Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Muffins

These muffins combine three flavors that were made for each other – chocolate, peanut butter, and banana. I started making them as a way to use up overripe bananas, but they quickly became a regular in my rotation. The banana keeps them moist for days and adds natural sweetness, while cocoa and peanut butter make them feel like a treat.

They work equally well for breakfast, after-school snacks, or tucking into lunch boxes. I usually make a double batch – some for now, some for the freezer. Just 10 minutes of prep gets you warm, chocolatey muffins that taste way better than anything from a coffee shop.

What you need for Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Muffins

How to Make Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Muffins

Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners. I like to give the top of the pan a light spray with cooking oil too – it helps if any muffin tops spread over.

1. In a large bowl, mash your bananas with a fork until they’re mostly smooth but still have some small chunks – this gives the muffins better banana flavor than when they’re completely smooth. You want about 1½ cups of mashed banana.

2. Add the peanut butter, vegetable oil, milk, egg, and vanilla to your mashed bananas. The peanut butter will mix easier if you give it a good stir in its jar first to soften it up. Whisk everything until it’s well combined and looks fairly smooth – a few tiny banana lumps are fine.

3. Add both sugars to the wet ingredients and whisk until they’re dissolved – when you run your whisk through the mixture, it should feel smooth, not grainy.

4. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Give it a good whisk to break up any cocoa powder lumps – they’re harder to get out once the wet ingredients go in.

5. Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and stir with a rubber spatula just until you don’t see any dry flour streaks. The batter will be pretty thick. Stop mixing as soon as everything is combined – overmixing will make your muffins tough.

6. Fold in the chocolate chips, and peanuts if using, with just 2-3 strokes. Some streakiness is okay at this point.

7. Divide the batter among muffin cups – they should be about ¾ full. I use an ice cream scoop for even portions. Give the pan a couple of gentle taps on the counter to settle the batter.

8. Bake for 18-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out with just a few moist crumbs (not wet batter). Don’t worry if you see melted chocolate on the toothpick – that’s normal. The muffin tops should spring back when lightly pressed.

9. Let the muffins cool in the pan for 5 minutes – they’re quite delicate when hot. Then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. Though let’s be honest, they’re still pretty amazing when warm and the chocolate chips are all melty. You can garnish them with some dripping peanut butter.

Makes 12 muffins that’ll keep for about 3 days in an airtight container, if they last that long!