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The best and (easiest) One Bowl Chocolate Chunk Chai Banana Muffins …for your Friday chocolate fix. One bowl, pantry staple ingredients, super quick to mix up, healthy…ish, and SO DELICIOUS! That sums up these warming banana muffins in a nutshell, they’re the perfect muffin to bake up this weekend. With over-ripe bananas, good honey, chai spices, and your favorite dark chocolate bar, these are going to become your favorite weekend muffins. A sweet treat for breakfast, a yummy afternoon snack, or even a late-night dessert…with an extra smear of salted-honey-butter.
Just because it’s January and we’re all focusing on enjoying healthier foods doesn’t mean we should deprive ourselves of the sweeter things in life. At least that’s the thinking around here. I know some will argue this, but as far as healthy desserts, these muffins are the perfect wholesome treat to enjoy any day of the week.
With my mom being the dessert lover that she is, it’s been ingrained in me to always want something a little sweet after dinner. Sometimes that’s something as simple as a piece of fruit, or a banana with a couple squares of dark chocolate, or maybe a warm mug of hot chocolate. Just something a little sweet.
But when I have super ripe bananas, I LOVE baking banana bread. Last year I perfected the BEST loaf of banana bread. And this year I’m sharing the BEST banana muffin…that’s sweet, moist, perfectly spiced with winter chai spices, and heavy on the dark chocolate. These are healthy…ish and a great January treat.
The secret to a really good banana muffin?
Overripe bananas. I’m talking completely brown, almost black, mushy bananas that look far past their prime. The bananas that you’re sure you should have tossed? Yup, those are the bananas you should use for your muffins. I call them banana bread bananas.
When the bananas are super brown, they’re the sweetest they’ll become. They have extra moisture and are soft and easy to incorporate into your muffin batter. If you use a green banana, your muffins won’t be nearly as moist or sweet. So brown bananas are KEY.
The details.
As mentioned, these muffins are the easiest. You need only one bowl, pantry ingredients, and less than an hour of time. You’ll start with the wet ingredients. Mash up the bananas, add melted coconut oil for moisture, honey for additional sweetness (plus added health benefits), eggs for a perfect texture (and even a bit of protein), and vanilla for flavor.
Then stir in the dry ingredients. For my muffins, I like using white whole wheat flour. I always find that it bakes up so nicely and never leaves my baked sweets dry or crumbly. Of course, you could use your favorite gluten-free flour blend too.
Now, the spices. I love using the warming spices commonly used in chai tea… cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, all-spice, and nutmeg. It’s the time of year when things are bitter cold, so these warming spices are what I crave when baking. Plus, cooking and baking with spices is not only incredibly healthy (spices are full of antioxidants that help fight off those winter colds and keep us healthy), but they also make your home smell amazing too.
Once the dry ingredients have been mixed into the wet, stir in the dark chocolate chunks. And that’s it – done. Now you have chai-spiced banana muffin batter. Time to bake.
Let’s talk about that salted honey butter…
The muffins only take about twenty or so minutes to bake, but while they’re baking you should make yourself some salted honey butter. Is it absolutely necessary? No not at all, but will it make your muffins feel extra special and even more delicious? Definitely!
What’s not to love about creamy butter, sweet honey, and a pinch of flaky sea salt? It’s just what your healthy..ish banana muffin needs. Trust me on this.
The plan? Enjoy the first Friday of January by staying in tonight and baking up these easy muffins. Fingers crossed it’s a snowy night for you all too. Because I must say, these muffins are especially delicious on cold and snowy Friday nights. The best tip I can give you? Eat these warm, right out of the oven with the chocolate all gooey, along with a good smear of salty honey butter too.
Also, double the recipe. Make a double batch tonight and saving the leftovers for a quick weekday breakfast or afternoon snack. Or? Gift the extra batch to your neighbor, best friend, or whoever you pass on the street. January can be a bit of a depressing month with the short, cold days and the holidays behind us. It’s always nice to do something thoughtful for others, even if it’s as simple as baking (delicious) banana muffins.
If you make these one bowl chocolate chunk chai banana muffins, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
One Bowl Chocolate Chunk Chai Banana Muffins
Servings: 12 muffins
Calories Per Serving: 316 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 4 medium overly ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 1/4 cup mashed)
- 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
- 1/4 cup honey
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour, or all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1/4 teaspoon ground all-spice
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup semi-sweet or dark chocolate chunks
Salted Honey Butter
- 4 tablespoons salted butter, at room temperature
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1/2 teaspoon flaky sea salt
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 12 muffin tins with paper liners.2. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the mashed bananas, coconut oil, honey, eggs, and vanilla until combined. Add the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, all-spice, and salt, mix until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chunks. 3. Divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups. Transfer to the oven and bake for 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.4. Meanwhile, make the honey butter. In a small bowl, combine the butter, honey, and salt. 5. Serve the muffins warm or at room temperature smeared with honey-butter.
Notes
To Make Gluten Free: Use an equal amount of your favorite gluten free flour blend in place of the all-purpose flour. I recommend Cup4Cup gluten free flour.
Storing: these muffins keep well for 3-4 days at room temperature.
WOW!!! This was the easiest recipe and these muffins are incredible! Thank you for yet another stellar recipe! I am loving all of the spices and dark chocolate, too.
Hey Hilary,
I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe, thanks so much for making it! xTieghan
We have made these at least 10 times. They are fantastic. It feels like a nutritious breakfast when paired with an egg, a satisfying snack or delicious dessert. My 11-yr old loves them. Don’t skip the salted honey butter. My family didn’t think it was necessary until they saw me eating it. They were tempted and never looked back.
Hey Christina,
I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe, thanks so much for giving it a try! Have a great week:) xTieghan
Good Morning! I’ve never commented on a blog before but the last few weeks I have been cooking so many of your recipes. They have all turned out perfectly and are as delicious as you say. Thank you for doing this work and sharing!
Hey Ashley,
Thanks so much for giving the recipes a try, I am so glad you have been enjoying them! xTieghan
Hi! I would love to make these but I don’t have any overly ripe bananas on hand. Would new ones from the grocery store work okay? Would you do anything further to them?
Hey Julie,
You just want to make sure that they are mashed really well. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
These look delish! Can you give a recommendation for adapting the recipe for a loaf pan?
Hey Annette,
I would go ahead and follow the instructions for this recipe:
https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/chocolate-chunk-coconut-banana-bread/
I hope you love them! Let me know if you have any other questions:) xTieghan
Just wondering in the directions you call it cinnamon butter but there’s no cinnamon in the butter recipe
Hey Audrey! So sorry, that was just a typo in my end! All fixed! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
You mention making cinnamon butter to spread on muffins … do we add cinnamon to the honey butter? Sounds good, too. But salt and cinnamon?! How much?
Hi Rennae! You can of you would like! I would add 1/4 teaspoon each cinnamon and salt. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! And Happy New Year! xTieghan
Made these with Cup4Cup Gluten Free flour and they came out wonderfully – didn’t adjust any other ingredients. Loved that they weren’t too sweet – will maybe even make another batch w/ out the chocolate chips for a healthier hiking snack!
I am so happy you enjoyed these, Lacy! Love the hiking snack idea! Thank you so much! xTieghan
I loved that this was a one bowl recipe and used only common ingredients! I think next time I will decrease the amount of chocolate and boost the spices. The chocolate was by far the predominant flavor profile and the chai flavor was overwhelmed.
I am really glad these turned out so well for you, Sandy! Thank you for trying these! xTieghan
gorgeous photos as usual tieghan. i tried this recipe, but used a large muffin tin instead. the muffin batter stuck to the paper. i had to peel the paper away losing bits of precious muffin. probably could have baked them without a liner? the spices were subtle and i should have added walnuts, most of us in the family need that crunch in a banana muffin. if i give it a shot again i will try without the liners and add walnuts.
Hey Francesca,
I am so sorry you had issues with the liners. Next time I would skip the liners or just be sure to spray them with cooking spray. I hope this helps for next time! xTieghan
These are amazing!! The spices are subtle but perfect. Don’t skip the honey butter- wowza! Thanks for another great recipe!
Thank you Amy!! xTieghan
These are seriously my favorite muffins. I make them anytime I have leftover bananas laying around. I love to make them in my mini muffin tray and spread the honey butter on top all of the muffins while they’re still hot. Amazing recipe
Thank you Dana!! I am really glad this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
I love everything you do! Thank you!
Did you try cinnamon butter or honey butter with these? both would be yummy! I am looking at step 4 in the recipe.
Hi Chris,
Sorry for the confusion that is meant to say honey butter. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Really delicious and not overly sweet. This recipe was super fast to whip up and bake too! The spices are simply lovely! Will definitely bake these again.
Amazing!! Thank you so much for trying these, Alison! I hope you continue to love them! xTieghan
So looking forward to making these! Could I use regular whole wheat flour instead of white whole wheat flour? Would it need to be a different measurement? Thank you so much!!
Hi Francesca,
That is fine to do, keep everything the same. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan