I tried banana-muffin recipes from Ina Garten, Tyler Florence, and Trisha Yearwood, and the best called for coconut — which I don't even like

• I made banana muffins with recipes from Ina Garten, Tyler Florence, and Trisha Yearwood.

• Florence's muffins were simple and balanced, but I couldn't taste the banana in Yearwood's recipe.

• Garten called for coconut flakes, which I'm not a fan of, but her muffins turned out to be delicous.

Banana muffins are a staple in my home. I appreciate how easy they are to make, and they're great for breakfast, a snack, or dessert.

But I don't have a go-to method — I usually just find a quick and easy recipe to follow online.

I decided to try recipes from Ina Garten, Tyler Florence, and Trisha Yearwood in hopes of finding a new go-to.

Here's how the banana muffins stacked up.

I wasn't sure I'd like the shredded coconut in Garten's recipe.

Garten's banana-crunch-muffin recipe had a long list of unique ingredients, including sweetened shredded coconut, walnuts, and granola.

I'm not a huge fan of coconut, so I was nervous to try the finished product.

I went the extra mile and made my own granola for the muffins.

Garten's recipe called for 1/2 cup of granola, but I halved the recipe and didn't want to buy a new box for such a small amount.

I decided to make my own by mixing oats, cinnamon, brown sugar, honey, and oil in a bowl.

This step was easy, and I was excited to see how my homemade granola would hold up.

Despite a lengthy ingredients list, the recipe was easy to follow.

I mixed the wet and dry ingredients in separate bowls before combining them. Then I put the batter in a muffin pan lined with silicone cupcake liners.

I baked the muffins for about 30 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit, as Garten recommended.

She suggested topping the finished product with more coconut, granola, and banana chips, but I decided not to.

I was pleasantly surprised by Garten's muffins.

Although the muffin tops didn't puff up as much as I'd hoped, they were golden brown and crisp.

The moist and sweet interiors had a nice crunch from the granola and walnuts. Luckily, I didn't get much flavor from the coconut — instead, it offered a chewiness that I loved.

Florence's recipe seemed simple and listed kitchen staples.

Unlike the other recipes, there were no surprises in Florence's banana-nut muffin recipe.

The ingredient list mostly included staples that I already had, like butter and brown sugar.

The only slight twist was that Florence called for pecans — I typically see banana-nut muffins made with walnuts.

Florence had the easiest and quickest recipe.

In addition to having a simple ingredient list, Florence's instructions were speedy and straightforward.

I started by whisking the dry ingredients in a bowl. Then I creamed the mashed bananas with sugar in my mixer.

I combined the rest of his ingredients and put the batter in a muffin pan.

I gently folded the pecans and more mashed bananas into my batter before placing everything into the muffin pan.

Per Florence's recipe, I baked the muffins at 375 F for about 20 minutes.

I liked that the result wasn't overly sweet.

The muffins were a perfect golden brown and had a great, spongy texture.

There was a slight crunch from the nuts, but I think I'd add even more pecans next time.

Florence's recipe didn't turn out as sweet as the others, which I appreciated. I think the lighter flavor would make for a good breakfast option.

Yearwood's banana-muffin recipe included an ingredient I'd never used before.

I couldn't wait to try Yearwood's recipe because it combined two of my favorite muffins — banana and chocolate chip.

Unlike the other chefs, she called for a blend of all-purpose and whole-wheat flour. I was also intrigued by the use of wheat germ, a nutritional powder from wheat kernels, which I'd never used before.

Although Yearwood's recipe wasn't difficult, her instructions were pretty specific.

I started by combining the banana, vanilla extract, and milk in one bowl and the flours, wheat germ, baking soda, and salt in another.

Next I creamed the softened butter and sugar in my mixer before adding a room-temperature egg.

The chef said to alternate adding increments of the dry and wet ingredients to the butter mixture — starting and ending with the flour mixture.

Then I folded chocolate chips into the batter.

After slowly combining all of my ingredients, I baked the muffins.

I baked the muffins for about 24 minutes at 375 F, as Yearwood recommended.

The muffins were good, but I didn't taste much of the banana.

The whole-wheat flour created a dark, golden-brown color and a soft texture, which I enjoyed.

Although I didn't taste much of the banana, the wheat germ gave the muffins a nutty, earthy flavor that balanced well with the chocolate chips.

I liked all three recipes, but Garten's muffins really blew me away.

I think Florence's recipe would make for a good breakfast, and I like the nutritional benefits of the whole-wheat flour and wheat germ in Yearwood's recipe.

But I was the most excited about Garten's muffins — even though I'm not a fan of coconut.

Her mix-ins created a flavor and texture that I hadn't had before in a banana muffin, and I can't wait to make another batch.

Click to check out the other celebrity-chef recipes we've put head-to-head so far.

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