Chocolate Chip Banana Oatmeal Muffins are seriously scrumptious! Soft, fresh from the oven and packed with chocolate chips and mashed banana you get the best of breakfast worlds on one plate.
Recipes like my Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Muffins and Cinnamon Oatmeal Muffins give us taste, texture and yum.
My Blueberry Banana Oatmeal Muffins, Blackberry Oatmeal Muffins and Oatmeal Strawberry Muffins give us a variety of options so we don't get bored of the same tastes every time we want to get our bake on!
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Recipe Highlights
These are the top reasons why you will love this recipe and come to make it time and time again!
- Combine and stir method: we only need 1 large mixing bowl and 1 wooden spoon to make the recipe (and the muffin tin). I intentionally cut out the sifter (Smarties Cookies and Malteser Biscuits do require) as it is not needed! We simply combine and stir the ingredients.
- Oat muffins use dried oats, we soak our oats, to create oatmeal muffins! This means the texture is moist and soft!
- Quick and easy: in less than 1 hour, you can have freshly homemade baked muffins on the table. Better yet they are wholesome and nourishing!
- Healthy Option: I have used self raising whole wheat flour and brown sugar as a means to create muffins to keep you fuller for longer!
- Lunch Box Fillers: use a 12 hole standard muffin tin to make 12 of these which mean 12 snacks are covered!
- Kid Friendly and Freezer Friendly recipe: there are many versatile things to love about a recipe that the kids will eat and that can be frozen as a way to meal prep!
- Fuss Free: there is nothing too detailed or involved in making these. Soaking the oats is simply allowing them to get moisture into them.
- Grab and go: skip the take out lines and convenience store snacks for homemade freshly baked ones instead!
Ingredients
The photo below is your visual guide to use when shopping. The printable recipe card at the bottom of the post has measurements and further instructions.
As you can see, the recipe calls for:
- Oats: I use old fashioned rolled oats for this recipe. They don't have to be an expensive brand. I always grab a bag and have them on hand for breakfast, baking and muffin making!
- Wholemeal self-raising flour: (Also known as self raising whole wheat flour)I love using this for muffins as it makes them taste more wholesome and delicious. The best thing is we skip sifting it and simply stir it into the mix! It delivers deliciousness to every bite of the muffins. A home brand version is fine, you don't need the premium stuff for this recipe!
- Buttermilk: we use this to ensure our muffins are soft and moist. It will be found in the milk section of the store, most often in a small carton. The texture is thick like cream and the colour is more yellow in appearance.
- Brown sugar: this is my favourite to use with oatmeal muffins as it is smooth and soft. It can be softly packed into the measuring cup.
- Olive oil: we add this also for soft, moist muffins. If you want to use an alternative such as sunflower or coconut oil you can.
- Egg: I recommend using a free range egg. This is part of the wet ingredients that we use to soak the oats.
- Milk Chocolate Chips: You can use milk, dark or white chocolate chips to the equivalent amount. When serving the muffins heated or hot, these melt and combined with the banana are simply to die for.
- Bananas: The more spotty your bananas, the easier they will be to mash. So if they are a couple of days old, they are totally fine to use!! A small bowl and fork is the best way to mash them as you don't loose any over the edges like you would with a flat plate.
- Baking Powder: this helps the muffins to rise. As much as we use self-raising flour in the recipe, it is also a good idea to use a small amount of this for full, robust muffins.
- Salt: only a touch of this is needed. It helps bring out the flavours of the other ingredients when making baked goods.
Top Tip 1: Don't worry about using expensive ingredients. Budget friendly, home brand options are totally fine!
Instructions
Here is what you need to do to make the recipe. I haven't shown you the banana mashing step, however, I recommend you do this as the oats are soaking.
- Oats and wet ingredients into mixing bowl (Photo 1)
- Stir to combine, let sit 10 to 15 mins (Photo 2)
- Add dry ingredients to muffin batter (Photo 3)
- Stir to combine (Photo 4)
Soaking the oats with the wet ingredients is to achieve a moist texture to the muffins.
It is ideal to do this for 10 to 15 mins.
I recommend you use this time to mash the banana or grease the muffin tin.
- Add choc chips and mashed banana to mixture (Photo 5)
- Stir to combine (Photo 6)
- Transfer the muffin mixture into the tin (Photo 7)
- Oven bake the muffins for 30 mins (Photo 8)
We need to be gentle when stirring the choc chips and mashed banana into the mixture. So that these ingredients don't get mushed all through the mix. Simply folding them in is ok.
You can use an ice cream scoop or 2 soup spoons to portion the mixture out across the muffin tin.
Top Tip 2: For lunch box or snack muffins use a mini muffin tin or regular sized one. For breakfast or brunch servings, use a Texas larger muffin tin.
Texas sized muffins are great for breakfast or brunch.
Mini sized or regular sized muffins are ideal for snacking and lunch boxes.
Serving Suggestions
The best way to serve the muffins is hot with a little butter!
You can also go all out and use a drizzle of honey and dust of cocoa powder for true café style decadence!
Substitutions and Variations
Here are the mix in and outs that you may want to try when you make the recipe:
- Use white or dark chocolate chips instead of milk ones.
- You can use berries instead of the banana for an optional switch out/in.
- Add a teaspoon of vanilla essence.
- Or a teaspoon of ground cinnamon.
- Cocoa powder or icing sugar are both good options to dust with.
- Maple syrup or honey is a good option to drizzle over.
You can switch up the sizes also. I used both a tray of Texas muffins and regular muffins so I could have various options in the freezer.
How to Guide
How to Store
Store the muffins in an air tight container for up to 3 days.
They do not need to be refrigerated.
How to Freeze
Allow the muffins to cool fully before freezing.
Wrap in cling wrap and freeze for up to 3 months.
Defrost and reheat prior to serving.
How to Reheat
Reheating the muffins in the microwave is the fastest option.
They only take 1 minute!
You can also use the air fryer or oven though.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between chocolate chips and chocolate chunks?
Chocolate Chips are smaller than chocolate chunks or melts. Generally chips can be used in recipes where a little bit of chocolate is needed whereas chocolate chunks or melts are melted down to make recipes such as rocky road or fudge.
Can I use broken chocolate instead of chocolate chips?
Using broken chocolate instead of chocolate chips is not advisable as it can lead to mixed results.
Alternative flavours of chocolate chips be it white or dark can be substituted for milk chocolate chips.
Can you put oats in muffins?
Yes, you can put oats into muffins.
If using dried oats either on top of or in the muffins, they will maintain their thin, dried texture.
Oatmeal on the other hand involved soaking the oats in the wet ingredients of the batter before combining it with the remaining dry ingredients.
This is to give the muffins a very moist, soft texture.
What temperature do you bake oatmeal muffins?
The ideal temperature is setting the oven at 180°C / 350-375°F / Gas Mark 4-5. A preheated oven is best.
Why are rolled oats better than instant?
Rolled oats and Instant Oats have different nutritional benefits.
It is a good idea to read the packet of each to compare.
As a general rule of thumb, rolled oats contain more fibre than instant oats.
Related Recipes
I suspect you and I have in common that we love getting our bake and our no bake on! Here are some more recipes that I am guessing will be right up your alley:
- Coffee Slice
- Chocolate Caramel Slice
- Macadamia Caramel Slice
- Peanut Butter Pinwheels
- Zucchini Spice Cake
Go bake on and on an on my friends!
Adrianne xx
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📖 Recipe
Chocolate Chip Banana Oatmeal Muffins
Equipment
- 1 12 hole muffin tin Note 1
- 1 Large mixing bowl
- 1 Wooden spoon
- 1 Ice Cream Scoop Or 2 soup spoons, Note 2
Ingredients
- 2 cups rolled oats Note 3
- 1 ½ cups buttermilk
- ½ cup olive oil
- 1 egg
- 2 cups wholemeal self raising flour Note 4
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup chocolate chips Note 5
- 2 bananas mashed
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180°C / 350-375°F / Gas Mark 4-5.
- In a large mixing bowl combine oats with the buttermilk, olive oil and egg. Stir to combine and let sit for 10 to 15 mins.
- Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, stir to combine.
- Add chocolate chips and mashed banana and stir gently to combine.
- Transfer muffin mixture to muffin tin and place in the middle rack of the oven.
- Bake for 30 mins until a skewer inserted comes out clean with no wet batter. If there is mashed banana on the skewer, wipe that off and reinsert the skewer at a difference place to test doneness.
- Serve warm with butter, honey and icing sugar.
Notes
- Note 1 You can use a regular 12 hole muffin tin OR a Texas (larger size) muffin tin and make 6 big and 4 regular muffins. Big muffins are good for meals and small ones are good for snacks and lunch boxes.
- Note 2 These are to portion the wet muffin mixture into the muffin tin. An ice cream scoop will give you uniform sized muffins with rounded tops.
- Note 3 I use regular rolled oats. We add the wet ingredients to the oats so that it gets absorbed into the oats.
- Note 4 Don't worry about sifting this. Simply add it in and stir to combine. Stir consistently to ensure it is mixed in, however.
- Note 5 You can use your favourite be it milk chocolate, dark chocolate or white chocolate chips. I am using milk chocolate chips.
- Note 6 The easiest way to mash the bananas is to add both to a high edged small bowl, use a standard sized fork to push the banana against the high edges of the bowl. You might loose some over the edges if you use a flat or short rimmed plate.
Monika says
Hello. With re. to the flour...
1) Can we use all-purpose WHITE flour?; and
2) I don't know self-rising flour; how much baking powder would I add here?
Thanks.
Adrianne says
Hi Monica,
I haven't tried the recipe with all purpose white flour so if you do, your result might not be as expected. Generally you would add 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon of salt per 1 cup of flour. However as I already include baking powder and salt in the recipe, all I would do is use 2 cups white flour and 1 additional teaspoon of baking powder. I can't however guarantee that they would come out the exactly the same as the photos. All you could do is try it. Thanks!