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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Best muffin recipe that I have ever made!
If I wanted to make this into a loaf instead of muffins how would I do this?
Hi Lisa, I’d bake the loaf at 350°F for 40 to 45 min. Hope you enjoy!
I’m truly never disappointed with Jenn’s recipes. She manages to somehow make a simple little recipe become phenomenal. I love baking her recipes because ingredients are never wasted from a failed recipe. I always read the reviews so I can tweak as my husband is gluten sensitive and in this case, there’s honey which my infant cannot have. The Namaste GF flour works beautifully and the maple syrup is perfect! Another reviewer mentioned pecans in lieu of walnuts and I LOVE pecans so voila. While I was baking these, my infant was in his chair sampling Jenn’s banana bread, so as you can see, I truly love this talented cookbook author! I also love that she explains how to freeze/thaw/warm up the recipe. I don’t know what I did before discovering her blog a couple of years ago. Love her cookbook too! ❤️
Thank you so much for your nice comments Frenchie — you made my day! 💗
I’m so glad I saw the post on Instagram for these muffins! I had overripe bananas on the counter and was going to make my usual banana bread. These muffins were a yummy alternative. I omitted the topping since there’s a nut allergy in the house and added the cinnamon to the dry ingredients.
Thanks so much for this recipe, Jen! The muffins were light and moist and the honey and yogurt added perfectly balanced flavors!
Best ever!
So moist, light and just delicious, though a bit on the sweet side.
I just stumbled upon this recipe. Absolutely delicious! My kids are all grown and gone so I rarely bake. This September day has an autumnal feel and there were a few very ripe bananas left so baking seemed appropriate. I substituted buttermilk for the yogurt since I had that on hand. The guy painting my doors and windows really enjoyed having a muffin with his cup of tea. Thank you for sharing this Jenn!
I’ve made this recipe for about a year or more as my go-to banana muffin recipe, even forgoing typical banana bread for these! I just had my second baby, and my sister and cousin have also just had babies. We’re all breastfeeding and this recipe is one I have easily altered to make it new mama and lactation friendly! These made perfect gifts for those newly postpartum ladies and no one could believe they were lactation boosters! To make this already bomb recipe lactation friendlier I added ground flax, brewers yeast, an extra banana, subbed Greek yogurt for sour cream and doubled the amount, a smidge more baking powder, and subbed part of the flour for oat flour. So easy and a huge hit! Thanks for this recipe, I treasure it!
How much did you add for each new ingredient? Mostly am wondering about the brewers’s yeast.
I’ve been searching for the perfect banana walnut muffin recipe and found this. I didn’t have plain yogurt so I used my strawberry yogurt with fruit bits but to my surprise, it didn’t overpower the bananas and honey. In fact, it complemented it. Also added some chopped walnuts to the batter since I love walnuts. The taste is perfect!This will be my go-to recipe from now on.
So fluffy and flavorful. Will make again! I used pecans and less sugar/honey instead.
These muffins are delicious–and I love the nutty crunch on the top that the honey adds–brilliant. I have a question though–the muffin cups are very full (as the recipe advised) but my batter spread out on the muffin tin so that the whole muffin tin was covered and my muffins all had flat tops, much more so than your photo. What did I do wrong? I want to make these again for a brunch for guests but I’d like to get it right, lol. Also, your website is my go-to for when I have guests and want to try something new without the risk–or when all our adults kids and their families are home–our grown sons love trying your recipes with me in the kitchen. Every one has been a hit! Thanks for helping us make GREAT family memories!
Hi Mary, Happy to try to troubleshoot. While these definitely spread some across the top of the muffin tin, it shouldn’t cover it completely. Did you make any changes at all to the recipe? Did you use Greek yogurt and not traditional yogurt? Also, what brand of flour did you use? Sometimes when baked goods turn out flat, one reason may be the brand of flour used. I always use King Arthur flour with good results.