If you’re looking for the perfect simple fall muffin, look no further than these pumpkin banana muffins. With simple ingredients, a super moist crumb and an irresistible streusel topping, they’re everything you’re looking for in a seasonal bake.

Everyone loves a good pumpkin baked good when the cooler temps of September hit. I’m no different but if I’m being honest, my garden is also still exploding with zucchini right now so I feel a bit torn between two seasons. That’s what inspired the simplicity of these pumpkin muffins.

They’re made with basic ingredients but bring a bakery-like vibe with cinnamon infused streusel topping that makes them a little more exciting than your average muffin. Think of these as a cross between the ease of banana bread and the warming seasonal vibes of your favorite pumpkin spiced goodie.

Best Pumpkin Banana Muffin Features

One bowl preparation
Easy pantry ingredients
Super moist crumb
Perfectly balanced sweetness
Enjoyable for breakfast, snack or dessert

Ingredient Notes

A top-down view of baking ingredients on a white surface, including ripe bananas, flour, pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, brown sugar, butter, vanilla extract, spices, baking powder, and salt in bowls.

This isn’t a comprehensive ingredient list — you can find that in the recipe card at the bottom of this post — but I want to highlight a few important things in this recipe.

Pumpkin — You can used either homemade pumpkin puree from roasting a pumpkin and mashing it or canned. If using canned make sure to choose pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie filling which is already sweetened and spiced.
Bananas — The riper the bananas are you use, the more sweetness they will have. If your bananas are overly ripe and brown, you may want to decrease the amount of brown sugar slightly to accommodate.
Flour — The recipe is written using regular flour, but you can certainly swap it out for your favorite gluten-free mix. I typically use King Arthur’s measure for measure gluten-free flour in this pumpkin banana muffin recipe.
Spices — You can use pumpkin pie spice as a shortcut instead of each individual spice.

Making Pumpkin Banana Muffins

Below are the step by step directions for making these muffins. For the full recipe ingredients and directions, scroll down to the bottom of this post.

My Pro Tips

Make The Best Muffins

Not over-mixing the batter is important as it can result in a dense muffin. These pumpkin banana muffins should be light, fluffy and super moist.
Adjust the sugar to your taste. I will sometimes reduce down to just 1/2 cup of sugar, especially if my bananas are very ripe. The recipe is forgiving enough to accommodate this adjustment.
If using homemade pumpkin puree, strain it for a bit to drain any excess water. Canned pumpkin puree tends to be a little thicker than homemade and the excess water can alter the recipe.

Two pumpkin banana muffins with streusel topping are stacked on parchment paper, with more muffins and a bowl of pumpkin puree in the background, creating a cozy and inviting scene.

Variations

I personally love the simplicity of these muffins, but there are a handful of ways to make them your own:

Chocolate chips: probably the most obvious addition because pumpkin and chocolate chips go wonderfully together like in this pumpkin banana chocolate chip bread and these pumpkin chocolate chip cookies.
Nuts: another classic combination is pumpkin and nuts. Chopped pecans and walnuts are two great options. These pumpkin chocolate chip bars show off how great walnuts can be. You can even add some to the streusel topping for some crunch.
Dried fruit: Similar to these sweet potato oat bars, dried cherries, cranberries, raisins or blueberries would all go well in these muffins too.
Zucchini: I know this sounds crazy, but if you’re making in these in September and still have a pile of zucchini that needs to be used, you can absolutely hide some grated zucchini in these muffins too. Treat it like an add-in and don’t use more than 1/2 cup. Also make sure to squeeze all the excess water out of it. I use a nut milk bag for this and it’s the best!

Close-up of hands breaking open a moist banana pumpkin muffin, with bananas in the background on a table.

Storage

Store these pumpkin banana streusel muffins at room temperature for 3-4 days. After that, keep any leftover refrigerated.

You can also freeze the muffins after they’ve cooled completely from baking. They’ll keep for about 3 months and can be thawed at room temperature or popped in the microwave to speed things up.