This small-batch recipe makes five of the best Chocolate Banana Muffins you’ll ever eat. You just need one ripe banana and one bowl, and you can be pulling these out of your oven in less than half an hour.
A little over a year ago, I posted these One-banana One-bowl Small-batch Banana Muffins to the blog. I sold them with the pitch: Hey, have a bowl? Have a banana? Make some Banana Muffins!
And they’ve been incredibly popular. Next to my Small-batch Chocolate Chip Cookies , they’re one of the posts I get the most happy messages about. Clearly, you guys love banana muffins and hate doing dishes and having a lone piece of fruit rotting on your counter. (Same.)
Hey, have a bowl? Have a banana? AND love chocolate? Make some Chocolate Banana Muffins!
Guys.
Guuuuuuys.
These muffins. I love them so much.
I love how easy they are to make. I love the way banana and chocolate are a perfect pair. And most of all, I love their texture.
That might sound odd, but the thing about banana muffins is that because bananas are so moist, if you’re not careful you can end up with muffins that are very heavy and almost gummy.
These muffins are NOT that. They are moist and decadent to be sure, but with a fantastic tender crumb that’s almost like biting into a cupcake. Get one warm out of the oven, with the chocolate chunks still melty and molten, and you’ll be pretty sure you’ve died and gone to banana muffin heaven.
I shared the first test batch with taste testers and they got a, “Wow, that’s just incredible.” (Mumbled out around a mouthful of muffin).
A “This is the best chocolate muffin I’ve ever had.”
And a “Damn you, I wasn’t eating sugar this week…are there any more?”
So you know it’s not just me who’s a fan of the things.
What I’m saying is that if you feel like your day could use some chocolate (really, what day couldn’t?), and there’s a shabby looking banana sitting on your counter right now or maybe in the office fruit bowl, you should probably do yourself a favor and take half an hour today to make yourself a batch.
To make this little batch of five chocolate banana muffins, you’ll just need one bowl (that’s right, these are one-bowl muffins) and a couple minutes to chop some chocolate, mash a banana, and mix some ingredients. If it’s before noon, brew yourself a pot of coffee while your muffins bake. If it’s after noon, maybe opt for some tea.
And once they are done baking, eat one warm out of the oven while you decide how many of these perfect little muffins you feel like sharing and how many you’re going to keep for yourself…
More Small-batch Muffin Recipes
- Orange Muffins
- Blueberry Muffins
- Chocolate Chocolate Muffins
- Cinnamon Apple Crumb Muffins
- Pumpkin Muffins
Small-batch Chocolate Banana Muffins Recipe Tips
- This recipe calls for your dry ingredients to be sifted using a fine-mesh strainer. It helps to aerate the flour and gets rid of any lumps in your cocoa powder. If you don’t own a fine-mesh strainer, they are cheap on Amazon and available in the baking aisle at most stores. You can also combine the dry ingredients in a small bowl and whisk them together, making sure to smash any large cocoa powder lumps. It doesn’t work quite as well but will do in a pinch.
- The baking temperature for these muffins starts at 425°F before being dropped to 350°F about halfway through cooking. The initial burst of higher heat helps give them bigger, fluffier muffin tops, but if you don’t want to mess with your oven in the middle of cooking, you can just bake them at 350°F for about 19 minutes.
Ingredients
Special Tools
- ▢ 5 muffin liners
- ▢ Fine-mesh strainer
Chocolate Banana Muffins
- ▢ 1 medium-to-large over-ripe banana
- ▢ 3 tablespoons ( 1.5oz ) unsalted butter melted
- ▢ 1/4 cup ( 50g ) brown sugar
- ▢ 1 large egg white
- ▢ 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ▢ 1/3 cup ( 40g ) all-purpose flour measured by weight or using the spoon and sweep method*
- ▢ 3 tablespoons ( 15g ) unsweetened cocoa powder
- ▢ 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- ▢ 1/8 teaspoon salt
- ▢ 2 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chopped or 1/3 cup chocolate chips, plus more for topping
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425°F and line a muffin tin with 5 liners.
- Place peeled banana in a medium bowl and mash it well with a fork or potato masher. Add melted butter and whisk until well combined. Add brown sugar, egg white, and vanilla. Mix well.
- Place a fine-mesh strainer over the bowl and add flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt to the strainer. Sift dry ingredients into the wet and use a spoon to mix until just combined. Stir in chopped chocolate or chocolate chips. Divide batter between prepared muffin cups, filling about 3/4 of the way full.
- Bake for 8 minutes at 425°F before turning the oven temperature down to 350°F. Bake for an additional 6 to 9 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffins comes out with just a few crumbs.
- Sprinkle extra chocolate over the top if desired. Cool in the pan for at least 10 minutes, and enjoy.
Notes
Recipe Adapted From Smitten Kitchen
This Easy Chicken Curry is one of my family’s favorite quick weeknight meals. Just a bit spicy, with a fragrant, slightly sweet tomato base and big chunks of tender chicken breast throughout, it’s made with pantry staples and can be on your table in about 35 minutes.
Hey, friends. Today’s recipe is a fun one because it’s both an old family favorite and something I just learned to cook myself: super easy Chicken Curry.
Unlike other childhood favorites I’ve posted ( Mom’s Simple Sunday Beef Stew , Chicken Cacciatore , Slow Cooker Tri-tip Sandwiches, etc.), I’ve eaten this Chicken Curry literally hundreds of times in my life, and yet somehow never actually been the one to make it. When I asked my mom for the recipe a couple weeks ago, she looked at me like I was a moron because everyone else in the family knows it by heart. She must have said “Really?” approximately seven times when I told her I didn’t know how to make it.
But, I have good excuses! The first is that because it’s so easy to make, it was one of the first recipes my little sisters learned to cook growing up, so now they’re the ones that always make it for family functions, and second, because the original makes a giant, family-size vat of curry that I’d never be able to eat on my own.
So for today, in addition to learning how to actually cook chicken curry for myself so I could share it with you, I cut the recipe way down so now it serves just two or three.
If you don’t usually make curries at home, this is a perfect curry to start with because you don’t need any special spices or chilies, just curry powder. And while completely delicious, this is a very mild curry, only the slightest bit spicy with a fragrant, slightly sweet tomato base and big chunks of tender chicken breast throughout.
Because this Chicken Curry is so simple and quick to make, in our house growing up, it was usually a weeknight meal, and the scaled down version is even quicker since there’s hardly any chopping to be done, just a bit of green bell pepper, onion, and one chicken breast.
After cutting, the chicken breast gets floured and browned on the stove, the vegetables and spices get a couple minutes in the skillet, and then chicken gets added back to the pan and everything simmers with a can of stewed tomatoes for about twenty minutes. At the very end, you stir in a spoonful of jam for a little added sweetness, and you’re done!
From start to finish, this curry will take just over half an hour, which is perfect because that’s about the time your rice cooker should be done too, so dinner is on the table and ready to go all at the same time. And since the curry is served over rice, this is a very filling meal all on its own, no need to go all out on sides. Just serve with some simple steamed broccoli and enjoy.
Easy Chicken Curry Recipe Notes
- This recipe calls for stewed tomatoes, and sometimes you can only find stewed tomatoes that are labeled Italian- or Mexican-style. Given the choice, my family usually uses Italian, but we’ve used both and both taste great.
- Stewed tomatoes come in pretty large chunks, if you don’t love chunks of tomatoes or are feeding a picky eater, you can open the can, stick a pair of kitchen shears inside and chop the tomatoes into smaller pieces inside the can.
As written, this Easy Chicken Curry recipe makes two very generous portions or three more modest servings. To change the recipe yield, hover over the number of servings (or click if you are on mobile) and slide the slider–no preparation changes are necessary for doubling or tripling.
Ingredients
Special Equipment
- ▢ Medium skillet with a lid
Chicken Curry
- ▢ 1/3 cup ( 40g ) all-purpose flour
- ▢ 1/4 teaspoon salt plus more to taste
- ▢ 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- ▢ 1 medium (8-ounce) boneless skinless chicken breast cubed
- ▢ 3 teaspoons olive oil divided
- ▢ 1/4 cup diced onion
- ▢ 1/4 cup diced green bell pepper
- ▢ 1 teaspoon curry powder
- ▢ 1/4 teaspoon thyme
- ▢ 1 (14.5-ounce) can stewed tomatoes
- ▢ 1 tablespoon currant jelly strawberry or grape are also fine
Serve With
- ▢ White rice
- ▢ Soy sauce optional
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, stir together flour, salt, and pepper. Dredge chicken pieces in flour and set aside.
- In a medium skillet with a lid, heat 2 teaspoons of the oil over medium-high heat. Add flour-coated chicken pieces to the pan and cook until browned on all sides. Transfer chicken to a plate.
- Turn heat down to medium and add remaining teaspoon of oil to the pan. Add onion, bell pepper, curry powder, and thyme and cook until the edges of the onions begin to turn translucent, 3 to 4 minutes.
- Return chicken to the pan and add stewed tomatoes. Stir together, cover and bring to a simmer. Turn heat down to medium-low and cook at a simmer until tomatoes are saucy and chicken cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes.
- Stir in jelly, and salt to taste. Simmer for another minute or two, until jelly is completely incorporated.
- Serve over rice with a drizzle of soy sauce if desired and enjoy!
Notes
Adapted from Joy of Cooking
Keto Chicken in Cream Sauce: quick-cooking chicken breasts cooked on the stove top with a killer basil and parmesan cream sauce and served over cauliflower rice.
Hey, keto friends, I have an easy keto dinner for you today: Keto Chicken in Cream Sauce. Quick-cooking chicken breasts cooked on the stove top with a killer basil and parmesan cream sauce and served over cauliflower rice.
This is one of my favorite keto recipes for weeknights because it’s easy, quick, and super creamy and satisfying. Like my Keto Chicken Soup , it’s also very non-keto-eater friendly. So you can make it for anyone, and they’re going to love it.
How to Make Keto Chicken in Cream Sauce
This recipe starts by slicing a large chicken breast horizontally into two thinner pieces so it’s easier and quicker to cook on the stove. If you only have small chicken breasts on hand, not a problem.
Just use two breasts instead of one, but still slice them into thinner pieces so they’re easy to cook.
Once cut, the chicken gets sprinkled with Italian seasoning , salt, and pepper, and then pan-fried. Since the chicken is thin, it’ll only take about 10 minutes to cook. And once the chicken is done, it’s time to make your cream sauce.
The cream sauce is super simple. Just simmer chicken broth and cream for a minute, add parmesan, basil, and pimientos with a little salt and pepper, and that’s it. There’s your sauce.
It seems way too simple, but I promise, it’s SO good.
Serve everything over a bed of cauliflower rice, with a side of green beans or oven-roasted broccoli , and enjoy. From start to finish, this recipe should take you less than 30 minutes.
A Note on Pimientos (What are Pimientos???!)
If you’ve never cooked with pimientos before, they’re diced cherry peppers, very mild and slightly sweet. You can usually find them at the grocery store in clear 2 or 4-ounce jars (at least here in California) near the olives.
If you can’t find pimientos, you can also substitute with 1/4 cup of finely diced red bell pepper cooked in 1 tablespoon of butter over medium heat until softened.
Keto Chicken Recipe Notes
- As written, the recipe makes 2 servings but it scales easily with no preparation changes needed
- For more keto recipes, try Keto Fried Rice and Bacon and Feta Chicken Breasts .
Ingredients
Special Equipment
- ▢ Instant-read thermometer
Chicken
- ▢ 1 large boneless skinless chicken breast
- ▢ Italian seasoning *
- ▢ Salt and pepper
Basil Cream Sauce
- ▢ 1/4 cup chicken broth
- ▢ 1/2 cup heavy cream
- ▢ 1/4 cup ( 1oz ) shredded Parmesan cheese
- ▢ 1 2-ounce jar diced pimientos drained
- ▢ 2 tablespoons loosely packed chopped fresh basil OR 1 teaspoon dried basil
- ▢ Salt and pepper to taste
Serve Over
- ▢ 1 1/2 cups cooked cauliflower rice
Instructions
- Cut your chicken breast in half horizontally by placing one hand on top of the breast and slicing the top and bottom into two thin, even pieces. Sprinkle both sides of each piece with Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper.
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Grease with cooking spray or a drizzle of olive oil. Once hot, add chicken and cook for 4-6 minutes per side (longer for very large breasts), until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of the meat reads 165°F.
- Transfer chicken to a plate and tent with foil to keep warm.
- Return pan to stove and add chicken broth and cream. Bring to a simmer and cook for 1 minute. Turn heat down to low and add cheese, drained pimientos, basil, and salt and pepper to taste.
- Slice chicken breast and serve over cauliflower rice. Top with cream sauce and enjoy!
Notes
Recipe Adapted From Chicken in Cream Sauce
This small-batch recipe makes five of the best Chocolate Banana Muffins you’ll ever eat. You just need one ripe banana and one bowl, and you can be pulling these out of your oven in less than half an hour.
A little over a year ago, I posted these One-banana One-bowl Small-batch Banana Muffins to the blog. I sold them with the pitch: Hey, have a bowl? Have a banana? Make some Banana Muffins!
And they’ve been incredibly popular. Next to my Small-batch Chocolate Chip Cookies , they’re one of the posts I get the most happy messages about. Clearly, you guys love banana muffins and hate doing dishes and having a lone piece of fruit rotting on your counter. (Same.)
Hey, have a bowl? Have a banana? AND love chocolate? Make some Chocolate Banana Muffins!
Guys.
Guuuuuuys.
These muffins. I love them so much.
I love how easy they are to make. I love the way banana and chocolate are a perfect pair. And most of all, I love their texture.
That might sound odd, but the thing about banana muffins is that because bananas are so moist, if you’re not careful you can end up with muffins that are very heavy and almost gummy.
These muffins are NOT that. They are moist and decadent to be sure, but with a fantastic tender crumb that’s almost like biting into a cupcake. Get one warm out of the oven, with the chocolate chunks still melty and molten, and you’ll be pretty sure you’ve died and gone to banana muffin heaven.
I shared the first test batch with taste testers and they got a, “Wow, that’s just incredible.” (Mumbled out around a mouthful of muffin).
A “This is the best chocolate muffin I’ve ever had.”
And a “Damn you, I wasn’t eating sugar this week…are there any more?”
So you know it’s not just me who’s a fan of the things.
What I’m saying is that if you feel like your day could use some chocolate (really, what day couldn’t?), and there’s a shabby looking banana sitting on your counter right now or maybe in the office fruit bowl, you should probably do yourself a favor and take half an hour today to make yourself a batch.
To make this little batch of five chocolate banana muffins, you’ll just need one bowl (that’s right, these are one-bowl muffins) and a couple minutes to chop some chocolate, mash a banana, and mix some ingredients. If it’s before noon, brew yourself a pot of coffee while your muffins bake. If it’s after noon, maybe opt for some tea.
And once they are done baking, eat one warm out of the oven while you decide how many of these perfect little muffins you feel like sharing and how many you’re going to keep for yourself…
More Small-batch Muffin Recipes
- Orange Muffins
- Blueberry Muffins
- Chocolate Chocolate Muffins
- Cinnamon Apple Crumb Muffins
- Pumpkin Muffins
Small-batch Chocolate Banana Muffins Recipe Tips
- This recipe calls for your dry ingredients to be sifted using a fine-mesh strainer. It helps to aerate the flour and gets rid of any lumps in your cocoa powder. If you don’t own a fine-mesh strainer, they are cheap on Amazon and available in the baking aisle at most stores. You can also combine the dry ingredients in a small bowl and whisk them together, making sure to smash any large cocoa powder lumps. It doesn’t work quite as well but will do in a pinch.
- The baking temperature for these muffins starts at 425°F before being dropped to 350°F about halfway through cooking. The initial burst of higher heat helps give them bigger, fluffier muffin tops, but if you don’t want to mess with your oven in the middle of cooking, you can just bake them at 350°F for about 19 minutes.
Ingredients
Special Tools
- ▢ 5 muffin liners
- ▢ Fine-mesh strainer
Chocolate Banana Muffins
- ▢ 1 medium-to-large over-ripe banana
- ▢ 3 tablespoons ( 1.5oz ) unsalted butter melted
- ▢ 1/4 cup ( 50g ) brown sugar
- ▢ 1 large egg white
- ▢ 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ▢ 1/3 cup ( 40g ) all-purpose flour measured by weight or using the spoon and sweep method*
- ▢ 3 tablespoons ( 15g ) unsweetened cocoa powder
- ▢ 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- ▢ 1/8 teaspoon salt
- ▢ 2 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chopped or 1/3 cup chocolate chips, plus more for topping
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425°F and line a muffin tin with 5 liners.
- Place peeled banana in a medium bowl and mash it well with a fork or potato masher. Add melted butter and whisk until well combined. Add brown sugar, egg white, and vanilla. Mix well.
- Place a fine-mesh strainer over the bowl and add flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt to the strainer. Sift dry ingredients into the wet and use a spoon to mix until just combined. Stir in chopped chocolate or chocolate chips. Divide batter between prepared muffin cups, filling about 3/4 of the way full.
- Bake for 8 minutes at 425°F before turning the oven temperature down to 350°F. Bake for an additional 6 to 9 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffins comes out with just a few crumbs.
- Sprinkle extra chocolate over the top if desired. Cool in the pan for at least 10 minutes, and enjoy.
Notes
Recipe Adapted From Smitten Kitchen
Small-batch Chocolate Banana Muffins (One-banana, One-bowl)
Ingredients
Special Tools
- 5 muffin liners
- Fine-mesh strainer
Chocolate Banana Muffins
- 1 medium-to-large over-ripe banana
- 3 tablespoons ( 1.5oz ) unsalted butter melted
- 1/4 cup ( 50g ) brown sugar
- 1 large egg white
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup ( 40g ) all-purpose flour measured by weight or using the spoon and sweep method*
- 3 tablespoons ( 15g ) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 2 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chopped or 1/3 cup chocolate chips, plus more for topping
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425°F and line a muffin tin with 5 liners.
- Place peeled banana in a medium bowl and mash it well with a fork or potato masher. Add melted butter and whisk until well combined. Add brown sugar, egg white, and vanilla. Mix well.
- Place a fine-mesh strainer over the bowl and add flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt to the strainer. Sift dry ingredients into the wet and use a spoon to mix until just combined. Stir in chopped chocolate or chocolate chips. Divide batter between prepared muffin cups, filling about 3/4 of the way full.
- Bake for 8 minutes at 425°F before turning the oven temperature down to 350°F. Bake for an additional 6 to 9 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffins comes out with just a few crumbs.
- Sprinkle extra chocolate over the top if desired. Cool in the pan for at least 10 minutes, and enjoy.
