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!
Sheila Clary says
The best banana muffins ever!
Allison says
Thanks! 🙂
SJ says
These turned out yummy!! Went with jumbo muffin tins and cooked a bit longer.
Allison says
I’m glad you enjoyed them. 🙂
Amber says
These were wonderful topped with your maple butter! Thank you!
Allison says
You’re welcome!
Lori says
The family loved these muffins. Due to dietary limitations, I subbed dairy free butter and gluten free flour. The muffins were still light, moist and delicious!
Allison says
I’m so glad! Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
Yvonne says
I made this recipe but didn’t have unsalted butter so just didn’t add any salt and I accidentally used almond extract instead of vanilla because I put the little bottle in a vanilla box. Big mistake. Thought I ruined the recipe but it came out great. Wonderful good surprise. These are super delicious muffins!!! Thankyou for sharing!!!
Allison says
You’re welcome! I’m glad you enjoyed them. 🙂
Melissa says
These were delicious! Thank you for sharing your recipe. Do you think I could substitute apples for the bananas? Maybe add a little more cinnamon? Thank you!
Allison says
You could try swapping applesauce for some of the banana. I’m not sure if it will be as sweet and moist. You’d have to play around with it.
Mica says
Loved them. The extra vanilla added a really lovely scent and flavor. They took about 5 mins longer for me to bake, but I did use vegan butter and paper muffin liners, so maybe that changed something. I added cinnamon to the topping for a proper streusel. Very happy.
Allison says
I’m glad you enjoyed them. Thanks for stopping by!
Carmel says
Simple ,Easy and Delicious Thankyou 🙏
Brandi says
These are phenomenal!! My whole family loves these!! Could you tweak this recipe to make blueberry muffins?
Allison says
I’m glad you enjoyed them. I have a blueberry banana muffin recipe: Blueberry Banana Muffins
Thomas VanThomme says
Excellent Banana Walnut Muffins
Allison says
I’m glad you enjoyed them!
Ms.Ronni' Brown says
Thank you for sharing your recipe. I had bananas that were almost very ripe. I decided to make your recipe they smelled Fantastic when coming out of the oven.
Allison says
I’m so glad! Thanks for stopping by. 🙂