Mini Banana Bread Muffins
If you thought banana bread couldn’t get any better than Nutella Banana Bread, prepare to be blown away by Mini Banana Bread Muffins. I’ve taken my one bowl chocolate chip banana bread, dropped the chocolate chips, and added dark rum and some West Indies spices. Just like with mini chocolate chip cookies, making banana bread muffins mini means you get the same big taste with fewer calories and less guilt!
So read on for all the info you could want about the West Indies and tips and tricks for this recipe. Or just grab your mini muffin tin, hit that Jump to Recipe button, and let’s make mini banana bread muffins!
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Ingredients
Bananas
Overripe bananas are the secret to the best banana bread and banana mini muffins. That’s because the sugars in bananas increase as they ripen to give you sweeter, more banana flavor.
Want more banana recipes? Check out my banana bread with chocolate chips or banana bread with Nutella, mixed berry smoothies, or even mashed purple sweet potatoes!
Coconut
To make these mini banana muffins with coconut, you’ll “flour” the mini muffin pan with dried, shredded, unsweetened coconut. Put a generous teaspoon in each muffin well. Then, standing over the sink, turn the pan around and around until the coconut covers the well.
Mini muffin tins
Mini muffin pans come in 12 cup and 24 cup sizes. Not only are they great for making these banana mini muffins, but you can use them for party appetizers, bite-sized baked eggs, or mini chicken muffins.
Please see the recipe card below for complete information on ingredients and quantities.
Substitutions and variations
- Add a half cup of nuts (think walnuts or pecans) or raisins, chopped small and added to the banana muffin batter.
- This mini banana muffin recipe will make 12 regular-sized banana bread muffins or one standard loaf. Bake at the same temperature (350 degrees) for longer. Standard muffins will take 20 to 25 minutes. A loaf of banana bread will take one hour or more.
Recipe tips and tricks
The images below show, step by step, how to make the mini banana bread muffins.
Making the banana muffin batter
Beat the butter and brown sugar (Panel #1); the bananas (Panel #2); and the eggs, orange juice, and rum (Panel #3). Follow it up by folding in the dry ingredients (Panel #4).
Baking the mini banana muffins
Fill the muffin cups with the banana muffin batter about three quarters of the way full. If you don’t have enough mini muffin trays, you can always use the extra to make regular sized banana bread muffins or mini banana loaves.
Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a mini muffin comes out clean. Cool for about ten minutes in the mini muffin tin, then turn your banana muffins out onto a cooling rack.
Store these mini banana bread muffins in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to one week. Or you can freeze them in a freezer bag for three to six months.
Recipe FAQs
Wilton sells both 12 cup and 24 cup tins that you can buy online. Whichever you choose, I’d recommend you buy two so you can make mini pie crust shells for these mini blueberry pies!
Yes, you can store banana bread and banana bread muffins in the freezer for 3 to 6 months. To freeze muffins, I put them on a cookie sheet in the freezer overnight and then transfer them to a freezer bag. To eat, let them defrost at room temperature in an air-tight container. You can also peel and freeze bananas to always them ready for baking!
For those of you who don’t remember your geography, the West Indies refers to a group of islands in the Caribbean including Jamaica, Barbados, and Trinidad and Tobago. For websites from chefs who are from that part of the world, I’d suggest Caribbean Pot or these recipes from Ramin Ganeshram.
Related muffin recipes
Check out other muffin recipes in the Ugly Duckling Bakery breakfast and brunch archives like:
Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-heart 💜💜💜💜💜 rating in the recipe card below. Let me know how much you loved it, or any problems you had, in the comments section further down.
Recipe
Mini Banana Muffins
Equipment
- 3 mini muffin pans (see note)
Ingredients
- ¾ cup shredded unsweetened coconut for "flouring" the pan
- 1¼ cup (156 grams) bleached, all-purpose flour
- ½ cup (62 grams) whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon ground ginger
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened for greasing the muffin cups
- ½ cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (96 grams) dark brown sugar
- 3 cups very ripe bananas 3 to 4 medium bananas
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon orange juice
- 1 tablespoon dark rum
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter the mini muffin tins and line each one with a teaspoon of coconut.¾ cup shredded unsweetened coconut, 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- Sift together the flours, baking soda, cinnamon1¼ cup (156 grams) bleached, all-purpose flour, ½ cup (62 grams) whole wheat flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon nutmeg, ⅛ teaspoon ground ginger, ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
- In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a medium mixing bowl if using a hand mixer or by hand, cream the butter and sugar together for 3 to 5 minutes until blended well.4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, ½ cup (100 grams) granulated sugar, ½ cup (96 grams) dark brown sugar
- Add the bananas and beat until mixed.3 cups very ripe bananas
- Add the egg, orange juice, and rum and beat until mixed.1 egg, 1 tablespoon orange juice, 1 tablespoon dark rum
- Add the dry ingredients and fold in or mix on low speed just to distribute.
- Use a small (#60) cookie scoop or two spoons to scoop about 1 tablespoon of batter into each muffin cup.
- Bake for 15 to 18 minutes on racks in the middle of the oven until a toothpick inserted into the middle of one muffin comes out clean.
- Cool in the pan about 10 minutes and then turn onto a cooling rack.
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature for one week or freeze once fully cooled.
Notes
Nutrition
This recipe for mini banana muffins was created for the reddit 52 weeks of baking challenge (Week 40: West Indies). This recipe is not a traditional recipe but is inspired by flavors of the West Indies.
You’re an adventurous home cook looking for inspiration in your weeknight meals and weekend baking. Get that inspiration here: