This banana nut muffins recipe is outstanding: moist, nutty and perfectly sweet! It will become a family favorite.
Here’s an unexpected family favorite muffin: this Banana Nut Muffins recipe! They’re sweet and exceedingly moist, with an irresistibly nutty flavor from toasted walnuts in the batter and sprinkled on top. Add a little crunchy sugar to those muffin tops, and the sweet- salty-nutty flavor combination is out of this world. Our family went wild for these, and I dare say we love these even more than Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins…if that’s possible. Here are the tricks to this tasty muffin!
Ingredients in banana nut muffins
These banana nut muffins are moist and fluffy, with the best nutty flavor that’s infused into the entire muffin. But there’s no tricks here: they’ve got basic ingredients and follow the traditional muffin method. The only added bonus: toasted nuts. Here are the ingredients you’ll need:
- All-purpose flour
- Cinnamon and ginger: these spices make for just the right cozy, nuanced flavor
- Baking powder, baking soda and salt
- Bananas
- Egg
- Granulated sugar
- Vegetable oil: using oil instead of butter makes extremely moist muffins
- Vanilla extract
- Walnuts: you’ll toast the nuts to bring out the flavor: see below! You can also use pecans if you like.
- Turbinado sugar: this chunky sugar makes a lovely glittery topping
Toasting the nuts brings out the flavor
The key to this banana nut muffins recipe? Toasting the walnuts. Don’t be tempted to skip this step! Toasting nuts is like adding salt to savory food: it intensifies the nutty flavor. It takes just 5 minutes to toast walnuts on the stovetop. Here are the basic steps:
- Place the nuts in a dry skillet (no oil) over medium heat. Heat, shaking the pan and stirring often with a wooden spoon, until the nuts are fragrant and slightly darker brown, about 4 to 5 minutes.
- Stay at the stove because the nuts can easily burn! Remove immediately from the heat and transfer to a plate to stop the cooking.
More tips for banana nut muffins
Aside from toasting the nuts, there are a few basic tips for banana nut muffins that are important to keep in mind. Here’s what to know:
- Very ripe bananas are key. The riper and browner the better! Very ripe bananas make an intensely moist texture and sweet flavor: and there’s no faking it with a plain old ripe banana.
- Resist the urge to overmix. Overmixing muffin batter causes holes in the crumb and a denser texture. Mix just until the streaks of flour disappear.
- Baking at 400 degrees makes a taller muffin. Our favorite temperature for baking muffins is 400 degrees Fahrenheit (versus 350F, which you see more often). It makes a taller and fluffier muffin.
Variations and mix-ins
Of course, you can add even more mix-ins to this banana nut muffins recipe to customize it. It would be great with one of the following:
- Use pecans or macadamia nuts instead of walnuts
- Chocolate chips: add ½ cup bittersweet or semisweet chips
- White chocolate chips
- Butterscotch chips: butterscotch would go well with the nutty flavor
Storage info
What’s the best way to store these banana nut muffins? Here are the best practices for muffin storage:
- Room temperature up to 4 days: Store at room temperature in a sealed container. You can place a paper towel inside to absorb extra moisture and keep the tops crunchier.
- Refrigerated 1 week or more: These muffins store well in the refrigerator. (We kept ours almost 2 weeks and they still tasted great.)
- 3 months: Freeze in a sealable container and store up to 3 months.
More banana muffin recipes
There are lots of ways to make a banana muffin! Here are some of our top muffin recipes:
- Try classic Easy Banana Muffins
- Go for Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Grab our fan-favorite Healthy Banana Muffins
- Try Banana Oatmeal Muffins or Banana Blueberry Muffins
This banana nut muffins recipe is…
Vegetarian.
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Banana Nut Muffins
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Prep Time: 20 minutes -
Cook Time: 15 minutes
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Total Time: 35 minutes
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Yield: 12
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Pin RecipeDescription
This banana nut muffins recipe is outstanding: moist, nutty and perfectly sweet! It will become a family favorite.
Ingredients
- ¾ cup chopped walnuts (or substitute pecans)
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 ½ cups mashed banana (about 3 large or 4 medium)
- 1 egg
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Turbinado sugar, for topping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Add 12 muffin cups to a muffin tin.
- Toast the walnuts: Chop the nuts. Place the nuts in a dry skillet (no oil) over medium heat. Heat, shaking the pan and stirring often with a wooden spoon, until the nuts are fragrant and slightly darker brown, about 4 to 5 minutes. Stay at the stove because the nuts can easily burn! Remove immediately from the heat and transfer to a plate to stop the cooking.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the all-purpose flour, cinnamon, ginger, baking powder, baking soda, and kosher salt.
- In another medium bowl, mash the banana. Whisk in the egg, granulated sugar, vegetable oil, and vanilla.
- Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients using a spatula, and stir until a smooth batter forms. Avoid the urge to overmix. Gently fold in ½ cup of the walnuts. Divide the batter evenly into the muffin cups. Sprinkle the tops with the reserved ¼ cup walnuts (split between all) and sprinkle with turbinado sugar.
- Bake the muffins for 15 minutes, until puffed and golden on top. Cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then transfer to a rack to cool fully, about 1 hour. Store up to 4 days in a sealed container at room temperature, refrigerated up to 1 week or more (allow to come to room temperature before serving), or frozen up to 3 months.
Category: Muffin
Method: Baked
Cuisine: American- Diet: Vegetarian
Keywords: Banana nut muffins, banana nut muffin, banana nut muffin recipe, banana nut muffins recipe
