This is an easy muffin recipe that can be whipped up quickly for an afternoon snack! No mixer required. You are just a couple of bowls, a wooden spoon and a few overripe bananas away from a batch of delicious Quick and Easy Sourdough Banana Muffins!
Overripe bananas, yogurt on the verge of expiration and sourdough discard are three things that often turn up in my kitchen. These muffins are the perfect solution. I think every care giver needs a go-to muffin recipe that can both entertain and nourish small children. What I love about this particular recipe is that I don’t need to cream butter or even bother to plug in my mixer. I can simply get out a couple of bowls and a spoon or spatula and my children can happily help bring this batter together in a jiffy. And if you like these Quick and Easy Sourdough Banana Muffins, be sure to try my buttery Banana Bread Muffins, Greek Yogurt Banana Bread and Sourdough Banana Bread recipes!
WHY SOURDOUGH STARTER IN A MUFFIN RECIPE?
- –Flavor! The primary reason I like to use sourdough discard in recipes is for flavor. The complex fermented flavor of sourdough really plays nicely in baked goods to help balance out sweetness.
- –Texture! Sourdough discard adds moisture to recipes and can even make them more tender and fluffy if incorporated correctly.
- –Economy! Whenever you are feeding and maintaining a sourdough starter, there is always discard to reckon with. Instead of tossing it, I keep a cache in the refrigerator and use it in all sorts of recipes like my Easy One Bowl Sourdough Brownies, Sourdough Lemon Bars and even Sourdough Pie Crust!
HOW THIS RECIPE COMES TOGETHER
- 1. Whisk all dry ingredients. The flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg are first whisked well together in a large bowl.
- 2. Mash bananas and sugars. In a separate bowl from the dry ingredients, mash the ripe bananas with both the granulated and brown sugars until syrupy.
- 3. Whisk remaining wet ingredients. Room temperature eggs, sourdough discard, Greek yogurt and vanilla extract are added to the bowl of bananas and sugar. Whisk well.
- 4. Add wet to dry. Pour the bowl of wet ingredients into the bowl of dry ingredients and begin to mix.
- 5. Add additions. At this point, chopped nuts or chocolate chips can be added to the banana muffin batter. Stir until no streaks of flour remain.
- 6. Portion batter. Scoop the muffin batter evenly amongst 12 lined muffin cups.
- 7. Bake! These muffins start out at a higher temperature and then bake in a lower temperature, which helps them dome on top a bit.
TIPS & SUBSTITUTIONS
- –Use room temperature ingredients. Making sure the eggs, yogurt and even sourdough starter or discard is at room temperature will create a more evenly textured batter that bakes well.
- –Banana muffin additions. Milk, semi sweet or dark chocolate chips are my personal favorite addition to banana muffins. Toasted, chopped walnuts or pecans are a close second. Add up to a 1/2 cup of just one or both additions.
- –Grease your muffin liners! If you lightly spray each paper muffin cup before adding the batter, this will help the baked muffins to release from the paper cups much easier post-bake.
- -Subsitutions: Sour cream can easily be swapped out for Greek yogurt. Thick buttermilk can be used as well, but I don’t reommend using milk or homemade buttermilk with vinegar, as it will make the muffin batter a little too thin.
- -Bake at a high temp first. I love to bake muffins for 5 minutes in a 425 degree F oven first, then lower the temperature to 350 degrees F so they can continue baking. This flash of high heat at the beginning helps muffins and cupcakes to dome more on top!
Quick and Easy Sourdough Banana Muffins
A quick and easy one bowl recipe for sourdough banana muffins!
Equipment
- 1 kitchen scale
- 2 mixing bowls
- 1 whisk
- 1 spatula
- 1 potato masher optional
- 1 2 ounce disher optional
- 1 12 count muffin tin
- paper muffin liners
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups (180 grams) all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 1/2 cup (360 grams) mashed banana
- 1/2 cup (110 grams) brown sugar
- 1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
- 2 eggs at room temperature
- 1/2 cup (120 grams) sourdough starter at peak, past peak or discard at room temperature
- 1/2 cup (120 grams) whole milk plain Greek yogurt at room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup (85 grams) chopped nuts or chocolate chips optional
Instructions
- Preheat a conventional oven to 425 degrees F.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.
- In a separate bowl, mash the bananas with the granulated and brown sugars until syrupy. Whisk in the eggs, sourdough starter or discard, yogurt and vanilla extract.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and gently stir until no streaks of flour remain. If you want to add chopped nuts or chocolate chips, add them before the batter is completely mixed.
- Line a 12 count muffin tin with paper liners and lightly grease them with pan spray. This will help the muffins release from the liners after baking.
- Portion the banana muffin batter evenly amongst the 12 lined cups. Bake at 425 degrees F for 5 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F and continue to baking for 10-12 minutes until a cake tester poked into the center of a muffin comes out clean.
- Let the muffins cool to room temperature before enjoying! Muffins can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Notes
To freeze the muffins: Line the cooled muffins on to a sheet tray and place the tray directly into the freezer. Let them freeze solid and then transfer the muffins to an airtight container or freezer-safe bag. Muffins will keep well in the freezer for up to 3 months.
