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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Comments
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Hi Jenn, as usual, your recipe is a hit with the family! I cut the sugar, honey and used normal yoghurt instead of Greek yoghurt ( as didn’t have it) and it tasted just as good!
Husband just told me, “I hope you saved this recipe somewhere.” It’s a winner!
Hi Jenn! These muffins look so good. I want to make them tomorrow so we can enjoy them all through the weekends ) do you think I could substitute a coconut oil instead of butter? If yes, how much would be an equivalent amount?
Sure Asyl, coconut oil should work (and it would be the same amount). Hope you enjoy!
Hi Jenn,
What should I do if I don’t have an electric mixer? Should I whisk it by hand or stir it with a spatula or spoon? & Thanks for your awesome recipes!
Hi S H, for the best results, you really need a mixer for this. Sorry!
These look amazing! I currently can’t have dairy (new baby at home), can these be done without butter?
Sure, Angie – I’d use coconut oil.
Hi Jen,
My husband is lactose intolerant, I was wondering if there is anything I can substitute the yogurt or sour cream with.
Thanks
Hi Rani, if you’re able to find non-dairy yogurt, that should work here. Hope you enjoy!
Wonderful recipe, thanks Jen!
The second time I made these muffins, I made more of the walnut topping mixture and incorporated some of it in the batter as well as placing over the top. it turned out very nicely. Thanks again
Hi Jenn,
I would like to make these muffins for a holiday brunch. Can I make these muffins as mini muffins?
How would this effect cooking time? Also, how much batter would I use for each muffin?
Thanks
Carole
Sure Carole, you can make these as mini muffins. You’ll fill the muffin cups almost entirely. They should take somewhere from 10 to 13 minutes in the oven. *I’d start checking them at 10.) Enjoy!
Could I use maple sugared walnuts for the topping and just eliminate the honey?
Hi Judy, I think that would work but because the honey acts kind of like glue to hold the topping ingredients together, when you top the muffins, I press the topping down a little bit to adhere them to the batter. Hope you enjoy!
Hmmm, not sure why these didn’t turn out well. This is the 2nd time I’ve tried a bread or muffin recipe that uses honey that I haven’t liked. It was an easy recipe, and the muffins were moist enough, but they didn’t rise into a dome shape either, nor were they that tasty. Ordinarily I love your recipes, Jenn.
Hi Barbara, Sorry to hear these didn’t turn out well for you. Regarding them not rising as you would’ve expected. Is there any chance you measured something incorrectly? If not, was the oven fully pre-heated? Was your baking soda or baking powder old?
These muffins are delicious! I had some overripe bananas and I wanted to try something new, so I gave these a try. I took them to my office and everybody loved them. I especially love the honey and walnut topping. I just made a few minor changes to make them a bit healthier:
– Whole wheat flour instead of all-purpose
– 1/2 cup Greek yogurt and about 50 grams of butter
– 1/2 cup sugar instead of 2/3 cup
– Added one teaspoon of cinnamon to the batter (this is just for the flavour – I might also add some nutmeg and/or ground cloves next time)
Whether you want to make some switches or not, this recipe is fantastic and I’ll definitely be making it again. Thanks, Jenn!
Like many of these reviews, I also had a lot of bananas and was trying to figure out how to use them, when I saw this muffin recipe, so on a rainy afternoon I made them and they were divine, so light and fluffy and tasty, it was hard to stop at one. They are definitely going to be made again, thanks for always having wonderful recipes.
Glad you enjoyed!