In these apple banana muffins, there are so many delicious fruit flavors and warm, fall spices with a perfect streusel topping. The brown sugar streusel topping adds just enough perfectly sweet crunchiness. Make sure you make a big batch because you won't have any leftovers.
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Everyone in the family absolutely loves it when these apple banana muffins are cooked up fresh, and served soft and warm right out of the oven- they don't last long. This is one of those recipes that is just so easy to make, that you'll never want to buy bakery muffins or muffin mix again.
These are a frequent quick breakfast in our home, and when our local grocery store offers over-ripe bananas for pennies on a pretty regular basis there's no need whatsoever to wait for my morning bananas to turn soft, sweet, and brown-spotted.
🥘 Ingredients
These are some easy-to-find recipe ingredients. Make sure your bananas are browned and overripe.
- Bananas - 3 large, overripe bananas.
- Eggs - 2 large eggs that have been beaten.
- Apples - 2 medium-sized, semi-sweet apples (like Honeycrisp).
- Butter - ⅓ cup of melted butter (or coconut oil).
- Sugar - 1 cup of granulated sugar.
- Vanilla Bean Paste - 2 teaspoons of vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract).
- Baking soda - 1½ teaspoon of baking soda.
- Salt - ¼ teaspoon of salt.
- Cinnamon - 1 teaspoon of cinnamon (or, you could use apple pie spice).
- Nutmeg (optional) - 1 teaspoon of nutmeg.
- Flour - 1¾ cups of all-purpose flour.
- Brown Sugar Streusel Recipe - For an awesome streusel topping.
Be sure to see the free printable recipe card below for ingredients, exact amounts & instructions with tips!
🔪 How To Make Apple Banana Muffins
This recipe is pretty straightforward. To get started, grab your food processor, muffin pan, and some mixing bowls.
This recipe will yield a dozen tasty muffins, so double or triple the batch if necessary.
- Preheat. Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and grease, butter, or spray muffin pan(s) with non-stick cooking spray. You can also use paper muffin liners.
- Melt. In a small bowl, use your microwave to melt ⅓ cup of butter (or use oil, I prefer coconut oil) and allow to cool slightly while mashing your 3 over-ripe bananas in a bowl.
- Mix. In the same bowl as the bananas, mix in the 2 large, beaten eggs.
- Chop apples. Use a food processor to finely chop the 2 apples and then add them to the banana mixture. Stir gently to combine.
- Add ingredients. Next, add the melted butter and stir to combine. Then, add 1 cup of sugar, 2 teaspoons of vanilla bean paste, 1½ teaspoons of baking soda, ¼ teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, and 1 teaspoon of nutmeg, if using (*see note). Mix thoroughly.
- Add flour. Next, add 1¾ cups of flour and combine until the flour is fully mixed in to make a lumpy batter.
- Pour. Fill your muffin pan or liner ⅔ of the way full and top with the brown sugar streusel crumb topping mixture (*see note).
- Bake. Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the muffin center comes out clean.
- Cool. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the muffin pan for 5-10 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack. Serve while still warm or allow to cool completely.
These apple banana muffins are perfect exactly as they are, but you can mix in some nuts to add some texture. Make sure you check out my other favorite muffin recipes, too.
💭 Angela's Pro Tips & Recipe Notes
- When spooning in the batter, try an ice cream scoop for even and cleaner distribution into the muffin tins.
- To make your muffins extra flavorful, you can substitute the cinnamon and nutmeg for some delicious apple pie spice!
- Do not overfill the muffin tins, just ⅔ full, and remember they will rise while baking.
- If you have time allow the batter to chill in the refrigerator for 20 to 30 minutes before pouring it into the muffin tins.
- To store: If you happen to have any leftovers, place them in an airtight container (in a single layer) on top of a paper towel. Add a second paper towel on top of the muffins as well. They can be stored for up to 4 days at room temperature.
- To freeze: You can freeze your muffins for up to 3 months. Just let them thaw out at room temperature.
❓ Recipe FAQs
When baking, you'll want to choose apples that aren't too soft that they will turn mushy in the oven. For muffins specifically, I love to use Honeycrisps or Braeburn apples.
You can also check out my articles on the best apples for apple pie as well as the best apples for apple crisps for more apple baking tips!
Nope! Unless your muffins contain meat or cheese, there is no need to store them in the refrigerator. In fact, keeping them at the lower temperature of the fridge will actually cause them to dry out.
Streusel is a tasty, crumbly topping that is made with a base of sugar, butter, and flour. Spices, nuts, and other mix-ins can make each variation unique with different flavors.
😋 More Tasty Muffin Recipes
- Apple Oatmeal Muffins
- Whole Wheat Blood Orange Muffins
- Banana Blueberry Muffins
- Raisin Bran Muffins
- Strawberry Yogurt Muffins
- Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins
Do you love a recipe you tried? Please leave a 5-star 🌟rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page.
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📖 Recipe Card
Apple Banana Muffins with Streusel Topping
Ingredients
- 3 bananas (large, over-ripe)
- 2 large eggs (beaten)
- 2 apples (medium, semi-sweet apple variety)
- ⅓ cup butter (melted, or vegetable oil - coconut oil is best)
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (or extract)
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 portion brown sugar streusel recipe (see recipe)
(Note: 2x or 3x only changes the ingredient list)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and grease, butter, or spray muffin pan(s) with non-stick cooking spray. You can also use the paper muffin liners.
- Melt the butter (or use oil, we prefer coconut oil) and allow to cool slightly while mashing your over-ripe bananas. Mix in the beaten eggs.
- Chop apples by hand or use a food processor, if desired. Add finely chopped apples (I use honeycrisp the most, also braeburn and galas) to the mashed bananas and stir until evenly distributed through the banana mixture.
- Add the melted butter or oil, stir to combine. Then add sugar, vanilla bean paste, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Mix thoroughly, then add the flour and combine until the flour is fully mixed in to make a lumpy batter.
- Fill muffin pan or liner ⅔ full and top with the brown sugar streusel crumb topping mixture.
- Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the muffin center comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the muffin pan for 5-10 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack to cool completely. Or serve while still warm, if desired.
Iwona says
@bake_it_with_love best recipe ever. Your apple banana muffins are the delicious. Thank you
Angela Latimer says
Thank you Iwona!
Beth says
This is a great recipe. Delicious and relatively easy. I cut the sugar in half and used brown sugar. For flour I used 1 cup almond flour and 2/4 cup GF mix from my local co-op. I only had 2 overripe bananas and added in 1/4 c. sour cream. Thanks for sharing this lovely recipe!
Fatima says
What a delicious muffin recipe! Easy prep and clean up. Only change I made was reduced sugar to half cup and used brown sugar and was still sweet enough. Thanks for sharing this great recipe Angela, will definitely make again!
Janessa says
Want to make these tomorrow but I only have green apples. Normally when I read comments on cooking recipes I feel so bad for OP! But now I understand, I’d just love your opinion. I’m going to use green apple anyway 😂 unless someone says, “stop! I tried it, and it was terrible.” Cheers and bake on 🙂
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
You're safe to use any tart or semi-sweet apple in this muffin recipe as long as they're firm. Soft apples, to me, result in an unpleasant texture. Thanks for asking!
Liz says
So yum!
I thought a cup sounded like a lot of sugar so I did 1/3 c white sugar and 1/3 c coconut sugar and they were plenty sweet, especially with banana and apple in them. You could easily halve the sugar and they’d still taste great! I didn’t even do the topping and we devoured them.
Cathy D. says
Delicious. Made the recipe as written. I wouldn't change a thing. Give them a try. You won't be disappointed.
Amy says
I found this recipe while looking for something to do with brown bananas, and it was a hit! It was easy to make in just one bowl (two bowls if you count the topping). I did double the butter for the streusel because it seemed a little dry, but otherwise I followed the recipe exactly. The muffins came out moist and fluffy with tons of flavor. My family devoured the entire batch in under three hours!