Moist Pumpkin Banana Muffins with Crumble Top

By Marley Goldin

on August 18, 2023

last updated October 9, 2023

5 from 3 votes

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.

Savor the delightful blend of real pumpkin and banana in every bite of these moist Pumpkin Banana Muffins, with a crumbly topping.

Breakfast, Desserts, Snacks
Vegan, Vegetarian

Looking for the perfect Fall muffin? These moist and tender Pumpkin Banana Muffins combine the rich, earthy essence of pumpkin with the natural sweetness and subtle fruitiness of ripe bananas, creating a harmonious blend that will tantalize your taste buds.

Plus, they have a delicious crumbly top. Crafted with a mixture of buttery streusel, hints of warm cinnamon and a touch of nutmeg from the pumpkin pie spice, the crumbly topping creates a crunchy textural contrast that perfectly complements the muffin’s soft interior.

Ideal for a cozy breakfast or a comforting snack, these muffins offer an autumnal flavor profile that can be enjoyed year-round. Whether paired with a cup of your favorite coffee or savored on its own, this delightful treat embodies warmth in every mouthful.

This recipe requires no eggs, making it budget friendly and easily adaptable to different diets.

Plus, they’re simple to make, the muffins requiring just one bowl (something as a busy mom and joyful baker, I totally appreciate!). The crumble top is optional if you want an even simpler muffin, but it’s highly recommended!

Between these and my ever-popular Pumpkin Muffins with Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting, I’ve got Fall covered!

Banana Pumpkin Muffins on cooling rack with one sliced open

Pumpkin Banana Muffins Ingredient Highlights

The best bananas for baking are a little bit overripe. Look for brown spots on the peel.

Make sure the butter is softened. Not melted, and not too solid. For help, see my article on how to quickly and easily soften butter.

The pumpkin pie spice here really brings out the Fall flavors! If you don’t have any on hand, you can easily make your own or use a substitute.

Any dairy milk or unsweetened plant-based milk will work to help thin out your batter.

A lot of muffin recipes contain eggs to add moisture, bind the muffins together, and assist in rising. Both bananas and pumpkins are great replacements for eggs in muffins for those same functions.

Because these muffins contain both bananas and pumpkin puree, eggs aren’t necessary. This is an egg-free muffin recipe and can easily be made vegan with the use of plant-based butter and milk.

All ingredients needed for Pumpkin Banana Muffins including salt, brown sugar, granulated sugar, bananas, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla extract, milk, pumpkin puree, unsalted butter, and salt. — Everything you need for simple banana pumpkin muffins.

All ingredients needed for muffin crumble top including flour, pumpkin pie spice, butter, and brown sugar.

Banana Pumpkin Muffins Tips and Tricks

I Always Use Overripe Bananas in Baking

When those bananas of yours start getting all ripe and juicy, their flavor goes from meh to amazing – sweeter and more intense, making them perfect for baking.

So, for the ultimate banana-infused muffins, you wanna use up those bananas that are rockin’ those brown spots on their peel. Yeah, those ones that might look a bit too chill – they’re actually the baking heroes.

They’re bursting with flavor, plus they’re all soft and mushy, perfect for mashing into that killer banana muffin batter.

But hey, don’t panic if your bananas aren’t quite there yet. We’ve got a trick to speed things up.

Toss those not-so-ripe bananas in the oven as it’s warming up. Just let them hang out on a baking tray for about 3 to 7 minutes until the peel starts to turn black as pictured below.

Ripening bananas in the oven as it preheats — Always use ripe bananas while baking! If they’re not quite there yet, stick them in the oven while it’s preheating until the peel starts to turn black.

How to Make Pumpkin Banana Muffins

The first step to a perfect execution of these banana-based muffins is properly prepping.

Make sure to line or spray your muffin tin for easy removal. You can make your own muffin cups out of parchment paper, or, for a more sustainable option, consider reusable muffin liners!

Peel the bananas and toss them into a roomy mixing bowl.

Give them a good squish with a fork until they’re all mushy and almost completely liquefied. Don’t sweat it if there’s a few lumps left behind: it’s actually preferable to leave some texture in the mix!

Mix the butter into the mashed banana, along with the pumpkin puree, vanilla extract, and both the granulated and brown sugar.

Use that fork or a whisk to combine it all together. It may not be perfectly smooth, as you’ll see little chunks of banana in there, but make sure everything is nicely distributed.

Now, grab the flour, baking soda, a pinch of salt, and a dash of pumpkin pie spice. Once you dump the dry ingredients in, grab that fork or whisk again. Give everything a good mix-up, so that no clumps of flour or baking soda remain.

Add the milk and use the fork or whisk one last time to integrate it into the batter to thin it out.

These pumpkin spice muffins with banana will do a bit of rising, so make sure to give those muffin cups a little room on top.

We’re looking for about 1/2-inch buffer, so fill your muffin cups about 3/4 of the way. You can pour, use a spoon, or use my favorite technique for the most even-muffins with little mess – use a large cookie scoop.

Smashing overripe bananas with a fork. — Use a fork to smash your bananas until they are almost liquefied (some lumps are okay!).

Smashed banana, softened unssalted butter, pumpkin puree, vanilla extract, brown sugar, and white sugar in a bowl. — Add the pumpkin puree, softened unsalted butter, vanilla extract, and both sugars to the smashed banana.

Adding flour, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice to banana pumpkin muffin batter — Next, add the flour, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice and whisk to combine.

Adding milk to thin out muffin batter. — Add the milk last to thin out the batter.

Lined muffin tin filled almost all the way with batter — Fill your muffin tin about 3/4 of the way with muffin batter, leaving a little room for them to rise.

How to Make a Delicious Muffin Crumble Top

The consistency of the butter is the key to getting this crumble right. If the butter is too solid or too melted, it simply won’t work.

So, don’t worry, I’m going to hold your hand through this! We’re going to use the microwave to get the butter just right, mostly because it’s the easiest and quickest way, but also because we can have complete control over the timing and intervals.

Of course, you can use the stovetop if you don’t like using the microwave, but it’s a little easier to over-melt it this way, as the pot stays hot even when you remove it from heat. Just make sure you watch it very closely.

But if you’re using the microwave like me, it’s super simple. Add the butter to a microwave-safe bowl and heat it in 5-scond intervals. Check the butter every time in between and stop heating as soon as you see any melted butter in the bowl.

This will give you butter that is somewhere in between softened and liquefied, which is the ONLY way to make this crumble.

Combine the flour, brown sugar, and pumpkin pie spice until there are no lumps.

Once your butter is just the right consistency, slowly add it to the flour, sugar, and pumpkin pie spice mixture, about 1 tablespoon at a time. Use your fork to smash and combine as you add the butter.

Continue to slowly add the butter and whisk, until you have a nice crumbly texture. You may not need to use all 6 tablespoons of butter, so just continue to monitor the texture of the crumble as you ago.

Use about 1 tablespoon of the crumble mixture to top each muffin, layering it right on top of your batter.

Now, all there is left to do is bake them! Place them on the top rack of your preheated oven, baking until the top is nice and firm (and crumbly!) and a toothpick comes out clean.

These muffins are ultra-moist, so you may get some moisture on the toothpick, but you shouldn’t see any raw batter when you poke on into the center of the muffin.

Butter that is just starting to melt. — Heat the butter in 5-second increments in the microwave until it just starts to melt.

Using a fork to combine flour, brown sugar, and pumpkin pie spice. — Use a fork or whisk to combine the flour, brown sugar, and pumpkin pie spice.

First tablespoon of butter added to the muffin crumble mix. — Slowly add the butter about 1 tablespoon at a time, whisking in between.

Perfectly cumbly muffin top mixture. — Continue to add butter until you achieve a crumbly texture.

Muffin batter topped with muffin crumble ready for the oven. — Add about 1 tablespoon each of the crumble top right on top of the raw batter.

Banana Pumpkin Muffins fresh out of the oven still in the muffin tin. — Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

How I Store Banana Pumpkin Muffins

These banana pumpkin muffins should be covered or stored in an airtight container to keep them fresh longest. They will stay fresh at room temperature for 3-4 days before they start to dry out.

You can store them in the refrigerator to get an extra 3-4 days out of them or if you like to enjoy them cold.

You can also opt to freeze these muffins for up to 6 months. Just allow them to thaw out before biting into one.