Banana Nut Muffins
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Lightly sweetened with honey, these fluffy banana nut muffins are a delicious way to use up overripe bananas.
When I was in culinary school, the chefs would randomly (and terrifyingly!) inspect our trash cans to make we hadn’t tossed any scraps that could be repurposed into something else. I quickly learned that absolutely nothing is wasted in restaurant kitchens: stale bread becomes breadcrumbs and croutons; bones become stock; vegetable odds and ends become soup; cake trimmings become dessert trifles; and old bananas become muffins, banana cake, banana bread or banana ice cream.
These fluffy banana nut muffins sweetened with honey and enriched with Greek yogurt are one of my favorite ways to use up overripe bananas. Instead of folding the walnuts into the batter, I toss them with honey and cinnamon and sprinkle them over top to give each muffin a sweet and crunchy lid.
Table of Contents
“Just made these and they turned out amazing. Super moist and fluffy…The sweetness is perfect, not too sweet. This is the perfect muffin recipe.”
What You’ll Need To Make Banana Nut Muffins
- Chopped Walnuts: Adds crunch and nutty flavor to the muffin topping.
- Honey: Provides natural sweetness and helps to bind the topping. Additionally, it adds sweetness and moisture to the muffins.
- Cinnamon: Adds warmth and spice to enhance the flavor of the topping.
- All-Purpose Flour: The base for your muffins. Measure it by spooning it into the measuring cup and leveling it off to ensure accuracy.
- Baking Powder and Baking Soda: Act as leavening agents, helping the muffins rise. Additionally, the baking soda reacts with acidic ingredients for extra lift.
- Butter: Adds richness, flavor, and moisture to the muffins.
- Sugar: Sweetens the muffins and contributes to their texture.
- Eggs: Add richness, help bind the ingredients together, and provide structure.
- Mashed Bananas: Offer moisture, sweetness, and banana flavor. The browner and spottier your bananas, the better.
- Vanilla Extract: Enhances the flavor of the muffins.
- Greek Yogurt or Sour Cream: Adds moisture and tenderness to the muffins.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
To begin, 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.
Next, combine the dry ingredients for the muffins in a medium bowl.
Whisk and set aside.
In a large bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter, sugar and honey.
Beat until fluffy, about 2 minutes.
Beat in the eggs one at a time.
Add the banana, vanilla, and yogurt (or sour cream).
Beat until blended (the batter will look grainy; that’s okay).
Add the dry ingredients.
The batter will look like this.
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.
Frequently Asked Questions
Banana nut muffins, banana bread, and banana cookies are best when your bananas are overripe, so you’re looking for them to be pretty brown and spotty. If your bananas are not quite ripe enough for baking, you can speed things up by placing them in a brown paper bag and folding down the top. The natural ethylene gas produced by the bananas is trapped in the bag, which accelerates the ripening process.
Sure! Banana nut muffins keep nicely, covered, at room temperature, for up to 4 days.
Absolutely, the muffins can be frozen in an airtight container or resealable plastic bag for up to 3 months. Thaw for 3 to 4 hours on the countertop before serving. To reheat, wrap individual muffins in aluminum foil and place in a preheated 350°F oven until warm.
It’s fine to omit the nuts; just add the cinnamon to the dry ingredients. Or if you’d still like a crunchy topping, you can try a nut-free granola or a sprinkling of coarse sugar (omit the honey).
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Banana Nut Muffins
Lightly sweetened with honey, these fluffy banana nut muffins are a delicious way to use up overripe bananas.
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
- 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. 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.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The muffins can be frozen in an airtight container or sealable plastic bag for up to 3 months. Thaw for 3 – 4 hours on the countertop before serving. To reheat, wrap individual muffins in aluminum foil and place in a preheated 350°F oven until warm.
Nutrition Information
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- Serving size: 1 muffin
- Calories: 302
- Fat: 15 g
- Saturated fat: 6 g
- Carbohydrates: 38 g
- Sugar: 21 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 5 g
- Sodium: 216 mg
- Cholesterol: 52 mg
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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Made made these for my family for breakfast- incredible! I used gluten-free flour (allergy reason) and they tasted like the real deal! Brought me back to when I worked in an bakery and we would served fresh muffins every Sunday! Jenn, your recipes never fail!
Ummmmmmm the BEST muffins ive ever made. Seriously what are you waiting for? Preheat your oven already. These are heavenly.
Delicious!
Hi Jen, I made these using a combo of gf flour and ground oats. I used only 2/3 cups of honey and omitted the sugar ( Following the recommendations from another of your muffin recipes)
They were delicious! Thank you
Best banana muffins I have ever made! 😍
Scrumptious. They were moist and not too sweet. The banana flavour was perfect with the walnuts! Froze well and didn’t dry out. Will make again!
Hi Jenn. Love all your recipes and have been following your blog for years now.
I was wanting to bake this into a loaf pan rather than a muffin pan. How long would I need to bake these for and at what oven temperature. 🙂
Hi Catherine, So glad you like the recipes! I’d bake the loaf at 350°F for 40 to 45 min. Hope that helps!
Spotted these on Instagram and had to make them!! They turn out beautiful, moist and perfectly fluffy. Not too much cinnamon and the right banana balance. Will definitely make again and triple the recipe. Perfect gift when dropping in to visit friends or family!
Made these last night and they were amazing. Thank you for another amazing recipe.
I love all of your recipes that I have tried so far. I even have your book. For this recipe, can it be doubled without destroying the taste and texture? Thank you.
Sure, Luli – that’s fine.
I had a girlfriends brunch and made these delicious muffins. I made them in mini muffin pans and they were easy and wonderful! I will certainly make again. The honey and the walnuts added such a nice flavor! 5 stars!
These were moist and fluffy. It made 23 medium size muffins with the yellow scoop. Next time I would toast the walnuts and put them inside the muffins because I wasn’t crazy about the topping. I used just under 1/4 cup honey because I was afraid 1/4 cup would be too sweet. Next time I would use the full 1/4 cup.
These are moist and fluffy. I used the yellow scoop so it made 23 medium size muffins. They took 14-17 min to bake. I used just under 1/4 cup honey because I was afraid they would be too sweet. I think 1/4 cup of honey would be fine. Next time I might toast the walnuts first and then put them inside the batter.
Can this be made into banana bread as opposed to muffins?
Yes, Robin, that should work. I also have a number of banana bread recipes if you want to take a peek at those. You can find them on the top row of this page.
Just made these today and they. are. PERFECT! Even though they are really banana honey-nut mini cakes, like most muffins. 🙂 I’ve made a couple of your muffin recipes and they are always perfect. Thank you!
Had to bake these the same day the recipe was posted; they are wonderful! Love the texture of the muffin – very close to banana bread. Used maple syrup in place of the honey in the topping and we love the subtle sweetness with the nuts!
Just made these today – yum yum yum!!!!
What can I use for the crunchy topping if we have an allergy to nuts?
Hi Nan, I make these without nuts for my daughter all the time – just add the cinnamon to the dry ingredients. Or if you’d still like a crunchy toppping, you could try a nut-free granola or a sprinkling of coarse sugar.
Could these be made using a whole wheat flour and less sugar?
Hi Shari, Yes I think you could use half whole wheat flour and 1/3 cup less sugar.
Honey Banana-Walnut Muffins were really yummy! Light and moist, they had just the right amount of banana flavor. You were right when you talked about not wasting the ripe bananas. My husband and I decided that this recipe was a keeper. The only thing I might do different was to increase the walnut topping, but that is just me.
My family loves these muffins! Great use for all of the bananas that I buy too many of. I’ve made them several times and they always turn out great!
I looked for a banana walnut muffin until I found this one. A keeper. Thank you,
Maria
I wonder how you sprinkle the nuts. When mixed with honey, they became liquid-ish. I was only able to put them on top with a spoon. I think next time I will roll the topping mixture into the batter. My muffins do not look that great but still taste good.
Yes, Olga, the topping is definitely sticky! As you mentioned, using a spoon works well. Sorry to hear they’re not the prettiest, but glad to hear they were tasty.
The honey/nut mixture made it into the middle of the muffins and gives it a very nice taste. I “corrected” the look by sprinkling some powdered sugar over the muffins. I now regret giving the recipe 4 stars (-:
First of all, want to thank you, Jenn, for your wonderful recipes. Just ordered you book and am SO looking forward to it. I am wondering if I could make thises muffins successfully without using the paper liners. Thank you!
Hi Maggie, You’ll get the best results with the liners here. If not, the muffins are going to be difficult to remove from the tin.
Delicious and tasty muffins. I will be saving this recipe to use again and again.
I absolutely love these muffins!!!
What I did was i replaced the flour with spelt flour and only added HALF the amount of sugar and only coconut sugar.If you want more sweetness then just add more bananas! Easy as that to make a “healthier” version of this recipe 🙂
Dear Jenn,
I followed your recipe and made a batch of muffins yesterday. It is an amazing recipe, and the muffins are awesome. I was initially a bit weary about the amount of sweetness but it was perfect for our taste-buds and my family loved them. I am surely going to bake these again.
these muffins are awesome and so easy to make! I substituted pecans for walnuts, and added an extra half of a ripe banana to the batter, and was very pleased with how they turned out. Baked for exactly 30 minutes and were perfect. thanks for another great recipe!
I have made this recipe many times and it is just perfect. Very moist. But I was wondering whether I could use grated apples instead of bananas?
Hi Jana, glad you like the muffins. I’m not certain how they’d turn out with apples, so instead, I’d suggest trying these Apple Spice Muffins or the Morning Glory Muffins.
You can multiply my 5 stars by 2 for these scrumptious muffins! My husband and I just had them with dinner and we each had 2! I bake a lot of muffins and these are uniquely delicious with their crunchy, yummy topping. I swapped out two ingredients that you might try: buttermilk that I always use for biscuits and muffins instead of regular milk for an amazingly tender crumb and maple syrup for the honey that we New Englanders can’t get enough of. I had 2 over-ripe bananas and went looking for a new banana nut muffin recipe…I’m so happy yours came up near the top of the list and, when I read it, I knew I wanted to try it. Now I can’t wait to ripen a few more bananas. This one will be my new signature muffin! Thanks so much!!!
This recipe is a gem! I even subscribed to Once Upon a Chef for it! And since then we’ve been enjoying Jenn’s recipes.
This recipe has become my go-to when baking healthy muffins for my family. My two small changes: I’ve substituted APF to Whole wheat flour, and instead of sugar I’ve replaced it with 1/2 cup of honey. Works every time! 🙂
I just made this super delicious muffin! Smells and tastes heavenly.. Thank you for the recipe its awesome.. Just want to ask what is the life span of this muffin? Thanks and more power!!
Hi Kathy, So glad you enjoyed the muffins! These would probably last for about 4 – 5 days covered on the kitchen counter. They also freeze beautifully.
too sweet – cut sugar in half, add more banana and a tablespoon of yoghurt! You could also beef it up with some LSA mix etc.
Recipe was a bit complicated – just build it up like any old cake/muffin baking recipe; cream butter/sugar, bannanas, milk etc. sift in dry and fold together
There was nothing complicated about this recipe! Good recipes take time!!
These are so delicious! I am so appreciative of you sharing this recipe. I will definitely be baking these again! YUMMY!!!!!!!
Can I use a mixture of wheat flour and oats flour instead of all purpose flour?
Hi Sindhu, I would suggest starting with using just half whole wheat flour and half all purpose as I’m not sure how the oat flour will affect the texture of the muffins. That said, a few readers have used a combination of whole wheat and oat flour successfully with these muffins.
What is 1 stick of butter in grams?
Hi Rene, 1 stick of butter is the equivalent of 113 grams. Hope you enjoy the muffins!
I made these yesterday and they are marvelous. I try not eat too much gluten so I used 1/2 c of whole wheat flour, 1/2 c almond flour and 1/2 c of oat flour. I also added 1/4 c of shredded coconut. Delicious!
Hello, can I add the walnuts into the batter ? Will it turn out just as good ? And should I use more walnuts ? Thank you
Tanya G.
Yes Tanya, you can definitely add them to the batter. And you can use the same amount or a little more so you have some left over to sprinkle on top. Enjoy!
Thank you some much. Do I need to toss them in flour or they won’t sink ?
Thank you very much Jenn. I’m new at baking and you’re being so helpful.
Happy to help! No, I don’t think it’s necessary to toss the nuts in flour first.
Absolutely AMAZING muffins! Just loving your recipes, Jenn. Thank You so much for sharing your great recipes and your beautiful website: Such a delight to visit!
Amazing recipe. My knowledge in baking is almost zero but the recipe and picture are wonderfully helpful.
I bake it almost every weekend and fill my house with wonderful smell.
Thank you Jennifer
Is there an effect if you use cold soft butter?
Hi Marilen, I would recommend sticking with regular unsalted stick butter as I’m not sure how the soft butter would affect the texture of the muffins.
These muffins are delicious, but for me, the batter yield was only enough for 10 muffins. Definitely worth the effort. One small modification I made was to substitute a half-cup of shredded zucchini for the mashed banana, as I didn’t have any of the latter. Very nice muffins!
Can you tell me nutritional content of this recipe? Calories and protein useful as using this as snack for daughter who needs to gain weight.
Hi Karen, I just added the nutritional info to the recipe. Please let me know if there are any other recipes you’d like to see this for.
Thanks for this delicious recipe. I hardly ever make the same recipe twice, but this one is a keeper! I doubled the recipe and added walnuts to the batter. I also added a little more banana. Great recipe.
I just made these. They taste great. I accidently forget to put the honey in the mix. Still tasted great. This recipe is definately in my bank of must-do-again
I made these yesterday with yep , the bananas in the freezer that I hoard . I’am a monkey banana hoarder .. humm….OK !
Jenn the banana muffins are luscious ! I top these little babies with chai spiced whipped cream . A topping I am crazy in love with ! It is not my recipe but ” Leit’s
Culinarily” .
I just made these muffins exactly as recipe ! delicious ! Will make again !
Wow is all I can say! I was surprised but they turned out just as pictured and taste phenomenal
And do you have the measurement in metric?
Hi Grace, I went ahead and added the metric measurements. There is a button in the top right corner that allows you to select cup or metric measures. Hope that helps!
Thanks Jenn! Yes! It helps! 😀
Thanks Jenn! Your recipe is really good! 😀
Glad you enjoyed it!
These muffins are perfect!! My family couldn’t get enough of them they were so moist and delicious thank you for this amazing recipe 🙂
I made the banana walnut muffins. I my family doesn’t care for cinnamon (crazy family) so I just added the walnuts to the batter. My family, and I agree, said these were the best muffins ever! I think the honey made all the difference, and they made a point of telling me that they loved the texture too!