Warmed with cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice, these pumpkin banana muffins are loaded with flavor, packed with moisture, and bake up with a gorgeous golden dome.
Why this recipe works
I might be biased, but these are the best pumpkin banana muffins, ever! They’re soft, fluffy, and tender-crumbed, plus perfectly spiced the way all fall goodies should be. On top of all of that, they’re loaded with moisture thanks to the pumpkin puree and mashed bananas.
It’s like a cross between pumpkin bread and banana muffins. Or, pumpkin muffins and banana bread. Whichever way you want to put it. There are so many different mix-ins or toppings you can play around with, I guess you’ll have to make a couple of batches to find your favorite combination. Luckily, they’re freezer-friendly!
Ingredients you will need
Get all measurements, ingredients, and instructions in the printable version at the end of this post.
Ingredient Info and Substitution Suggestions
BANANAS – While you wouldn’t think there’s a science to mashing a banana, the amount of mashing you do CAN affect the science of the baking process. Be sure to mash them up well, large chunks of banana can cause moisture pockets in your muffins. This can affect the rise of your muffin crowns and make you think they aren’t done. If you insert a toothpick into a section with a moisture pocket, you may continue baking and end up drying out your muffin.
FLOUR – This recipe uses cake flour, which you’ll measure the same as you would with all-purpose flour – using the scoop and sweep method OR weighing it. I highly recommend weighing your ingredients, especially when it comes to baking. Too much flour can result in dense, dry muffins, and if you weigh it, then you’ll never run into that problem. If you do not own a kitchen scale, aerate the flour gently, then scoop it into a measuring cup using a spoon until overflowing. Sweep off the excess using the back end of a butter knife to level it out. Never tap the measuring cup on a surface to compact, and do not scoop directly from the bag with the cup.
OPTIONAL TOPPINGS – These muffins are downright amazing on their own, but you can optionally top them with coarse sugar (such as turbinado), cinnamon sugar, or chopped nuts. Do so before baking if you want to add any toppings.
Pumpkin Banana Muffins Variations
You can easily add baking chips (cinnamon chips are amazing here), nuts, raisins, or other dried fruits to these muffins.
BAKING CHIPS – For any kind of baking chips, we recommend 1/2 – 3/4 cup, or they can be overwhelming. If you are using cinnamon chips like we did, 1/2 cup is more than enough! Chocolate chips, cinnamon chips, or pumpkin spice baking chips are all excellent additions.
NUTS – If adding nuts, 3/4 cup chopped is a nice amount. We like chopped pecans or walnuts for this recipe.
DRIED FRUITS – Raisins or other dried fruits work great too. We do suggest rehydrating raisins or dried cranberries first by soaking them in hot water (or juice or alcohol) for a minimum of 15 minutes. You can soak them longer if you like, just remember to drain them and pat dry with paper towel before adding them to the muffin batter.
How to Make Pumpkin Banana Muffins
These step by step photos and instructions are here to help you visualize how to make this recipe. You can Jump to Recipe to get the printable version of this recipe, complete with measurements and instructions at the bottom.
- Preheat oven to 425 F. Place paper liners in a 12-cup muffin pan.
- Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice.
- With a stand mixer, beat butter and brown sugar on medium speed until creamy.
- Add eggs and vanilla and beat just until combined.
- Beat in pumpkin and bananas, beating just until combined.
- With a rubber spatula, stir in half of the dry ingredients. Stir in the buttermilk. Stir in remaining dry ingredients. Do not over-mix, it’s okay if there are small traces of flour still showing.
- If adding chips, nuts, or fruit, fold them into the batter now.
- Let batter rest 30 minutes. This allows the oven to get nice and hot as well.
- Fill liners to the top with batter.
- Bake at 425F for 5 minutes. Without opening the door, turn oven down to 350F for another 15-18 minutes, or until a toothpick poked into the center comes out clean. Ours were done at the 16 minute mark.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool in pan for 5 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
Frequently Asked Questions & Expert Tips
If you don’t have cake flour on hand, here’s how to substitute with all-purpose flour. First, weigh out 320g of all-purpose flour. Next, remove 40g of that flour and replace it with 40g of cornstarch. Sift that mixture 3 times. If you don’t have a kitchen scale, the general rule is to remove 2 tablespoons from every cup of flour, and replace that with 2 tablespoons of cornstarch. We highly recommend that you weigh your ingredients for the best results.
As with most muffins, it’s best to keep them in an air-tight container kept in the refrigerator as they tend to get sticky when stored at room temperature. They’ll keep well for up to 5-7 days in the fridge. You can store them in a container at room temperature for a couple of days, but I would recommend placing a paper towel on top of the muffins to help absorb any excess moisture they release as they sit.
Yes! To freeze these muffins, place them in a single layer in a large gallon-sized ziptop bag, removing as much air as possible before sealing. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature, removed from the ziptop bag.
Serving Suggestions
As you can see from the photos above, I played around with all different kinds of toppings on these pumpkin banana muffins! Feel free to garnish the muffin batter before baking with either cinnamon sugar, chopped nuts, coarse sugar, or dried fruits. My favorite combination was the cinnamon sugar topping with cinnamon chips in the batter. So good!
More Muffin Recipes
- Apple Muffins
- Banana Muffins
- Cinnamon Streusel Muffins
- Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins
- Pumpkin Cranberry Muffins
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Pumpkin Banana Muffins
IMPORTANT – There are often Frequently Asked Questions within the blog post that you may find helpful. Simply scroll back up to read them!
Print It Pin It Rate ItIngredients
- 11.3 ounces cake flour 2 1/2 cups or 320g
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened at room temperature. 8 Tablespoons
- 6.35 ounces packed brown sugar 3/4 cup or 180g
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 4.5 ounces pumpkin puree 1/2 cup or 128g
- 2 overripe bananas mashed well
- 2 ounces buttermilk at room temperature. 1/4 cup or 59ml
Optional Toppings
- coarse sugar
- cinnamon sugar
- chopped nuts
Things You’ll Need
- Muffin pan 12-cavity
- 12 cupcake liners paper
- Stand mixer or electric mixer
Before You Begin
- Feel free to garnish the muffin batter before baking with any of the optional toppings listed above.
- If you do not own a kitchen scale, aerate the flour gently, then scoop it into a measuring cup using a spoon until overflowing. Sweep off the excess using the back end of a butter knife to level it out. Never tap the measuring cup on a surface to compact, and do not scoop directly from the bag with the cup. Too much flour equals dry, dense baked goods.
- You can easily add baking chips (cinnamon chips are amazing here), nuts, raisins, or other dried fruits as mix-ins for these muffins. See the tips mentioned in the post for measurements.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 F. Place paper liners in a 12-cup muffin pan.
- Whisk together cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice.11.3 ounces cake flour, 1 Tablespoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 3/4 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- With a stand mixer, beat butter and brown sugar on medium speed until creamy.6.35 ounces packed brown sugar, 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- Add eggs and vanilla and beat just until combined.1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, 2 large eggs
- Beat in pumpkin and bananas, beating just until combined.4.5 ounces pumpkin puree, 2 overripe bananas
- With a rubber spatula, stir in half of the dry ingredients. Stir in the buttermilk. Stir in remaining dry ingredients. Do not over mix, it’s okay if there are small traces of flour still showing.2 ounces buttermilk
- If adding mix-ins such as chips, nuts, or fruit, fold them into the batter now.
- Let batter rest 30 minutes. This allows the oven to get nice and hot as well.
- Fill liners to the top with batter.
- Bake at 425F for 5 minutes. Without opening the door, turn oven down to 350F for another 15-18 minutes, or until a toothpick poked into the center comes out clean. Ours were done at the 16 minute mark.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool in pan for 5 minutes, then remove to wire rack to cool completely.
Expert Tips & FAQs
- As with most muffins, it’s best to keep them in an air-tight container kept in the refrigerator as they tend to get sticky when stored at room temperature. They’ll keep well for up 5-7 days in the fridge. You can store them in a container at room temperature for a couple of days, but I would recommend placing a paper towel on top of the muffins to help absorb any excess moisture they release as they sit.
- Freezing – place the fully cooled muffins in a single layer in a large gallon sized ziptop bag, removing as much air as possible before sealing. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature, removed from the ziptop bag.
Nutrition
The recipes on this blog are tested with a conventional gas oven and gas stovetop. It’s important to note that some ovens, especially as they age, can cook and bake inconsistently. Using an inexpensive oven thermometer can assure you that your oven is truly heating to the proper temperature. If you use a toaster oven or countertop oven, please keep in mind that they may not distribute heat the same as a conventional full sized oven and you may need to adjust your cooking/baking times. In the case of recipes made with a pressure cooker, air fryer, slow cooker, or other appliance, a link to the appliances we use is listed within each respective recipe. For baking recipes where measurements are given by weight, please note that results may not be the same if cups are used instead, and we can’t guarantee success with that method.
Amanda Davis
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Dianne S says
This sounds amazing! I was thinking it would be great made in a loaf pan. What changes should I make if I wanted to try to make it that way?
Amanda Davis says
Let me preface this by saying that i have not tested this yet, though I do plan to! This is what I would try:
1. Oven temp 350 F
2. Use a 9×5 or an 8×4 pan
3. Time to bake could be anywhere from 45 – 70 minutes, start checking at 45, use a toothpick to check for doneness
4. Let cool in pan for 10-15 minutes before removing to wire rack to cool completely
As I said this IS on my list to test, but if you do it before me I would love to hear your results!
Dianne S. says
Thank you so much for replying so quickly! I will try to do this as soon as I can and let you know how it turns out. We love your recipes and have made many of them numerous times.. Thank you!
nancy says
Can a cake mix be used?
Amanda Davis says
Hi Nancy. I haven’t tested this with a cake mix.