Coconut Crumb Banana Muffins

Banana chocolate chip muffins are topped with a sweet and crunchy coconut crumb topping. Using coconut oil gives these muffins an extra boost of coconut flavor.

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This is a super simple, one bowl recipe for banana chocolate chip muffins, which contains just the right amount of banana and chocolate. Plus, it has coconut oil for an extra punch of flavor in the muffin and in the special coconut crumb topping for the muffin.

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• About this Recipe
• Ingredients
• Instructions
• Special Tips
• Related Recipes
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It only takes 10 minutes to mix the batter and 25 minutes to bake the muffins.

You can choose whether to make them bakery style in parchment paper liners or homestyle with simple paper or aluminum liners. Whichever you choose, they are super moist and delicious for breakfast, brunches, or as an anytime treat.

About this Recipe

Since I’ve already shared a recipe for blueberry muffins, I wanted to do something very different and very special. Immediately, I thought of banana muffins. Then, I thought, how about banana chocolate chip? After that, I thought about hummingbird cake. Hmmmm… hummingbird is delicious, but way too many ingredients. Finally, I thought about coconut. Oh yeah… that would be lovely!

What could be better than banana muffins chock full of bananas and mini-chocolate chips? Coconut! Just like banana and chocolate, banana and coconut go together very, very well and I decided to double down on the coconut and use coconut oil as the fat in both the muffin and the topping.

So, the only other thing this flavor profile needs is a nice crunch, so a coconut streusel or crumb topping has got to be on this muffin. A sugary sweet crunch on a soft delicious muffin elevates any ordinary muffin to dizzying heights. Yum!

This recipe is very similar to the basic muffin ingredients on my Quick Bread Recipes Chart. Essentially, all I have done is add mashed bananas, reduced the volume of milk, and used coconut oil.

Sound delicious? Great! So, Let's Bake!

Ingredients

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Light Brown Sugar. Light brown sugar brings a lovely light caramel and flavor to these banana muffins.

Coconut Oil. Oil is required for these muffins and the flavor of coconut oil greatly complements and enhances the banana flavor. It is well worth it to invest in a good quality organic coconut oil. It is shelf stable and keeps well for many months at room temperature.

Egg. Eggs add protein that improves the crumb. Always use large eggs unless a recipe stipulates a different size.

Over-Ripe Bananas. The star of this bread is the banana. For the very best banana flavor the bananas must be over ripe. Banana peels that are mostly spotted with black are the best to use. Those bananas will give the most intense banana flavor to the bread. As you peel the banana, the fruit will be very soft, translucent, and oozing.

Milk. Milk add moisture and also protein. I also prefer to use whole milk over 2% milk fat products because the dairy fat adds more flavor and texture.

Vanilla Extract. Vanilla extract is an excellent backdrop to the banana flavor of these muffins. If you don't have any vanilla extract, you can omit it from this recipe, but the flavor will be missing a flavorful extra dimension.

Baking Powder. Baking powder is one of the two leavenings used in this recipe. It gives rise to the bread during the bake. Choose an aluminum free type of baking powder for the best taste.

Baking Soda. Baking soda is another leavening and begins its work before the bake and continues to work as the bread is baking. Letting the bread batter rest in the pan, gives baking soda a chance to work its extra magic before the bread is baked.

Salt. Salt is the magic all-purpose seasoning that makes everything taste better! Even sweet bakes and breads benefit from the addition of salt.

All-Purpose Flour. Exactly as its name implies, all-purpose flour is a good choice for most bakes. There is no need to weigh the flour if you use the "fluff, scoop, and level" technique to measure your flour.

Begin by scooping flour in its canister multiple times to aerate and fluff it. Then scoop up flour in the measuring cup to overfill it. Lastly, level the flour in the measuring cup by drawing the flat edge of a knife or icing spatula across the top to level the volume.

Mini Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips. Small Chocolate Chips will distribute more evenly throughout the batter. I'm partial to Nestle's. But any high quality and good tasting semi-sweet tiny morsel will be a good choice.

Instructions

Preheat and Prepare

Preheat the oven to 375° F (190° C). Line a medium-sized muffin pan with 9 cupcake/muffin liners. Use liners made of parchment paper or aluminum foil for the easiest release of the muffin from the liner. If liners are not available, grease the bottoms of each muffin cup and let the muffins cool completely in the pan before removing.

Coconut Crumb Topping

In a small bowl mix together the light brown sugar, granulated white sugar, flour, and shredded coconut with a fork.

Add the coconut oil and stir until mixture is combined. Set aside for later.

Banana Muffin Batter

In a medium sized bowl beat together the light brown sugar, coconut oil, egg, mashed bananas, milk, and vanilla. Stir in the baking powder, baking soda, and salt and continue to mix well.

Add the flour all at once into the wet ingredients. Using a rubber spatula gently fold the flour into the wet ingredients. Mix only until the batter is barely mixed. Don't worry if streaks and clumps of the flour are still be visible. After folding in the chocolate chips the batter will be completely mixed.

Gently fold in the chocolate chips.

Evenly divide the batter between the 9 baking cups, filling each cup ¾ full. Top the center of each muffin with the reserved coconut crumb topping.

Bake the muffins 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of a muffin comes out clean and the tops are slightly golden brown.

Remove the pan from the oven and let the muffins cool for 5 minutes in the pan before removing and transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Special Tips

Use Over Ripe Bananas

The secret to really delicious banana muffins, cakes, and breads, is to use very ripe, brown-spotted bananas and actually, over-ripe bananas are the very best! My special trick is to freeze any bananas that escaped being eaten in their prime. I just peel them and put them in a plastic freezer bag. Then, when I need perfect bananas for baking, I have them on hand. All I need to do is thaw them thoroughly before mashing and adding them to my batter.

Use Grease-Proof Liners

Always use grease proof baking cup and muffin liners. Parchment paper liners are really nice. They look great, peel away easily, and they make your muffins look like they came from a bakery.

I actually love the aluminum baking cups and have used them for years. They peel away easily from any baked muffin or cupcake and I think the aluminum is very attractive for some baked goods.

Another good choice are the paper liners. They come in a variety of colors and patterns and can make your muffins and cupcakes look very pretty. Generally, they are greaseproof and peel away easily.

But then there are those paper stand alone cups, the pretty ones that are sold for parties and special occasions.

They are adorable! But, not all of them are grease proof. Just be aware that they may look grease stained and spotted if you use them for baking the muffins. These will look great on your brunch table but you should bake your muffins first in a normal pan and then place them in these cute liners after they are fully baked.

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