Start your day with these delicious bakery style Banana Pumpkin Muffins! These cinnamon kissed muffins are soft, fluffy, and oh so flavorful!
Pumpkin season shmumpkin season. We make these muffins year round!
My daughter has long been my biggest fan when it comes to my muffin recipes. You can peep her tiny baby hands clutching muffins in both my Carrot Butternut Whole Grain Muffins and Kid-Friendly Pumpkin Muffins posts and nearly 10 years later she is still dictates what muffin recipes I create for this little blog of mine.
These Banana Pumpkin Muffins are her current obsession. They’re her breakfast of choice on busy mornings and she loves stealing a second to bring to school each day too.
The recipe makes 12 fluffy bakery-style muffins but Paul and I are lucky if we get 2 because little miss muffin tries to call dibs on the whole lot for herself. They’re super soft and will actually stay nice and tender for a few days in an airtight container on the counter.
She made them for a bake sale last year and they were not only the first treat to sell out, but we had to make a second and third batch for neighbors who just couldn’t get enough.
These muffins rock. Make them. Right meow.
★★★★★ “I made these and followed the recipe almost exactly – just added more cinnamon. I even followed the tips for resting the batter and adjusting the oven temp. They are amazing! The topping was a nice touch.” – Katherine
Let’s dive into the recipe details, shall we?
Muffin Ingredients
- 2 overripe bananas (the spottier the better!)
- canned pumpkin puree
- granulated sugar
- unsalted butter
- avocado oil
- 2 large eggs
- vanilla extract
- all-purpose flour
- baking soda
- pumpkin spice blend
- ground cinnamon
- salt
I love that the recipe is made entirely from fridge and pantry staples. As long as I have spotty bananas, I typically have everything I need to make these muffins on repeat.
Optional Cinnamon Sugar Topping
For an over-the-top muffin top, mixing together some granulated sugar and ground cinnamon makes a delish cinnamon sugar that can be sprinkled on top of the muffins before baking. The sweet topping caramelizes a bit when baking and forms a light and irresistable crust on the tops of the muffins.
HOLY COW is it good! Everyone always raves about this little detail so feel free to follow suit!
I like to use a ratio of 3 parts sugar to 1 part cinnamon. I make a little jar of it to keep on hand. For every 3 teaspoons sugar (1 TBSP) add 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon.
Q: What kind of pumpkin should I use?
Not all pumpkin purees are created equal and regular canned pumpkin puree is way to go. I have had the best results with Target’s Good and Gather brand, Libby’s Pumpkin Puree, and also store brands from Publix, HEB, and Kroger. Organic pumpkin puree and homemade pumpkin puree tend to have a higher moisture content and can be a bit chaotic to bake with for this reason so I would skip those.
Q: Can I use something other than avocado oil?
Any mild-tasting oil that you would typically use for baking will absolutely work here.
Olive oil has a distinct taste in baked goods so I don’t typically use it for baking recipes. Vegetable oil and canola oil are typical baking oils that bakeries like to use but honestly, if you’re looking for a healthy mild oil to bake with – grab a small bottle of avocado oil next time you’re at the grocery store! They go on sale often and it’s such a fantastic mild and almost buttery oil that works marvelously in baked goods, salad dressings, soups, and pretty much everything!
Bakery Style Banana Pumpkin Muffins
One bite and you’ll see why my family is in love with these soft + scrumptious banana pumpkin muffins!
Leftover muffins can be stored in an airtight container on the counter for a few days and can be eaten as is or slightly warmed, totally up to you! They’re so soft I only warm them up if we’ve frozen some for later which you can also do if you like to meal prep by freezing things like muffins and breakfast burritos.
The recipe below yields 12 regular sized muffins with a tender little muffin top. Love them so!
Banana Pumpkin Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 overripe bananas (peeled + mashed)
- 1 cup pumpkin puree (240 grams)
- 1 cup sugar (200 grams)
- 1 stick unsalted butter (113 grams) melted and cooled
- ¼ cup avocado oil
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (240 grams)
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp pumpkin spice blend
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp salt
OPTIONAL CINNAMON SUGAR TOPPING
- 1 TBSP granulated sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375℉.
- Line a 12-cavity muffin tin with paper or parchment liners.
- In a large bowl, add banana, pumpkin, and sugar. Beat together with a hand-mixer until the mixture is smooth.
- Beat in the melted butter, oil, eggs, and vanilla. Mix well.
- In a medium bowl combine flour, baking soda, pumpkin spice seasoning, cinnamon, and salt. Mix with fork.
- Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix with a fork until just incorporated. Ingredients should be all blended together but not overmixed.
- For extra rise and fluff factor, cover the bowl of muffin batter with a clean dishcloth and allow the batter to rest for 10-15 minutes.
- Use a large cookie scoop or a tablespoon to scoop the batter and divide evenly between muffin cups. Aim for a little over 3 TBSP batter per muffin cup, filling them anywhere from 3/4 full to fully filled.
- For an over-the-top muffin top, mix together cinnamon and sugar and sprinkle on top of the muffins before baking. The sweet topping caramelizes a bit when baking and forms a light and irresistable crust on the tops of the muffins.
- Place into the 375℉ oven and set timer for 5 minutes.
- When the timer goes off switch the oven temp to 350℉ without opening the oven. This gives the muffins a little boost to help them rise. Bake for an additional 17-18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean from the center of the muffins.
- Allow muffins to cool in the muffin tin for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire cooling rack and allow to fully cool before diving in face-first! Hooray muffins!
Notes
Nutrition
This morning the chickpea took the last muffin of my most recent batch for breakfast and just editing these photos and writing this post has me wanting another one so bad. Time to make more muffins!
MUFFIN BAKING TIPS AND TRICKS
Looking to make the muffins of your dreams? Here are my go-to tips and tricks for perfect muffins every time!
1. MEASURE WITH CARE
Measuring the flour and sugar in grams can save on time and yields the most accurate results. If you aren’t the proud owner of a digital kitchen scale, go ahead and put one on your wish list for your birthday and use the fluff/spoon/scrape technique to measure the flour and cocoa powder. First fluff the flour in the container then gently spoon the fluffed flour into the measuring cup. Use a knife to scrape the top level and you’re good to go!
2. REST THE BATTER
Resting the batter for 10-15 minutes gives the batter a extra time to rise and helps achieve those puffy domes on top of your muffins.
3. TWEAK THE TEMP
Before you assemble your ingredients, set your oven to 375℉ and allow it to preheat while you make the batter. Once the muffins go in the oven, close the door and adjust the temp to 350℉. This will give the muffins a few minutes of a warmer start time for extra lift. You can also allow the muffins to stay at 375℉ for the first 5 minutes before turning the temp down for the remaining cook time. I love using this trick to give my muffins a little extra rise to them and, along with resting the batter, it yields perfect bakery-style mini muffin tops.
More Marvelous Muffin Recipes
Try saying that 10x fast, lol! Here are some of our go-to muffin recipes to try next.
- NEW! Chocolate Pumpkin Muffins
- Mini Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins
- Banana Nut Muffins with Pecan Streusel
- Bakery-Style Blueberry Muffins
If you get a chance to try these tasty banana pumpkin muffins, let me know!
Leave me a comment here (I LOVE checking those daily!) or tag @peasandcrayons on Instagram so I can do a little happy dance over your gorgeous muffins. xoxo
Questions & Reviews
My kids are obsessed with these muffins!!
Yay! So happy to hear it, LC!
Excellent recipe. I had some ripe bananas to use up and this was a good decision! I did the sugar/cinnamon topping, added some chocolate chips, and a heaping big spoon of greek yogurt for some added protein. They were super moist and fluffy! Husband wants me to add pecans next time.
Thanks Teresa! I bet pecans and chocolate chips would be so tasty together in these muffins! YUM!
Love these! I’ve made them several times. Recipe is in repeat for sure! The most recent batch, I was out of avocado oil, but didn’t notice until I already started. I used apple sauce and it turned out great.
This is an awesome recipe. I just made it for Sunday breakfast and they are gone. Recipe bakes up high and light but has a dense chew to it. Very satisfying. Found both kinds of spices too cinnamon-y. Might adjust cinnamon or just include the pumpkin pie spice. Yummy either way. Thank you for a direct and do-able recipe. Helping me to get back to baking.
Thank you Cydney! I’m glad the muffins were a hit! For less cinnamon you can for sure just use pumpkin spice or reduce the amount to your liking. Happy baking!
Delicious!!!!
Yay! Thanks Natacha!
These turned out very well – light and fluffy and not too sweet. Did have to bake them a few extra minutes for them to be done the whole way through.
So good! Very happy with how these turned out. Great flavor and super soft and fluffy! Will definitely make again
My daughter absolutely loved these- they were impossibly soft and will definitely make them again soon Thanks for sharing your wonderful recipes!
I made these and followed the recipe almost exactly – just added more cinnamon. I even followed the tips for resting the batter and adjusting the oven temp. They are amazing! The topping was a nice touch.
How do you store them to keep the crispness in the topping?
I’m so glad you’re loving the recipe, Katherine! Thank you! I find that muffins with fresh banana in it usually end up softening on the tops the next and following days so any cinnamon sugar topping or streusels will end up softer. I store mine in a glass lidded container on the countertop and don’t mind the top getting more tender. The recipe cuts in half super easily if you’d like to make smaller batches at a time for future muffin faceplants. xoxo
I just made these, but only used 1/4 cup of sugar, cut the butter to a half stick (subbed more oil), and added walnuts. They are perfect. Did not need all that sugar, unless you prefer cake instead of muffin.
Hello! I plan to make these this morning. Have you tried using coconut oil instead of Avocado? I don’t have any currently. Thanks!
Hi Sara! You can absolutely use coconut oil. It might give the slightest little coconut kiss to the flavor of the muffins but as long as you like the flavor of coconut oil (I love it!) you’re good to go!
Are the nutrition facts without topping?
Hi Kathleen! Correct, the nutrition facts are without the optional topping. I believe the cinnamon sugar topping adds about 4 calories to each muffin and approx. 1 gram sugar per muffin. Hope this helps! xo
It’s hard to improve upon this GREAT, light muffin!! I did add 1 extra Tbsp flour to allow for the extra moisture in the organic pumpkin puree I used, and also added 1 c chopped pecans. Good hints to let batter sit 5 minutes, and also to start at 375 for 5 min before lowering temp to 350. The topping was a yummy add! I enjoy tweaking recipes so may try some rum soaked raisins in a later batch 🙂
Thank you Emjay! I’m so thrilled you enjoyed the muffins! Rum soaked raisins sound like such a fun twist – let me know if you get a chance to test it out.