This Banana Mug Cake is moist and delicious, with great banana flavor topped off with dark chocolate chips. And ready in under 90 seconds!
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Why Make This Recipe
- Quick and easy: just mix ingredients together in a microwave-safe mug, and bake!
- Rich banana bread flavor in a single serving size
- Mostly pantry-friendly ingredients, and no egg required!
🥗 Ingredients
- Banana: Overripe bananas are the best to use for banana bread and banana cakes—they mash easily and add deliciously moist texture to baked goods.
- Vegetable Oil: Melted butter is a good substitute for the vegetable oil. You can also use a different neutral oil (stay away from a strong-flavored olive oil).
- Milk: Any type of milk will work for this recipe, including non-dairy milk like soy milk, almond milk, or oat milk.
- Flour: For a gluten-free banana mug cake, try replacing the all-purpose flour with almond flour or with another gluten-free flour alternative.
- Brown Sugar: Either light or dark brown sugar will work for this recipe. You could also replace it with granulated sugar, maple syrup, honey, or another sugar alternative.
- Chocolate Chips: These are optional but totally delicious in this recipe. We prefer semisweet chips, but you can choose your favorite kind.
🥣 Step-by-Step Instructions
Peel half a banana and mash in a small bowl. (You can reserve the rest of the banana to slice as garnish, if it is not too mushy.)
Scrape mashed banana into a microwave-safe mug, then stir in 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, 1 tablespoon milk, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, ¼ cup all-purpose flour, ½ teaspoon baking powder, ⅛ teaspoon cinnamon, and ⅛ teaspoon salt.
Stir in 1 tablespoon chocolate chips. Scrape any batter on the sides of the mug down into the rest of the batter.
Microwave for 80 seconds on high. Let cool for at least a minute after taking out of the microwave.
Top with banana slices and more chocolate chips, if desired, and eat cake while it is still warm.
🧐 Recipe FAQs for Banana Mug Cake
The texture in mug cakes can be chewier than regular cakes, especially if they are overbaked. However, the banana and low flour content of this cake helps the texture remain moist but not chewy. Also, some mug cake recipes include a whole egg—that can also contribute to a chewy, or eggy texture. With this banana mug cake recipe, there is no egg required!
Making mug cakes in advance is not recommended. The longer they sit, the more the texture suffers. To shorten the time it takes to make this recipe, combine all the dry ingredients in advance and save in a ziploc baggie or airtight container. Then add the mashed banana and the liquid ingredients when you’re ready to bake.
To make this a vegan banana mug cake, just replace the tablespoon of milk with a non-dairy milk alternative. Soy milk, almond milk, or oat milk would all work fine. In addition, make sure your chocolate chips are vegan.
👩🍳 Expert Tips
The reason we include scraping down the sides of the mug before baking is so that that mug cake cooks and rises evenly. You can use a spatula or wipe the rim of the mug with a damp paper towel.
Note that you may need to test this recipe in your own microwave a couple of times before you get the timing right, since microwaves can be very different. When the mug cake is fully baked, the surface of the cake will look mostly dry with just a small area or two that looks a little wet. The cake will continue to cook as it is cooling. If you like your cakes more gooey in the middle, you may want to take a few seconds off the cook time.
We recommend a ceramic mug with straight sides and a narrow opening, which helps the cake build volume. But with a tall, skinny mug, it can be hard to make sure there is not a chunk of flour on the bottom. Make sure you mix the batter well so that all ingredients are incorporated.
If your chocolate chips fall to the bottom of your mug, try coating them in flour before stirring them in.
Wondering what to serve with this banana mug cake? It’s delicious with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream, but you could also top your cake with whipped cream. And of course more chocolate chips or chocolate syrup won’t hurt. And to drink with it? How about our Oat Milk Hot Chocolate?
Got extra ripe bananas around? Why not try these Easy Banana Cookies? Soft, delicious, and so easy to make. Or, try this super easy 4 Ingredient Banana Bread. Finally, go the crispy route instead and make this banana fritters recipe. Seriously tasty!
Delicious Mug Cake Recipes
We love mug cakes for how easy they are to make. Here are a few favorites:
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📖 Recipe
Banana Mug Cake
This Banana Mug Cake is moist and delicious, with great banana flavor topped off with dark chocolate chips. And ready in under 90 seconds!
Ingredients
- ½ overripe banana
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ⅛ teaspoon cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon chocolate chips, plus more for garnish
Instructions
- Peel banana half and mash in a small bowl. (You can reserve the rest of the banana to slice as garnish, if it is not too mushy.)
- Scrape mashed banana into a microwave-safe mug, then stir in vegetable oil, milk, brown sugar, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.
- Stir in chocolate chips.
- Scrape any batter on the sides of the mug down into the rest of the batter.
- Microwave for 80 seconds on high.
- Top with banana slices and more chocolate chips, if desired.
Notes
Expert Tips:
You may need to test this recipe in your own microwave a couple of times before you get the timing right, since microwaves can be very different. When the mug cake is fully baked, the surface of the cake will look mostly dry with just a small area or two that looks a little wet. The cake will continue to cook as it is cooling. If you like your cakes more gooey in the middle, you may want to take a few seconds off the cook time.
We recommend a ceramic mug with straight sides and a narrow opening, which helps the cake build volume. But with a tall, skinny mug, it can be hard to make sure there is not a chunk of flour on the bottom. Make sure you mix the batter well so that all ingredients are incorporated.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 1 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 432Total Fat: 18gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 13gCholesterol: 1mgSodium: 411mgCarbohydrates: 68gFiber: 3gSugar: 35gProtein: 5g
Nutrition information is provided as a general reference for users courtesy of the online nutrition calculator Nutritionix.
Instagram Users: Now that you've made this banana chocolate chip mug cake recipe, tag us @vanillabeancuisine or #vanillabeancuisine because we’d love to see your results!
More About Molly
Cooking healthy(ish) meals with seasonal ingredients is my passion. Trained as a French pastry chef, I spent over 10 years as a personal chef. Here you'll find well-tested recipes that you and your family will love!
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