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
This banana nut muffin recipe checks all the boxes—quick to make, full of banana flavor, and topped with crunchy, honeyed walnuts.
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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Absolutely delicious muffins, and a wonderful way to use over ripe bananas! I have also baked your Best Blueberry Muffins, and their name is correct. Thank you!
Hi Jenn, I love these muffins- my whole family does! I would like to turn this recipe into a banana bread. Would this make one loaf or possibly two and would you bake them at 350 for 60 minutes or so? Thank you!
Glad you like them! I would make one loaf; I’d bake it at 350°F for 40 to 45 min. Enjoy!
Hi Jenn,
I made this recipe and it was amazing! For next time, I was wondering if I could mix the nut toppings with the batter at the end so it is mixed evenly in the muffins. The reason why I’m not sure about this is because I thought that the nuts might sink to the bottom and burn. Will that happen?
Thanks,
Serena
Hi Serena, Glad you liked them! Yes, I think you could mix the topping into the batter. I’d love to hear how they turn out this way!
These muffins are amazing! I will definitely be making them again.
I made these last week to share with my class assistants. They were delicious! Great texture. The comments about them running over scared me. I had no problems. Maybe they added too much banana.
Yo these are like, crazy fricken good! I didn’t think it would be banana-y enough but THEY ARE CHEF’S KISS!
love you chef!
Hello Jenn:
I have a question regarding measuring. I see in many recipes to weigh ingredients, there is a considerable difference in weighing ingredients and measuring using the spoon and level method. Also, most recipes do not give the weights of the baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, etc. Wouldn’t this throw the recipe off so to speak? I find mostly in muffin recipes when I weigh the ingredients, the recipes don’t seem to come out right, usually overdone on the outside, or done on the outside and underdone in middle. Any thoughts?
Hi Linda, most recipes don’t give the weights of baking soda, cinnamon, etc. as most people have measuring spoons. You mentioned that you have a problem with your muffins coming out right – are you using the conversions I provide with my recipes or doing the conversions yourself? If you’re doing them yourself, that could account for the problems you’re having as you may be using slightly more or less of an ingredient intended and that could throw off your results.
one stick of butter is 1/2 cup or 1 cup???
Hi Kim, it’s 1/2 cup. Enjoy the muffins!
thank you….. here in Canada a stick is 2 cups!
No it’s not. 1 stick of butter is 1 cup here in Canada.
Now I’m confused. Here in Canada 1 stick of butter is 1/2 cup. So is the recipe calling for 1 or 2 sticks?
Hi Judy, 1 stick of butter is also 1/2 cup in the US, so you’ll need just 1 stick/113 grams. Hope that clarifies and that you enjoy the muffins!
Such a delicious recipe! I only had two bananas so I added one small avocado. I also only had whole milk yogurt. I added crush walnuts to the batter and omitted the honey. I only baked it for 20 minutes in muffin tins. They came out perfectly!
Delicious ! Easy to make. I added some Chia seeds to the batter. Yum yum. Another winner.
These were so yummy. I added a handful of cherries. I will make these again. Thank you for the recipe and your step by step instructions!
I used pecans instead of walnuts because that what I had on hand and the sunk into the batter. Good otherwise!