Banana Oat Muffins

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Moist banana nut muffins are nutty and delicious, making a quick and easy breakfast or afternoon snack. Add chocolate chips, nuts, or even raisins for an even more delicious bite!

Banana oat muffins arranged on a piece of parchment paper.

This recipe comes from Kathleen, one of my college besties.

Longtime readers might remember Kathleen from her recipe for the best peach ice cream or her grandmother’s brown sugar fudge. She’s one of those friends who became “unofficial” family (our kids consider each other to be cousins) and so her recipes are now family recipes around here.

Kathleen lived with a handful of other girls in an off-campus house our senior year of college and made these banana oat muffins on a regular basis throughout that year.

She passed the recipe along to me soon after I started this site, and it has been a staple around here ever since. I have made a few very minor tweaks over the years, but the base of the recipe remains the same.

If you love banana bread and oatmeal cookies (or anything made with oats), you’re gonna want to make these muffins STAT.

Halved banana oat muffin on a piece of parchment paper.

Table of Contents

Buttery banana oatmeal muffins

I love a whole lot of things about these banana oat muffins. They are quick and easy to make (no mixer required), stay nice and moist thanks to the mashed banana and a bit of buttermilk, and are hearty thanks to the oats.

Oh, and they taste DELICIOUS. The are buttery without being too buttery (ya know what I mean?) and the banana flavor really shines through.

This is also a versatile recipe based on your family’s tastes. You can make them as-is or mix in chocolate chips, nuts (such as walnuts or pecans) or even raisins.

The chocolate chips are a big favorite with kids and adults alike, while I personally love a combination of nuts and golden raisins in mine.

This recipe is a great way to use bananas that are way past their prime. I don’t know about you, but we always have at least a couple over-ripe bananas wasting away on our counter.

Overhead view of banana oat muffins scattered on a piece of parchment paper.

How to make Kathleen’s banana oat muffins

Like most of my favorite quick bread recipes, these banana oat muffins are quick to throw together. Make them on a Sunday evening and you’ll have easy breakfasts and snacks for the rest of the week!

Ingredients you’ll need

For the base of this recipe, you will need:

½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup lightly packed brown sugar
½ cup melted unsalted butter
2 large eggs
1 ¼ cup mashed ripe banana
3 tablespoons buttermilk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
1 cup rolled oats (aka old-fashioned oats)

Banana oat muffin ingredients arranged on a gray countertop.

I find that I typically need 3 bananas to get 1 1/4 cups of mashed banana. Most medium to large bananas will yield around 1/2 cup of mashed banana.

We only need a little bit of buttermilk for this recipe, but it makes a big difference in the final muffins! If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, make a quick buttermilk substitute by adding a small splash of vinegar or lemon juice to your measuring cup before adding enough milk to total 3 tablespoons.

Let the mixture sit for around 5 minutes before using it.

I like a little ground nutmeg in these muffins, but feel free to swap it out for cinnamon if you prefer!

If you’d like, you can add up to 1 cup of mix-ins, such as:

Chocolate chips or chocolate chunks
Chopped pecans or walnuts
Raisins (or even dried cranberries!)

Making these muffins

This recipe makes 18 muffins, so start by greasing or lining 18 standard muffin cups.

In a large bowl, whisk together the sugars with the melted butter. Add the eggs and whisk until smooth.

Sugars and melted butter whisked together in a white bowl.

Wet ingredients for banana oat muffins whisked together in a white bowl.

Once that’s well combined, add the mashed banana along with the buttermilk and vanilla.

Switch to a spatula and stir in the dry ingredients: the flour, baking soda, nutmeg, and salt. Mix just until combined, then fold in the oats and any mix-ins you are using.

I like to divide the batter into the muffin wells with a large (3-tablespoon) cookie scoop. Feel free to sprinkle the tops of the muffins with some coarse sugar or extra oats if you’d like.

Chocolate chips being added to banana oat muffin batter.

Unbaked banana oat muffins in a muffin tin, ready to go in the oven.

Bake the muffins at 425°F for 10 minutes. Leave the oven door closed, set the temperature to 350°F, and continue baking for another 5-7 minutes. The banana oat muffins are done when a toothpick inserted into the centers comes out clean.

Let the muffins cool for about 5 minutes in the pan before removing them to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Banana oat muffins topped with rolled oats on a board in front of a glass of milk.

Storage tips

Store these banana oat muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Muffins freeze really well, and these are no exception. Pop them into a zip-top freezer bag or airtight container and store them in the freezer for up to 2 months.

When you’re ready to enjoy one of the muffins, microwave it for 30-60 seconds to thaw it and warm it through.

Bite taken from a banana oat muffin on a white plate.

Recipe FAQs

If you need to make a dairy-free version of these banana oat muffins, swap the butter for your favorite dairy-free/vegan butter. Substitute the buttermilk with the milk and vinegar mixture in the recipe card notes, using your favorite dairy-free milk alternative.

If you are making these dairy free and adding chocolate chips, make sure you choose a dairy-free option.

For a gluten-free version of these muffins, swap out the flour for a 1-to-1 gluten-free flour mix. It is also important that you use certified gluten-free oats and mix-ins.

If you only have quick-cooking oats on hand, those will work fine in place of the rolled oats (aka old-fashioned oats). The rolled oats have a little more “bite” to them, so the texture will be slightly different with quick oats, but the muffins will still turn out delicious!

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