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!
Mark says
This recipe was super easy and they came out amazing! Probably the best muffins I’ve ever made!
Allison says
Awesome! Thanks for taking the time to share your experience. 🙂
Jodie B. says
Made these today, and they were delicious! Very easy too. I didn’t put in the cinnamon and I made some with and without chocolate chips. I love them both. I had been making a banana bread recipe for decades, but I think I like this better. Thank you
Allison says
You’re welcome! Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
Trina says
Those are fantastic. I only had dark brown sugar so I used it and they still turned out amazing. Perfect on the first try. Thank you for this recipe.
Allison says
You’re welcome! I’m glad you enjoyed them. 🙂
PAMELA says
I really liked this recipe but will go back to pecan instead of walnuts. Pecan seem to taste better with banana muffins. I did substitute self rising flour for the ap flour, salt and baking soda. Also used 5 old bananas 🍌 I had on hand. These turned out so moist inside. Yum. I also used salted butter as I didn’t have unsalted thawed out of freezer. Thank you for posting this!
Allison says
You’re welcome! Thanks for stopping by.
Lauren says
I make banana muffins a lot and these were awesome. Loved the topping!
Allison says
I’m glad you enjoyed them!
Brenda says
This is a perfect recipe. I added a half banana more than asked for and used the 1/2 t cinnamon option. Super lighty buttered the tins which caramelized the brown sugar. Wow! Thank you for this recipe. I will save it forever. 😋
Allison says
You’re welcome! I’m glad you enjoyed them. 🙂
Debra DeAngelis says
Very good 👍
Karen says
These were very good, and my kids really enjoyed them. I think they’d be even better with a pinch of sea salt and a splash of orange juice in the batter before baking.
Vickie says
These muffins turned ou beautiful! I made them to be served with coffee at our church arts and craft show. They looked bakery-made and were delicious! I definitely will be making them again for myself!
Allison says
I’m glad you enjoyed them. Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
Angela Elder says
I made this recipe twice and had many good comments about how delicious they were. I topped them with protein granola too for extra nutrients.
Allison says
I’m glad you enjoyed them!
Mary says
Made these for the first time today and they are fabulous! Very moist and flavorful. Will definitely make again.
Allison says
I’m glad you enjoyed them. 🙂
Colleen says
These are amazing! I tweaked them a tiny bit for my husband’s physical needs. I used pecans and upped it to 2/3c. I also only used 1 1/2c flour and used 3T of protein powder and 1T flaxseed. This recipe held up wonderfully with the changes.
Thank you for sharing your recipe!
It will be our go to recipe from now on.🙂