnamon sugar topping that makes them like banana cinnamon donut muffins.
- It's a one-bowl recipe that comes together in under 45 minutes.
Ingredients
- Brown sugar lends a molasses-y richness to these cinnamon muffins.
- Sour cream keeps these banana muffins moist with a soft, tender texture.
- This muffin recipe uses about 3 brown bananas! It's important to use overripe bananas so they have the right moisture and sweetness. Use bananas that have turned mostly brown on the outside and are easy to mash.
- Cinnamon is used in two ways - mixed in the batter and in a cinnamon-sugar topping for extra warm spice.
See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Substitutions & Variations
- You can add the cinnamon sugar topping to the tops of the muffins before baking, especially if you plan to serve the muffins that day. With this method, they don't store as well, and the tops may get moist and sticky.
- Chocolate pairs really well with bananas and with cinnamon! Try adding in some mini chocolate chips in the batter to make chocolate chip banana bread muffins.
- Make these into regular or mini muffins with cinnamon sugar topping by swapping out the size of your muffin tin. See more details in the recipe card notes below!
This recipe has not been tested with other substitutions or variations. If you replace or add any ingredients, please let us know how it turned out in the comments below!
How to Make Cinnamon Banana Muffins
Step 1: Mash the peeled, overripe bananas in a medium bowl. Measure and set aside.
Step 2: Mix the melted butter and brown sugar to combine. Then add the egg, vanilla, sour cream, and mashed bananas.
Step 3: Whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a separate bowl. Fold them into the wet ingredients.
Step 4: Divide batter evenly in a lined jumbo muffin pan. Bake at 425ºF for 6 minutes, then reduce the heat to 375ºF until a toothpick comes out of the center of the muffins clean (about 16-20 more minutes). Cool in the muffin tin for 5 minutes, then remove the muffins and transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Tip: If you aren't serving the cinnamon banana muffins right away, I recommend storing them at this point. Complete the following steps 5 and 6 when you're ready to serve them so that the cinnamon sugar tops don't lose their crunch.
Step 5: Melt the butter and then brush it on top of the cooled banana bread muffins.
Step 6: Dip the cooled muffin tops in a mixture of cinnamon sugar.
Expert Baking Tips
- Paper baking cups guarantee you can easily get your muffins out of the pan! You can make your own jumbo liners by folding 5-6 inch parchment paper squares over the bottom of a pint glass.
- Starting your banana cinnamon muffins in a hot oven helps them rise, giving them that iconic bakery style dome - don't skip this step! Use an oven thermometer to ensure your oven is showing an accurate temperature.
- The muffins will continue to cook as long as they're in the hot pan, so make sure to transfer them to a wire rack when you're able to handle them without burning your fingers (about 5-10 minutes after removing from the oven).
Recipe FAQs
As long as they smell like bananas and are soft enough to mash, they should work fine. You can try to quickly ripen your yellow bananas in the oven. Place them on a foil-lined baking sheet and bake in a 350ºF oven for 10-20 minutes until they've browned.
This could be from over-baking them or over-measuring the flour, or a combination of both. Use a food scale to weigh your flour in grams (see "metric" tab in recipe card below). Make sure your oven is at the correct temperature by keeping a thermometer inside and take the muffins out right when a toothpick comes out clean.
This could be from old, inactive baking powder. Test it by mixing ½ teaspoon with a tablespoon of warm water. If it does not fizz at all, toss it and grab a new one! Also make sure your oven temperature is correct and don't open the door when decreasing it.
Storage
Room Temperature
Store cinnamon banana muffins (preferably uncoated) in an airtight container on the counter for up to 1 week. Heat for 10 seconds, brush with melted butter, and dip in cinnamon sugar before enjoying.
Freezing Instructions
Individually wrap fully cooled muffins in plastic wrap before adding the cinnamon sugar topping. Place in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months. Once thawed, you can add the cinnamon sugar topping before serving.
More Muffin Recipes You'll Love
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📖 Recipe
Easy Cinnamon Banana Bread Muffins
Equipment
- Jumbo Muffin Pan with liners
- Mixing bowls
- Measuring spoons
- Whisk
- Spatula
Ingredients
Banana Bread Muffins
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter melted and cooled
- ⅔ cup brown sugar light or dark, packed
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg room temperature
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 1½ cups overripe bananas mashed
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour weighed in grams or spooned and leveled
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
Cinnamon Sugar Topping
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F and fill a jumbo muffin pan with parchment liners.
- In a large bowl, mix together the melted butter and brown sugar. Stir in the vanilla extract, egg, sour cream, and mashed bananas really well.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt, Fold them into the wet ingredients just until the flour streaks disappear.
- Equally distribute the batter into the muffin liners and bake on the middle rack at 425°F for 6 minutes. Then, without opening the oven door, reduce the temperature to 375°F and bake until a toothpick comes out of the center clean (about 16-20 more minutes; 22-26 minutes total).
- Let the muffins sit in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.
- When the muffins have cooled completely and are ready to be served, brush the tops with melted butter and dip them in the cinnamon sugar topping.
Xai says
Could I bake them in a pan instead of a muffin pan and still bake in the same temperature and everything?
Kayla Burton says
I haven't tested this yet so I can't say for sure, but I would recommend baking at 350F in a loaf pan (50-60 min) or 9x9 inch pan (20-30 min). I'd love to hear how it turns out if you try this!