We took our all-time favorite easy banana bread and turned it into the best banana nut muffins. These are soft, fluffy, and moist banana nut muffins with a crackly-crunchy brown sugar topping that makes these muffins extra delicious! Try our blueberry banana muffins, too!
“These muffins were out of this world delicious!! My neighbor thought so too. Best we’ve ever had. Definitely won’t ever be using any other recipe besides this one. Thank you so much!”
★★★★★
– Kim
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What sets this recipe apart
BROWN SUGAR: Brown sugar is the only sugar used in this recipe. It makes the muffins moist and imparts a deep, caramel-like sweetness.
TOPPING: A sprinkle of brown sugar and nuts on top of each muffin creates a crackly-crunchy topping that can’t be beat!
NUTS: Think beyond the typical walnuts that you see on a banana nut muffin. Try macadamia nuts, pecans, or hazelnuts for something different!
5-STAR REVIEWS: This recipe is a reader favorite with hundreds of 5-star reviews.
How to make banana nut muffins
*Full recipe below in recipe card*
Step 1
Whisk melted butter and brown sugar.
Step 2
Add eggs, vanilla, and mashed banana.
Step 3
Stir in flour, baking soda, and salt. Followed by chopped nuts.
Step 4
Scoop the batter into a muffin pan and sprinkle the top of each muffin with brown sugar and chopped nuts.
Step 5
Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and the top is golden brown.
My recipe testing tips
Use overripe (brown speckled) bananas, they’ll be extra sweet!
Mash the bananas on a paper plate then fold the plate to slide the mashed banana into the measuring cup.
Your brown sugar should be fresh and soft. Since this is a key ingredient (used in both the topping and the batter), make sure it is fresh and moist.
Use your favorite nuts (or even a combination of nuts). Walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, or macadamia nuts are all delicious.
Top these muffins with salted butter, honey butter or maple butter to make them extra tasty.
Optional ingredient swaps
Prefer your muffins a bit more wholesome? You can make the following changes:
- Reduce the brown sugar to ½ cup (in the batter). I still recommend sprinkling brown sugar on top.
- Swap the melted butter for melted coconut oil or mild olive oil.
- Reduce the melted butter/oil to 6 tablespoons.
- Swap ¾ cup of the all purpose flour for white whole wheat flour.
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Recipe
Banana Nut Muffins
Ingredients
Muffins:
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
- ⅔ cup light brown sugar, lightly packed, make sure it is fresh and soft
- 2 large eggs
- 2 cups mashed very ripe bananas , about 3-4 bananas
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 ¾ cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, optional
- ½ cup chopped walnuts, or swap for macadamia nuts, pecans, or hazelnuts
Topping:
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 2-3 tablespoons chopped walnuts
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- In a large bowl, whisk melted butter and ⅔ cup brown sugar until well combined, about 1 full minute. Add eggs, mashed banana, and vanilla, whisking until combined.
- In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and use a rubber spatula to lightly stir the batter until almost combined. Add ½ cup chopped nuts and stir until no streaks of flour remain. Be careful not to over-mix.
- Grease 15 standard-sized muffin cups and divide the batter evenly among the cups. Sprinkle the top of the each cup with brown sugar and chopped walnuts (topping). Bake for 14-17 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Place the pan on a wire rack to cool.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Information is an estimate based on third-party calculations and may vary based on products used and serving sizes.
Tried this recipe?Leave a comment and rating below!
Jenn says
OMG YUM! These are going to be on repeat all year long!
Jane Saunders says
I just love brown sugar in cakes and muffins, so I’m thrilled to have found this recipe. Thanks for sharing it.
Sharon Rayborn says
Do you have a recipe for fresh peach muffins? If so I would appreciate it if you would share .
Thank you.
Celebrating Sweets says
Hi, Sharon. I do not have a peach muffin recipe. That sounds delicious, though – definitely something I should work on. Here are some other muffin recipes and peach recipes from my site:
Muffins: https://celebratingsweets.com/?s=muffins
Peaches: https://celebratingsweets.com/?s=peach
Happy baking! 🙂 -Allison
Christalynn Stultz says
This is the absolute best recipe! I used coconut oil instead of butter but love the original recipe as well. This is my go to banana muffins recipe! I also love to use my own candied nuts as a topping it’s awesome to play around with too…. Thank you for sharing this recipe!!!!
Celebrating Sweets says
You’re welcome! I’m glad you enjoyed them. Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
Theresa says
I’ve tried so many banana nut recipes and this is by far the best! We all had two right away because they were that delicious!
Celebrating Sweets says
Thanks for the kind review. I’m glad you enjoyed them! 🙂
Diane says
Can these muffins be frozen?? Haven’t made them yet, just me and my husband so too many for us.
Celebrating Sweets says
Yes, they should freeze just fine. Enjoy!
Pat Gunn says
Every muffin tin I’ve seen is 12-cup. What adjustments should be made for a 12-cup tin?
Celebrating Sweets says
If you don’t have two muffin tins you can discard the remaining batter or you can bake the remaining batter in your muffin tin once the first batch has cooked. Enjoy!
Carrie says
Can I use applesauce instead of butter and whole wheat flour and spenlda Brown sugar to make a less calorie muffin
Celebrating Sweets says
I have only made this recipe as written, so I can’t say for sure. Best of luck playing around with it.
Michelle says
Best Banana Nut Muffins I have ever made!! I used my muffin tin for 12 and they came out perfect. I let the batter rest a little while and they were great.
Celebrating Sweets says
I’m so happy to hear that! Thanks for taking the time to comment. 🙂
Dot says
Best muffins ever!! I made a half batch and only had Bisquick but the are fantastic. Thanks for the recipe!
Celebrating Sweets says
I’m glad you enjoyed them! Thanks for taking the time to comment. 🙂