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Banana Muffins are bakery-style, perfectly domed, and packed with sweet banana flavor and crunchy walnuts in every bite. They are my favorite way to use up spotty bananas, and the kids grab them on the way out the door for breakfast. Soft, moist, and easy, they are a cozy treat like our double chocolate muffins.
Mix ripe bananas into a simple batter with warm cinnamon and chopped walnuts for tender, tall, bakery-style muffins.
Banana Muffins Quick Look
- 🕒 Prep Time: 15 minutes
- 🌡️ Cook Time: 20 minutes
- ⏳ Total Time: 35 minutes
- 🍽️ Serving: 12 muffins
- ⚡ Calories: 179kcal
- 🌶️ Flavor Profile: Sweet banana with cinnamon and crunchy walnuts
- ✋ Difficulty: Easy and beginner-friendly, like our chocolate muffins
Quick Answer
Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. In another bowl, mix mashed bananas, brown sugar, egg, and vanilla, then stir into the dry ingredients until just combined. Fold in chopped walnuts, fill the muffin liners, and let them rest 15 minutes. Bake at 425 degrees for 5 minutes, lower to 350, and bake until a toothpick comes out clean.
Jump to:
Why This Recipe Works
Click to see the technique science
- They dome up bakery-style. A hot start at 425 degrees gives the muffins a burst of lift for tall, rounded tops.
- They use up ripe bananas. Those spotty bananas on the counter become the star of a moist, flavorful muffin.
- Real banana flavor. A full cup and a half of mashed banana means every bite tastes like the real thing.
- Crunchy walnuts in every bite. Chopped walnuts add a nutty crunch that contrasts perfectly with the soft crumb.
- They are easy to make. Just two bowls and a few minutes of mixing, no mixer required.
- They freeze beautifully. Make a batch and freeze them for grab-and-go breakfasts and snacks all month.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- They are bakery-style, perfectly domed muffins you can make right at home.
- They are a great way to rescue overripe bananas into something the whole family loves.
- Soft, moist, and packed with walnuts, they are a cozy bake like our double chocolate muffins.
Key Ingredients
Here is everything you need for a dozen bakery-style banana nut muffins.
- Ripe Bananas: the riper the better. Brown, spotty bananas are the sweetest and mash easily for the most flavor.
- All-Purpose Flour: the structure of the muffin. Be careful not to overmix once it goes in.
- Brown Sugar: adds sweetness plus a little caramel, molasses depth.
- Baking Powder and Baking Soda: the lift. Both work together for tall, fluffy muffins.
- Cinnamon and Vanilla: warm, cozy flavors that pair perfectly with banana.
- Walnuts: chopped for crunch and nutty flavor in every bite. Toast them first for even more.
See recipe card for exact quantities.
Variations and Substitutions
These banana nut muffins are easy to switch up.
- Swap the nuts: use pecans instead of walnuts, or skip them for plain banana muffins.
- Add chocolate chips: stir in a handful for banana chocolate chip muffins.
- Make them streusel-topped: sprinkle on a cinnamon-sugar streusel before baking.
- Go mini or jumbo: bake as minis for a shorter time, or jumbo muffins for a little longer.
- Make banana bread: pour the batter into a loaf pan, like our banana bundt cake.
How to Make Banana Muffins
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and line 12 muffin cups. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
- In another bowl, whisk together the mashed bananas, brown sugar, egg, and vanilla until well combined.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir just until combined, being careful not to overmix.
- Fold in the chopped walnuts until they are evenly distributed through the batter.
- Fill each muffin liner with batter, then let the filled tin rest on the counter for 15 minutes.
- Bake for 5 minutes at 425, then lower the oven to 350 and bake 10 to 15 minutes more, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool before serving.
Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Use very ripe, spotty bananas for the best flavor and natural sweetness.
- Do not overmix the batter; stir just until combined for tender, fluffy muffins.
- Let the batter rest 15 minutes in the liners for taller, bakery-style domes.
- Start hot, then lower the heat; 425 then 350 gives big, rounded tops without burning.
- Fill the liners nearly full so the muffins bake up tall and domed.
- Toast the walnuts first for a deeper, nuttier flavor in every bite.
Serving Ideas and Suggestions
Banana nut muffins are best warm, split open with a pat of butter melting inside. They make a perfect grab-and-go breakfast or an afternoon snack with coffee.
Serve them for brunch alongside our lemon blueberry coffee cake and cake donuts for a sweet, cozy spread the whole family will love.
Store them in an airtight container for a few days, or freeze them for up to three months. Pop one in the microwave for a warm, fresh-baked muffin anytime, just like our overnight french toast casserole on busy mornings.
Banana Muffins FAQs
The riper the better. Look for bananas that are heavily speckled with brown spots, or even mostly brown. They are sweeter, softer, and mash into the batter easily, giving the muffins the best banana flavor and moistest texture.
Starting at 425 degrees gives the muffins a quick burst of heat that helps them rise fast and form tall, bakery-style domes. Lowering the oven to 350 after a few minutes lets the centers bake through without burning the tops.
Absolutely. Simply leave out the walnuts for classic banana muffins, or swap in chocolate chips, pecans, or dried fruit. The recipe works perfectly with or without the nuts, so make them however your family likes them.
Resting the filled batter for about 15 minutes lets the flour fully hydrate and the leavening start to work, which helps the muffins bake up taller and more evenly. It is a simple step that makes a noticeable difference in the domes.
Store cooled muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days, or in the fridge for up to a week. Tucking in a paper towel helps absorb extra moisture. They also freeze beautifully for up to three months.
Yes. Pour the same batter into a greased loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 50 to 60 minutes. The bake time is longer for a loaf than for individual muffins.
Love an easy bake? Try our bakery-style double chocolate muffins next.
These banana muffins are perfect alongside our strawberry banana smoothie.
Have ripe bananas to use up? Bake a moist loaf of our chocolate chip banana bread.
Got ripe bananas to use up? Our banana cream pie is the perfect way to do it.
Round out brunch with a jar of our crunchy homemade granola.
Round out breakfast with a jar of our strawberry overnight oats.
Serve these with a side of our easy air fryer turkey bacon for a complete breakfast.
Skip the bakery and make this sour cream coffee cake with a sweet sour cream glaze.
Easy Banana Nut Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups mashed bananas
- ½ cup light brown sugar packed
- 1 large egg lightly beaten
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup chopped walnuts
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line 12 muffin cups with liners, set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon salt
- Whisk together the mashed bananas, sugar, egg, and vanilla in a medium bowl. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until combined.1 ½ cups mashed bananas, ½ cup light brown sugar, 1 large egg lightly beaten, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Stir in the walnuts1 cup chopped walnuts
- Fill each muffin liner with the batter.
- Let the batter sit in the liners for 15 minutes.
- Bake muffins for 5 minutes at 425°F. Lower the oven temperature to 350°F and bake for 10-15 minutes more, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Let cool for 5 minutes in the muffin tin, take the muffins out, and cool completely on a wire rack.
Notes
- Use overripe bananas. Brown-spotted = maximum sweetness.
- Mash bananas smooth. Large chunks create wet pockets in the muffin batter.
- Don’t overmix the flour mixture. Stir until no dry streaks. Then stop for moist muffins.
- Rest filled muffin cups. Those 15 minutes give you higher domes and fewer sad muffins.
- Rotate the pan halfway. Even home ovens have hot spots; a quick spin means uniform color.
- Cleanup hack. Line the cooling wire rack with parchment for crumb-catching magic (less time with the broom).
Nutrition
Love This Recipe?
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These look and taste amazing – Thanks for the recipe!
In this recipe the bananas and brown sugar are doing most of the moisture heavy lifting, which keeps the ingredient list simple and lets the banana flavor stay the star of the show.
A few sneaky things can dry out banana muffins:
1 Not enough banana
Bananas vary wildly in size. If the recipe used about 1 cup mashed banana (2–3 large bananas) but you only had ½–¾ cup, the muffins lose their moisture engine.
2 Too much flour
If flour is scooped instead of spooned into the measuring cup, you can accidentally add 20–25% more flour, which is basically a moisture thief.
3 Overbaking
Even 2–3 extra minutes can push muffins into the Sahara Desert zone.
4 Batter mixed too much
Overmixing develops gluten, which turns fluffy muffins into something closer to… banana hockey pucks.
Hope that helps please let me know if you have any questions. Thanks for the feedback.
The muffins turned out pretty good but very dry. Did you mean to leave oil or butter out of the recipe ?