Have a few overripe bananas and some sourdough discard that need to be used up? These Sourdough Discard Banana Muffins are the perfect thing for you, and you'll have a delicious breakfast or brunch as well!
If you're looking for other sourdough discard breakfast recipes, check out these Sourdough Discard Blueberry Muffins, Sourdough Discard Pancakes, and these Sourdough Discard Cinnamon Rolls.
Why you'll love this recipe
- This recipe is a great way to use up some of your sourdough discard!
- Use your overripe bananas: they're perfect for this recipe.
- Sourdough Discard Banana Muffins are an easy recipe that comes together in less than a hour.
- This is a very adaptable recipe to which you can easily add oats, chocolate chips, blueberries or nuts to suit your taste!
- Muffins freeze well so you can make a batch and then freeze some for later.
Ingredients
There are only a few key ingredients you'll need to pull these Sourdough Discard Banana Muffins together.
- Sourdough discard: The discard should be unfed and at room temperature for this recipe. This recipe is designed for a sourdough discard with a 1:1 ratio (when you feed your starter, it's with 1 part water and 1 part flour). If your starter uses a different ratio, you may need to adjust some of the ingredients.
- Bananas: Overripe bananas are ideal! They'll be mashed to go into the batter, so the soft spots will be fine. I also like to leave the bananas fairly chunky when mashing as they soften a lot while baking and you won't notice the chunks.
- Turbinado sugar: This is to top the muffins before they're baked, giving them a sweet, crunchy topping. It's optional, but I highly recommend it! I like to use Sugar in the Raw, which you can buy online or at your local grocery store.
See full recipe below for detailed directions.
Substitutions & Variations
This is a very adaptable recipe! Below are a few variations to try:
- Add oats - Instead of turbinado sugar, top your muffins with a sprinkling of oats to make Sourdough Discard Banana Oat Muffins.
- Add nuts - Add ¼ cup chopped walnuts or almonds to the batter before diving into muffin cups.
- Add chocolate chips - Add ½ cup chocolate chips (mini chocolate chips also work very well!) to the batter.
- Add blueberries - If you want a blueberry banana version of this recipe, reduce the bananas to ½ cup (approximately 1 banana), and add ½ cup fresh blueberries.
- Use active sourdough starter - If you want to use active sourdough starter rather than discard, you can! The active starter has more yeast than the discard, so you should expect the muffins to rise more. You may find that you need to spread the batter into more muffin cups so they don't overflow.
I have not tested this recipe with other variations, but if you do, let us know how it turns out in the comments! I always love to hear how you're adapting these recipes and use those as ideas for future recipes as well!
How to make Sourdough Discard Banana Muffins
Sourdough Discard Banana Muffins come together in just a few easy steps! You'll have these ready to eat in no time.
Cream together the butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
Add the egg and vanilla extract and mix to combine.
Mix together the dry ingredients in a medium mixing bowl.
Add the sourdough discard, mashed bananas and dry ingredients to the butter mixture. Stir slowly until incorporated, then increase speed to medium until a uniform batter forms.
Line a 12-cup muffin pan with muffin liners. Fill each cup about ⅔ full with batter. Using a cookie scoop helps make filling easier!
Sprinkle the batter with turbinado sugar for a crunchy topping and bake for 30-35 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Let the muffins cool for a few minutes in the pan, then serve or transfer to a cooling rack to cool fully.
Expert Baking Tips
- Use a cookie scoop to fill the muffin cups - it makes it easier!
- Make sure to line the muffin cups with liners so the muffins don't stick to the pan. If you'd rather not use liners, make sure to spray the muffin cups with cooking spray.
- When finished, the muffins should be golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center will come out clean.
- Let the muffins cool for a few minutes before serving - this will make it easier to cut them in half and spread with butter or other toppings.
Equipment
Muffins come together so easily and require very little equipment. I like to use my KitchenAid 5-Quart Stand Mixer, but they can easily be made in a large mixing bowl with a hand-held mixer. I recommend using a kitchen scale to measure the sourdough discard.
You'll also need a 12-cup muffin pan and muffin liners (you can also make your own muffin liners with parchment paper cut to 5x5-inch squares).
Storage
Room Temperature Storage: Store these muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. You can reheat them in the microwave for 15-30 seconds to make them soft and warm again.
Freezer Storage: Muffins also freeze well. Once they are fully cooled, transfer to an airtight container or bag and freeze for up to 3 months. To reheat, let the muffins thaw at room temperature, then reheat in the microwave for 30-60 seconds.
Recipe FAQ
I highly recommend using muffin liners. If you'd rather not, make sure that you grease the muffin pan thoroughly before adding your batter.
This recipe is a great way to use up overripe bananas! They'll be mashed, so you won't even notice the soft spots.
If you want to use active sourdough starter rather than discard, you can! The active starter has more yeast than the discard, so you should expect the muffins to rise more. You may find that you need to spread the batter into more muffin cups so they don't overflow.
If your muffins are sticking to the liners, let them cool for a few mintues! After the muffins have cooled, they will no longer stick to the liners.
Yes, you can! To do so, replace the sourdough discard with active sourdough starter (1:1 substitute).
Sourdough Discard Banana Muffins
Equipment
- Parchment paper or muffin liners
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
- 1 egg room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- 200 grams (about ¾ cup) sourdough discard unfed, at room temperature
- 1 cup mashed bananas about 2 medium bananas
- 1 Tablespoon turbinado sugar for topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F and line a 12-cup muffin pan with muffin liners. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream together the softened butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. Add egg and vanilla extract and stir to combine.
- Mix in the sourdough discard and mashed bananas. Add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined and no dry spots remain.
- Use a spoon or cookie scoop to fill the lined muffin cups about ⅔ full with batter. Sprinkle each muffin with turbinado sugar.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes until lightly golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then serve or transfer to a cooling rack to cool fully.
Ashley says
This recipe was so good and what an easy way to use up bananas and discard! This is my third recipe of yours that I've made over the last few days and I think I'm a little obsessed now! They've all turned out absolutely perfectly. Thanks for such amazing recipes!!!!!
Jessica Vogl says
I love to hear that! Thank you!
Ashley says
These are so good! I'm wondering if the sugar can be replaced with honey. If so, how much honey would you use?
Jessica Vogl says
So glad you like them! I think it could work, but it wouldn't be an easy substitution (honey is sweeter than sugar, so you wouldn't need as much, and then you'd need to adjust other ingredients in the recipe to accommodate more liquid from the honey, etc.).
Kait says
Absolutely delicious and easy to make!