This small batch banana muffin recipe makes just 6 muffins! These extra moist and fluffy banana muffins are made with buttermilk and oat flour. They’re then topped with a delicious oat streusel. I’ll also show you my tips and tricks to get super tall muffins. They take just 10 minutes to prepare and you don’t need a mixer.
I absolutely love making muffins, but sometimes I don’t need 12 of them – enter this small batch recipe! This easy recipe makes the perfect breakfast treat, especially if you have some ripe bananas on your kitchen counter waiting to be used. If I’m making breakfast for a crowd then I always make my blueberry banana muffins, but if I’m just baking for my family then this is the perfect amount of muffins.
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Tell me about this recipe
- You don’t need a mixer for these small batch banana muffins! All the dry ingredients are whisked together, then the wet ingredients are folded into the dry. We don’t need to cream any butter as we’re using melted butter which makes this so much easier.
- The muffins are topped with an oat streusel. Make this streusel while the muffin batter rests then sprinkle on top of just before baking.
- I let the muffin batter rest for at least one hour before baking. This will give you tall bakery style muffins, and I promise it is worth the wait!
Ingredients Needed
Muffin Ingredients 
Streusel Ingredients
The printable recipe card with the full list of ingredients and instructions can be found at the bottom of this post.
- Ripe Bananas: make sure you use ripe or overripe bananas for these muffins. The riper the banana the sweeter it will be! It will also be much easier to mash up.
- Buttermilk: if you don’t have buttermilk, you can make your own by mixing whole milk with some vinegar. You could also substitute in sour cream but I don’t recommend substituting in just plain milk.
- Oat Flour: oat flour is just blended up oats, so if you don’t have any oat flour then pulse your rolled oats until you have a fine powder. I do not recommend using regular oats that are not pulsed, as this will make your muffin very gummy.
How to make this recipe
Step 1: Whisk together all of your dry ingredients in a bowl.
Step 2: In a large jug or bowl, mash your bananas using a fork or a potato masher. It’s ok if it is a little lumpy and not totally smooth! This is why you want to use brown bananas, as it will be much easier to mash if they’re soft.
Step 3: Add the rest of your ingredients to your mashed bananas and whisk together. Again, because of the bananas it might not be totally smooth and that is fine.
Step 4: Slowly pour in your wet ingredients into your dry ingredients and mix just until there are no more streaks of flour. Let your muffin batter rest for at least an hour at room temperature. This is going to make your muffins have a super tall top!
Step 5: While your muffin batter is resting, mix together your streusel topping ingredients. Make sure the oats and flour are moistened and there aren’t really any dry bits left.
Step 6: Preheat your oven to 425 and place 6 liners in your muffin pan. Gently fill each muffin case to the very top and sprinkle over your streusel. Bake for five minutes, then without opening the door reduce the temperature to 350 and bake for another 16-18 minutes. Let the muffins cool before eating.
Recipe Tips
- I make sure that all of my ingredients are at room temperature before I start the recipe, so pull out all of the ingredients about an hour or two before you start baking.
- I highly recommend using a weighing scale and measuring out your ingredients the metric way. It makes a huge difference to your baking and is the most accurate way to bake!
- Be sure to not open the oven door when reducing the temperature, this will help give you super tall muffin tops.
- Let the muffin batter rest for the full hour. This will make a big difference to the height of the muffin, giving you super tall banana muffins!
Frequently Asked Questions
Allow your muffin batter to rest for one hour. Then, start off with a really high oven temperature of 425 degrees and bake the muffins for 5 minutes. You’ll then lower the oven temperature to 350, but make sure not to open the oven door. Bake for another 16-18 minutes. Also make sure to fill your muffin liners to the very top!
I like to use a large ice cream scooper to neatly transfer the muffin batter into the liners.
Yes! Wait until they are completely cool, then put in a freezer bag and keep in the freezer for up to 2 months. Let thaw completely in the fridge or defrost in the microwave.
You buy oat flour at most grocery stores or health food stores, my favorite brand is Bob’s Red Mill. If you don’t have access to oat flour, you can make your own! Take rolled oats and grind them in your food processor until you have a fine powder. You can also substitute the oat flour for regular flour.
If you don’t want the streusel, I recommend adding a sprinkle of coarse sugar to the top of each muffin or sprinkle some rolled oats.
Try these breakfast recipes next!
Have you made this recipe? Make sure to tag me on Instagram @alpineella and leave a review below if you have! If you want more baking ideas, you can follow me on Pinterest.
Recipe
Easy Small Batch Banana Muffins with Oats
Equipment
- 12 cup muffin tray
Ingredients
- 120 grams all purpose flour
- 80 grams granulated sugar
- 46 grams oat flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- pinch nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 85 grams unsalted butter melted
- 56 ml buttermilk room temperature
- 1 egg room temperature
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 170 grams bananas ripe
Oat Streusel
- 3 tablespoon rolled oats
- 2 ½ tablespoon all purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 14 grams butter melted
Instructions
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, oat flour, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon in a medium bowl.
- In a large jug or bowl, mash your bananas with a fork or potato masher. Add in the sugar, melted butter, egg, vanilla and buttermilk and whisk until smooth.
- Pour the dry ingredients into the wet and beat until combined and you have no more streaks of flour. Let the batter rest at room temperature for 1 hour.
- While the batter is resting, whisk your streusel ingredients together until it is evenly moist.
- Preheat the oven to 425°F/220°C. Line a muffin pan with 6 liners.
- Fill the liners to the top with the batter. Sprinkle over the streusel topping.
- Bake for 5 minutes. Then, without opening the door, reduce the oven temperature to 350°F/175°C and bake for an extra 16-18 minutes.
- Allow them to cool completely.
Cathy
Do you grind the oatmeal and then measure if you don’t have the oat flour?
Ella
Hi Cathy, yes exactly!
Laurence
These are the perfect morning (and afternoon, evening…) snack! Love when recipes are this simple and quick, the muffins are so moist and tasty. Glad I made multiple batches to last us the week!
Tasneem Fatima
Leave the batter for an hour at room temperature, why?
Ella
This is going to help give you a super tall muffin. By letting the muffin batter rest for an hour at room temperature, it gives the baking soda and baking powder longer time to react and lift up your batter.