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Banana Cupcakes are the best thing that ever happened to the brown bananas on your counter, moist and tender with a tangy cream cheese frosting swirled on top, and Maddie claims the first one every time they come out of the oven on a Sunday baking afternoon. If banana baking is your love language, our banana cream cheese muffins deserve a spot in the rotation too.
One bowl for the batter, 19 minutes in the oven, and a fluffy cream cheese frosting turn three sad bananas into a dozen bakery-worthy cupcakes.
Banana Cupcakes Quick Look
- 🕒 Prep Time: 10 minutes
- 🌡️ Cook Time: 19 minutes
- ⏳ Total Time: 29 minutes
- 🍽️ Serving: 12 cupcakes
- ⚡ Calories: 380kcal
- 🌶️ Flavor Profile: Sweet and tangy (moist banana cake under cinnamon-kissed cream cheese frosting)
- ✋ Difficulty: Easy, on par with our angel food cupcakes
Quick Answer
Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in one bowl. In a second bowl, whisk mashed ripe bananas with oil, vanilla, and an egg, then stir the wet into the dry until just combined. Divide the batter between 12 cupcake liners and bake at 350 degrees for 17 to 19 minutes. Once cool, frost with cream cheese frosting made by beating butter, cream cheese, vanilla, powdered sugar, and a little cinnamon until fluffy.
Jump to:
- Banana Cupcakes Quick Look
- Quick Answer
- Why This Recipe Works
- Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Key Ingredients
- Variations and Substitutions
- How to Make Banana Cupcakes
- Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Serving Ideas and Suggestions
- Banana Cupcakes FAQs
- Other Recommended Easy Cupcake Recipes
- Easy Banana Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
Why This Recipe Works
Click to see the technique science
- Overripe bananas are the whole game. Brown, spotty bananas are sweeter and mash smoother, which gives the cupcakes deep banana flavor and natural moisture no extract can fake.
- Oil keeps them moist for days. Unlike butter, oil stays liquid at room temperature, so the crumb stays soft and tender even on day three.
- Mix until JUST combined. Stirring only until the dry streaks disappear keeps the gluten relaxed, which is the difference between a tender cupcake and a rubbery one.
- Baking soda AND powder team up. The soda neutralizes the acidity of the bananas while the powder provides the main lift, giving a tall, even dome without any tang.
- Cold-ish cream cheese, soft butter. Beating softened butter first, then the cream cheese, gives a frosting that is fluffy but still firm enough to pipe in tall swirls.
- Cinnamon ties the two halves together. A little cinnamon stirred into the frosting echoes the warm banana-bread flavor of the cake, so every bite tastes complete.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Rescue mission for ripe bananas. Three brown bananas become a dozen cupcakes that look and taste like they came from a bakery case.
- One bowl, no mixer for the batter. The cupcakes themselves come together with a whisk and a spoon; the mixer only comes out for the frosting.
- That cream cheese frosting. Tangy, fluffy, and kissed with cinnamon, it is the same crowd-favorite finish that makes our banana cream cheese muffins disappear.
Key Ingredients
Pantry staples plus three ripe bananas are all it takes. Quantities are in the recipe card below; here is why each one matters.
- Ripe bananas. The riper the better. Heavy brown spotting means more sugar and more banana flavor, and they mash silky smooth.
- Vegetable oil. The moisture keeper. Oil-based banana cake stays tender for days where butter cakes dry out overnight.
- Cream cheese. The frosting backbone. Use a full-fat block, softened just slightly, for a frosting that is tangy, fluffy, and pipeable.
- Butter. Softened unsalted butter whips with the cream cheese for structure and richness in the frosting.
- Cinnamon. A pinch in the frosting echoes banana bread warmth and makes the whole cupcake taste cozier. Chopped walnuts on top double down.
See recipe card for exact quantities.
Variations and Substitutions
These banana cupcakes are a friendly base for mix-ins and swaps.
- Add chocolate chips. Fold a half cup of mini chocolate chips into the batter for banana-chocolate cupcakes the kids will riot over.
- Make them banana nut. Stir chopped toasted walnuts or pecans into the batter, not just on top, for crunch in every bite.
- Swap the frosting. A brown sugar frosting is incredible here, the same one from our banana cupcakes with brown sugar frosting.
- Add a peanut butter swirl. Beat a few tablespoons of peanut butter into the frosting for an Elvis-approved finish.
- Make 24 minis. Bake mini cupcakes for 10 to 12 minutes for party-perfect two-bite treats.
How to Make Banana Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In a medium bowl, add the mashed bananas, oil, vanilla, and egg.
- Whisk the wet ingredients together until smooth and combined.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.
- Mix with a spoon until just combined with no dry patches. Do not overmix.
- Evenly divide the batter between 12 cupcake liners.
- Bake for 17 to 19 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely.
- For the frosting, beat the butter and cream cheese with a mixer until smooth, then add the vanilla and slowly beat in the powdered sugar. Stir in the cinnamon.
- Pipe or spread the frosting onto the cooled cupcakes and top with chopped walnuts if desired.
Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Use truly ripe bananas. If they are still yellow, bake them in their peels at 300 degrees for 15 minutes to ripen in a pinch.
- Measure the mash. About 3 medium bananas gives the right amount; too much mash makes dense, wet centers.
- Do not overmix the batter. Stop as soon as the flour disappears. Overworked batter bakes up tough and tunneled.
- Cool completely before frosting. Even slightly warm cupcakes melt cream cheese frosting into a puddle.
- Soften the dairy properly. Butter should dent easily; cream cheese should still be slightly cool. Too-soft cream cheese makes runny frosting.
- Pipe with a big star tip. One tall swirl with a 1M tip turns a humble banana cupcake into a bakery showpiece.
Serving Ideas and Suggestions
These banana cupcakes own the dessert table at birthdays, bake sales, and Easter spreads. Set them out next to our angel food cupcakes for a duo that covers both light and rich cravings.
For a banana-lover party, go all in: a plate of these plus our banana bundt cake and a batch of banana cream cheese muffins turns ripe bananas into a full spread.
Store frosted cupcakes covered in the fridge for up to 3 days and let them sit out 20 minutes before serving so the crumb softens back up. Unfrosted cupcakes freeze beautifully for up to 3 months, then thaw and frost fresh. They are also dangerously good with a scoop of no churn moose tracks ice cream on the side.
Banana Cupcakes FAQs
The riper the better. Look for heavy brown spotting or fully brown peels; those bananas are sweeter, more fragrant, and mash perfectly smooth. If your bananas are still yellow, bake them in their peels at 300 degrees for about 15 minutes, cool, and use.
Almost always overmixing or too much banana. Stir the batter only until the dry streaks disappear, and stick to about 1 cup of mashed banana. Overworked batter develops gluten and bakes up tough, while extra mash weighs the crumb down and leaves wet centers.
Yes. Cream cheese frosting should not sit out for more than about 2 hours. Store frosted cupcakes covered in the fridge for up to 3 days, then let them rest at room temperature for 15 to 20 minutes before serving so the cake softens back up.
Yes. Freeze unfrosted cupcakes in a freezer bag for up to 3 months and thaw at room temperature before frosting fresh. Frosted cupcakes can also be frozen solid on a tray first, then wrapped, though the frosting texture is best when piped fresh.
The batter is flexible. Bake it in an 8 by 8 pan for a snack cake, checking for doneness around 28 to 32 minutes, or skip the frosting and bake slightly mounded muffins. For a full layer cake moment, double the batch and the frosting.
Cream cheese frosting is the classic pairing because its tang balances the sweet banana cake, and a pinch of cinnamon ties it together. Brown sugar frosting, peanut butter frosting, or chocolate buttercream are all delicious swaps if cream cheese is not your thing.
Got more cupcake liners to fill? Our pina colada cupcakes bring the tropical vacation to the dessert table.
Easy Banana Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
- 1 & 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 1/2 cup mashed bananas
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 egg lightly beaten
cream cheese frosting
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups powdered sugar sifted
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- chopped walnuts for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large bowl, add the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk to combine.1 & 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, 3/4 cup granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- In a medium separate bowl, mix together the mashed bananas, oil, vanilla, and egg. Whisk to combine.1 1/2 cup mashed bananas, 1/4 cup vegetable oil, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 egg
- Add the wet ingredients into the dry and mix together with a spoon until just combined and there are no dry patches.
- Evenly distribute the batter between 12 cupcake liners. Bake for 17-19 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool completely on wire rack.
- For the frosting: In a large bowl, add in the butter and cream cheese. With a hand mixer, cream until smooth.8 tablespoons unsalted butter, 8 ounces cream cheese
- Add in the vanilla and mix to combine. Slowly add in the powdered sugar until smooth; stir in the cinnamon. Top cupcakes with the frosting, and garnish with walnuts if desired.1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 2 cups powdered sugar, chopped walnuts for garnish, 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Notes
- Use extra ripe bananas for the best banana flavor. It’s amazing how sweet they get!
- A medium bowl is ideal for mixing wet ingredients, and a large bowl for dry ingredients.
- For a tender banana cupcake texture, avoid overmixing the batter. Overmixing might make them more like dense muffins.
- A medium high speed setting on your electric mixer is perfect for creaming butter and sugar.
- For even-sized cupcakes, use an ice cream scoop to divide the batter into the muffin tin.
- Let cupcakes cool on a wire rack before frosting to prevent a melty mess.
Nutrition
Love This Recipe?
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3-4 normally
Say you are using medium bananas, how many will I need for 1 1/2 cups?
This was so good and easy. I did substitute
Apple sauce for most of the oil and used 1 T
of oil. I lost my long time recipe
this was by far the best out of several recipes I have tried. Thank you!
Oops! I forgot the stars. 🙂
My daughters and I made these today. Holy moly! They’re amazing! Highly recommend.
Yes, next time make sure the bananas are fully mashed, like a puree and are fully mixed into the batter. But, it still sounds delicious!
Hello!, today i made these cupcakes they are simply delicious however i have a question as they have piece of banana on it is this ok, bread is well done , howevwe i can see ans fee the banana, can you please give me some advices what I should done better ?,..maybe smash better the banana?. Thanks
I totally agree, my favorite cupcakes! Thanks for the 5 stars 🙂
Fantastic recipe! Easy to make and taste scrumptious!!!! Thank you
Made these today and super duper delicious and yummy! Everyone loved them and I will definitely be making again.
Love cupcakes, this recipe will be a welcome addition when planning our weekly menu. Thank you xoxo
These are amazing! I doubled it and I just finished topping them with the frosting (no need to double the frosting – it made plenty.) A perfect way to use up those ripe bananas. Thank you for the recipe!
Ooooh, that nutmeg addition sounds yummy!
I just made these and they were delicious. I added a 1/4 tsp of nutmeg and followed the recipe as written. My daughter loved these too.
These cupcakes look super delicious! Will have to try the recipe out