Lovely banana crumb muffins, with a tender crumb that is never wet or oily and with just the right amount of banana flavour. These muffins are topped with a sweet crumb, that bakes up wonderfully crispy.

Banana crumb muffins on cooling rack split with butter.

I have tried a lot of banana muffin recipes over the years, but these are the ones I come back to most often. I love the crispy topping and the tender, moist (but not wet or greasy) muffin.

These banana muffins have the perfect amount of banana flavour and there is no need for the stand mixer as they are made with just two bowls and a spoon.

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Ingredients and substitutions

A few notes about the key ingredients …

Bananas – start with just slightly over-ripe bananas. Yellow bananas with black spots are perfect, for best flavour. You’ll need about 3 bananas for this recipe.

How to make banana crumb muffins

Crumb topping mixed up in a small bowl.
1
Wet ingredients in a small bowl.
2
Dry ingredients in a bowl.
3
  1. Start by mixing up the crumb topping in a small bowl. Pop it in the fridge while you make the batter.
  2. Mix together the wet ingredients in a large bowl.
  3. Mix together the dry ingredients in a medium bowl.
Adding the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.
4
Using a scoop to put the batter in the muffin cups.
5
Topping added to the muffins before baking.
6
  1. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir together just until no flour is visible. Don’t overmix.
  2. Use a scoop to portion the batter into the greased muffin cups.
  3. Top the muffins with some or all of the crumb topping.

    Tip! Fill any empty muffin cups 1/2 full with water. This will help the muffins bake evenly.

    Recipe tips!

    • I’ve included weight measures for the ingredients. If you have a kitchen scale, you’ll always have the best baking results by weighing out the ingredients!
    • You can use paper muffin tin liners if you prefer, though these will come out of the pan well without them.
    • I like to make the crumb topping fairly fine, as I find the muffins bake up batter without too heavy a weight from a more coarse crumb on top. That said, you can make it a bit chunkier if you prefer.
    • You can use as much or as little of the crumb topping as you like. The crumb does add another bit of sweetness to the muffins, so keep that in mind if you prefer a less sweet muffin. Even if you add a generous amount of the crumb, you probably won’t use it all.
    Banana crumb muffins on cooling rack split with butter.

    Making ahead, storing and freezing

    These muffins are absolutely best on the day they are baked, when the crumb topping is wonderfully crispy. That said, they will keep for a couple of days at room temperature. The trick is to try and keep the topping from getting too soft. I like to just loosely cover them, rather than putting them into an airtight container.

    These muffins will freeze well up to 3 months.

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    Banana crumb muffins on cooling rack split with butter.

    Get the Recipe: Banana Crumb Muffins

    Lovely banana crumb muffins, with a tender crumb that is never wet or oily and with just the right amount of banana flavour. These muffins are topped with a sweet crumb, that bakes up wonderfully crispy.
    5 stars from 5 ratings
    Print Recipe Pin This Leave a Review
    Prep Time: 15 minutes
    Cook Time: 20 minutes
    Yield: 9 muffins

    Ingredients

    Crumb Topping:

    • 1/3 cup (65 g) light brown sugar, packed
    • 2 Tablespoon all-purpose flour, spooned and levelled
    • 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
    • 1 Tablespoon butter, cold

    Muffin Batter:

    • 3 medium (375 ml) bananas, mashed (about 1 1/2 cups)
    • 1/2 cup (100 g) white sugar
    • 1/4 cup (45 g) light brown sugar
    • 1 large egg, lightly beaten
    • 1/3 cup (80 ml) vegetable or canola oil
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    • 1 1/2 cups (185 g) all-purpose flour
    • 1 teaspoon baking soda
    • 1 teaspoon baking powder
    • 1/2 teaspoon salt
    • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
    • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

    Instructions
     

    • Preheat oven to 375F (regular bake/not fan-assisted). Grease a muffin pan (about 9 muffin cups) with baking spray or oil or you can line with muffin liners. Set aside.

    Make the crumb topping:

    • In a small bowl, stir together the brown sugar, flour and cinnamon until well mixed. Add the butter, broken into 4 chunks or so. Using your fingertips, rub the butter into the flour/sugar mixture until you have an even crumb, similar to coarse cornmeal. Pop the bowl into the fridge while you make the muffin batter.

    Make the muffin batter:

    • In a large bowl, whisk together the banana, white sugar, brown sugar, egg, oil and vanilla. Set aside.
    • In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon.
    • Add the flour mixture to the egg/banana mixture all at once, then using a spatula or spoon, stir the mixture together just until the flour is no longer visible. Don’t over-mix.
    • Using a spoon or a scoop, divide the batter between 9 muffin cups. They should be filled almost to the top, as shown in the photos above.
    • Remove the crumb from the fridge and sprinkle over the batter. *You can add as much or as little as you like. The crumb does add a bit more sweetness to the muffins, so keep that in mind if you prefer a less sweet muffin. In any event, you probably won’t need quite all of the crumb topping.
    • Bake muffins for 18-20 minutes or until golden and they test clean when tested with a cake tester or toothpick. Let the muffins cool in pan 10-15 minutes, or until they easily release from the muffin cups. Remove muffins to a cooling rack to cool completely.
    • Muffins are best enjoyed on the day they are baked, when the topping is nice and crispy. The topping will soften as they sit into the next day. I generally avoid covering them too tightly. These muffins will also freeze well up to 3 months.

    Notes

    Tips!
    • I’ve included weight measures for the ingredients. If you have a kitchen scale, you’ll always have the best baking results by weighing out the ingredients!
    • You can use paper muffin tin liners if you prefer, though these will come out of the pan well without them.
    • I like to make the crumb topping fairly fine, as I find the muffins bake up better without too much weight from a more coarse crumb on top. That said, you can make it a bit chunkier if you prefer.
    • You can use as much or as little of the crumb topping as you like. The crumb does add another bit of sweetness to the muffins, so keep that in mind if you prefer a less sweet muffin. Even if you add a generous amount of the crumb, you probably won’t use it all.
    Be sure to read the information above the Recipe Card, for more tips on making these muffins. You will also find step-by-step photos there, that you might find helpful.
    Cuisine: American, Canadian
    Course: Snack
    Author: Jennifer Maloney
    Serving: 1muffin, Calories: 235kcal, Carbohydrates: 52g, Protein: 3g, Fat: 2g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 1g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 24mg, Sodium: 274mg, Potassium: 238mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 30g, Vitamin A: 95IU, Vitamin C: 3mg, Calcium: 42mg, Iron: 1mg
    Tried this recipe?Leaving a review is always helpful and appreciated by fellow cooks!

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