Banana Nut Muffins

Banana Nut Muffins – Overripe bananas taking up valuable real estate on your kitchen counter? These muffins are your answer! They’re the easiest quick bite for breakfast as you run out the door for work or school. Check out my tips and tricks for making perfect muffins with giant, bakery-style tops.

Muffins are one of the first recipes I learned to make! There were days when I swore by the ready-made muffin mixes, then I learned how easy the batter really is to make from scratch. I love to whip up muffins of all varieties, but there is one type that my friends and family request time, and time again. Banana nut muffins.

I always end up buying a bunch of bananas, eating a few here and there with breakfast, then ending up with a few over-ripening. My love of morning time bananas must be a subconscious need for my favorite banana based baked goods. I can’t be too sure, so all I can do is keep testing this theory.

Ingredients

Keep scrolling down to the recipe card for a list of FULL ingredient amounts and instructions or click the “Jump to Recipe” button at the top of the page!

• Flour – All-purpose.
• Sugar – Regular granulated sugar. Brown sugar can be used instead.
• Baking powder – Make sure you have baking powder, not baking soda, otherwise you may end up with an odd aftertaste.
• Butter – Unsalted. Vegetable oil or apple sauce can be used instead.
• Pecans – My favorite nut! Walnuts would be a great option too.
• Bananas – Over-ripened.
• Eggs – I used large eggs.
• Milk – Any type of milk, even dairy-free alternatives, will work.
• Vanilla – Extract, paste, or fresh vanilla bean.
• Salt – Salt is necessary to bring out all the flavors.

How to make banana nut muffins

1. Prep: Preheat your oven to 425F. Butter a 12 muffin baking pan or line it with muffin liners.
2. Dry ingredients: In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together. Using a pastry blender cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the pecans and stir. Set aside.
3. Batter: In another bowl, add the bananas, milk, eggs, vanilla and whisk until well incorporated. Add the banana mixture to the flour mixture and using a spatula mix everything until flour is moistened, please note the batter will be lumpy.
4. Bake: Spoon the muffin batter equally into the muffin cups. Turn down the oven to 400 F degrees and place the muffins in the oven. Bake them for about 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden brown.

What else can I mix into my muffins?

These may be my perfect muffins, but we’re in your kitchen right now! You can use up some mix-ins that are taking up space in the pantry, or add your favorite ingredients. Here are some ideas to inspire you.

• Walnuts
• Peanuts
• Almonds
• Raisins
• Dried cranberries
• Dried apricot
• Chocolate chips
• Peanut butter chips

How to tell when my banana nut muffins are done

My favorite way to test anything from cakes, quick breads, muffins, and everything in between, will always be the toothpick test.

Insert a toothpick into the thickest part of one of your muffins. If it comes out clean, the muffins are done. If not, bake for another 5 minutes at a time until they’re done. Make sure to test a different muffin each time.

How to get a perfect muffin top

I wanted these muffins to have a bigger top, so in order for this to happen your batter needs to be thicker than usual muffin batter. The other thing you’ll need to do is fill the muffin cups to the top if not more, and because this batter is thicker, it’s not going to flatten out as you bake them.

Another trick I learned, is that to cause the muffins to dome, you have to first preheat your oven to 425 F degrees and then bring it down to 400 F degrees when you place the muffins in the oven.

Leftover muffins

Let your banana nut muffins cool down to room temperature before storing. Keep them in an airtight container, sealable freezer bag, or pile them up in a cake plate with a dome. They’ll stay fresh for 2 days at room temperature, or up to 1 week in the fridge. You can zap them for 10-20 seconds in the microwave before biting in, if you’d prefer.

Freezing

Your muffins need to be fully cooled down to room temperature before freezing. Keep them in an airtight container, large sealable freezer bag, or wrap each muffin individually with plastic wrap. They will last up to 2 months frozen.

I usually just let the muffins thaw at room temperature for an hour or so, but you can zap them in the microwave at 10 second intervals to speed up the thawing process.

Did you love these muffins? Here are more favorites:

• Bakery Style Blueberry Muffins
• Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
• Chocolate Chip Muffins
• Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Muffins
• Pumpkin Zucchini Muffins
• Morning Glory Muffins
• Pancake Muffins
• Apple Coffee Cake Muffins

Originally shared May 2012.