Sourdough Banana Muffins are easy to make, using sourdough discard! Whip these lofty sourdough discard banana muffins up in no time, using all purpose or whole wheat white flour, brown sugar, walnuts and a hint of vanilla. They’re so flavorful, tender and full of banana goodness! This recipe is vegetarian and dairy free.
Table of Contents
Sourdough Discard Muffins
Soft. Tender. Fluffy. The magic is in the discard! Save it after feeding your sourdough starter, then hold on to the discard and repurpose it. Here are three reasons why sourdough starter discard is fabulous in baked goods:
- Sourdough discard has a tenderizing effect when combined with other leavening agents in gluten containing recipes making these banana muffins extra soft and tender.
- Sourdough containing recipes offer a little longer shelf life compared to its non sourdough counterparts.
- Using sourdough discard in recipes is a delicious way to maintain a no waste sourdough starter.
These sourdough muffins aren’t very sour however as the sourdough flavor is subtle. But, the magic can be found in their tender and fluffy texture.
How to Make this Sourdough Starter Banana Muffins Recipe
These sourdough banana nut muffins are based off my yet to be published banana bread recipe. I tweaked the bread recipe just a bit to create these sourdough muffins. The banana bread recipe will be coming soon. After-all, there needs to be more banana bread goodness in the world!
Sourdough discard banana muffins are easy to make with limited hands on time. In summary, here’s how to make em’ (see recipe card for details):
- First, toast the walnuts in a preheating oven. Chop and set aside.
- Second, in a medium bowl, whisk the flour, cinnamon, salt, baking powder and soda.
- Third, in a large bowl whisk together the sugar, eggs, oil, vanilla, mashed banana and discard.
- Next, mix the dry into the wet ingredients. Allow the batter to set for 15 minutes.
- Last, fold in the chopped walnuts, scoop and bake.
Resting the batter, even for 15 minutes, helps hydrate the flour and supports a lofty muffin. It’s worth the wait.
How to Bake Banana Muffins
You’ll need a twelve cup muffin pan and tulip cups to bake these sourdough muffins. This fluffy banana muffins 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!
You’ll notice a relatively high temperature for baking these sourdough starter discard banana muffins at 400F (205C), but as soon as the muffins are popped in the oven, the temperature is lowered to 375F (190C). This high starting temperature helps give these muffins their loft and a nice domed shape.
Pro Tip: 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.
How to Make Sourdough Banana Muffins Healthy(ish)
I tested this recipe with both all purpose flour and whole wheat white flour. They both work beautifully! I prefer whole wheat white flour, due to the bonus of whole grain goodness, and its nutty flavor. But it’s good to know there’s another option if needed.
About Sourdough Discard
For this sourdough muffin recipe you’ll need half a cup of 100% hydration sourdough discard. It can be old or young, and pulled straight from the refrigerator. If it’s been hanging out in the fridge for a while (a few weeks or more), smell the discard. If it smells fruity and ripe, carry on with your recipe. However, if it smells off or stinky, toss it and create new sourdough discard.
If you’re new to the sourdough world, I have a DIY Sourdough Bread Starter recipe that’ll help you get off an running with a sourdough starter! It’s super easy to pull together.
How to Store Your Sourdough Banana Nut Muffins
- Store at room temperature, covered for up to four days.
- Freeze individual muffins on a sheet pan then, once frozen, store in a covered container for up to two weeks. Thaw at room temperature.
How to Rewarm Sourdough Muffins
Warm muffins in a 350F oven for about 10 minutes. They’ll be soft and tender. Slather them with butter, or as my mom would say, cream cheese.
A Few Recipe Notes
- Muffin Liners: Use tulip muffins liners to support these fluffy sourdough banana nut muffins. They can be purchased (look for 2″ x 2 3/4″) or The Kitchn has a tutorial on how to DIY them!
- Oil Choice: I use coconut oil in this recipe, however, canola oil will also work.
- Flour Substitution? Choose all purpose or whole wheat flour. Both make delicious muffins!
- Nut Options: Enjoy this recipe with walnuts or pecans. For nut free muffins, they can be easily left out.
- Bananas: Make sure they’re soft, dark and/or heavily speckled. Mash them, then measure the portion.
- Portioning: I use an overfilled large cookie scoop (#20) to make portioning a snap!
Need a sourdough starter? I’ve got a handy DIY Sourdough Starter recipe just for you!
More Sourdough Discard Recipes to Love
- Easy Sourdough Biscuits
- Sourdough Discard Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Strawberry Shortcake with Sourdough Biscuits
- Overnight or Same Day Sourdough Oat Pancakes
the recipe
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
- 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.
Toast the Walnuts:
- Place the walnuts in a pan and set them on the center rack in your preheating oven. They'll toast for 15-18 minutes while the oven is heating. 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 sheetpan and freeze. Once frozen, transfer to a lidded contaner for up to two weeks. Thaw at room temperature.To Rewarm: rewarm muffins in a 350F oven for 10-15 minutes.
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!
Your sourdough recipes always inspire me to get that starter going again. I bet that light tang would be terrific in these fluffy banana muffins! Delicious!!
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!
What a great way to use up that sourdough discard! I bet the discard gives these muffins a nice little tang. I know I’d love these!
They’re so light and fluffy, Katherine! Even with white whole wheat flour!