The softest, most delicious sourdough banana muffins you’ve ever tasted. A light and fluffy banana muffin, topped with a crunchy and sweet oat crumble. Make them quick or long ferment.
![a unwrapped sourdough banana muffin with a oat crumble on a wood cutting board with oat crumble surrounding the muffin. There is a tray of muffins in the background](https://www.farmhouseonboone.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/sourdough-banana-muffins-7-1024x683.jpg)
This is one of those recipes that you might just want to bake so your house has the smells of brown sugar, cinnamon, and banana wafting through the halls.
Now that it seems as winter has blown in, leaving fall behind, I’m ready for all the coziness the season brings.
These sourdough banana muffins are hands down one of the best muffins I’ve ever experienced. They are a take on my sourdough banana bread, but made extra special with the oat crumb topping.
You could totally make them without the topping, but why would you want to do that?
I had to play around with the long fermented version and am totally amazed at how light and fluffy they came out after an 18 hour fermentation. So if you have the time and want the extra benefit of fermented grains, I highly recommend it.
Why You Will Love This Recipe:
Delicious: These are seriously so, so good. Like, can’t stop at just one, slightly dangerous kind of good.
Soft and fluffy: Even the long-fermented version yielded a light muffin.
Oat crumble: Brown sugar, butter, oats, and cinnamon make the most wonderful, crunchy, and sweet topping that takes this already delicious banana muffin recipe up a few more notches.
Sourdough Banana Muffin Tips:
- For a more tangy flavor, use sourdough discard that hasn’t been fed in a day, or allow to long ferment. For a less tangy flavor, use an active sourdough starter.
- This recipe can be long fermented for more health benefits, or made into a quick version for a yummy, fast recipe.
- If you want to long ferment this recipe, add an extra 1/2 cup of sourdough starter. Otherwise the batter won’t be moist enough for the ferment. Use an ice cream scoop to evenly and easily scoop the batter into the muffin wells.
- I highly suggest serving them warm. They taste best, in my opinion, right out of the oven.
Ingredients:
Butter – Unsalted
Dark brown sugar – Light brown sugar will also work, but will have less flavor.
Bananas – Super ripe bananas give a sweeter and more prominent banana flavor.
Eggs
Sourdough starter discard – This is sourdough starter that hasn’t been fed. If you want to long ferment I would recommend adding an extra 1/2 cup of sourdough starter. This gives it enough liquid to saturate the flour.
Vanilla extract – Homemade or store-bought
All-purpose flour
Leaveners – Baking soda and baking powder
Salt
Crumble Topping
Brown sugar – Dark or light will work. Dark will give a richer flavor.
Oats – Rolled or quick oats work great. Just don’t use steel cut.
Flour – I usually just use all-purpose, but if you cannot tolerate any unfermented grains you could use gluten free or einkorn flour.
Butter – Unsalted and super soft, so it easily combines with the rest of the crumble ingredients.
Cinnamon – Adds a yummy, warm flavor.
FAQ:
Are banana muffins healthy?
Typically they are high in sugar and may not be the healthiest choice.
What makes a muffin fluffy?
There are a few things that help make a muffin fluffy, such as using the right amount of leaveners, having the eggs and butter at room temperature, and not overmixing.
Can I add fresh bananas to muffin mix?
Yes. Usually you can use up to two mashed bananas, then omit some or all of the liquid.
How To Make Quick Sourdough Banana Muffins Recipe:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Melt butter in a microwave safe dish, in a saucepan, or small cast iron pan.
Lightly grease a muffin tin or line with cupcake liners.
In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment or a bowl, mix together melted butter and brown sugar for five minutes.
Turn off the mixer and add in eggs, vanilla, mashed banana, and sourdough starter.
In a separate bowl, stir together dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt) well.
Add in dry ingredients 1/3 at a time and mix until just incorporated. You don’t want to over-mix.
Add equal amounts of batter to each muffin well. I like to use an ice cream scoop for this.
Top each muffin with the oat crumble.
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick or cake tester comes out clean.
Allow the muffins to cool completely. Enjoy
How To Make Long Fermented Sourdough Banana Muffins:
At 12-24 hours before you plan to bake the banana muffins, in a stand mixer bowl with a paddle attachment, add brown sugar and melted butter.
Mix together until well combined for about 3-5 minutes.
Add sourdough starter (1 cup rather than just 1/2 cup) and flour to the brown sugar and butter. Combine well.
Cover with a towel or plastic wrap and allow to ferment at room temperature for 6-24 hours. I just leave it right in my stand mixer bowl.
The next day, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line or grease muffin tins.
Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, add eggs, vanilla, mashed banana, salt, baking powder, and baking soda to the mixing bowl.
I highly recommend using a stand mixer, because the fermented dough will be stiff and difficult to combine with the other ingredients by hand.
Start on low and work up to medium speed until completely combined. There shouldn’t be large chunks. I find if there are, you can break them up a bit and then mix it again.
Pour into the muffin pan.
Top with crumb toppings.
Bake for 20-22 minutes.
Allow to cool and enjoy.
Storage:
Store in an air-tight container for up to 4 days at room temperature. Or freeze as a whole loaf or in slices with parchment paper between in a freezer Zip-lock bag.
Optional Add-Ins
Usually I just make it regular delicious banana muffins, but you could also add about 1 cup of these add-ins.
- Chopped nuts
- Chocolate Chips
- Dried Fruit
- Seeds
- Coconut
Find More Sourdough Recipes:
- Sourdough Pumpkin Bread
- Sourdough Pumpkin Muffins With Oat Crumble
- Easy Sourdough Pizza Dough
- Sourdough Cheese Bread
- Sourdough Croissants
Sourdough Banana Muffins
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup melted unsalted butter
- 1 cup dark brown sugar
- 3 ripe bananas 350g
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup sourdough starter discard*
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Dry Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
Crumb Topping (Optional)
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup oats
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 4 tablespoons softened unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Melt butter in a microwave safe dish, in a saucepan, or small cast iron pan.
- Lightly grease a muffin tin or line with cupcake liners.
- In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment or a bowl, mix together melted butter and brown sugar for five minutes.
- Turn off the mixer and add in eggs, vanilla, mashed banana, and sourdough starter.
- In a separate bowl, stir together dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt) well.
- Add in dry ingredients 1/3 at a time and mix until just incorporated. You don’t want to over-mix.
- Add equal amounts of batter to each muffin well. I like to use an ice cream scoop for this.
- Top each muffin with the oat crumble.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick or cake tester comes out clean.
- Allow the muffins to cool completely. Enjoy
Notes
- * If you want to long ferment this recipe, add an extra 1/2 cup of sourdough starter to. Otherwise the batter won’t be moist enough for the ferment. Long fermented directions in the post above.
- For a more tangy flavor, use sourdough discard that hasn’t been fed in a day, or allow to long ferment. For a less tangy flavor, use an active sourdough starter.
- Crumble topping is optional, but adds a super yummy flavor and texture.
- I highly suggest serving them warm. They taste best, in my opinion, right out of the oven.
Claire says
Delicious! My new go-to recipe for banana muffins. Only 2 of us, so I half the recipe and get 10 muffins. I was being lazy today so I just mixed up the batter in a blender, roughly following the steps as given. Worked beautifully!
Erica says
This was such a good recipe. Maybe my fav banana bread one yet. I decided to use a loaf pan instead so I did actually need to add 10-15 more minutes to the cook time. It came out this sort of buttery deep caramelize kinda edges , and very soft and not too sweet , just great.
Hali says
Wonderfully yummy! My entire family loved them. I used fresh ground spelt flour instead of all purpose and sucanat in place of brown sugar. They turned out light, fluffy and delicious! Will be making these again soon!
Pat H says
OH MY GOSH! These are the best banana muffins ever. The crumble topping puts them above any I have ever made or eaten before. I made the quick version, and it was perfection. Light, moist, rich banana flavor with a crunchy topping. I got 18 muffins from the batch. This will be a regular recipe in our house.
Rory says
These are amazing!
Rory says
These are amazing!!
Gabby says
Literally the BEST muffin recipe I’ve ever found and tried!! Winner with the entire family and I share with SO MANY!
Sandy Barnett says
I had 4 bananas that needed to be used so I made these muffins. Hubby said these were the best banana muffins he has had. That’s a win!
Emma B says
A great way to use up sourdough discard. Easy to make. My family loves them. Thank you for the recipe.
Sarah says
Can’t wait to try these! Love your blog! Is the nutrition information meant for one muffin or for 100g?
Lisa Bass says
One muffin!
Kristina H. says
These turned out AMAZING! I’ve made a lot of banana muffins, but this recipe was by far the best yet! The oat crumble on top was a GAME CHANGER! I will be making these again and again. So glad I found a delicious recipe for my sourdough discard!
Georgie says
Excited to try these! Is there a way to ferment the crumble topping too?