These sourdough discard chocolate chip banana muffins are a family favorite at our house. We love sourdough muffins and whenever I make them they never last more than a day. We eat them with fruit and yogurt for an easy breakfast, or as a dessert for any other meal. The best part about these muffins is the gooey slightly melted chocolate chips. They are moist and fluffy thanks to the buttermilk and sourdough, and the batter can be made ahead of time if you want them to be fully fermented from the sourdough. This is a great way to turn leftover sourdough discard, along with a few other simple ingredients into a great snack.

gooey sourdough chocolate chip banana muffins

When things start to get busy here on the homestead in the spring and summer, I like to make these muffins to have on hand for a perfect snack while we’re working in the garden, or to go along with a sandwich if we have to be gone during mealtime. We grow a large market garden in the summertime, and these muffins are perfect to take along to farmers market to keep everyone energized while we sell our vegetables. They also come in handy on hot days when we need a quick breakfast so we can start working in the garden first thing before it gets hot. These muffins can be stored in an air-tight container for a couple of days on your countertop. You can also freeze them for a quick and easy addition to any meal later on.

Tips For Making Sourdough Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins

They can be mixed up the night before and allowed to sit out at room temperature to long ferment which increases the health benefits and digestibility
Mixing them up the night before also allows you to serve them hot and fresh for breakfast without taking up much time in your morning
You could make them without the chocolate chips, but let’s be honest, that’s the real reason why they’re so good.
Don’t have chocolate? Try adding in raspberries or blueberries instead
You can use active starter if you don’t have any discard in your refrigerator
I like to use paper muffin cups when baking these. It helps them be easier to transport to a picnic or out to the garden as a snack
If you’re looking for a more natural sweetener, try this cane sugar from Azure Standard
You can use any kind of fat – oil, melted butter or beef tallow, coconut oil, or if you want to make them oil-free you can substitute applesauce for the oil
You can also make these into mini muffins by baking them in a mini muffin pan. These are really great for small children to have as a snack.
If you wanted to make these into double chocolate muffins, you could add in 1/2 cup of cocoa powder to the batter

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Tools You May Need

Stand mixer or a large mixing bowl – I recommend using the stand mixer as then you don’t have to mash the bananas before adding them and it mixes everything up so nicely. My absolute favorite stand mixer is a bosch mixer. I’ve used it almost everyday for years and it has served me so well including in the summertime when we bake almost 100 loaves of bread for farmers market each week. I know several people that have had bosch mixers for over 30 years and they are still running strong. Getting a bosch mixer is one of the best investments you can make for your kitchen.

Cookie Paddles – if you get the bosch mixer, I highly recommend you get the cookie paddles which is what I use for making these muffins in the video below. You will need the metal top for the cookie paddles. I also highly recommend getting the cake paddles as well. I use all of them all the time.

If you don’t have a stand mixer, you could use a large bowl and a hand mixer.

Muffin tin – I really like this 24 cup tin, it allows me to make a bunch of muffins all at once

Muffin liners – this saves on dishes and you won’t have to grease your muffin tin

Ice Cream Scoop

Measuring Cups and Spoons

FAQ

How can I make a perfect muffin that is moist and fluffy?

Don’t overmix the batter as it will develop the gluten in the flour making the muffins tough

Don’t overbake the muffins. The temperature of your oven may be a little different than mine, so ere on the side of less when baking. The muffins will be done when they start to be golden on the top.

What is Sourdough discard?

Sourdough starter discard is fermented flour and water that has to be removed or discarded from your sourdough starter before you can feed your starter more flour and water. Sourdough Discard should never actually be thrown out (or discarded) though, because it can be used in hundreds of different recipes. I always try to keep a fair amount of sourdough discard in a jar in my refrigerator. That way anytime I want to make these sourdough discard muffins or any other discard recipe, I can do so quickly. Most recipes that call for sourdough discard rely on something else to actually “raise” the end product if applicable. In this case, we’re using baking soda as the leavening agent to make light and fluffy muffins.

If you’re looking for another way to use up some of your sourdough discard, check out all of my favorite sourdough recipes here.

What are the health benefits of sourdough?

Anytime you add a fermented element like sourdough to a recipe, it becomes more nutritious because it contains live probiotics and good bacteria that help with gut health and digestion. Gluten and phytic acid are naturally present in wheat, and are usually what is to blame for people not being able to digest gluten well. When the grain is fermented through the sourdough process, the gluten and phytic acid are broken down, making it easier to digest. A lot of people that struggle with gluten intolerance (not people with celiac), can digest food made with sourdough without any issue, especially if the recipe is allowed to sit out for a few hours and “long ferment”.

In addition, phytic acid is an anti-nutrient that blocks absorption of the nutrients found in wheat. During the sourdough fermentation process, the phytic acid gets broken down and the nutrients are more bio-available to the body. This is why baking with sourdough is so important for our health.

Can I make This Recipe Dairy Free?

Yes, just swap out any kind of dairy-free milk for the buttermilk. You can add a teaspoon of lemon juice to the milk to give it more of a tang like buttermilk. Also use a dairy free fat in place of the butter. Coconut oil works well.

Can I use frozen bananas?

Yes, you can use frozen bananas in these muffins if you don’t have any fresh bananas. You will want to let them fully thaw before mixing them into the batter.

baked sourdough chocolate chip banana muffins

Sourdough Chocolate Chip Banana Muffin Ingredients:

Flour – I like to buy unbleached all-purpose flour from Azure Standard. If you want to use whole wheat flour, I suggest making these with half whole wheat and half all-purpose flour so they don’t get too dense.

Salt – redmond salt is the healthiest because it contains a lot natural minerals. Salt actually brings out the sweet rich flavor in baked goods.

Sugar – you can use regular white sugar, brown sugar or if you want a healthier option try this cane sugar from Azure Standard

Baking Soda – since we are using sourdough discard for these muffins, we have to add some kind of leavening agent to help them rise.

Cinnamon – the cinnamon in these muffins pairs well with the chocolate and bananas to give these delicious muffins a warm and comforting flavor

Fat – you can use any kind of oil, or melted butter, coconut oil or beef tallow

Eggs – best if they are at room temperature

Sourdough discard – I like to make these pancakes with sourdough discard because it’s usually what I have in my refrigerator. You can also make them with active sourdough starter. As long as you’re adding some kind of sourdough starter, you’ll get a good result.

Chocolate Chips – I like to buy my chocolate chips from Azure Standard. You could use dark chocolate, semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips.

Bananas – For best results use overripe bananas in these muffins. You can also use frozen bananas if they are completely thawed before you add them to the batter

Buttermilk – we have fresh buttermilk from our Jersey cows that we milk. I like to let it set out on the counter for a day to culture before adding to my recipes. It gives everything a yummy tang and makes the baking soda in your recipes extra happy, which makes the muffins nice and fluffy.

close up of sourdough chocolate chip banana muffins

How to Make Sourdough Discard Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins?

If baking right away, preheat your oven to 325 degrees

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Grease muffin cups well or add paper liners

In the bowl of your stand mixer, mix together all the wet ingredients. Buttermilk, sourdough discard, oil, sugar and eggs.

Then add all the dry ingredients. Flour, salt, baking soda and cinnamon. Mix just until combined.

Add the peeled bananas whole (the mixer will mash them for you), and the chocolate chips. Mix gently.

If you want this recipe to have long fermented digestive and health benefits, you can leave it out on the counter for up to twelve hours or overnight.

The next day use an ice cream scoop to spoon batter into each muffin cup until they are ⅔ full.

Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the muffins comes out clean. They will be a light golden brown. Don’t overbake.

For best results, allow to cool completely on a wire rack before storing in an airtight container or frozen.

Best if eaten within 3-5 days. Or store in the freezer for an easy breakfast or dessert later on. If you plan to freeze them for a long time, you might want to wrap them in plastic wrap first. When you’re ready to eat these muffins, you can just pop them in a 350 degree oven for 5-10 minutes or until they are thawed completely and warm.