Go nuts for these Banana Walnut Muffins! They’re extremely soft and moist, full of banana flavor with some crunch from the walnuts. They’re also topped with cinnamon streusel for a double dose of flavor and texture.
If you’re a fan of banana bread, you’ll love these banana and walnut muffins. This recipe uses 3 whole bananas so the muffins are dense but super moist, soft, and full of banana flavor.
Table of Contents
Why this recipe works
- This banana walnut muffin recipe uses only bananas as the main liquid ingredient, no buttermilk, no sour cream, no yogurt added, which makes it super banana-y.
- It is also very easy to make.
- The cinnamon streusel adds extra flavor and texture making these muffins even more delicious.
Ingredients and substitutions
As always, you’ll find the complete list of ingredients and quantities in the recipe card at the end of this post. Below are some notes and substitution tips:
- Banana – super ripe bananas are the star ingredient in this recipe. Fresh bananas or frozen bananas will work here.
- Butter – one full stick of butter is used in this recipe but is divided for the streusel topping and the banana muffin batter.
- Egg – I use 2 eggs in this recipe.
- Vanilla – pure vanilla extract is used to enhance the flavor. Although the main flavor of these muffins is banana with a hint of cinnamon, adding vanilla will give them a more complex flavor profile.
- Sugar – I love using brown sugar for additional flavor depth and richness. But if you don’t have brown sugar, you can substitute granulated sugar 1 to 1. Dark or light brown sugar will both work.
- Flour – I use all purpose flour. If you want to make this gluten free, try Bob’s Red Mill or King Arthur gluten free flour. Readers have successfully substituted gluten free flour in some other recipes. However, I have not tried it with this particular recipe.
- Leavening agents – I use both baking soda and baking powder. The baking soda will be activated by the acidity in the brown sugar, so if you’re not using brown sugar in this recipe, replace baking soda with baking powder.
- Salt – I always use kosher salt in all my recipes. For table salt, use about half to two thirds as much.
- Walnuts – toasted walnuts go well with banana, or you can use pecans. I always toast the nuts before using them in recipes to bring out their flavor. I didn’t use extra nuts in the streusel but you can certainly add nuts there for even more crunch like this banana coffee cake.
- Cinnamon – a little bit of cinnamon is used in the streusel topping, feel free to add more to your liking. You could also add cinnamon in the muffin batter but I didn’t think it needed the extra flavor.
Tools you’ll need
You can make both the batter and streusel entirely by hand, but there are a couple of special tools you’ll need.
- A standard size muffin pan to bake the muffins in.
- A pastry blender could be useful to make the streusel with but you could also just use your bare hands.
How to make Banana Walnut Muffins
The following instructions, step-by-step photos, and tips are here to help you visualize how to make the recipe. You can always skip straight to the printable recipe card at the end of this post.
First, make the cinnamon streusel by whisking together flour, brown sugar, kosher salt, and cinnamon. Then, cut cold butter into the dry ingredients with a pastry blender or press with the tips of your fingers until the mixture resembles wet sand.
Tip: keep the streusel mixture refrigerated until you are ready to use, just before baking.
Second, start making the banana muffin batter by preparing the wet ingredients. Mash bananas in a large mixing bowl. Beat in melted butter, eggs, vanilla and brown sugar until smooth.
Sift together dry ingredients in another mixing bowl and add the mixture to the wet ingredients. Fold until a batter forms with a few streaks of dry flour left. Then fold in the walnuts.
Tip: toast the walnuts to bring out their flavor.
Divide batter among 12 muffin cups using a large cookie scoop. Sprinkle cold streusel on top and bake until a toothpick comes out clean with just a few crumbs attached.
Tip: allowing the batter to rest at room temperature for just 15 minutes (while the oven is preheating) will help them rise higher with nicer domes.
Variations
- Try switching out different spices and nuts in the streusel topping to customize your banana muffins.
- Walnuts and pecans are great in banana nut muffins, but you can substitute other nuts like macadamia nuts or hazelnuts.
- You can also add other fillings such as chocolate chips and coconut to these muffins.
- Try using brown butter instead of regular butter in the batter.
More baker’s tips
- Frozen bananas can be used in this recipe. When thawing frozen bananas, you’ll see liquid come out, just mash the bananas and the liquid all together.
- No other liquid like buttermilk or yogurt is used in this recipe, just bananas for maximum banana flavor. But if you are a little short of bananas, you can add a little buttermilk, yogurt or sour cream to make 1 ¼ cup or 320 g of total liquid.
- Cooling the muffins on their sides will help preserve their dome tops. So after you remove them from the pan, you can just lay them on their sides on top of a kitchen towel.
FAQ
Don’t overmix your muffin batter. It is best to fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients very lightly using a spatula. The final batter can still have streaks of flour running through it.
Don’t use unripe bananas for banana muffins. Ripe bananas are softer and sweeter and have a stronger banana flavor more suitable for baking.
If you don’t have ripe bananas, you can “ripen” them in the oven at 300°F for 20-40 minutes, until their peel turns black.
Storage
Room temperature: Store leftover banana muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Refrigerator: If the weather is particularly warm, keep them refrigerated and allow to come to room temperature before serving. Refrigerated muffins can last up to a week.
Freezer: These muffins will also freeze well and can last up to 3 months. You can thaw them at room temperature before serving. If you like warm muffins, heat defrosted muffins in the microwave for 10-15 seconds each.
More muffin recipes
- Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread Muffins
- Blueberry Muffins
- Raspberry White Chocolate Muffins
- Pumpkin Muffins
- Chocolate Muffins
📖 Recipe card
Banana Walnut Muffins
Ingredients
Cinnamon Streusel
- ¼ cup light brown sugar (packed, 50 g)
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour (32 g)
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- A pinch of kosher salt
- 1 ounce unsalted butter (cold and cubed, 28 g)
Banana Muffins
- 1 ¼ cup mashed bananas (about 3 small bananas, 6” in length, 320 g)
- 3 oz unsalted butter (85 g)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¾ cup light brown sugar (150 g lightly packed)
- 1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour (230 g)
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¾ cup walnuts (74 g, toasted & roughly chopped)
Instructions
- Prepare the streusel by whisking together the dry ingredients. Add the cold cube butter to it and cut the butter into the dry ingredients with a pastry blender or just use the tip of your fingers to press the butter into flat pieces. The streusel should resemble wet sand. Refrigerate until ready to use.
- Line a muffin pan with cupcake liners.
- Mash the banana with a potato masher in a large mixing bowl.
- Add melted butter, vanilla and eggs to the mashed bananas. Whisk together to combine.
- Add brown sugar and beat until smooth.
- Sift flour, baking soda, and baking powder into a small mixing bowl. Stir in the kosher salt. Add the flour mixture to the liquid mixture and fold until just combined. There should be a few streaks of dry flour in the batter.
- Add the toasted and chopped walnuts, fold to distribute.
- Divide the batter into the prepared muffin pan with a large cookie scoop. One full cookie scoop per muffin. Sprinkle on top 1 tablespoon of streusel.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F while the batter rests.
- Bake for 20-22 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center of the muffins comes out clean with just a few crumbs attached.
- Allow the muffins to cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes before removing them from the pan and let them cool on their sides on a kitchen towel to help preserve their dome tops.
Notes
- Always use overripe bananas for the most banana flavor.
- You can use frozen bananas. When thawing frozen bananas, you’ll see liquid come out, just mash the bananas with the liquid all together.
- Always toast the walnuts to bring out their flavor.
- Walnut, pecans, macadamia nuts, hazelnuts are all great in banana muffins.
- Allowing the batter to rest at room temperature for just 15 minutes will help them rise higher with nicer domes.
Nutrition
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How many tablespoons is the large cookie scoop?
About 1/4 cup or 4 tablespoons.
It came out airy, moist and perfect. Not too sweet. Def a go to recipe when I have ripe bananas. Makes for an easy breakfast.
So glad to hear! Thanks for trying these 🙂
These are fabulous for a quick morning bite.
This is such a delicious treat! I love that it’s dairy free!