Banana Nutella muffins are a classic banana muffin with Nutella spooned in the middle and swirled on top. They’re a delicious buttery treat!
Lightly sweetened Nutella banana muffins are a fun twist on banana muffins kids absolutely love! Although, if we’re being honest, who doesn’t love Nutella in any form?!
We love overripe bananas with almost-black skins for baking muffins or banana bread (like this delish sourdough banana bread). As bananas ripen, sugars develop in the fruit. The more ripe the banana the sweeter it is! These naturally occurring sugars mean that we don’t have to use as much granulated sugar in a recipe to achieve a lovely sweet taste. It’s kind of win-win.
We use a small cookie dough scoop to portion out the banana muffin batter. Also, before we add the Nutella to the middle and the top of the muffins we heat it up a bit. Heating the Nutella doesn’t make it melt it per se, but it does make it smoother and easier to handle.
You don’t have to use Nutella, which is simply a name brand for a specific chocolate hazelnut spread. Any off-brand, or generic version should give you the same tasty results.
Use the JUMP TO RECIPE button at the top, or scroll to the bottom of the post to see the printable recipe card with full ingredient measurements and complete instructions.
Ingredients
- Butter — We use full-fat salted dairy butter for this recipe. If you’re feeling fancy, you can brown the butter first. If you do this, just stir the butter and sugars together instead of creaming them with a mixer.
- Sour Cream — Don’t use light sour cream to make banana Nutella muffins. It doesn’t contain enough fat and your muffins will be dry.
- Overripe Bananas — The bananas should have lots of black spots on the outside, or even be completely black! The more ripe and mushy the banana, the sweeter the fruit, and more banana flavour.
Method
Place the butter, brown, and white sugar in a mixing bowl and mix with a handheld or stand mixer.
Add the bananas to the bowl. Use a potato masher or a fork to mash the bananas directly in the bowl.
Dump the flour into the bowl of wet banana mixture. Gently fold everything together until just mixed. The batter will be quite thick.
Lightly wet a fingertip to gently smooth the top of the batter in the tin.
Divide the remaining banana batter evenly among the 12 muffin cups.
Drizzle a little remaining Nutella on top of each muffin until all of the Nutella is gone.
Tips & Notes
If the two layers of muffin batter are not well sealed, you will end up with a muffin that naturally splits between the two layers. We actually like this because that’s where all the Nutella is! To help prevent this, gently press the layers of batter around the edges when you’re flattening it out to help seal.
You don’t have to mix the dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Measure them right into the bowl of banana mixture if you want to cut back on dirty dishes.
How To Store Banana Nutella Muffins
Nutella muffins will keep on the counter, stored in an airtight container with a lid, for up to two days. Please note they are best eaten when fresh.
These banana muffins freeze well! Once cool, store then in a large zipper-top bag, and press out as much air as you can before sealing. Store them in the freezer like this for up to one month. To defrost, simple let sit at room temperature, or defrost gently in the microwave until heated through.
Substitutions
You can use light spelt flour in place of all-purpose flour.
A good quality margarine can be substituted for butter.
Use full-fat Greek yogurt in stead of sour cream if you want.
Peanut butter, or any other nut butter you like, would be a good choice if you don’t want to use chocolate hazelnut spread.
Mix Ins & Variations
Add 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon, homemade chai spice, or cardamom pumpkin spice.
Add ½ cup (60g) of chopped hazelnuts.
Stir in a handful or two of chocolate chips.
More Banana Recipes
Banana Breakfast Cookies With Dark Chocolate
Cinnamon Banana Waffles
Almond Flour Banana Muffins
Peanut Butter Banana Popsicles
Cozy Banana Bread Pancakes
One Bowl Buckwheat Banana Bread (gluten-free)
Recipe
Banana Nutella Muffins
Description
Equipment
- 12-cup muffin tin
- pastry brush
- Whisk
- Rubber spatula or wooden spoon
- 2 Mixing bowls
- Heat-safe bowl
- Hand or stand mixer
- Potato masher or a fork
- Measuring cups and spoons or a digital kitchen scale
- Wire rack
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ cup + 1 teaspoon butter, room temperature to soft
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- ⅓ cup granulated white sugar
- 2 large mushy overripe bananas, if you are weighing the bananas, remove the skins before weighing
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup Nutella, or generic chocolate hazelnut spread
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425ºF (220ºC). Lightly grease a standard 12 cup muffin tin with 1 teaspoon of butter (or more if needed) then line the tin with muffin cups. Set aside.
- Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl until well combined. Set aside.
- Place the butter, brown, and white sugar in another mixing bowl. Use a handheld or stand mixer to beat the butter and sugars together until light and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add the bananas to the bowl of butter and sugar. Use a potato masher or a fork to mash the bananas directly in the bowl.
- Add the sour cream and vanilla. Once again, beat the mixture with the handheld or stand mixer until fluffy and well combined.
- Dump the flour into the bowl of wet banana mixture. Use a rubber spatula to gently fold everything together until just mixed with a few streaks of flour remaining. The batter will be quite thick.
- Use a small cookie scoop or spoon to portion about 1 tablespoon of banana batter into each muffin cup in the prepared tin. Lightly wet a fingertip to gently smooth the top of the batter in the tin.
- Place the Nutella in a heatproof measuring cup or bowl. Heat the Nutella in the microwave for 45 to 60 seconds to loosen. Heating the Nutella won’t melt it per se, but will make it smoother and easier to handle.
- Use a small spoon to dollop about 1 teaspoon of Nutella in the middle of each muffin cup in the tin.
- Divide the remaining banana batter evenly among the 12 muffin cups, and again, gently smooth the top of the batter with a barely wet fingertip.
- Drizzle a little remaining Nutella on top of each muffin until all of the Nutella is gone. Use a toothpick to swirl the Nutella on the muffin top if you are feeling a little creative.
- Place the muffins in the preheated oven and bake them for 16 to 18 minutes, or until the muffin tops are golden. Keep in mind the Nutella will not melt, but will become smooth and probably look a bit cracked on top of the muffin.
- When the muffins are golden, remove the tin from the oven and set it on a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes.
- Remove the muffins from the tin and transfer to the wire rack to cool completely.
- Once cool, serve immediately, store in an airtight container on the counter for two days, or store them into a reusable large zip top bag in the freezer for up to one month.
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