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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Just made my first batch of these muffins. They overflowed a bit in the tin but I was still able to remove the muffins . The tops didn’t rise…I was thinking maybe I need to spread out the nuts a bit more – perhaps too heavy on the top?. I note others adjust the oven temperature so might try that too. They taste really good! I have made the blueberry muffins several times and they are amazing.
Hi Anne, Glad they taste good, but sorry they didn’t rise. I don’t think the nuts would’ve been the culprit. What brand of flour are you using?
Sorry Jen just saw your reply. I’m in Australia and used White Wings brand of flour.
Hi Anne, Unfortunately, I’m not familiar with that brand. If you try these again, I’d suggest a few more tablespoons of flour.
Can you make these without nuts. No topping or omit nuts in topping?
Hi Linda, My daughter likes these without nuts – 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. Hope you enjoy!
Would it be possible to make these without a mixer?
Hi Paula, A mixer will really give you the most predictable results. That said, I think it would work (with some elbow grease) but not sure how it will impact the finished product. Please LMK how the muffins turn out if you try it.
These are the only banana baked item I make. The topping is amazing. These muffins don’t need any butter when you reheat. They don’t even need to be reheated. They taste amazing for several days. Not too sweet, and great banana flavor. They come out perfectly every time. I got a fancy banana bread from a fancy coffee shop, and it was not as good as these are. I literally can’t say enough good things—just try them! 10/10, no notes.
Love this recipe but I, too, would have flat muffins… but I finally got the nice round muffin top by doing this with all my muffin recipes… I space my muffins out in the muffin tin, yes, its more pans but I can get both in my oven at the same time… I let my batter sit for at least 15-60 minutes before putting in muffin cups and then bake at 425F for 8 minutes and then reduce temp to 350F for 8-10 minutes… perfect muffins every time. I’m in the habit of doing this with all my muffin recipes and have success every time!
I’d echo the frequent comment others have made about this recipe: something is off. I too am an experienced baker and these consistently turn into pancakes. I haven’t had the batter running off the pan and burning as others have, but they definitely have come close to it. The taste is great, but that’s to be expected of something so simple.
These are absolutely amazing! I saved the recipe and it’ll now be my go-to. My sister said they were the best banana muffins she’d ever had. My only addition was mini chocolate chips I happened to have on hand. I’m sure they’d be delicious without them. As the recipe warned, the cups were super full and some kind of overflowed, but obviously that doesn’t affect the taste. I might start at a higher temp to get them to puff more, and then lower to finish them off.
I made these muffins today and they are so delicious and moist and flavorful! My husband really enjoyed them! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!
This is my go to recipe for using overripe bananas. I had three bananas to use, but when I measured them I was shy one cup. To make up the difference, I mashed a half of an avocado and remeasured so I had one cup of banana mixture. I was delighted that the muffins turned out great!
I am looking to make these this week but I only have a mini muffin pan.
What would the recommended cook time be?
Hi Alicia, They should take somewhere from 10 to 13 minutes in the oven. *I’d start checking them at 10.) Enjoy!
I followed the recipe very precisely making no substitutes and the batter was beautiful, but using a standard muffin pan I filled the cups as described and even had a little better left and while they baked instead of puffing up in the center The muffins spread out and actually ran over the edge of the pan a bit. They were not pretty although I have no doubt they will taste delicious. Any ideas what might have happened?
Previous experience with muffin batters made me wonder if this one was not stiff enough prior to baking
Hi Judy, That’s a head-scratcher – the batter for these muffins is quite thick. Did yours look like the batter in the step-by-step photos?