Banana Nutella Muffins with Pancake Mix

Three ripe bananas. Pancake mix instead of flour. That’s the shortcut that works. Swirl Nutella through the middle and they turn into something that tastes homemade without the fuss—takes 37 minutes total, 10 of that just prep. Had a bag of bananas turning spotty and Greek yogurt I needed to use. This happened.

Why You’ll Love These Banana Nutella Muffins

Makes breakfast feel special without waking up early. Bake them the night before.

Pancake mix means no measuring flour, no baking powder math. Just grab the box.

Greek yogurt keeps them soft. Days later. Seriously.

Nutella swirled through means chocolate hazelnut in every bite—but the ones with extra swirl are the best, which is why you’re dividing it up.

Comfort food muffins that don’t taste like you’re being good. That’s the thing about chocolate hazelnut banana muffins.

What You Need for Banana Muffins

Three ripe bananas—the darker the skin, the sweeter they are. Mash them. Lumps are fine.

Pancake mix. Two cups. Saves you from measuring individual dry ingredients. Vanilla pancake mix works. Buttermilk pancake mix works better, if you have it.

Half a cup of milk. Almond milk, regular milk, doesn’t matter much. Just needs to be liquid.

A quarter cup of oil. Vegetable oil. Coconut oil melted. Not butter—it changes the crumb texture. Oil keeps them moist longer.

Two large eggs. Room temperature is better but cold ones work too.

Brown sugar. Half a cup. Packed down in the measuring cup so it doesn’t fall apart when you add it.

Almond extract instead of vanilla. A teaspoon. Creates something slightly different. Vanilla works if that’s what you have.

Greek yogurt. A quarter cup. The added twist that keeps these muffins soft the next day, the day after that.

Nutella. A third of a cup. Save a tablespoon to swirl on top if you want—some people do, some don’t.

How to Make Banana Nutella Muffins

Heat the oven to 355. Line your muffin tin. Doesn’t matter—paper liners, silicone, or just grease it. They come out either way.

Mash the bananas in a big bowl. Don’t overthink it. Some lumps mean texture. Totally mashed means gluey.

Dump in the pancake mix, milk, oil, eggs, brown sugar, almond extract, Greek yogurt. All of it at once. Use a wooden spoon—not a mixer. Fold it together gently. Stop before it looks totally smooth. See streaks of pancake mix still visible? Perfect. Overmix and they get dense and tough. You can feel the difference.

Take a third of the Nutella. Drop three dollops onto the batter—top, middle, bottom. Grab a thin knife or skewer. Swirl it through like you’re not trying too hard. Gentle lines. You want chocolate hazelnut pockets, not chocolate hazelnut muffins where the swirl disappeared.

Scoop the batter into liners with a tablespoon or muffin scoop. Fill them about two-thirds up. Some will be fuller, some less—that’s okay. It just means the fuller ones finish cooking a minute or two before the smaller ones.

Bake for 20 to 27 minutes. Around minute 20, start checking. You’ll hear a faint crackling sound from the edges if you listen close. The tops should be golden, not pale. Stick a toothpick in the center. A few moist crumbs clinging is correct. Raw batter running down means not done. Hard dry crumbs mean you baked too long.

Let them sit in the pan for 10 minutes before you pop them out. They’re still setting. Pull them out too early and they fall apart. This is the part people skip and regret.

How to Get the Nutella Swirl Perfect

The swirl matters. Three dollops, not one long squeeze across the top. Drop them where they hit different parts of the batter.

Use something thin—a butter knife, a skewer, anything pointy. Just drag it through a couple times. Don’t overwork it. The chocolate hazelnut banana muffins you want have distinct swirls, not uniform brown color throughout.

Some Nutella will sink. That’s the point. Some stays near the top and gets almost crusty. Some stays in the middle and stays creamy. That’s why you get three different textures in one muffin.

Banana Muffins Tips and Common Mistakes

Batter thickness matters. If it looks more like pancake batter than cake batter, splash in a bit more milk. If it’s thick and stiff, add milk a tablespoon at a time. If it’s too thin, sprinkle in more pancake mix—just a spoon or two. The scoop test: should feel heavy when you pull it out.

Oven temperature. 355 is specific because most ovens run hot. If yours runs cool, bump it to 365. If your oven’s totally wild, just watch them around minute 20 and adjust from there.

Dairy-free? Swap the Greek yogurt for applesauce. Same amount. Keeps them just as soft.

Don’t like Nutella for some reason? Peanut butter works. Creates something heavier, more breakfast-y in a different way. Chocolate chips mixed into the batter works too—toss them in at the very end.

Ripe bananas are the whole thing. Spotted, browning, almost too soft. Those are the ones you want. Green bananas make watery muffins. Overripe ones are sweeter but mushier.

Banana Nutella Muffins with Pancake Mix

By Emma

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Prep:

10 min

Cook:

27 min

Total:

37 min

Servings:

16 servings

Ingredients

• 3 ripe bananas, mashed
• 2 cups pancake mix
• 1/2 cup milk or almond milk
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil or melted coconut oil
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 teaspoon almond extract (instead of vanilla)
• 1/4 cup Greek yogurt (added twist)
• 1/3 cup Nutella, divided for swirling

Method

1. 1 Preheat oven to 355℉. Line standard muffin tins with paper or silicone liners; sets foundation without sticking.
2. 2 In large bowl, mash bananas thoroughly — lumps okay; moisture and natural sweetness. Avoid over-mashing, some texture adds character.
3. 3 Add pancake mix, milk, oil, eggs, brown sugar, almond extract, and Greek yogurt to mashed bananas. Use wooden spoon, fold gently. Incorporation not homogenized batter; stop just before fully uniform — overmix toughens crumb.
4. 4 Drop Nutella onto batter in three dollops. Use thin skewer or knife to swirl gently; visual marbling signals distribution without blending away the creamy pockets.
5. 5 Scoop batter with tablespoon or muffin scoop into liners. About two-thirds full to give room for rise and avoid overflow—note uneven fill changes baking time slightly.
6. 6 Bake 20-27 minutes. Listen for faint crackling sounds and watch golden top edges walk your timer back or forward. Insert toothpick; a few moist crumbs cling but no raw batter. Underbaking yields gummy centers; overbaking dries the crumb.
7. 7 Cool muffins 10 minutes in pan before popping out. They finish setting as they cool; remove too soon, they break apart. Perfume of banana and Nutella fills kitchen, a classic marker.
8. 8 If batter too thick, whisk extra splash of milk; too thin, a spoon more pancake mix prevents flattening. For dairy-free, swap Greek yogurt for applesauce. Nutella swap with peanut butter gives savory depth.

Nutritional information

Calories

210

Protein

4g

Carbs

30g

Fat

9g

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Frequently Asked Questions About Banana Nutella Muffins

Can you make these chocolate muffins ahead? Yeah. Bake them the night before. Store in an airtight container. They stay soft for three or four days. Microwave them 15 seconds if you want them warm.

Why Greek yogurt instead of sour cream? Tangier. Sour cream works—same amount—but it’s louder. Greek yogurt is subtle. Keeps the comfort food muffins tasting like breakfast, not dessert.

Do the breakfast muffins freeze? Completely. Freeze them after they cool. Thaw at room temperature or microwave straight from frozen. Takes maybe a minute.

Can you use whole wheat pancake mix? It works. Texture gets denser, earthier. Still tastes good. Might need a tiny splash more milk because it absorbs faster.

What if your bananas aren’t that ripe? Mash them anyway. Just means less natural sweetness, so the muffins taste more like the pancake mix and less like banana. Add a tablespoon of honey or extra brown sugar if they’re really pale. Won’t hurt.

How do you know they’re done without a toothpick? Crack one open and look. Center should have that faint gummy quality—not raw, just not bone dry. Takes practice. That’s why you start checking at minute 20. Better to underbake slightly and let them sit longer cooling than to overbake and have them taste like cardboard.