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.
Visual recipe overview
*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.
Banana nut muffin ingredient swaps
Less sugar: Reduce the brown sugar to ½ cup (in the batter). I still recommend sprinkling brown sugar on top.
No butter: Swap the melted butter for melted coconut oil or mild olive oil.
Gluten free: Swap the all purpose flour for a 1:1 gluten free baking blend.
Whole grain: Swap ¾ cup of the all purpose flour for white whole wheat flour.
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.
Want a high dome? Check your oven temp! More on this below.
Technique: how to get a high dome on muffins
Oven temp
In order to get a nice dome on your muffins it is important that your oven is all the way up to temperature before adding the pan of muffins. The high heat activates the leavening agents leading to a better rise.
IMPORTANT: When your oven beeps that is preheated, it’s highly likely that it is NOT actually all the way up to temperature. I use an oven thermometer and wait until that indicates the temperature I’m looking for. Note: in my oven that often takes an additional 8 minutes or so.
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, fluff the flour, lightly scoop and level
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, optional
- ½ cup chopped walnuts, macadamia nuts, pecans, or hazelnuts
Topping:
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 2-3 tablespoons chopped walnuts, macadamia nuts, pecans, or hazelnuts
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (see note).
- 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 or line 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
Oven temp:
Make sure your oven is fully up to 350°F before adding the muffins (this helps with the rise). I use an oven thermometer and bake based on that temp, not the temp displayed on the oven itself.Serving and storage:
These muffins are best the day they are made; however, leftovers can be stored tightly-covered at room temperature for up to 2 days, or refrigerated for several days longer. Serve warm, reheated in the microwave or toaster oven.Ingredient swaps:
See full post for several ingredient swaps including gluten free and reduced sugar.Half recipe:
Recipe can be halved. You’ll get 7-8 muffins, bake time will be about the same.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!
Nicole says
Just finished a 15 muffin yield recipe. As a beginner , this was super easy to follow. I’m so happy with how these turned out. Super fluffy and moist. My pan might be little big as I was only able to make 14. The topping was absolutely perfect. I accidentally added 1/2 a teaspoon of kosher salt, so I did add a little more cinnamon and nutmeg to save it and they are DECADENT ❤️
Thank you so much for the recipe, I wish I could send you the picture they look lovely.
Can’t wait to try out the lemon blueberry next ☺️
Allison says
Hi, Nicole. I’m glad you enjoyed them! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment. Happy baking! 🙂
Izzyb2 says
I think these muffins are pretty darn good I heard another person say that they weren’t sweet. They are just perfectly sweet enough. And with the nuts on top it’s delicious. I gave it a five-star first time making these and I’ll probably make them again. Thank you so much!
Allison says
I’m glad you enjoyed them! Thanks for taking the time to comment. 🙂
Shanja says
I probably over mixed, but my muffins did not raise, they look nothing like the picture 🙁 they still taste right.
Allison says
Did you use one teaspoon of baking soda? Perhaps your baking soda isn’t fresh. Better luck next time.
Nicole says
Please start a TikTok!!!!!!!!!
Issa says
Hey Guys! Tips for a lil extra moisture: Add two shots of your favorite rum or whiskey (Jack Daniels Honey or Malibu Rum are my faves) the alcohol cooks out so there is no alcohol in it.
Nicole Ayala says
Awesome eggnog is always good too for moisture.
Jackie says
Didn’t care for these, they are not sweet at all. I used VERY ripe bananas and they still were not sweet, also, i had to bake them about 5 minutes longer then the recipe called for and they still had a underdone texture. Sorry not for me.
Allison says
Sorry to hear that. Are you sure you used 2/3 cup of brown sugar in the muffins?
Larry says
I doubled the recipe and used 2 1/2 cups of chopped walnuts with some orange zest. Made 6 large muffins and a tray of banana bread. Incredibly easy , very moist and incredible flavor. Thank you and Merry Christmas!
Allison says
That sounds delicious! Thanks for taking the time to comment. 🙂
Christine says
Delicious! Unfortunately I only had 2 bananas and the toddler really wanted to make muffins this morning so I added some coconut oil and a bit of extra brown sugar to make up for lack of bananas. They still turned out great! Thank you!
Allison says
I’m glad you enjoyed them! Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
Debra says
These are absolutely delicious! I only had 2 very ripe bananas and it worked out fine. They have just enough sweetness to them and I wouldn’t change a thing. That little hint of cinnamon was perfect and the nuts and sugar on top was great. I definitely be keeping this in my recipe file!
Allison says
I’m glad you enjoyed them! Thanks for taking the time to comment. 🙂
GabbyGerty says
I had bananas that were about to go bad and wanted to make some muffins. So glad I found this recipe! It was easy and produced fluffy, moist, delicious results! The amount of sweetness was perfect for me. I did double up on the cinnamon though because I love it! The topping was a nice touch and added some extra crunch! Thanks so much for sharing the recipe!
Allison says
I’m glad you enjoyed them. Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment. 🙂
Tina says
Super easy to make. Did have to add 10 minutes but mine were on the bigger side. Smell was heavenly. Thanks for the yummy recipe ?
Allison says
You’re welcome, Tina. Thanks for taking the time to comment. 🙂
Kara says
But how many calories are these? Because 231kcal is 231,000 calories and that is seemingly impossible
Allison says
Hi, Kara. 1 kcal and 1 calorie are the same. From this article:
“The terms calories — capitalized or not — and kcal are used interchangeably and refer to the same amount of energy in relation to food or energy burned with exercise.
Therefore, you don’t need to convert them, as 1 kilocalorie equals 1 calorie in nutrition.”