These soft, moist, easy Banana Nut Muffins are loaded with banana flavor and studded with walnuts for a little crunch. No need for a mixer - just use one bowl and stir everything together with a wooden spoon!
If you love baking with bananas as much as we do, you should also try my Best Banana Bread Recipe, and Coconut Lime Glazed Banana Bread!
Why we love this Banana Nut Muffin Recipe
Easy banana nut muffins are perfect for breakfast or as an after-school snack! And they freeze well, which is perfect for busy mornings when you need something on-the-go!
Everybody needs a good way to use up bananas that end up getting overly ripe sitting on the counter. My girls go through phases where they are obsessed with bananas and can't get enough of them and then suddenly they decide they don't want anymore and I'm left with a bunch of bananas turning spotty before I know it.
When that happens and the bananas are past their prime, nobody in our house will go anywhere near them.
That's when I either peel, slice, and freeze the bananas or bake up a batch of coconut lime glazed banana bread or these easy banana nut muffins. The frozen bananas can be used in recipes in the future and are perfect for smoothies, too.
This is my favorite basic banana bread recipe that I have been making for years. It uses lots of bananas for major banana flavor, which is great because when we have overly ripe bananas, it's usually a bunch of them, not just one or two.
And since I'm a big fan of nuts in basically everything, I add some chopped walnuts and bake it in muffin pans instead of loaf pans for easy, single servings that I can throw in the freezer and reheat one or two for quick weekday breakfasts or after school snacks for my girls. They freeze really well for 2-3 months and are delicious with a glass of cold milk or some fresh fruit.
I love, love, love breaking warm banana nut muffins open and spreading a little strawberry jam on the inside before eating it for that delicious strawberry-banana combination.
Ingredients for Easy Banana Nut Muffins
- Ripe bananas - This recipe is perfect for using up those spotted, brown bananas that are sitting on your counter that no one wants to touch.
- All-purpose flour - Regular unbleached white flour is perfect for this recipe, although you could replace ⅓ of that with whole wheat flour if you want.
- Salted butter - I use salted butter in all my baking. If you only have unsalted butter, just add an extra pinch of salt to the recipe.
- Sugar - White granulated sugar gives just the right amount of sweetness.
- Egg - This is a binding agent that helps give the muffins their texture.
- Vanilla extract - A flavor agent that rounds out and balances all of the other flavors.
- Baking soda & baking powder - These two work together for the right amount of lift for light, fluffy muffins.
- Ground cinnamon - A wonderful warm spice without overpowering the other flavors.
- Salt - So the muffins don’t taste bland.
- Chopped walnuts - I hardly chop the nuts at all since I like large chunks of walnut in my banana muffins. You can also sub in chopped pecans or even chocolate chips instead, if you prefer.
How to Make Banana Nut Muffins
- Mash 3-4 ripe bananas in a large mixing bowl with a fork. Add the melted butter and stir them together with a wooden spoon.
- Stir in the sugar, egg, and vanilla, then sprinkle the baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt over the wet ingredients and stir to combine.
- Add the flour and nuts at the same time, and stir just until no streaks of flour remain.
- Divide the batter between 12 greased muffin cups and bake at 350 degrees F for 20 to 24 minutes until golden brown.
Tips for the Best Banana Walnut Muffins
- There is just a hint of cinnamon in these moist banana muffins, which really makes a difference and they have beautiful, golden brown muffin tops. You can sprinkle a few extra chopped walnuts on top of the muffins, if you want, and they get nicely toasted in the oven while the muffins are baking.
- Don't get too hung up on the number of bananas. If you only have 2 bananas, that will work too, there will just be slightly less banana flavor in these muffins.
- Like almost any muffin recipe, overmixing the batter can cause them to be dense, rather than light and tender.
- Fill the muffin cups mostly full before baking. I prefer to spray my muffin cups with cooking spray rather than use muffin liners for these banana nut muffins.
- You could easily make this recipe into a loaf of banana nut bread by pouring the batter into a loaf pan and baking for 50 to 55 minutes in a 350 degree oven, until a tester inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.
Ways to serve Banana Walnut Muffins
We enjoy our banana muffins with a tall glass of cold milk while they are still warm from the oven. For a special treat, I like to slice one in half and spread it with some fresh strawberry jam or butter. They would also be great with a smear of Nutella!
How to store Easy Banana Nut Muffins
Let the muffins cool completely on a wire rack, then store any uneaten muffins in an airtight container on the counter for up to 5 days.
You can also freeze any leftover muffins in an airtight container in the freezer for 2 to 3 months. They freeze well and make a great easy breakfast or snack when you are short on time. Warm them up in the microwave for 30-45 seconds and they will taste almost as if they were just baked!
More Muffin Recipes You Are Sure to Love
- Morning Glory Muffins (these babies are loaded with shredded carrots, zucchini, apple, coconut, and pecans
- Raspberry Streusel Muffins
- Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Easy Apple Oatmeal Muffins
- Homemade Blueberry Muffins with Crumb Topping
Did you make this recipe?
Let me know what you thought with a comment and rating below. You can also take a picture and tag me on Instagram @houseofnasheats or share it on the Pinterest pin so I can see.
Easy Banana Nut Muffin Recipe
Ingredients
- 3-4 ripe bananas mashed
- ⅓ cup butter melted
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg beaten
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup chopped walnuts plus extra for topping if desired
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a muffin tin by lightly greasing the cups or lining them with paper liners.
- In a large bowl, combine the melted butter and mashed bananas and stir with a large wooden spoon.
- Stir in the sugar, egg, and vanilla, then sprinkle the baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt over the banana batter and give it another stir to combine.
- Add the flour and nuts last and stir just until no streaks of flour remain.
- Evenly divide the batter among the cups of a lightly greased muffin tin. If you want, sprinkle the top of each muffin with a few additional chopped walnuts before baking.
- Bake for 20-24 minutes, until golden brown on top and a toothpick inserted in the middle of one of the muffins comes out clean.
Thank you for your info
Very easy to make. I made medium sized cup cakes and the recipe gave me 14 cupcakes. I followed the recipe exactly as written and they came out perfectly. I will be using this recipe many more times.
These are absolutely amazing! I doubled the recipe, used 1 cup whole wheat flour and two cups white flour. Used some great honey (and used 3/4 cup total for the double recipe). And used pecans, small pieces in the muffins, and a whole one on top. These were probably the most flavorful ever. I realized what is different - the cinnamon! Great idea, thank you!
Perfect Banana Bread. Love it!
This has become my go to breakfast muffin recipe. I cut the sugar to 1/2 cup, because I often add dark chocolate chunks and substitute macadamia nuts for the walnuts...so decadent and a pleasing way to start the day with a cup of Hawaiian coffee!
Now I need to try these dark chocolate macadamia nut muffins of which you speak. They sound wonderful!
Just made these muffins. I like how it doesn't feel like your eating air. My grandkids are devouring them.
Thank you
You're welcome!
These are wonderful and sooo easy to make.
I made this for my husband today!! My first time making any kind of bread and I am glad I selected your recipe from google search. I made a loaf of banana bread instead of muffins. Delish! Thanks
Great recipe! I just made it. Followed directions exactly and I have 12 perfect banana muffins. They taste marvelous! Very easy to make. Kind of recipe you can easily memorize. Love it. Thanks
Hi. Do you use salted or unsalted butter? Tyia
I use salted butter.
These muffins are delicious! I filled mine advisability to the top and got 12 muffins out of it. I only used 2.5 bananas so i would have enough for 2 batches and the 2nd batch i added 3/4 c chocolate chips. These are the best homemade muffins I've ever made. So happy i found this recipe!
Super delicious! I used half a cup each of walnuts and mini chocolate chips. Mmmmmm
What can I substitute baking soda with? I only have baking powder. Thanks in advance!
If you only have baking soda, I would try increasing the baking powder to 3 teaspoons instead of just 1.
Great recipe! I doubled it and made both muffins and a loaf. I added some apricot jam in place of one banana and a half cup of chopped dates. My husband loved these♥️and they were super easy to make!!
I found this recipe a few months ago and have honestly lost count of how many times I’ve made it! They turn out perfect Every. Time. My family purposely buys too many bananas so they’ll go brown and I’ll make these muffins!
I used brown sugar instead & added a pinch of ground ginger & cloves.... SO YUMMY!
What the adjustments to making this with all whole wheat flour?
I want the consistency to be just as soft and airy as using all purpose flour. LOVE the original recipe! Love to see if I can make it with healthier flour so I won’t feel bad when eating it all the time lol!
I'm so glad you love it! I have made it with half whole wheat and half all-purpose flour, but never all whole wheat flour yet! My guesses for what might help maintain the softness would be to replace 2 tablespoons of each cup of flour with 2 tablespoons of cornstarch and see if that helps though. If you try it, I would love to know what your results are like!
This recipe is AMAZING! It’s so easy to make and so delicious! 😃
These are delightful! I love to bake, but don’t always enjoy the cleanup! This recipe takes care of all of that! I used four very ripe bananas and the muffins were very moist and yummy!
Delicious and couldn't be easier to make!
Wow. I am eating one of these after it's been out of oven for 30mins. Still warm. Absolutely delicious. I just wanted to make a quick batch of banana nut muffins, thought of it at the last minute when I had to get up at 6 a.m. and work from home and my boyfriend and his son are still asleep. My boyfriend loves banana muffins but with lots and lots of walnuts. I only had three bananas so that's all I used and it was the perfect amount. Absolutely just delicious, nice and moist and very flavorful. I used to have a favorite recipe for banana bread but I believe this will be by new one. I love that I could only use one bowl, also. the only change I made to it was I did not use a full teaspoon of cinnamon in the mix because I don't usually like cinnamon with bananas I just put a dash of it in the mix, and then on top of the muffins I sprinkled a little bit of cinnamon sugar mix that I have for toast. Yum, yum, yum. Thank you!!!
I made these muffins today and we like them!! They are very easy to mix up and bake and the flavor and texture is wonderful!! I used 4 bananas that were pretty ripe and I cut the sugar to 1/2 cup. I added chopped walnuts and sprinkled extra cinnamon on top of the batter before baking. I will definitely be baking these again!
I've been using your recipe as my base for the past year and I love it! One bowl is the BEST, esp as a mom who hates extra dishes. My changes to this are as follows: I use sprouted spelt or einkorn flour, use 1/2 cup coconut sugar + 6 drops liquid stevia, up the salt to 1/4 tsp, and toast the walnuts before addind to batter. I love how I can make these changes to suit our needs/tastes and still have an amazing muffin. Thank you for the delicious recipe!
Thank you so much for sharing you adjustments! I'm so glad you love this muffin recipe!
I have a batch of these in the oven right now! I have made them several times because they are so good! I also love that they are so easy to make! My mother and brother are also big fans. My brother, who is not a sweet eater, will even give me his over ripe bananas and say " you need to make me muffins with these." This is and will always be my go to recipe for banana nut muffins!
Love this easy recipe. A lot of the banana muffin or bread recipes have milk. I like this so much better. I only changed one thing. I used brown sugar instead of regular sugar. Very good! Just like a recipe I got from an international cookbook years ago.
Easy to assemble..... Love the 1 bowl method here.
Made 14 but I usually divide a typical 12 serving recipe into 14. Baked these the same amount of time.
Turned the broiler on to brown the tops. I just love the little extra toastiness.
Yum very good. Thank you
I make this over and over in a loaf. My husband and I absolutely love this recipe. I add chocolate chips or recently tried espresso chips and chopped pecans. Divine! I toast a thick slice and put a bit of butter or jam on it for breakfast. The hard part is waiting for the bananas to over ripe.
I have made these twice now...and I love them. Both times I had only 3 bananas and I added a couple extra shortcuts (didn't beat egg before mixing it in...and added the bananas to the bowl of melted butter and mashed them with butter) and they were still amazing. I also used my larger muffin tins and got 7 (not as big as Costco muffins) Super moist. Delish. Thanks.
Just made these! Absolutely delicious! Followed recipe exactly! 4 bananas. Did throw in a half teaspoon of almond extract. Recipe made exactly 12 muffins in my cupcake pan! My girls are devouring them as I type this! Thank you for this recipe it will be treasured !😊
My granddaughter and I made these! They were moist and so much flavor ! She took them home and her daddy said these were the best banana bread muffins EVER! Thanks for sharing your recipe!
I didn't have all the ingredients listed so I really messed with the recipe and they still turned out fantastic! I will definitely be trying another one of your recipes.
I made these yesterday and they are amazing! I placed pecans on the top as well as in the batter. The top gave it just the right amount of crunch! I have to confess though I made them in two bowls! These are definitely a keeper! Thanks for this great recipe!
I always have trouble with banana bread being undercooked in the middle but these came out perfect with the same bb flavor. I did cook for closer to 30 mins. I used 1/2 the sugar for a healthier option and they still taste great.
I loved this recipe. I did end up adding 1/4 cup milk & 1/4 cup strong brewed coffee at the end while mixing in flour as well as using a bit more butter (to make 1/3). 4 bananas gave me 40 mini muffins. Baked at 420° for the first 5 min for a nice dome then down to 350° for the remaining 5-8 min.
Love this recipe very tadty
Wow! This is the perfect recipe for banana muffins! ! I've tried a bunch of different ones and this one beats them all!! I love the balance of flavors and how easy it is!! My 3 year old loves to help me make these as well as eat them!! The only thing I do different is use half whole wheat flour and half brown sugar!! Thank you for sharing this delicious recipe!!
I tried your recipe with less sugar and chocolate chips and it turned out very good! My husband and daughter both loved it. Thank you for a great recipe. 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
Do you have a recipe for blueberry scones?
I do! It's right here! Maine Wild Blueberry Scones
So delicious! Thanks for the amazing recipe, it will be a regular for sure!
Allergic to Eggs? Substitute with 4 tablespoons of blended silken tofu per egg.
I just made these. AMAZING! This is the first time I have used tofu as an egg substitute. You can't even tell the difference. AT ALL. I'm not making this up. I also omitted the nuts and used semi-sweet mini chocolate chips instead. This recipe is so quick and easy. I had 4 -almost black bananas, but to my surprise, they went even bruised inside. I'm glad I didn't throw them out. Thank you so much for this recipe. I will be making it every other week.
Thank you for sharing your experience! That's great to know about the tofu substitute! I had a friend looking for a vegan muffin and will have to tell her about it!
This is a great recipe. Made it just like it did here and it was delicious.
I made these 2 times. Once as 6:giant muffins and one in a loaf pan. Very delicious. I grind the walnuts up so it looks like a heavy flour. So easy and quick as well. My husband loves them.
These are AMAZING!! My whole family devoured them. Thank you! I do have one question..can you make the batter the night before and put it in the fridge ti bake fresh in the morning? Would letting it sit overnight mess it up? Thank you!
I made this recipe today and it is delicious. I live at high altitude and adjusted a few ingredients. I added 1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt.
Here is what I made:
4 bananas
1/3 c. butter
1/4 c. Greek yogurt
1 ex. Large egg
1 t. vanilla
1 t. baking soda
1 t. baking powder
1/4 t. cinnamon
1 3/4 c. flour
1 c. Walnuts
No one gives adjustments for high altitude baking. Plus I love the little zap the yogurt gives. Thanks for sharing your recipe.😁
They came out great. This is my go to recipe for banana muffins.
Oh good! I'm so glad you liked them!
amazingly moist
These are simple and delish! I made them with chocolate chips because I didn’t have pecans. They were so good, I couldn’t believe it. The one bowl is great too! Less clean up. Highly recommended!!!!
Thank you!
Thank you! I'm glad you liked them! Chocolate chips would be delicious in these muffins!