Banana Nut Muffins
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These banana nut muffins are tender, packed with banana flavor, and topped with just the right amount of crunch—perfect for using up those overripe bananas.
When I was in culinary school, the chefs would randomly (and terrifyingly!) inspect our trash cans to ensure we hadn’t tossed any scraps that could be repurposed. I quickly learned that nothing goes to waste in a restaurant kitchen: stale bread becomes breadcrumbs or croutons, bones become stock, vegetable trimmings become soup, and overripe bananas get turned into banana muffins, banana bread, banana pancakes, banana cake—even banana ice cream. These banana nut muffins are one of my favorite ways to use up those spotted bananas—they’re quick to make, full of flavor, and never stick around for long.
If you lean chocolate over nuts, banana chocolate chip muffins are another tried-and-true favorite in my kitchen—and definitely the more kid-friendly option.
“Had a lot of ripe bananas and thought…banana muffins! They were SO moist and delicious! I stuck some in the freezer for a future treat.”
What You’ll Need To Make Banana Nut Muffins
- Mashed Bananas: The browner and spottier, the better—they’re easier to mash and add deeper banana flavor and natural sweetness.
- All-Purpose Flour: Spoon it into your measuring cup and level it off for accuracy—packing it in can lead to dense muffins.
- Sugar & Honey: A mix of granulated sugar and honey gives the muffins just the right amount of sweetness and helps keep them moist.
- Butter & Eggs: These add richness, structure, and flavor. Let them come to room temperature so they blend easily into the batter.
- Greek Yogurt or Sour Cream: Makes the muffins tender and gives them a subtle tang that balances the sweetness.
- Baking Powder & Baking Soda: Work together to lift the muffins. The baking soda also reacts with the yogurt or sour cream for extra rise.
- Vanilla Extract & Cinnamon: Vanilla rounds out the flavor; cinnamon adds a warm, cozy spice that pairs perfectly with banana.
- Chopped Walnuts (for the topping): Add crunch and a toasty, nutty bite. If you’re skipping the nuts, try a little nut-free granola or coarse sugar instead—just omit the honey in the topping if you go that route.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Make the topping. In a small bowl, toss the walnuts with the honey and 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon until evenly coated (the mixture will be sticky). Set aside.
Step 2: Mix the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside. Whisking helps evenly distribute the leaveners and spices so there are no clumps.
Step 3: Cream the butter and sugar. In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat the butter, sugar, and honey until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Butter that’s just a touch cooler than room temperature blends more easily and helps achieve a uniform creamy texture.
Step 4: Add the eggs, banana, and yogurt. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then mix in the mashed banana, vanilla, and yogurt or sour cream.
Step 5: Blend until combined. Beat until smooth (the batter may look a little grainy—that’s fine).
Step 6: Add the dry ingredients. Mix in the flour mixture until just combined. The batter will be thick.
Pro Tip: Avoid overmixing—stir just until you don’t see streaks of flour. Overmixing can lead to dense muffins.
Step 7: Fill and top the muffins. Spoon the batter into the liners in the prepared muffin tin—the cups will be quite full. Sprinkle with the walnut topping.
Step 8: Bake and cool the muffins. Bake at 350°F for 25 to 28 minutes, until the tops are golden and nicely domed. Let them cool in the pan for about 5 minutes—this helps them set—then transfer to a wire rack so the bottoms don’t get soggy. Let them cool for at least 10 minutes before serving. The muffins keep well in an airtight container for a few days and freeze beautifully for up to 3 months.
More Muffin Recipes You May Like
Banana Nut Muffins
Ingredients
For the Walnut Topping
- 1 cup chopped walnuts
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
For the Muffins
- 1⅔ cups all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ⅔ cup sugar
- ¼ cup honey
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup mashed bananas, from 2 to 3 overripe bananas
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup Greek yogurt or sour cream (low-fat is fine)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.
- Make the walnut topping: In a small bowl, toss the nuts with the honey and cinnamon until the nuts are evenly coated (the mixture will be sticky). Set aside.
- For the Muffins: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter, sugar, and honey until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula if necessary. At medium speed, add the eggs one at a time, beating until fully incorporated between additions. Add the mashed bananas, vanilla, and yogurt (or sour cream) and beat until blended (the batter will look grainy; that's okay). Add the dry ingredients and mix on low speed until well blended.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tin (the cups will be very full) and sprinkle evenly with the nut topping. Bake the muffins until the tops are golden and domed, 25 to 28 minutes. Let the muffins cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then turn them out onto a rack and let cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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These Banana Nut Muffins are to die for! The glazed pecan topping take a wonderful banana muffin way over the top! These are now my favorite go to muffin! I usually put half in the freezer and then reheat them in foil in the oven . . .They come out so perfect!
Had extra bananas …..Jen to the rescue! These muffins were perfect…..couldn’t decide between these and banana bread…..glad I choose these…..moist and now my favorites….Thanks!
I just made these and they are so good fresh out of the oven. I have always had a problem with American recipes when it comes to baking, preferring to use British or Australian recipes instead. But with your recipes, they really are foolproof. Both sweet and savoury recipes. I trust your recipes 100% and even bought your book from Amazon to show my support.
❤️
Just took a batch out of the oven. My kitchen smells divine. Did have a little bit of spread over the pan but they’ve come out of the pan fine. So light and fluffy and taste wonderful. Only thing I changed was that I didn’t quite have enough banana to make 1 cup so topped up with unsweetened applesauce. Yummy! Will be making these again for sure.
You are my favorite online chef. Every recipe I’ve tried has been excellent and a favorite. Your cookbook is great. The recipe for Banana Nut Muffins is perfect. I’m a retired home economist and many of your recipes have replaced my old favorites.
💗 So glad you like the recipes!
This made the best tasting banana nut muffin I’ve ever had! I followed the recipe but didn’t have quite enough sour cream. I finished up the required amount with about 2 tablespoons of drained, plain yogurt. The recipe worked perfectly for me and made 12 beautiful, tall muffins with a moist tender crumb. I only needed 24 minutes of cooking time in my oven. I know I’ll be making these muffins again. Btw, I also made and froze the dough for the Cheddar & Herb Cheese Straws today. Another fantastic recipe!
Hi Jenn,
Can the walnut topping be replaced by mini chocolate chips? Thanks.
Sure, that should work. Enjoy!
Against my better judgement I filled the cups all the way up as the recipe suggested and the muffins all ran into each other. They also did not rise as they should of. My baking soda and baking powder are new and I bake almost daily without issues. Not quite sure what I did wrong but I won’t be attempting this recipe again. The only swap I did was added a little whole wheat flour mixed in with the regular… which normally works no problemo. Not for this recipe 😅 So if you are debating making these a little healthier, this recipe does not seem to be overly forgiving.
These came out HUGE, moist, and beautiful. They looked like coffee shop muffins! They were way, way too sweet for me, however. I’ll definitely make them again but use only half the sugar next time.
Mine also looked like bakery bought muffins, so big and beautiful! I had read a lot of reviews before I made and after I read your review I was hoping they wouldn’t be to sweet, but they weren’t and I followed the recipe as written. I did use a local very delicious honey though. I am a good cook but far from a chef, but i think that may be why. Some honeys from grocery stores are so flipping sweet. If you ever tasted a local honey in comparison you may understand why I say that. Just thought I’d put that idea out there for you to try if you ever make again.
Another winning recipe, however I found my mixture was too much for 12 muffins. I filled the muffin cases as described but once in the oven the mixture spread all over the top of the muffin trays and so didn’t ‘peak’ as suggested. They tasted phenomenal though. Next time I will make 16!
excellent recipe! Reduced sugar too 100g and tasted great and fluffy! Walnut topping is phenomenal!