Sourdough Banana Muffins are simple to pull together, using sourdough discard from your Sourdough Bread Starter! Whip these lofty muffins up in about 15 minutes (hands on time) using a bowl and spoon, no mixer needed. They feature all purpose or whole wheat white flour, brown sugar, walnuts, and a hint of vanilla. Like in my Everyday Sourdough Banana Bread, sourdough discard creates the most flavorful, and tender baked recipes! This recipe is vegetarian and dairy free. [ recipe VIDEO on recipe card below ]
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Review: “I pretty much bake these weekly now. The fluffiness is unreal.” ~ Esti
Highlights of Sourdough Discard Muffins
After creating this reader favorite Moist Banana Bread Recipe, I wanted to add another banana bread recipe to the Vanilla And Bean collection, sourdough style! And, when there’s sourdough discard in the house, Sourdough Discard Recipes are on the agenda. That’s where these irresistible muffins come in!
Tender. Fluffy. The magic is in the discard! Save it after feeding your sourdough starter, then hold on to the discard and repurpose it. Sourdough starter discard is delicious in baked goods! Let’s make the most of it.
If you’ve made these Moist Sourdough Pumpkin Muffins or my Lemon Bluberry Sourdough Muffins, you know you won’t find dry muffins around here! Moist and tender, these banana muffins aren’t very sour, as the sourdough flavor is subtle. But, the magic can be found in their tender and fluffy texture.
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How to Make Sourdough Starter Banana Muffins
step by step
About Key Ingredients
Most of the ingredients are pantry staples, but here are a few that stand out.
- Brown Sugar: to make these muffins so fluffy, I employ dark brown sugar, however, you can use dark or light brown sugar. There’s not too much difference in texture, but dark brown sugar offers a bit more molasses, caramel flavor, and richness, and renders a slightly darker muffins. I find that the rise is a bit more even and lofty with dark brown sugar. But the difference is subtle.
- Melted Coconut Oil: tenderizes the muffins. You can use refined or unrefined. Unrefined carries the coconut flavor while refined is more neutral in flavor. I use unrefined. You can substitute canola oil if desired.
Resting the batter helps hydrate the flour and supports a lofty muffin. It’s worth the wait!
Knowing the temperature of your oven is key for best baking outcome. Use an external oven thermometer (dial or digital) to know its true temperature and adjust as needed.
Traci’s Tips for Fluffy Muffins
Muffin Pans: if you have two muffin pans, use them, alternating muffin cups so that every other cup is empty. This helps all the muffins rise more evenly, with a domed top. Baked in one pan, the center muffins don’t have quite as high of a dome as the outer muffins.
Muffin Cups: this recipe creates extra tall sourdough muffins so tulip muffin liners give them the support they need. Tulip cups can be purchased or follow the Kitchen’s DIY method for homemade!
Note the Temperature Change: we’re preheating the oven at relatively high temperature, but as soon as the muffins are popped in the oven, the temperature is lowered slightly.
Why? I tested this recipe at a starting temperature of 375F and then also at 400F, and found the high starting temperature helps give these muffins their loft and a nice domed shape. It allows the oven to recover to the baking temperature of 375F quickly even after the oven door is opened to put the muffins in the oven.
Fluffy Sourdough Banana Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 C (80g) Walnuts whole
- 1 1/2 C (215g) Whole Wheat White Flour or Unbleached All Purpose Flour
- 1/2 tsp Fine Sea Salt
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- 1/4 tsp Baking Powder
- 1/2 tsp Cinnamon ground
- 3/4 C (155g) Dark Brown Sugar packed or sub light brown sugar*
- 2/3 C (135g) Coconut Oil melted, warm to the touch or use canola oil
- 2 Large Eggs
- 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 1/4 C (305g) Mashed Bananas about 3 very ripe bananas
- 1/2 C (160g) Sourdough Discard 100% hydration, stirred down
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400F (205C) and set oven rack in the center. Line a standard muffin pan with 12 tulip style muffin cups or DIY your own. Tip: if you have two muffin pans, use both, leaving every other cup empty. This helps all the muffins rise to their full potential and helps create a nice dome.
Toast the Walnuts:
- Place the walnuts in a pan and set them on the center rack in your just turned on pre-heating oven. They'll toast for 15-18 minutes while the oven is heating (keep an eye on the walnuts since they're especially sensitive to heat and because ovens vary in how fast they pre-heat). Transfer toasted walnuts to a board and rough chop once cooled. Set aside a few tablespoons for sprinkling on top if desired. Chop fine. Set aside.
Make the Batter:
- In a medium mixing bowl, add the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon. Whisk the ingredients. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the sugar, warm coconut oil, eggs, bananas, and vanilla extract. Whisk until the ingredients come together. Add the sourdough discard and whisk again until no white streaks remain.
- To the wet ingredients, add the dry ingredients all at once. Using a silicone spatula, fold in the dry ingredients and mix until no dry flour patches remain. Fold in the chopped walnuts, holding out the small portion for sprinkling on top. .
- Set batter aside to rest at room temperature for 15 minutes.
- Scoop an overfilled large cookie scoop (#20) or about 1/4 C each with batter and transfer to the muffin liners. Distribute leftover batter evenly among cups. Sprinkle with remaining walnuts if desired.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 375F (190C). Place the muffins in the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes. Use a toothpick to test several muffins starting at 25 minutes. Once the toothpick comes out clean with a few crumbs attached, the muffins are ready.
- Transfer the muffins to a cooling rack and cool completely. Once cool, cover for up to four days at room temperature. To Freeze: allow muffins to cool completely. Place individual muffins on a parchment lined sheet pan and freeze. Once frozen, transfer to a lidded container for up to two weeks. Thaw at room temperature.To Rewarm: rewarm muffins in a 350F oven for 10-15 minutes.
Delicious! I used canola oil since I didn’t have coconut oil, and topped with some pearled sugar because I’m feeling extra today. They are moist and very yummy. Will definitely make again.
Love that extra feeling! Thank you for your note, Raquel, and giving the muffins a go!
Love it!!!
But How come 160g is half a cup ? I usually use a scale, but in cups its way more
Hi Cynthia! This is why professional bakers always use a scale. Volume cups vary in size, there’s no standard. But measuring in grams is always accurate, and reason I provide ingredient weights and recommend weighing your ingredients using a digital scale. I measure each recipe in cups and grams while I test, so in one recipe you may see 1/2 cup sourdough discard, for example, weigh a little more (or less) than in another recipe.
Wow, these are amazing! Good consistency and delectable flavors.
Admittedly, I didn’t have brown sugar so I used maple syrup… also my bananas were smaller and under the weight. Both of these tweaks seem to balance the sugar and liquid needed ok without compromise. I’ll be trying it the recipe’s way next time.
Anyways these came together wonderfully and I’m adding to my recipe book :)
Hi Rebecca! Thank you for your note and sharing your maple syrup tip. SO glad they came together and there are more sourdough banana muffins in your future!
Excellent recipe! I used whole wheat flour and the discard made the texture perfect, where most recipes would be dry and dense. This is a keeper for all my extra sourdough discard!
Your recipe states they can be frozen for up to two weeks…that seems like a very short freezer life – is that an error? Want to bake this right now but most of my baking goes into the freezer for a time.
Hi Sandie! Two weeks is a personal preference. They can last longer, but they’re just not as fresh tasting.
These muffins are seriously the best muffins I’ve ever made. I continue to make them in large batches and freeze them for the family! However; I just went to make more and realized I don’t have any discard left – ah! Please tell me you can suggest a substitute for the discard? (I know that’s the best part but would love these muffins this week!)
Hi Dani! Thank you for your note and five star review! SO happy to hear! Do you have any active sourdough? You can use it to make new discard in about 12-24 hours (depending on how active your starter is). Although I’ve not tried it, I’m thinking you may be able to use your active SD starter instead of discard, just be sure to measure it by weight. Keep us posed if you experiment!
So delicious. Due to allergies, I use flax eggs and oats or pepetas instead of walnuts. Turns out wonderful every time. We’ve had them for breakfast, snacks, desserts, and I’ve even made them for company. My husband likes to buy extra bananas so that I’ll be more likely to make this to use them up lol
Turned out delicious.
I used 1/2 cup melted butter instead of oil, and only about 1/2 cup brown sugar, about 75% of my flour was wheat and rest white, my sour dough starter was also from wheat flour. I added only 2 bananas (which I had previously frozen; thawed) and couple handfuls of blueberries too.
Definitely will make again!
Love the toasted nuts, especially the quick method while oven is preheating
Hi Kathy! Thank you for your note and sharing your adaptations. Aren’t the nuts so tasty in these muffins? I love em’ too!
Hi, I do not have coconut or granola oil, can I use vegetable oil or butter? Thanks
Hi Shasha! A neutral vegetable oil will work!
I used 1/2 c melted butter instead place of oil
Thank you, Kathy!
Turned out amazing, I got closer to 35 muffins, not complaining. I had a lot more discard then the recipe called for so I just threw it in, lowered the flour a bit and it still worked very well.
These banana muffins are well deserving of “Fluffy” in their name. They are the first banana muffins that I ever made without the addition of chocolate chips. My son wasn’t going to try them when he didn’t see chocolate chips, but he said they were so good that they didn’t need the chocolate chips! Probably the best compliment this kid could give. Thanks so much for a great recipe that enables me to use. It’s overripe bananas and sourdough discard which I hate wasting.
Hooray for tasty fluffy banana (no chocolate) muffins – son approved! Thank you for your note and giving the recipe a go, Barb!
Hi. Thanks for the recipe. I just took it out of the oven. I hope it tastes as good as it smells and looks. I baked in a loaf pan. I used Nature’s Raw Cane sugar and all purpose flour. I also burnt the walnuts as they toasted a lot faster than the recipe said. I set it for 10min and checked even sooner. I cut the burnt pieces off. So here’s hoping it tastes good! Thanks Again.
This was my first time using a discard for a recipe, as I have just begun my sourdough journey, and the muffins are delicious! I did cut back on the sugar to just under 1/2 cup and they are plenty sweet and I threw in a handful of mini chocolate chips! Will definitely make these again!
Perfect muffins! Seriously good, thank you so much.
So good. I subbed flax eggs for hens eggs and they came out perfect. Soft and so tasty. Thanks for this 🙏
Hi Nicola! Thank you for your note, sharing your flax egg tip and five star rating!
Wow! So light and fluffy and oh so yummy!
I did a gluten free version of this recipe.
I blended up some oatmeal to make 3/4 oat flour and 3/4 gf all purpose.
I used a hybrid 4TBS of unsalted butter and the rest coconut oil because the butter was left over from a recipe the day before.
I did 1 TSP of cinnamon because I love it!
I also used a little over half a cup of coconut palm sugar not packed and the sweetness is perfect!
I added 2 TBS chia seeds
I ended up separating the batter to make half nut friendly for school.
The nut friendly I added raisins and topped with banana slices
The ones with nuts I added sliced banana to the top of them.
You really can’t go wrong with this recipe!
Don’t forgot to watch the toasting walnuts or you will burn them like I did (my 2nd batch toasted up in less than 10min) and I forgot to turn the oven down when putting them in the oven-so glad I caught them before they burned! other than that the only thing wrong with it is the muffins won’t last very long! :)
Thank you, from a first-time follower.
GREAT RECIPE!!!light and moist muffin. Substituted truvia for sugar to make them diabetic friendly.
Delicious!! I was out of walnuts and burned all the pecans so I added a few dark chocolate chips…amazing! Huge hit with the family.
Yayyya! Oh nooo on the pecans… but what a delicious remedy with chocolate chips! Thank you for your note and giving the muffins a go, Cole! Day made!
Tried this recipe out this morning as I was looking to incorporate my sourdough discard in a recipe and it is definitely a winner, not too sweet and super delicious. My Grandson said no thanks Nanna I don’t like Banana Muffins but I insisted he taste it and the whole lot was devoured..
This is a winner. The recipe gave me 12 medium sized muffins.
Best news ever, Laura! I LOL at your Grandson. Thank you for your note and giving the muffins a go!
I love these. I made them vegan with 2 flax eggs, used only 1/2 cup coconut oil and 1/2 cup sugar and added chocolate chips. Great recipe. Thank you.
Hi Erin! SO happy to hear you’re enjoying the muffins. Thank you for your five star rating and sharing your tips with us!
Made this morning and they were so tender and delicious. I used 100% whole grain pastry flour, weighed my ingredients and they came out perfect! I cut back a bit on the brown sugar but then sprinkled some raw sugar on top before baking. Loved the bit of crunch on top. Baked in my Air fryer convection oven and it took 20 min.
Hi Carol! Hooray for tasty muffins! Thank you for sharing your tips and five star rating! Day made!
These didn’t work for me. Muffins were dry and the toasted walnuts were over. Felt like my oven was too hot.
I may try again at a lower temp/ shorter time.
Hi Danny! I’m sorry these didn’t work for you. I hope you give em a go again, but with an oven thermometer so oven temperature adjustment can be made.
Can flax egg be used instead of a regular egg in this recipe? I want to make it for someone who does not eat eggs.
Hi Linda! I’ve not tried flax egg in this recipe so I’m not sure if it’ll work. If you give it a go, please keep us posted!
Made these for my 80yr old dad – whose tastebuds are really picky these days. He complains my sourdough is too sour! These were a hit! I didn’t pack the brown sugar, but lightly spooned it to reduce sugar level, and added dark chocolate chips (1/3 cup). Used 1/2c whole wheat bread flour, 1c AP flour
Baked in our air fryer/convection oven on the convection bake setting – took 21 min
Just made the fluffy sourdough banana muffins. OMG, absolutely delish!! Thank you for sharing
Hooray, Karla! thank you for your note :D
This is my go to discard using recipe! I’ve taken liberties; I add 1/4c mixed nut butter and fill up to 2/3c w/ coconut oil. I add 1/3c of chocolate chips and 1/3c of craisins, too. I don’t measure my discard; it’s about a cup. Makes fabulous fluffy muffin beasts!!!
Super happy to hear, Lisa! Love your nut butter and chocolate chips tip – SO yumm! Thank you for your note!
I really like the idea and texture of these muffins but all I can taste is coconut oil. They don’t even taste like banana muffins because the coconut is so overpowering. I can even feel it on my tongue after. Canola oil is an awful oil to use so I didn’t want to try crap oil. I think I’d even try yogurt or applesauce long before this much coconut oil again. Definitely change something up if you don’t want to take pure coconut.
Hi Samantha! I’m so sorry to hear these didn’t meet your expectations. I’m curious about the brand of coconut oil you used?
I’m not sure as I used the rest of it and it’s in my recycle bin now. I use this brand for everything and I’ve never had issues. I will try your recipe again but I will definitely alter it. I wanted to give a review for those who may not love something with a coconut taste. I’ll update once I try again.
Loved these! I used honey instead of sugar (1/2 cup) and decreased the oil to 1/3 cup and they turned out great!
Super happy to hear, Natalie! Thank you for your note and tips! Oh myyyy with honey… that sounds amazing!
They were good, not sour, with discard straight from refrigerator. But they were very sweet! (all ingredients were weighed) Next time I will cut down on the sugar
Hi Angela! Thank you for your note and giving the recipe a go! Indeed, using sourdough discard in recipes isn’t generally for the flavor (like in sourdough bread), rather for texture and using up discard. To tease more sour flavor from these muffins, you could let them rest for an hour or so.
Could this batter be made ahead of time?
Hi Taylor! I’ve not tried it with these muffins, but have with others (non sourdough). With this recipe, there’s a lot more baking soda than baking powder. My concern is that as the baking soda sets, it looses its leavening power. But at the same time, you’ve got sourdough in there. So, some experimentation is in order. I’ll give these an overnight rest next time I make em, and update here. Otherwise, I’m just not sure it’ll work with this recipe. If you play with the timing, please keep us posted!
Maybe I’ll try it leaving the baking soda and powder until before I bake them? I’ll try a few things in the future and keep you posted.
I like that idea! Kinda like overnight pancakes. Looking forward to learning what you find! Thank you, Taylor!
Thank you for such an easy and DELICIOUS recipe! It was moist and fluffy and light.
I did adjust the recipe slightly:
– no walnuts
– half a lemon’s zest (so fragrant)
– 1 cup all purpose and 1/2 cup whole grain flour
Turned out super well!
Delicious! This is my go to recipe for using sourdough discard. I am in the UK and added 1/2 a tsp of biscoff spread (like caramel) for a hidden centre. ‘Best thing you have ever made’ was one of my family’s comments.
Hooray! What a complement :D Thank you for your note, Bethany… the biscoff spread sounds amazing for a hidden center!
It’s nice when a recipe turns out and it’s as good as it looked in the recipe. Thank you for sharing
Hooray! Thank you for your note, Gordon!
Did half and half flour mix with whole wheat and all purpose. Other than that, followed recipe and it was a delicious hit. I like having a non-butter option.
They were fluffy with a slight crisp to the edges. Lovely taste of toasted walnuts. I will definitely make this again!
Thank you!
Love that half and half mix, Jennie! Thank you for giving the muffins a go and sharing your thoughts. SO happy to hear!
I pretty much bake these weekly now. The fluffiness is unreal. Coconut oil gives it this buttery taste without being overwhelming
Only swap I did was pecans instead of walnuts cuz it’s what I have available and keep forgetting to buy walnuts
Hiii Esti! Loved seeing these fluffah muffins on Instagram! Thank you for your note and sharing your success. Isn’t the buttery taste so inviting? Pecans sound fabulous!
This is my first attempt at using a sourdough recipe. I loved how these muffins turned out to taste so yummy with a soft texture too. I did add some golden raisins that were soaked in bourbon to complete the banana ingredient amount as I only had two ripe bananas medium in size. It did not harm the recipe at all. I am thankful for your clear instructions it helped take away my intimidation with sourdough baking, So as I am doing this recipe I also chose to make your maple sourdough sandwich bread…it is in the oven …to be continued…
Hi Jean! Thank you for your note and giving the recipe a go! Golden raisins (!!) soaked in bourbon – yum – sounds so delish! Here’s to more sourdough baking (and hooray for a delightful maple sandwich bread in the oven!).
Made these this morning. So good! We are a gluten free household so I omitted the nuts and substituted gf 1:1 flour and my gf brown rice sourdough starter. Thanks for the recipe!
Hii Ar! Thank you for your note and sharing your adaptation! SO happy to hear these worked with GF flour and starter. Hooray!
I just finished eating my first muffin made from this recipe and I LOVE them! My husband also thought they were scrumptious. I only made a very few changes- I have a pathological need to change something in every recipe! I didn’t toast the walnuts- just folded them in raw. I didn’t have dark brown sugar, so I used light. Also, I used 1 cup of unbleached white flour and 1/2 a cup of whole wheat flour.
Hi Sarah! Hooray! Thank you for your note and sharing your tips – love that 1/2 n 1/2 approach!
This is a great recipe! Second time making these. I use coconut sugar instead of brown, avocado oil instead of coconut/canola oil, white spelt flour instead of wheat, and I cut the sugar to 1/2 cup because my bananas are usually very well past their prime. I also let the dough ferment longer each time, for 30min or more. They are sooo good! Thanks so much for the amazing recipe!
Hooray! Thank you for your note, Courtney, sharing your ingredient subs and note on fermentation. I’m so happy to hear you’re enjoying the muffins!
These muffins are absolutely delicious!!! So light and fluffy! They taste so buttery even though there’s no butter in them at all. This is now my favourite muffin recipe!
I used pecans because I didn’t have walnuts, so yummy 👌
Hooray, Yelena! SO happy to hear you’re enjoying the muffins! Thank you for your note and giving the recipe a go!
They’re such a treat Katherine and so tender! Since you’re a fan of sourdough, I know you’d love these! It’s time to get that starter going!
I didn’t have white flour so subbed whole wheat and subbed grape seed oil for canola. Turned out yummy!
Hooray! Thank you for your note Angela and sharing your tips! So happy to hear!