Triple Chocolate Banana Muffins With a Gooey Nutella Center
These triple chocolate banana muffins are the perfect sweet treats for any chocolate lover. They are the most decadent and irresistible muffins I’ve tried. To make the flavor extra rich, I added cacao and chocolate chips to the batter and a teaspoon of Nutella in the center of each muffin. Every bite is just heavenly.
These muffins are a mini version of my triple chocolate banana bread that I love so much. One day I had a craving for that bread, but I didn’t have the time to wait for it to bake for an hour. So, I thought that I should try to make it in a muffin form. My experiment was successful, so I decided to share the recipe with you.
Equipment
- A mixer- you are going to need a hand or stand mixer to prepare the batter. You can also use a regular whisk.
- Measuring cups and spoons – they are essential for any baking recipe.
- A mixing bowl – any mixing bowl that is deep enough and mixer friendly will do. I used a glass bowl.
- A muffin pan with 12 nests – you can line each nest with parchment paper or spray with nonstick spray before you transfer the batter in the nests.
- Oven mitts – to protect your hands from the high temperatures and the hot oven.
- An ice cream or a cookie scoop to transfer the batter into the muffin nests. I used this small cookie scoop. If you don’t have one you can use a tablespoon.
- Cooling racks – these are similar to the ones I used to cool off my muffins.
Please Note: Some of the links in this blog post are Amazon affiliate links. If you make a purchase through them, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting The Food Kooky!
Helpful tips about measuring ingredients
How to measure flour?
Always scoop more flour than you need in your cup and use a knife to level it off. If you have a scale, use it, because measuring ingredients by weight is always more accurate. One cup of flour contains exactly 4 oz or 120 grams of all purpose flour.
To make a batter you need to differentiate between wet and dry measuring cups. We measure liquids in pitchers like these. For the dry ingredients we use measuring cups and spoons like these.
Tips about making the triple chocolate banana muffins
You can use a fork or a potato masher to mash the bananas.
I recommend using ingredients at room temperature for this recipe.
Do not overmix your batter. Once you add the dry ingredients fold them in until incorporated. Do not mix with a mixer for a long time. This will create bread-like texture because mixing helps with gluten development.
For this recipe I’ve used cacao powder instead of cocoa powder. The cacao powder is raw and less processed. It is very important to use unsweetened cacao or cocoa powder for this recipe.
If you use dark or vegan chocolate this recipe is going to be dairy free. I usually use semi-sweet chocolate chip or whatever I have in the pantry.
I used Nutella for this recipe. If you want to make this bread a bit healthier you can also use my recipe for homemade chocolate hazelnut spread.
Other recipes that use ripe bananas
Double Chocolate Banana Bread with Peanut Butter Swirl (Healthy)
Three Ingredient Cookies with Banana and Coconut (Gluten Free)
Collagen Quinoa Breakfast Bowl with Banana and Peanut Butter
The Best Homemade Whole Wheat Banana Waffles
Triple Chocolate Banana Muffins with Nutella Filling
Ingredients
- 3 very ripe bananas (large) or 4 small
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup cooking oil of choice I used sunflower oil
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- ½ cup unsweetened cacao powder or cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¼ cup Nutella or other hazelnut spread
- 1 cup chocolate chips of choice I used milk chocolate chips
- nonstick cooking spray or paper liners
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425F. Line a muffin tin with paper cups or spray the muffin nests with nonstick spray.
- Peel the bananas. Add them to a deep mixing bowl with the sugar and mash them (or use a mixer to combine).
- Add the egg and the oil. Use a whisk or a mixer to mix until combined.
- Add the flour, the cacao and baking powder. Stir with a spatula or a whisk until there are no lumps.
- Save ¼ cup of the chocolate chips and add the rest to the batter. Stir again.
- Use a small cookie scoop (or a tablespoon) to transfer about a tablespoon of batter into each muffin nest. The bather should cover only the bottom of the muffin nests. Then add a teaspoon of Nutella on top. Divide the rest of the muffin batter evenly between the muffin nests. It should cover the Nutella.
- Before baking divide the rest of the chocolate chips on top of each muffin.
- Bake at 425 F for 5 minutes. Then reduce the temperature to 350 F without removing the muffins. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes more. The total baking kime should be 13-15 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and cool off in the muffin man for 5-7 minutes. Then carefully transfer the muffins on a cooling rack.
- Store the cooled off muffins in an airtight, food-safe container for 2-3 days at room temperature. Or in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Other muffin recipes you might like
Blender Zucchini Muffins With Chocolate and Peanut Butter
Double Chocolate Whole Wheat Muffins with Ripe Bananas (Video)
Flourless Banana Muffins with Peanut Butter (Gluten and Grain Free)