Get your day off to a good start with these fun and filling Chunky Monkey Banana Muffins! These muffins are hearty and filling; they have the perfect texture and the right amount of sweetness! Eat them for breakfast, as a snack, or even as dessert!
Bananas are hit or miss with the family and I can never tell if it is a week where I need to buy several bunches or only buy two bananas.
Some weeks my family eats a bunch in two days, I go buy more and they devour those too. So during my next shopping trip, I buy two bunches. That is undoubtedly when the family decides they are done with bananas and I am left with a dozen, browning bananas.
Thank goodness there is so much you can do with bananas.
What Are Chunky Monkey Banana Muffins?
Banana muffins are soft and tender and are made sweeter with the addition of ripe bananas.
Nuts are often paired with banana muffins with walnuts being the most popular, with pecans probably come in close behind.
The truth is, you can use almost any nut you would like!
If you aren’t familiar with Chunky Monkey, it has been made famous by Ben and Jerry’s ice cream flavor which has bananas, walnuts, and chocolate all swirled together.
Those flavors translate beautifully into muffins! They are especially when you add peanut butter to the mix!
How To Make This Banana Muffin Recipe
STEP ONE – Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12 cup muffin tin with liners and set aside.
STEP TWO – In a bowl combine the flour, the baking powder, and the salt. In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter, peanut butter, and the sugars until fluffy.
STEP THREE – Beat in the eggs, the bananas, and the vanilla until smooth. Slowly add in dry ingredients until blended. Stir in the chocolate chunks and the walnuts.
STEP FOUR – Divide the batter between the muffin tins. Bake muffins for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Are Banana Muffins The Same As Banana Bread?
Banana muffins can be made with banana bread batter. You will have to adjust your bake time. Banana bread loaf can take up to an hour to bake. The muffins take a fraction of the time.
Can You Freeze Banana Muffins?
Banana muffins freeze very well. Once the muffins have cooled completely, place them in an airtight container (separated by wax paper) or a ziptop bag. Seal and freeze the muffins for up to 3 months.
How To Store Banana Muffins?
These muffins should be stored in an airtight container. They will keep for about a week. These muffins are so good, they may not even make it a whole week!
Are Banana Muffins Healthy?
I think banana muffins are deceptive; we want them to be healthy because they are made with bananas and SOME banana muffins are very healthy!
These muffins do have butter, peanut butter, and chocolate chips which are probably not the healthiest. Everything in moderation, right?
Recipe Tips
In an effort to make these muffins healthier, some or all of the flour can be made with whole wheat flour or white whole wheat flour.
Feel free to omit the nuts.
I always use creamy peanut butter in recipes that call for peanut butter, you will get good flavor and a better consistency.
I used chocolate chunks for a bigger impact, but you can play around with your chips.
I topped these muffins with a swirl of peanut butter frosting. The frosting is optional! These muffins are fine “naked”!
If you like these muffins, try Hazelnut Banana Muffins, Triple Chip Banana Cookies, Swirled Banana Cake.
Chunky Monkey Peanut Butter Banana Muffin Recipe
Get your day off to a good start with these fun and filling Chunky Monkey Banana Muffins! These muffins are hearty and filling; they have the perfect texture and the right amount of sweetness! Eat them for breakfast, as a snack or even as dessert!
Ingredients
- 2 cups of flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup mashed bananas (about 3 bananas)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 chopped walnuts
- 1/2 cup chocolate chunks
- ¼ cup peanut butter
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- ¼-⅓ cup milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two 12 cup muffin tin with liners and set aside.
- In a bowl combine the flour, the baking powder, and the salt. In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter, peanut butter, and the sugars until fluffy. Beat in the eggs, the bananas, and the vanilla until smooth. Slowly add in dry ingredients until blended. Stir in the chocolate chunks and walnuts
- Divide the batter between the muffin tins. Bake muffins for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow the muffins to cool completely.
- To make the frosting whisk together peanut butter, powdered sugar, and enough milk to make a creamy consistency. Pipe or spread the frosting over each muffin.
Notes
This recipe gave me 16 muffins, if you have a 6 cup muffin pan then use that in place of one of the 12 cup pans listed here.
Frosting is optional;, these muffins taste great plain!
Nutrition Information
Yield
16Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 357Total Fat 18gSaturated Fat 7gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 9gCholesterol 40mgSodium 288mgCarbohydrates 43gFiber 2gSugar 25gProtein 8g
Ruby says
thanks for writing down the recipe. I really love bananas as a flavor and their nutrients. Is it a good idea if I added a banana chocolate protein bar for toppings? I love builtbar chocolate it has more protein yet less sugar, so just wondering if I can use it in a recipe.
Michele LaHam says
I prepared these muffins last night, but was so disappointed. My oven was calibrated to 350 and I followed the recipe exactly. I checked with a long toothpick at 22 minutes and then again at 25 minutes (rotating pans halfway). After 26-27 minutes the toothpick came out clean…but the muffins were dry and the bottoms burnt. The entire batch ended in the garbage.