Sourdough Banana Muffins

Sourdough banana muffins are such a delicious and easy way to use sourdough discard or even active sourdough starter. With a delightful fluffy texture and crunchy outside, this sourdough banana muffin recipe are a must bake this week!

This sourdough discard banana bread is also a great way to use up overripe bananas and sourdough discard, as are these sourdough banana waffles and sourdough banana fritters. 

Why You’ll Love This Recipe!

• Use Up 200g of Discard – if you’re looking for a sourdough discard recipe that uses a big amount of discard, this is it! 200g in just one recipe. There’s no need for sour cream in this recipe, the sourdough discard brings all the flavor!
  
• No Wait – there’s no waiting for these muffins to rise, you just mix and bake and you’ll have delicious sourdough muffins in under an hour! Perfect for a quick breakfast or snacks for the kids – just like this collection of 25+ no wait sourdough recipes.
  
• Reduce food waste – this recipe is great for reducing your food waste by using brown bananas and sourdough discard that may have otherwise gone in the bin. So good! You might also like these ideas for using leftover sourdough.

The ingredients for these sourdough discard banana muffins are pretty straight forward, but there are a few substitutions you can make, based on your dietary requirements and what you have on hand.

• Sourdough Starter – you can use active starter or sourdough discard in this recipe. It’s totally up to you.
• All Purpose Flour – you can substitute whole wheat flour if you prefer. This will give the muffins a nuttier, more wholesome taste. I recommend adding a splash of water to the mixture if using whole wheat flour as it will absorb more liquid.
• Banana – I have weighed the bananas with their skins off. I have used 4 medium bananas in this recipe weighing approximately 350g. Overripe, sweet bananas will give you the best banana flavor.
• Brown Sugar and White Sugar – I have used 150g of sugar in total for these muffins. You can reduce this to 100g if you’d prefer or even use some coconut sugar or rapadura in place of the brown sugar. Using dark brown sugar gives these delicious muffins a more caramel flavor.
• Eggs – I’ve used 2 large eggs. If your eggs are on the small side, I recommend increasing to 3 eggs.
• Baking soda and baking powder
• Vegetable Oil – I have used sunflower oil in this recipe but you can use any light flavored vegetable oil you like, even rice bran oil or canola oil would be ok. Oil gives baked goods a moist final texture. Avocado oil, coconut oil or olive oil are also ok if those are your preferred oils. You can substitute melted butter, however it will change the texture of the muffins slightly. The oil makes them much more moist, so if you do want to use butter, it’s better to use a combination of butter and oil.
• Vanilla Extract – Just a dash for extra flavor. You can use maple syrup instead if you prefer.
• Salt – I always add a pinch of salt to sweet recipes, it makes such a difference!
• Cinnamon and Nutmeg – You can increase or decrease the amount of cinnamon and nutmeg depending on your preference. You can leave them out altogether if you prefer.

How to Make Sourdough Banana Muffins

Like most sourdough muffin recipes, these are really easy to put together. A great quick snack that you can have ready in under an hour! Perfect for those hungry tummies after school – or just to have on hand in the freezer!

This recipe will make 6 large muffins or 12 smaller muffins depending on the muffin pan you use. You can ferment this mixture overnight if you prefer. I’ve added instructions for this further down.

1. Preheat your oven to 180C (356F). Prepare a large 6 hole muffin tin by greasing each hole with some butter (you could also use a 12 hole muffin tin for smaller muffins). If you are using muffin liners or cupcake liners, make sure you spray them with a little oil so that the batter doesn’t stick. Make sure you use a kitchen scale to accurately weight the ingredients for best results.
   
2. Mash the bananas with a fork until they form a puree (a few lumps is find).
   
3. Mix the sourdough starter, eggs, oil, banana puree and vanilla extract together in a bowl or jug. Make sure you mix them together really well and that the eggs are well beaten.
   
4. In a large bowl, mix the dry ingredients – all purpose flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Make sure the dry ingredients are well distributed.
   
5. Now pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.
   
6. Use a spatula and mix them until they are just combined – do not over mix or you’ll end up with tough muffins.
   
7. Spoon the muffin batter into your prepared muffin tin. Sprinkle a little raw sugar on top of each muffin (this is optional).
   
8. Bake in a preheated oven at 180C (356F)  until golden brown (around 20-25 minutes). Allow baked muffins to cool on a cooling rack.

How To Long Ferment Sourdough Discard Banana Muffins 

If you would prefer to ferment these sourdough banana muffins, you can ferment the mixture in the fridge. Mix all the ingredients together as directed, then place the bowl of muffin mixture, covered, into the fridge for up to 12 hours. Then proceed with instructions when you are ready to bake.

Fermented muffins tend to rise a little less than muffin mixture baked straight away, however you’ll get more of the benefits of sourdough if you ferment the mixture in this way.

Flavor Variations

While these easy banana sourdough muffins are perfect in their simplicity, sometimes it’s nice to mix things up a bit! Here are a few flavor variations we love:

• Banana Coconut Muffins – Add 100g of shredded coconut or dessicated coconut to the dry ingredients. You can also sprinkle some coconut on top of the muffins before baking for a toasted coconut treat!
• Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins – Add 100g of milk chocolate chips to the dry ingredients for a chocolatey treat. You could serve these sourdough muffins with a dollop of chocolate spread on top for an indulgent treat!
• Banana Nut Muffins – Try adding 100g of pecans or walnuts to the dry ingredients. It’s up to you whether you chop the nuts or add them whole.
• Honey & Cinnamon – These are great for breakfast. Add 40g of honey to the liquid ingredients and a teaspoon of ground cinnamon to the dry ingredients before combining them together. Adding some nuts to this combination is always delicious.
• Blueberry Banana Sourdough Muffins – Add 100g of frozen blueberries to the dry ingredients. If you prefer, you could also use dried blueberries (they are much like adding raisins).
• Banana Crunch – top with crushed banana chips and then drizzle with a powdered sugar glaze for some extra sweetness.
• Banana Nutella Muffins – before you pop the muffins in the oven, add a dollop of Nutella to the top of the muffins and swirl it in with a toothpick.

How To Freeze + Store

Muffins are fantastic to freeze. They can be frozen in ziploc bags or an airtight container and defrosted at room temperature or even in the microwave.

They will last for around 3 days if stored in a container. After a few days, I would suggest warming slightly in the microwave to freshen them up a little.

I often make large batches of these sourdough banana muffins and then pop 2 or 3 into a ziploc bag and freeze. It’s then easy to grab a baggie out whenever I need to send my husband with a snack … or I need a quick easy snack on the run for myself.

They defrost really quickly!

Share the sourdough love!