Banana Nut Muffins

Published on February 26, 2025 by Raveaboutfood

Bake a batch of these moist, flavorful muffins and your house will smell like a bakery! Sweet from the bananas and brown sugar and moist from the sour cream, these Banana Nut Muffins are worth waking up for!

It’s hard to resist making this recipe whenever we have a couple of overripe bananas on hand. Banana Nut Muffins are so moist in the middle and they have a crunchy pecan streusel topping. What’s not to love?

Use mashed overripe bananas for this recipe. Simply peel them and mash them with a fork on a small plate. Two large mashed bananas will give you about 1 1/3 cups. The bananas, mixed with the sour cream and the canola oil, give you a sweet, soft muffin that your family will love.

They are great for a grab-n-go snack or a tasty breakfast with soft scrambled eggs on a weekend morning. Paired with fruit or a glass of milk, your family will be raving about these sweet muffins.

Ingredients for Banana Nut Muffins

What’s needed:

OVERRIPE BANANAS– Mash two brown bananas for inclusion in this recipe. The more dark spots the better. As overripe bananas are sweeter and provide great flavor.
SOUR CREAM– This gives the muffins their moist texture and a slightly tangy flavor. If you don’t have any on hand, you can always replace the sour cream with milk or buttermilk.
PECANS– These muffins have chopped pecans throughout the batter and in the streusel mixture used on top of each one. They provide texture and crunch and such great nutty flavor. No pecans? You can sub in chopped walnuts or peanuts, as they are all good choices.
CINNAMON– It lends a warm spicy note to the muffins, making them smell and taste so inviting.

Tips for making the Best Banana Nut Muffins

Leavening Agents– Use both baking soda and baking powder. Why? Using the two leavening agents together makes the most fluffy muffins with tops that rise above the muffin pan.
Nutty Streusel Topping– A crunchy topping makes these muffins so appealing. Mix brown sugar, a little flour, brown sugar and melted butter to make a devine streusel topping.
Don’t Overwork the Batter– I begin making the batter for these muffins in the stand mixer. After the wet and dry ingredients are mixed just to combine, make sure to fold in the nuts by hand. You don’t want to overmix the batter.
Use a Scoop– Using a large cookie scoop to add batter to the muffin cups is neater and quicker than using a spoon. If you don’t have one, a 1/3 cup measuring cup works great, too. Fill muffin cups to 3/4 full.
Cool it!– Let your muffins cool in the pan for at least 5 minutes. Then carefully remove them to a wire rack to cool completely. Muffins may seem soft, but will continue to firm up as they cool. This prevents the muffins from crumbling when you eat them!
Muffin Cup Liners– Use paper liners in each cup to ensure the muffins come out cleanly. If you are in a pinch, you can use a non-stick 12-count muffin pan that has been sprayed with cooking or baking spray.

Looking for more of the best muffin recipes, check out these sweet recipes:

Lemon Raspberry Streusel Muffins
Peanut Butter and Banana Muffins with Strawberry Jam
Mini Cornbread Muffins
Sweet Potato Streusel Muffins

How to make Banana Nut Muffins?

Recipe makes 12 medium muffins.

Preheat the oven to 350 Fahrenheit. Place a paper liner in each muffin cup. Alternatively, you can also spray each muffin cup generously with baking spray. Set aside.
Mash the bananas on a small plate and add them to the bowl of a stand mixer. Add both sugars, oil, sour cream, egg and vanilla extract and beat on medium speed until combined.
Whisk dry ingredients together in a small bowl. On low speed, stir in the dry ingredients to the banana mixture just until incorporated. Fold in 1/2 cup chopped pecans with a spatula. Using a large cookie scoop, place batter in muffin cups. Cups should be 3/4 full.
In a small bowl, mix together the topping ingredients. Sprinkle one tablespoon of streusel topping evenly over each muffin. Bake for 18 minutes on the center rack, until muffins are golden brown.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for at least 5 minutes. Remove muffins from the pan to a wire rack to cool completely. Recipe makes 12 muffins.

Add-ins and Substitutions for Banana Nut Muffins

Peanut Butter– Don’t like chopped nuts in muffins? Substitute 1/3 cup peanut butter in the batter for a rich, nutty flavor. It will add a subtle saltiness. So good!

Chocolate Chips– Oh, yes! Add 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips to the batter before baking. It will be hard, but let them cool completely before digging in to these chocolatey banana muffins.

Coconut– Mix in 1/2 cup shredded sweetened coconut to the batter for a trip to the tropics. You can also sub out the vanilla extract for coconut extract to enhance the tropical vibe of these delicious muffins.

Check out the recipe card for the full list of ingredients and step-by-step instructions for making these amazing Banana Nut Muffins for your family!