Combine a couple of ripe brown bananas with pure pumpkin puree, and you'll have the best pumpkin banana muffins – moist, and fluffy, with a perfect blend of pumpkin and banana, and a touch of fall spices.
During the Thanksgiving and fall season, I enjoy making various pumpkin treats like cakes, quick breads, muffins, cookies, and cheesecake rolls.
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Why You'll Love This
- Irresistibly soft texture. Thanks to the harmonious blend of pumpkin and mashed ripe banana, these muffins boast a tender crumb that's simply irresistible. And these muffins stay extra moist for days!
- Anytime muffins. Enjoy a banana muffin for breakfast, treat yourself to one as an afternoon pick-me-up, or warm one in the microwave for a delightful dessert after dinner. These muffins are the ideal round-the-clock snack.
- Oil-free muffins!
🛒Ingredients
- Flour - gently spoon flour into your measuring cup to avoid overpacking. Overpacking means you'll use more than needed. Read this guide: how to measure baking ingredients.
- Sugar - I used white but light brown sugar will also work here.
- Baking soda - this makes your muffins rise beautifully.
- Warm spices - ground cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg for a cozy fall taste, plus a pinch of salt to boost overall flavor. You can also use Pumpkin spice.
- Butter - adding softened butter yields richness and moisture. Use unsalted butter only – margarine and coconut oil won't cut it.
- Eggs - allow them to reach room temperature for extra fluffiness.
- Overripe bananas - ripe, darker bananas will add sweetness and a stronger banana flavor.
- Pumpkin puree - go for freshly made or canned, but not the sweetened kind or pumpkin filling. Fresh pumpkin puree works excellently; just strain extra liquids.
- Vanilla extract - adds extra flavor, just like salt. Feel free to experiment with other natural extracts.
For the full list of ingredients, please scroll down to where you'll find the recipe card.
🥣Instructions
Prep. Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and prepare a muffin tin either by lightly spraying it with cooking spray or by lining it with muffin liners.
Dry ingredients. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the following: flour, nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Set this mixture aside for now.
Wet ingredients. In a separate bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until they are well combined. Then, add the eggs and vanilla extract, continuing to beat until the mixture becomes smooth.
Now, incorporate 1 cup of blended or mashed bananas and 1 cup of pumpkin puree into the same mixing bowl, blending until well combined.
✅ EXPERT TIP: My favorite trick for banana recipes is mashing them on a flat surface (with a fork or potato masher), like a clean plastic cutting board. It's faster than using a bowl.
Combine. Gradually add the dry ingredient mixture into the bowl in 2-3 batches, mixing until just combined. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl periodically to ensure even mixing. Avoid overmixing the batter.
Divide between muffin cups. Scoop the muffin batter into each muffin liner, filling them to about ¾ full.
Bake in the preheated oven for 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.
Once done, remove the muffins from the oven and allow them to cool in the muffin tin for 5 minutes. Afterward, transfer them to a cooling rack to let them cool completely.
Enjoy your freshly baked moist muffins with preserves, spreads, Nutella, and butter. You can also make a quick powdered sugar icing (a similar amount I used for these muffins) to drizzle over cooled muffins.
🎃 Make Next: Pumpkin Pie Cookies
What Kind Of Pumpkin Should I Use?
Use either homemade or canned pumpkin purée (such as Libby’s which has great texture but not pumpkin pie filling).
The type of pumpkin doesn’t matter that much but my recommendation is to use Pie pumpkins (sugar pumpkins) which are excellent for baking and contain less water than other pumpkins. They tend to taste much more sweeter than regular pumpkins. Try one of these delicious pumpkin types.
How To Make Homemade Pumpkin Puree
- Cook the pumpkin. I like to cut the pumpkin into small cubes (smaller cubes=faster cooking) and roast the pumpkin in the oven at 400°F for about 25 minutes until fork tender.
- Blend. Then I add the pumpkin to a bowl and make a smooth puree (immersion blender is the best option to use here).
- Blotting the puree. Once you get the smooth texture, wrap the puree into a kitchen towel or thin linen cloth and squeeze out most of the liquid. Now the puree is ready to be mixed in the batter.
⏲️ Recommended Equipment
- Immersion blender
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Airtight food containers
- Mixing bowls
- 12 Cup muffin pan
- Wire rack for cooling the muffins
Muffin Popular Substitutions
- Gluten-Free option: Swap regular all-purpose flour with a gluten-free blend (avoid single-flour replacements).
- Vegan twist: Go plant-based with butter alternatives and flax eggs or egg replacement (such as Bob's Red Mill) for vegan-friendly Pumpkin Banana Muffins.
- Tasty toppings: Add texture with a sprinkle of coarse sugar or some old-fashioned oats and sugar before baking.
- Mix it up: Enhance your muffins with raisins (soaked in apple cider for extra flavor), chocolate chips, or toasted nuts. I usually add about ¼ - ½ cups of add-ins.
📋Tips
- Grease the muffin tin cavities - Make sure you grease the muffin tin really well. Since these muffins puff up, you want to make sure they won't stick to the pan.
- Use extra ripe bananas - For the best flavor, use bananas with lots of dark speckles or even totally brown ones. Just don't use fermented bananas!
- Mix, but not too much - Don't overdo the mixing. It's a common baking mistake. Stir until you can't see any more flour streaks, and then stop. Overmixing makes muffins tough and less fluffy.
- Let the muffins cool completely. Baking keeps happening even after they're out of the oven. Trust me, the wait is worth it!
- Use room-temperature ingredients like eggs and milk. It ensures everything blends perfectly and bakes just right. The cold batter is a no-go.
- Flour tips - When measuring flour, don't scoop it with the cup. Stir it with a spoon to make air pockets, then spoon it into the cup and level with a knife.
Storage Instructions
- 🍱To Store. These muffins will last for up to 4 days stored at room temperature. In the fridge for a week or so. Cover the muffins with foil or a lid to prevent them from drying out. These muffins taste amazing and are moist for 3 days!
- 🥶Freezing. You can freeze these muffins. Just pop them into a freezer bag or an airtight container and store them for up to 3 months. To enjoy, thaw at room temperature or heat in the microwave for 15-second intervals until warm throughout. For better texture, freeze them on the same day when baked.
Fall Desserts
For all tasty treats, scroll through our Desserts archives.
More Muffin Recipes
These Muffins Are ...
- beginner-friendly
- easy
- full of sweet pumpkin flavor
- with moist texture
- fluffy
- made with simple ingredients
- made with no vegetable oil
- freezer-friendly
🤷Frequently Asked Questions
Canned butternut squash puree or sweet potato puree. You'll likely hardly notice the difference!
Opt for ripe bananas to infuse your muffins with extra sweetness and banana flavor. Using unripe bananas can result in bland muffins. But here are a few tricks on how to ripen bananas fast.
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📖Recipe
Moist Pumpkin Banana Muffins (No Oil)
Ingredients
- 2 cup all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup granulated white sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 cup mashed banana
- 1 cup pumpkin puree, either homemade or store bought like Libby’s, unsweetened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, pure kind
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon soda
- ½ teaspoon salt, sea or kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and prepare a muffin tin either by lightly spraying it with cooking spray or by lining it with muffin liners.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together the following dry ingredients: flour, nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Set this mixture aside for now.
- In a separate bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until they are well combined. Then, add the eggs and vanilla extract, continuing to beat until the mixture becomes smooth.
- Now, incorporate 1 cup of blended or mashed bananas and 1 cup of pumpkin puree into the same mixing bowl, blending until well combined.
- Gradually add the dry ingredient mixture into the bowl in 2-3 batches, mixing until just combined. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl periodically to ensure even mixing. Avoid overmixing the batter.
- Scoop the batter into each muffin liner, filling them to about ¾ full. If you desire, sprinkle some additional chocolate on top of each muffin.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.
- Once done, remove the muffins from the oven and allow them to cool in the muffin tin for 5 minutes. Afterward, transfer them to a cooling rack to let them cool completely. Enjoy your freshly baked muffins!
❤️Did you make this recipe? Please be sure to leave a rating and a comment below. Thank you!❤️
Recipe inspired from the cookie dough diaries.
Rita
These banana pumpkin muffins keep moist for days!
Sara
Great recipe, it’s our family’s favorite muffins!