Banana Walnut Muffins

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Our homemade banana nut muffin recipe is the easiest, best version of this classic breakfast favorite! It’s made in one bowl, uses up lots of brown bananas, and makes the most moist, delicious muffins you’ve ever had!

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Say goodbye to bland, dry muffins and hello to these Banana Nut Muffins that are the best ones on the internet! Our recipe has dozens of 5-star reviews for good reason – the muffins turn out perfectly moist and delicious every time with only 10 minutes of prep and one bowl!

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 this is the Best Banana Nut Muffin Recipe

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.

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Banana Nut Muffin Ingredients

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.

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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.

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Sprinkle the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt over the wet ingredients and stir to combine.

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Add the chopped walnuts, reserving a few for the tops of the muffins, and stir just until no streaks of flour remain.

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Divide the batter between 12 greased muffin cups and sprinkle with reserved chopped walnuts. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20 to 24 minutes until golden brown.

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Banana Nut Muffin Recipe tips for success

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 sometimes prefer to spray my muffin cups with cooking spray rather than use muffin liners for these banana nut muffins, but either approach works.
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 F oven, until a tester inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.

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What is the secret to moist muffins?

Moist muffins result from the correct balance of ingredients and baking techniques. Adding ingredients like mashed bananas help keep muffins extra moist. But you should also avoid overmixing the batter; a few lumps are fine. Control baking time and temperature—overbaking dries out muffins, so test with a toothpick for doneness.

After baking, cool them in the pan for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to prevent sogginess. Store in an airtight container and they’ll retain moisture longer.

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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.

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Best Banana Nut Muffin Recipe

Equipment

Muffin Pan

Ingredients123

▢ 3-4 ripe bananas mashed
▢ 1/3 cup salted butter melted
▢ 3/4 cup granulated sugar
▢ 1 large egg beaten
▢ 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
▢ 1 1/2 cups (212g) all-purpose flour
▢ 1 teaspoon baking soda
▢ 1 teaspoon baking powder
▢ 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
▢ 1/8 teaspoon salt
▢ 1 cup chopped walnuts plus extra for topping if desired

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F. 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. 3-4 ripe bananas, ⅓ cup salted butter
Stir in the sugar, egg, and vanilla. ¾ cup granulated sugar, 1 large egg, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Sprinkle the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt over the banana batter and stir to combine. I never both to whisk the dry ingredients, I just make sure not to dump all of the baking powder or baking soda into one spot, which risks it not being mixed in to the batter very well. 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1 ½ cups (212g) all-purpose flour, ⅛ teaspoon salt
Add the chopped walnuts, reserving a handful for decorating the tops of the muffins. Stir just until no streaks of flour remain. 1 cup chopped walnuts
Evenly divide the batter among the cups of a lightly greased muffin tin. If you want, sprinkle the top of each muffin with the reserved 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.

Video

Notes

Nutrition

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