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    Food » Air Fryer Banana Muffins

    Air Fryer Banana Muffins

    Posted: 01/18/2023 | Last updated: 01/18/2023 by Erin K. Browne Leave a Comment
    Post may contain affiliate links via Amazon Associates or other programs. (Disclosure)

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    Try making banana muffins in your air fryer once, and you'll never go back! Tender and bursting with banana flavor in the middle, slightly crunchy on the outside. You'll love this quick breakfast or snack!

    Overhead view of air fryer banana muffins with one sliced open to see the tender and nutty interior.
    Baked, erm, air-fried to perfection.

    Why Are These Muffins Better Than The Oven?

    I mean, I know there's nothing complicated about using your oven to bake muffins - except for the additional preheating time - but making air fryer banana muffins adds something special. The texture of the outside of the muffin gets a little bit crunchy after being air fried, while the inside remains tender and moist. The nuts on the top also get a bit toasty and, well, that's just delicious.

    How Do I Fit A Muffin Pan In An Air Fryer?

    In most cases... you don't. There are some jumbo air fryers out there that might be able to fit a smaller muffin tin, but here's my special secret...

    Buy a set of free-standing silicone muffin cups like these!

    They will hold their shape when batter is added so you can just place them directly into the fry basket - as many at a time that will fit.

    You don't even have to worry about greasing the cups. The muffins will come right out of them easily.

    I clean mine by turning them inside out and putting them into the top rack of my dishwasher. So easy!

    Colorful silicone baking cups holding banana muffing batter.
    Silicone baking cups are perfect for the air fryer!

    Always Use Over Ripe Bananas In Muffins

    Step away from the green or yellow bananas when making air fryer banana muffins - you will regret it otherwise!

    Using underripe or 'just ripe' bananas will not impart much banana flavor into your muffins, and that's just sad. Choose bananas that are heavily speckled or almost totally brown. Yeah, bananas like this may not be too good to eat all by themselves, but when making banana cookies, muffins, cakes, bread, or whatever else, you'll get much stronger fresh banana flavor.

    Don't have overripe bananas? Roast them in the oven! Preheat your oven to 300F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place unpeeled whole bananas on the prepared sheet and put them in the oven until the peels have turned black and they start to ooze just a little. Keep a close eye on them!

    In The Mood For Regular Banana Bread? Try My Favorite Recipe!

    Save Some Nuts For The Top!

    There's a big reason why I reserve some of the nuts to sprinkle onto the batter after its been added to the muffin cups. Allowing some nuts to remain on the very top allows them to get all toasted and crunchy in the air fryer. It's a small thing, yes, but really adds a special touch to the finished muffins, especially when enjoyed warm right out of the air fryer.

    A cast iron bowl holding a pile of fluffy air fryer banana muffins with toasted nuts on top.
    The toasty nuts on the outside are key.

    What Ingredients Do I Need?

    There's nothing too fancy needed to whip up these tasty little banana muffins in your air fryer, but let's take a look at what you'll need to grab:

    • 3 big ol' bananas, very ripe - the browner the better, just make sure they aren't spoiled.
    • ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter - don't worry about sitting it out beforehand, you're gonna melt it anyway.
    • ¾ cup light brown sugar - you can use dark for a bolder flavor profile
    • 2 large eggs - go ahead and beat them a bit so that they are easier to mix in with your other ingredients
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract - as always, use the pure stuff - never imitation!
    • Dry ingredients: 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon baking powder, and ½ teaspoon salt - pretty basic stuff here.
    • 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans - you can use whatever nuts you have on hand, honestly. I've used some leftover pistachios before and let me just say... yummy.

    Not too crazy, right? It's likely you have most of this stuff kicking around in your kitchen already. You might even already have some leftover bananas once your kids have decided that they hate them after being obsessed with them last week. IYKYK.

    Now for the full recipe and method, just keep scrolling to the recipe card!

    Do I Have To Preheat My Air Fryer?

    The million dollar question for every air fryer recipe in existence, right?

    My answer may frustrate you... do you need to preheat your air fryer? Kinda sorta.

    I don't pay much attention to pre-heating ALL the way to the desired temperature, but I do go ahead and turn it on, set the temp, and let it run for about 5 minutes before adding what I want to fry. Tends to work well for me... maybe it'll work for you, too?

    A wood plate with banana muffins, fried in the air fryer, with one sliced open to see the moist interior.
    Slightly crisp on the outside, tender on the inside.

    Storage and Freezing Instructions

    Let muffins cool completely and store at room temperature in an airtight container for 2 days. Refrigerate to keep them a bit longer. You can reheat muffins in the microwave or toast them in your toaster oven, regular oven, or air fryer!

    Freezer Instructions: Place cooled muffins into a freezer-safe zip top gallon bag. Freeze, using within 3 months for best quality, though they will be safe to consume after that time if frozen properly.

    Thawing instructions: Just pop one out of the freezer bag and let it thaw on your counter - it won't take long! 20 minutes or so?

    Thank you so much for visiting my blog and I hope you enjoy this recipe!

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    Air Fryer Banana Muffins

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    Super moist simple banana nut muffins that come together quickly in the air fryer.

    • Total Time: 20 minutes
    • Yield: 12 muffins 1x

    Ingredients

    Scale
    • 3 large bananas, very ripe 
    • ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
    • ¾ cup light brown sugar, packed
    • 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
    • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
    • 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
    • 1 teaspoon baking soda
    • ½ teaspoon baking powder
    • ½ teaspoon salt
    • 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans, divided

    Instructions

    1. In a large bowl, mash bananas with a fork until just a few chunks remain. Pour in butter and brown sugar and mix until fully combined. Add eggs and vanilla and mix well.
    2. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add dry ingredients to wet in 2-3 additions, mixing on low and stopping when just a few flour streaks remain.
    3. Reserve ⅓ cup chopped nuts and fold remaining ⅔ cup into the batter. Distribute batter to baking cups and top each one with remaining nuts.
    4. Preheat air fryer to 350F (or just turn it on and run it for about 5 minutes). Place silicone cups in fry basket (be careful, don't burn yourself) and air fry 9-11 minutes or until muffins are golden and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with only a few moist crumbs. Air fryers will vary wildly so check them early. Use tongs to remove the cups from the air fryer: they will be hot!
    5. Let cool in baking cups 5 minutes before removing. If your air fryer will not hold all of the muffins, work in batches until they are all baked.

    Notes

    Most air fryers won't be large enough to accommodate a muffin pan, so I recommend getting a set of silicone baking cups like these. They'll stand on their own and you can set them right inside of the fry basket.

    Reserving a portion of the nuts and adding them to the top of the muffins just prior to air frying will result in pretty, visible toasted nuts on the top that have an amazing crunch!

    • Author: Erin
    • Prep Time: 10 mins
    • Cook Time: 10 mins
    • Category: Breakfast, Dessert
    • Method: Air Fryer

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    Thanks so much for visiting my blog!

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    About Erin K. Browne

    Erin K. Browne is an author of a cookbook (The Unofficial Dollywood Cookbook, Simon & Schuster/Adams Media) and Dollywood guide (The Ultimate Guide to Dollywood, Simon & Schuster/Adams Media) She has over two decades experience with recipe development. Erin is a mom of two human babies and a sweet kitty named Biscuit Fingers ("Ketto"). She loves comfy clothes, sarcastic t-shirts, and reading thrillers. Make her day and toss her a like on Facebook or follow her on Instagram. Post may contain affiliate links including those via the Amazon Associates program

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