Banana cupcakes are soft and delicious. They are easy to make and are a perfect way to use up ripe bananas. Plus they are perfect with so many different frosting options!

Banana cupcake with swirl of banana buttercream on top with a slice of banana on top.

These cupcakes are moist and delicious. They are easy enough to make with a mixing bowl and spoon, no fancy equipment required. Plus they are a fabulous way to use up ripe or frozen bananas.

I originally shared this cupcake recipe with you back in 2016. I made them for Little Dude’s birthday treat for daycare.

I love throwing themed parties, I always have. So for as long as he’ll let me, we do a big theme party for his birthday.

We tend to get really into the theme and I start planning quite a bit in advance. It is a lot of fun, but sometimes it is nice to get a break from the theme.

monkey cupcakes with chocolate frosting, vanilla wafers and candy eyes.

Homemade banana cupcake topped with peanut butter frosting and a slice of banana.

So his daycare treats normally are completely different than his big birthday theme. The year we did these banana cupcakes, we topped them with chocolate sweetened condensed milk frosting and decorated the cupcakes like monkeys.

This time around though, I thought it would be fun to top them with peanut butter buttercream. In fact I made these banana cupcakes again just to have an excuse to make the frosting.

That shouldn’t surprise most of you!

I forgot how good these cupcakes are. Plus they are so easy to make, no mixer, no folding ingredients in, nothing fancy… just really good cupcakes!

Tips and tricks for making banana cupcakes:

This is a great way to use up bananas that are a little too soft to eat otherwise.

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If you don’t want to make them now, stick those ripe bananas in a freezer bag and just let them defrost when you are ready to bake with them. They will let off some liquid as they defrost, just stir it in when you are mashing them up.

banana cupcake batter being scooped into cupcake liners to be baked.

You could easily sub in 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour for 1/2 cup of the all-purpose flour and still get a moist cupcake.

The cupcakes will still look moist when they are done, but they should be lightly golden on top.

looking down on freshly baked banana cupcakes on cooling rack.

golden brown banana cupcakes on cooling rack.

Cupcakes freeze well before they are frosted. Just toss them in a freezer bag and place in the freezer. Pull them out a couple of hours before you want to frost them.

If you want to put a slice of banana on the frosting like I did, wait until you are about ready to serve. Otherwise they will get a bit mushy. You could use a banana chip instead if you want to put it in ahead of time.

4.69 from 19 ratings

Easy Homemade Banana Cupcakes

Author: Carlee

Servings: Servings

This easy banana cupcake recipe is the perfect use for ripe bananas. They are moist, delicious, and super simple to make. We love them with peanut butter frosting, but they are also great with chocolate frosting, and cream cheese frosting. Make several batches so you can try all of the tasty combinations!

Prep: 15

Cook: 19

Total: 34

Equipment

Ingredients

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Put a paper liner in each of 12 wells in a cupcake pan.
In a mixing bowl, mix together 1½ cups all purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda and ¼ teaspoon salt.
In a separate bowl, mix together ¾ cup granulated sugar, 4 ripe bananas, ¼ cup cooking oil and 1 large egg.
Combine wet and dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
Scoop evenly into each paper lined cupcake well (an ice cream or large cookie scoop works well for this)
Bake for 17-19 minutes or until a toothpick tests mostly clean. Cool on a wire rack.