Fall has arrived and I am here for it! It’s time to turn on the oven to make date and orange scones, Dutch oven apple crisp, and these pumpkin banana muffins.
If you like moist banana muffins, you will love these! One of my favorite seasonal recipes, the muffins are tender, buttery, and not too sweet. A simple pumpkin spice streusel topping turns a basic recipe into a festive cool weather treat.
Choose bananas with spotted or fully black peels for this recipe. The darker the banana peels, the more intense the banana flavor will be. Also, the pumpkin spice streusel topping is optional. I love the flavor of spice in the streusel, however, you can just add pumpkin spice to the muffin batter if you want to skip the sweet topping.
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💞 Why You’ll Love This Recipe
✔️ It’s got some of falls best flavors all wrapped into one cute little package!
✔️ They’re a good way to use up those black bananas in your freezer.
✔️ The recipe is easy and made in one bowl.
📋 Ingredients
For The Pumpkin Banana Muffins
Ingredient Notes
- Brown Sugar—Look for dark brown sugar, sometimes called “old-fashioned brown sugar”.
- Overripe Bananas—I let my bananas turn completely black on the outside before I throw them in the freezer indefinitely. Use bananas that have at least some black spotting.
- Pumpkin Purée—Use pumpkin purée, not pumpkin pie filling.
For The Pumpkin Spice Streusel
Ingredient Notes
- Pumpkin Pie Spice—You can usually find this in the baking aisle of most grocery stores.
It’s important to note when making substitutions in recipes, the texture and flavor may be slightly different. However, these substitutes are the best options if you are looking to change the original recipe.
Ingredient Substitutions
- Butter—You can use good quality margarine instead of butter if you like.
- Pumpkin—Make homemade pumpkin purée with freshly roasted pumpkin if you don’t want to use canned.
- Pumpkin Pie Spice—Good substitutes for pumpkin pie spice are apple pie spice or cinnamon.
Use the JUMP TO RECIPE button at the top of this post, or scroll to the bottom of the post, to see the PRINTABLE recipe card with ingredient measurements and complete instructions.
👩🍳 How To Make Pumpkin Banana Muffins
STEP 1—Whisk the dry ingredients in a bowl.
STEP 2—Cream the butter and both sugars in a mixing bowl.
STEP 3—Add the eggs one at a time, whisking well in between, then mash the bananas with a fork.
STEP 4—Add the pumpkin purée and mix to combine.
STEP 5—Add the flour mixture. Switch to a wooden spoon and mix until the flour is just combined.
STEP 6—Use a cookie scoop to portion the muffin batter evenly between a standard 12-cup muffin tin.
STEP 7—Place the streusel ingredients in a small bowl. Mix until crumbly and well combined.
STEP 8—Sprinkle the streusel topping evenly over all 12 muffins, then bake, and cool on a wire rack.
🗣Expert Tips
1. For the best flavor, use bananas that are at least partially spotted or black.
2. You don’t need a cookie scoop. Use a spoon if that’s what you have.
3. You don’t have to mix the flour in a separate bowl. You can add the dry ingredients individually after mixing in the pumpkin.
📝 Recipe Notes
- To test the pumpkin banana muffins for doneness, insert a toothpick down into the top of a muffin as far as you can. Gently pull the toothpick out of the muffin. If any wet batter is clinging to the toothpick the muffins are not ready. Return them to the oven and continue to check every few minutes.
- If you want a stronger banana flavor use three bananas.
- If you like larger chunks of streusel, don’t soften the butter. Mix firmer butter with the other ingredients using a fork or your fingers until combined.
- If you really love pumpkin spice, add a teaspoon or two to the muffin batter when you mix the dry ingredients.
🙋♀️ Recipe FAQ
Pumpkin doesn’t really have much of a taste, to be honest. It’s more of a light sweetness, offset with a creamy texture. I love the way tastes with pumpkin pie spice mixed in, however, it is subtle. One thing it definitely does is add a beautiful rich color to the muffins.
Yes! Cool the muffins completely then store them in a large zipper-top freezer bag with any excess air squeezed out. Muffins will keep, stored this way in the freezer, for up to one month.
The simple answer is fat. Butter is a delicious way to add fat and salt to baked goods, but oil is really the best way to retain moisture. I sometimes substitute a neutral-tasting oil like canola or vegetable for half of the butter in muffin recipes.
🍂 More Cozy Fall Recipes
Did you make these pumpkin banana muffins? Please rate the recipe and tell me how it went in the comments below. Also, stay in touch with me on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest to see more delicious food and recipes!
🖨 Recipe
Pumpkin Banana Muffins
Equipment
- 12-cup standard muffin tin
- Paper muffin/cupcake wrappers
- 2 Mixing bowls plus 1 small bowl for streusel
- Electric hand mixer optional
- Fork
- 1 2-tablespoon capacity cookie dough scoop optional
- Wire cooling rack
Ingredients
For The Pumpkin Banana Muffins
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ cup butter, plus extra for greasing the muffin tin
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar, tightly packed
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 bananas, overripe, approximately 200g with the skins removed
- 1 cup pumpkin purée , not pumpkin pie filling
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
For The Pumpkin Spice Streusel
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons butter, softened
- ¼ to ½ teaspoon pumpkin spice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425ºF (220ºC). Generously grease a 12-cup muffin tin with butter. Line the tin with paper muffin wrappers and set aside.
- Place the flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium-large bowl. Whisk until well combined. Set aside.
- Add the butter and both sugars to a mixing bowl. Use a hand or stand mixer to cream the butter and sugars together on medium-high speed until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add the eggs to the bowl, one at a time, mixing well and scraping down the sides of the bowl between each addition.
- Add the bananas to the butter mixture and mash them with a fork. Add the pumpkin purée and vanilla extract to the bowl. Use the electric mixer to mix everything together.
- Add the flour to the bowl. Switch to a wooden spoon and gently stir the muffin until the flour is just mixed in.
- Use a cookie dough scoop to portion the batter evenly between the 12 prepared muffin cups.
- Make The Pumpkin Spice Streusel—Use your hands to all of the streusel ingredients until crumbly and combined.
- Sprinkle all of the streusel evenly over the 12 pumpkin banana muffins. Place the tin in the preheated oven and bake the muffins for 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350ºF (180ºC) and continue to bake 5 to 7 minutes more. Transfer the tin to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes before turning the muffins out onto the rack to cool completely. Pumpkin banana muffins are best served warm with a smear of butter.
Notes
- To test muffins with a toothpick, insert a toothpick down into the top of a muffin as far as you can. Gently pull the toothpick out of the muffin. If any wet batter is clinging to the toothpick the muffins are not ready. Return them to the oven and continue to check every few minutes.
- If you want stronger banana flavor use three bananas.
- If you like larger chunks of streusel, don’t soften the butter. Mix firmer butter with the other ingredients using a fork or your fingers until combined.
- If you really love pumpkin spice, add a teaspoon or two to the muffin batter when you mix the dry ingredients.
Joanne Gauthier says
I wish you could smell the house right now. Amazing! I added some oat flakes and some pepitas to the streusel topping. A perfect fall recipe to sit down with along with a good cup of tea.