Coconut Banana Crunch Muffins

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 22 minutes
Total Time 32 minutes
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With a toasted coconut topping, these coconut banana muffins are a naturally sweet and fruity start to your day. Super moist and perfect with coffee, they’re packed with tropical flavors that’ll make breakfast taste like paradise.

Why You’ll Love This Muffin Recipe

These golden, fluffy muffins come together easily no matter what kind of home-baker you are. Here’s why you’ll love making them:

  • No mixer needed. Don’t worry if you don’t have any fancy baking equipment, you don’t even need a mixer or a stand mixer to make these.
  • Easy. The ingredients list is simple and so are the instructions for the muffins (basically stirring), which means they’re perfect for all-level bakers.
  • Fruity. Packed with bananas, coconut, and even pineapple, every bite is perfectly sweet and fruity.
Ingredients for coconut banana muffins.

What’s In Coconut Banana Muffins?

Once you check bananas and coconut off the list, the rest are pretty standard ingredients. Check the recipe card at the bottom of the post for full ingredient amounts.

  • Dry Ingredients – All-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt.
  • Bananas – Overripe bananas (with lots of black spots) are best for this.
  • Vegetable oil – Canola and corn oil are great swaps. Avoid olive oil as it will effect the flavor.
  • Granulated sugar – Feel free to use light brown sugar.
  • Egg
  • Vanilla extract
  • Sweetened flaked coconut – It’s okay to use toasted coconut but it might brown a little too much.
Coconut banana muffins in a wire basket.

Tips for the Best Homemade Muffins

With these tips, you’ll be making muffins like a pro, not just coconut banana muffins:

  • Use silicone baking cups. These are reusable and will help you reduce waste. I have this set and love them!
  • Don’t overfill the tray. Fill the muffin cups until they’re 3/4 full. Don’t add more than this or they will overflow as they bake.
  • Don’t over-mix it. Only mix the batter until the ingredients are just combined. If you mix too much, they’ll become dense and rubbery.
  • Add pineapple. Chop up 1/2 cup of canned pineapple and fold it into the batter. Then add 4-6 minutes of extra baking time or until nice and golden.
Three muffins with a glass of milk on the side.

What to Serve with Banana Coconut Muffins

These muffins are the perfect morning treat with a glass of milk, a cup of tea, or your favorite coffee. For an extra sweet treat, try them with my Homemade Strawberry Milk. If you’re a coffee person, pair them with my Vanilla Cinnamon Iced Coffee, Café de Olla (Cinnamon Mexican Coffee), or Dalgona Coffee. To keep things nice and fruity, give my Strawberry Banana Oatmeal Smoothie a go.

A stack of banana muffins.

How to Store

Once fully cooled, place these coconut banana muffins in an airtight container at room temperature. Store them, away from the heat, for up to 4 days.

To keep them longer, refrigerate them in the airtight container for up to 7 days. Set them on the counter for 10-15 minutes before eating to let them come down to room temperature.

A coconut banana muffin sliced in half to see the inside.

Can I Freeze Banana and Coconut Muffins?

Yes! Wrap each cooled muffin in plastic wrap once and place them in a freezer-friendly bag or container. Freeze for up to 3 months.

Set muffins on the counter for 1-3 hours or until fully thawed when ready to eat. The coconut won’t be as crunchy but the muffins will be just as yummy.

More Easy Muffin Recipes

Landscape photo of breakfast banana muffins with toasted coconut.
4.4 from 82 votes
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Yield: 12 standard muffins

Coconut Banana Crunch Muffins

These coconut banana muffins are the perfect fruity start to your day. Perfect with a cup of coffee, they make breakfast taste like paradise. 
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time22 minutes
Total Time32 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ¾ cup approximately 2 overripe bananas, mashed
  • ½ cup vegetable oil
  • cup granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 ½ cups sweetened flaked coconut, divided
  • ¼ cup chopped walnuts or pecans, optional

Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to 350°F. Line muffin tin with liners.
  • In a medium sized bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
  • Whisk together bananas, vegetable oil, sugar, egg, and vanilla in a large bowl until well combined.
  • Fold in flour mixture until flour is just moistened and then fold in 1 cup shredded coconut and chopped nuts (if using).
  • Divide batter among lined muffin cups and sprinkle with remaining shredded coconut. Bake for 20-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center come out clean.
  • Transfer muffins to a rack to cool. Serve warm or let cool completely.

Notes

Storage: Store muffins in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Or freeze muffins for up to 3 months. If freezing muffins, I highly recommend individually wrapping each muffin tightly in saran wrap and then placing them in a freezer ziploc bag to keep them from getting freezer burned.

Nutrition

Serving: 1, Calories: 233kcal, Carbohydrates: 28g, Protein: 2g, Fat: 13g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 8g, Cholesterol: 16mg, Sodium: 121mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 16g

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Recipe Rating




88 Responses
  1. Andrea

    These turned out amazing! I had some coconut extract on hand so I added 1/4 tsp. My coworkers loved them! Definitely a keeper recipe.

  2. S. Gomez

    With a surplus of uneaten bananas, I searched for a solution. These are easy to make. They’re delicious. They are pleasantly sweet. The coconut adds a slightly chewy texture which I appreciate. I’m going to check out your other recipes. Thank you

  3. Ceci

    This recipe worked perfectly! I’ll definitely make these again. Mine were slightly sweet but it may have been from the very rip banana. I may use unsweetened coconut next time.

    1. A woman holding a camera standing in front of some shelves.
      Jessica

      Yes! They should freeze just fine. I like to wrap my muffin individually with saran wrap and then place them in a ziplock freezer friendly bag.

    1. sherri webber

      Hi Just made these and totally loved them! Perfect sweetness…they are sweet, good for a dessert type of muffin. I did 1/2 brown and 1/2 granulated.
      Turned exactly as shown too.
      Loved the crunchy top!

    1. A woman holding a camera standing in front of some shelves.
      Jessica

      They are a dense-r style muffin! Not super light. If they were extra dense, then I would recommend checking that you baking powder is still good!

  4. Werner

    Turned out really nice! Substituted 1/2 of the oil with apple sauce and 1/3 of the coconut flakes with crushed nuts. :-) – Had to restrain myself.

  5. Heidi Spangler

    These were great. We’re on a stay at home order so I used what I had in the house – unsweetened coconut, whole wheat flour, and a little over 1/3 cup of coconut sugar. They tasted great and were definitely sweet enough this way. Great recipe! Thank you.

  6. Donna Pace Serna

    I don’t care much for muffins. But I tend to bake when I’m feeling down. Usually give it all away. I had 2 bananas left from some homemade banana pudding. Happened to have coconut too. So I made these. I will not be giving these away!  They are so moist and delicious. I will be putting this into my favorite recipe list. 

  7. Lisa

    These are fantastic! The only change I’d suggest is to toast the coconut first – it makes SUCH a difference in the taste!

    1. A woman holding a camera standing in front of some shelves.
      Jessica

      Yes, but you can not put the coconut on top since it will burn before the loaf is done. Also, start checking on it around 45-50 minutes for it to be done and you might need to cover it with foil if it starts browning way too much. 

  8. Tiffany

    I found your recipe after searching for what to do with brown bananas other than make banana bread. I made them today…holy cow YUM!!! They’re perfect! I will be making again and again

  9. Connie

    I made these yesterday, and they were delicious!  But I was wondering if you could substitute the all-purpose flour with coconut flour.  It would be a lot less carbs.

    Thanks.

    1. A woman holding a camera standing in front of some shelves.
      Jessica

      Hi Connie! So glad you enjoyed them! I do not know if the recipe would work with coconut flour, but I do know it is very absorbent, So you would need a much smaller amount than you would with regular flour. So I would start with a few tablespoons of coconut flour and work your way up until you get the correct consistency. Hope this helps! 

    1. A woman holding a camera standing in front of some shelves.
      Jessica

      Yes, as long as you use a fractionated coconut oil, it will work just fine. 

      (Fractionated coconut oil is the coconut oil that is always in a liquid form, not the one that solidifies at room temperature.)

  10. Faye Reid

    I made these today and we love them. I did use melted butter instead of oil and I added about 1/2 cup of walnuts. They were so moist and just perfect.

  11. Gwen

    I made these yesterday and they came out so crumbly it is almost impossible to pick them up and eat them even with cake fork. What went wrong?

    1. A woman holding a camera standing in front of some shelves.
      Jessica

      That is very strange. It’s hard for me to guess without being with you in the kitchen watching as you make them, but I would guess too much banana/not enough flour?

  12. Jo

    These turned out sooooo good! I will make them again for sure. I substituted the vegetable oil with coconut oil. I used a mixer for the wet ingredients and folded the dry ingredients by hand. I also held back about 1 tablespoon of sugar because of the sugar from the bananas.

  13. Shanzay

    I tried this recipe today.. and it turned out awesome. .. thank you so much for sharing this combination and beautiful recipe with us

  14. Chrissy

    I love these muffins!! I was looking for a new and different recipe to use with my brown bananas and I am SO glad I found this one!! My kids beg me to make them and I always make a double batch now. They freeze beautifully too if I manage to sneak a few away for a rainy day! Love love them! Thanks so much for sharing this!!

  15. Jackie Haley

    These were delicious! The only change I made was I cut the coconut down to 1/2 cup in the batter and added 1/2 cup chopped pecans. They were perfect!

  16. skdeX

    terrific muffins, thank you! a cinch to make and quite delish!………………a few substitutions here as well!–I used a fat free yogurt (!) in place of oil as it was all I had, plus added pear because my bananas were a little short. i also cut down the sugar a bit and used a 1/4 c. brown sugar and 1/4 c. white sugar, as well as the addition of 1/2 t. of almond extract just to be a fancypants, but not sure it added much. haha. maybe next time i will substitute vanilla for almond fully. anyway even with all my substitutions, these turned out FAB! only criticism is they stuck to muffin liners. next batch, I will double recipe also for bigger muffins as mine looked like ohoto above which while lovely, I prefer them with big bulging muffin tops!!

    1. A woman holding a camera standing in front of some shelves.
      Jessica

      Hi Carol, Yes i believe it would do fine as a loaf, but haven’t personally tried it. Of course it will need a longer baking time, but you may also need to cover it with foil or the coconut on top will burn during the longer baking time. 

  17. Bea

    Just baked these. Had ripe bananas & didn’t want to toss & this seemed so much easier then banana bread!  Omg!! They are soooo good & soooo easy! I added nuts cause I can’t imagine any banana bread or muffin wothout! They are definitely a hit. I think I’m going to purposely hide a couple of bananas so I have to use them when they are too ripe to eat! Ha! 

    1. A woman holding a camera standing in front of some shelves.
      Jessica

      HI Suzanne, coconut flour requires a much different amount of liquids than regular flour. Coconut flour is extraordinarily absorbent.  In baked goods, you generally want to substitute 1/4 cup coconut flour for 1 cup regular flour. 

  18. Debbie

    These sound wonderful….do you happen to have the carb grams? I know, I’m a party pooper….diabetic hubby.
    Thanks

  19. Alma

    Just made this beauties with a couple of changes. I used coconut oil and reduced the amount of sugar to 1/3c+2T. It still turned out good. Next time I will add pineapple to it. 

  20. Nancy

    I’m never making banana bread again. These are so good I’ve made them 2 times already and have another batch in the oven now. They are very tender, light, and crunchy all at once. Yum.

  21. Majda

    These turned out so soft and moist!  I used coconut oil instead and 1/3 cup of coconut palm sugar instead of granulated sugar and coconut flakes were unsweetened too. Muffins still turned out sweet enough (bananas were very ripe which I noticed makes difference with sweetness) and my whole family loves them – thanks for the recipe! :) 

  22. Ashley Wallace

    The only addition I made was mini chocolate chips because, well CHOCOLATE! This recipe came out amazingly delicious! I will for sure be baking them again! 

  23. Kendra

    I made these with a few switches and they were still VERY good!
     I used 1/4 c. Applesauce and 1/4 c. Vegetable oil. 
    I used 1/2 c. Brown sugar instead of 2/3 granulated.
    And I used unsweetened coconut instead of sweetened. 
    I am very surprised they were still really sweet with all those changes. My husband is a junk food addict and he ate 3/4 of them!

    1. A woman holding a camera standing in front of some shelves.
      Jessica

      Awesome! I am so glad you liked them and your substitutions worked. Thanks for taking the time to come back and comment and share what worked for you!  

      …and we think Ellie is precious too…but we are a little biased. ;-) 

    1. A woman holding a camera standing in front of some shelves.
      Jessica

      Kendra commented below you that she used 1/4 cup applesauce and 1/4 cup vegetable oil and the recipe was still successful. Hope this helps!

  24. Heather | All Roads Lead to the Kitchen

    I’m always looking for ways to use up a couple of bananas (other than our normal banana bread) – these muffins sound amazing, I’ll definitely give ’em a try one of these days! Love the banana/coconut combo.

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Jessica
For the past 15 years, Jorge & Jessica have loved getting to share their families' favorite recipes with all of you. They live in Florida with their 3 kids.