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Banana Nut Muffins

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Light, fluffy muffins are loaded with mashed bananas and crunchy walnuts in this quick and easy breakfast! These healthy Banana Nut Muffins will delight your taste buds and fuel your body for a busy day.

Moist & Fluffy Banana Nut Muffins

If you’ve tried my amazing banana bread recipe, then I guarantee you’ll love these muffins.

I often gravitate toward muffins when I’m in the mood to bake. They’re simple, satisfying and easy to incorporate into a healthy diet. These protein-packed banana nut muffins make a great grab-and-go breakfast or pre-workout snack!

The mashed banana not only gives these muffins a wonderful banana bread flavor, but it also helps them stay super soft and moist. Both baking soda and baking powder are used to ensure they rise well in the oven, giving you the best light and fluffy muffin texture. The chopped nuts provide extra nutritional value, lovely pops of flavor, and a pleasant crunch!

A six-count muffin tin containing freshly-baked banana walnut muffins

What Makes These Muffins So Good?

You really don’t need much to make these muffins – just nice and ripe bananas, a stash of nuts and some other kitchen staples.

  • Bananas: Obviously that star of the show. The riper, the better for flavor.
  • Vegetable Oil and Melted Butter: Oil gives these muffins a wonderfully fluffy texture and adds moisture, and the melted butter provides flavor.
  • Milk: A splash of milk helps create a moist and fluffy texture
  • Cinnamon: Don’t leave this out! It adds a delightful warmth to your muffins.
  • Chopped Walnuts or Pecans: Give them a wonderful texture
A half-eaten muffin sitting on top of two opened liners

How to Make Banana Nut Muffins

These muffins are made in about 20 minutes, and you can enjoy them warm or at room temperature. Whip them up a day or two in advance for a wholesome grab-and-go breakfast!

  1. Prep for Baking: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a cupcake pan with liners.
  2. Mash Bananas: Peel and mash the bananas with a potato masher or a fork.
  3. Combine Wet Ingredients: Combine the fully mashed bananas with the oil, butter, eggs, milk and vanilla extract.
  4. Add Sugar: Beat all of the wet ingredients until everything is well combined. Add the sugar and beat until it’s incorporated.
  5. Combine Dry Ingredients: Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl. Whisk to combine.
  6. Combine Wet & Dry Ingredients: Add the dry ingredient mixture to the bowl of wet ingredients and beat until it just starts to combine.
  7. Add Walnuts: Add the chopped walnuts and stir the batter with a spatula to finish incorporating the flour mixture.
  8. Fill Liners: Fill each liner about 3/4 of the way full with batter.
  9. Bake: Bake the muffins for 14-16 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.
  10. Let Cool: Let the muffins rest in the pan for about 5-10 minutes, then transfer them to a cooling rack. Allow them to cool to room temperature or slightly warmer before digging in.
Banana nut muffins on top of two stacked muffin pans on a countertop

Recipe Notes and Tips

With these helpful tips and tricks on your side, you can’t possibly mess up these muffins. Let’s get baking!

  • Overripe Bananas are Best: Bananas with brown spots all over the peels may not look incredibly appealing, but they really are ideal for baked goods like these muffins. They’re much easier to mash, and they provide better flavor.
  • Measure the Bananas: It’s an extra step but too many bananas will cause a soggy muffin and too little will result in a dry muffin.
  • Avoid Over-Measuring the Flour: I always recommend using a food scale when you’re measuring flour. If you don’t have one on hand, follow this tutorial for properly measuring flour. This will prevent it from getting packed in.
  • Do Not Over-Mix the Batter: Be sure to follow the instructions in the recipe for mixing the batter. If you over-mix it, your muffins won’t come out as light and fluffy.
  • Let Your Muffins Cool: While you can certainly enjoy these muffins while they’re still warm, you don’t want to unwrap and eat hot muffins – it would be difficult to remove the liners without breakage.
  • Customize the Recipe: Feel free to add nutmeg, chocolate chips, or another desired ingredient to your muffin batter.
Two banana nut muffins inside of a metal cupcake pan

Serving Suggestions

Complete your well-balanced breakfast by adding another healthy munchie to the mix. Here are some of my go-to pairings for banana nut muffins:

  • Serve with Sausage Bread: It’s always nice to balance out something sweet with something savory. My Nana’s Sausage Bread is an amazing partner for your muffins!
  • Pair with Fresh Fruit: Any fruit you’re craving will taste great on a plate beside these banana muffins. Try serving them with your favorite fruit salad!
  • Pair with a Yogurt Parfait: I often throw together a quick yogurt parfait to enjoy alongside my morning muffin. Breakfast doesn’t get better than that!

Storing and Reheating Homemade Muffins

These muffins should be stored in an airtight container at room temperature once they’ve cooled completely. I recommend placing a paper towel in the container underneath them to prevent your muffins from becoming soggy while they sit.

Enjoy the muffins within 2-3 days of making them. If you’d like, you can warm up individual muffins for a few seconds in the microwave before you dig in.

Are These Freezer-Friendly?

They are indeed – these muffins stay good in the freezer for up to 1 month! Simply wrap each one in plastic wrap and freeze them in a resealable storage bag. Unwrap and thaw them out on the counter before enjoying.

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A close-up shot of banana walnut muffins piled onto a six-count muffin tin

Banana Nut Muffins

  • Author: Julianne Dell
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 15 minutes
  • Total Time: 25 minutes
  • Yield: 12

Description

Light, fluffy muffins are loaded with mashed bananas and crunchy walnuts in this quick and easy breakfast! These healthy Banana Nut Muffins will delight your taste buds and fuel your body with essential nutrients like protein, fiber and potassium.

Ingredients

  • 1 1/4 cup mashed banana (about 3 medium bananas)
  • 1/2 cup (118ml) vegetable oil
  • 2 tablespoons (30g) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 tablespoons (30ml) milk
  • 1 teaspoon (5ml) pure vanilla extract
  • 1 cup (190g) granulated sugar
  • 1 1/2 cup (210g) all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 3/4 cups chopped walnuts (or pecans)

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a cupcake pan with liners.
  2. Peel and mash the bananas with a potato masher or a fork.
  3. Combine the fully mashed bananas with the oil, butter, eggs, milk and vanilla extract. Beat all of the wet ingredients until everything is well combined. Add the sugar and beat until it’s incorporated.
  4. Combine the remaining dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl. Whisk to combine. Add the dry ingredient mixture to the bowl of wet ingredients and beat until it just starts to combine.
  5. Add the chopped walnuts and stir the batter with a spatula to finish incorporating the flour mixture.
  6. Fill each liner about 3/4 of the way full with batter. Bake the muffins for 14-16 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Let the muffins rest in the pan for about 5-10 minutes, then transfer them to a cooling rack. Allow them to cool to room temperature or slightly warmer before digging in.

Equipment

Notes

  • To Store: Store cooled muffins in an airtight container at room temperature with a piece of paper towel underneath them. Enjoy within 3-4 days. If desired, warm up individual muffins in the microwave before enjoying.
  • To Freeze: Wrap each muffin in plastic wrap and freeze them in a resealable storage bag for up to 1 month. Unwrap and thaw on the counter before enjoying.
  • Measure the Bananas: It’s an extra step but too many bananas will cause a soggy muffin and too little will result in a dry muffin.
Nutrition Information:
1 Muffin
300
19.9 g
216.2 mg
16.8 g
35.5 g
1.6 g
4.1 g
36.1 mg
  • Category: Breakfast
  • Method: Oven
  • Cuisine: American

More Make-Ahead Breakfast Ideas

Make-ahead breakfasts are a lifesaver on busy mornings, and I have plenty of them to share with you! Check out the tasty recipes below.

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