The perfect solution for overripe bananas! This no-fail recipe for easy and healthy Banana Nut Muffins come out perfect. They're soft and dense, filled with ripe banana flavor and nutty goodness, and perfect for breakfast, snack, or dessert.
Looking for a quick and healthy treat? Check out my Healthy Blender Chocolate Muffins for a simple, chocolatey snack that’s naturally sweetened and gluten-free!
During the week, I am a happy camper with any of my make-ahead breakfasts like my frozen breakfast burritos, egg whites scramble with sweet potato hash, breakfast sandwiches, or my quick and trusty smoothies.
And a big cup of coffee. Duh.
However, there are times when I want something different for breakfast. Something that can easily pass as dessert, but it’s still healthy and nutritious. Something like my protein pancakes. Or like these healthy banana nut muffins or my Healthy Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins.
These easy banana muffins are a wonderful use of extra bananas that are too ripe to eat raw but too good to be thrown away. So, if you have ever wondered what to do with ripe bananas, these banana muffins are your answer. It's basically what a ripe banana was born to become.
In This Post You'll Find:

Reasons You'll Love It
- Uses leftover bananas and turns them into greatness.
- Perfect texture.
- A good way to get healthy carbs and replace other muffins with too much sugar.
- It's a great meal prep idea.
These little banana nut muffins are great for grab-and-go breakfast, but they are also amazing for a sit-down and enjoy with a cup of coffee at breakfast, especially during weekends when mornings are less hectic.
This is a simple banana nut muffins recipe and the muffins come out perfect: soft but dense, filled with banana flavor and, of course, nutty goodness. Honestly, the muffin batter is simple to make - you're gonna love it. It's even easier than my peach muffins, and those are super easy!
Watch Me Make Easy Banana Nut Muffins
This recipe is quite easy to make—you don’t need a mixer or to dirty many dishes either. It’s an all-around winner for everyone.
If you’re looking for a twist on these tasty muffins that also happens to be healthy too, check out my Healthy Chocolate Chip Muffins recipe, too! So good!

Ingredient Notes
- For Gluten-Free Diets: Replace spelt flour with almond flour to make the muffin batter gluten-free
- For Vegan Diets: Replace egg with flax egg or an additional mashed banana
- For Paleo Diets: Replace spelt flour with Almond Flour
- For Nut-Free Diets: Replace walnuts with dark chocolate chips
- Don't Like Coconut Oil? Replace with additional mashed banana - it's hard to believe that you can simply mash bananas and it will replace oil, but it's true.
How to Make Banana Nut Muffins Healthy
Initially, this banana nut muffin recipe was not on the healthy side, but I revamped it and now the banana walnut muffins are totally healthy and nutritious.
Here's how I did it:
- I used spelt flour instead of all-purpose flour. (More on why here)
- I removed the butter and added one more banana.
- I used coconut oil to grease the muffin tin instead of butter or vegetable oil. (More on why here)
- I sweeten it with ripe bananas instead of added sugar. This recipe originally called for brown sugar, but I have realized it's just as delicious without any added sweetener. (More on why here)
The easy banana nut muffins remained easy to make. But now they are also healthy. I’d call that a happy win, wouldn’t you?
Walnuts Vs Pecans
Sometimes, I sprinkle some crushed walnut bits on top of a few of them before baking and that adds a nice little touch as well. And a crunchy texture. <-- LOVE
Pecans and walnuts are both healthy and yummy. Some people think they are the same thing, but they are not. There are a few differences between them.
- The first thing you’ll notice when you analyze walnuts vs pecans is the taste. Pecans are slightly sweet, while walnuts are slightly bitter. That’s why most people prefer roasted walnuts to raw walnuts.
- And, while both of these nuts bring amazing health benefits, particularly heart health benefits, their nutritional profile is not the same.
- Pecans have higher levels of vitamin E compared to walnuts. But walnuts are higher in Omega 3 and fatty acids.
- A cup of walnuts = 765 calories, 18 grams of protein, and 8 grams of fiber while a cup of pecans = 753 calories, 10 grams of protein, and 10 grams of fiber.
Depending on your flavor preferences, you can opt for either pecans or walnuts. I prefer raw walnuts in my banana nut muffins, but the choice is yours. Heck, you could even leave them out or replace them with chocolate morsels, if you'd prefer!

How To Make Banana Nut Muffins
Alright, so I am saying these banana nut muffins are easy and I mean EASY to make.
How to make banana nut muffins:
- Preheat the oven;
- Grease the muffin tin;
- Mash the bananas with a fork or potato masher;
- Add the egg and vanilla over the bananas and stir until combined;
- In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and sea salt until well mixed;
- Add the dry ingredients over the banana mixture.
- Stir to combine. Here comes the tricky part – do not over-mix. The less you stir the mixture at this time, the fluffier the muffins will be when baked. It’s not that tricky after all, is it?
- Fold in the nuts;
- Transfer the mixture to the muffin tin;
- Bake.
Woo-hoo! Your healthy banana nut muffins are ready! So. Easy.
They also make a great breakfast meal prep idea if you want to prep ahead.

How Long To Bake Banana Nut Muffins
Bake these healthy banana muffins for just 20-25 minutes. Use a toothpick to check if the muffins are done. That means you can be up and running with these babies in less than 40 minutes! Aaaaaaand, go!
If the toothpick comes out clean and tops are golden brown, your banana muffins are ready. The interior of the muffins has to be soft.
Make sure to not over-bake otherwise the muffins will be dry and not as good.


How To Store Banana Nut Muffins
You can store these simple banana muffins in 3 different ways:
- At room temperature. Wrap in plastic wrap or an airtight container to prevent drying. Stored like this, your banana muffins will last for 1 or 2 days.
- In the fridge. Place in an air-tight container and refrigerate the muffins for up to 4-5 days.
- In the freezer. To store the banana muffins in the freezer, cool them completely, wrap them in foil or place them in Ziploc bags. Banana muffins can be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months.

More Healthy Muffin Recipes
Want more healthy muffin recipes? Duh, right?!? Here are my fave healthy muffin recipes from the blog. So many tasty muffin recipes to choose from! You might need another muffin pan!
- Healthy Blender Chocolate Muffins
- Healthy Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Healthy Egg Muffin Cups (Great for Meal Prep!)
- The Best Healthy Strawberry Muffins
- Peach Muffins (Video)
- Paleo Apple Muffins with Crunchy Crumb Topping
Are Banana Nut Muffins Healthy?
Generally, banana nut muffins are not very healthy. Muffins are one of my top fake healthy foods. BUT you can easily make them healthy and without sacrificing all the yumminess, like we did in this recipe.

Easy Banana Nut Muffins
Equipment
- muffin tin
*This post may contain affiliate links for products I use often and highly recommend.
Ingredients
- 5 ripe bananas, mashed
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups spelt flour (can also use whole wheat pastry flour)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 cup raw walnuts, chopped
- ½ tablespoon coconut oil, for greasing muffin pan
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease muffin tin with coconut oil.
- In a medium mixing bowl, mash the bananas using a fork or potato masher. Add the egg and vanilla and stir to combine. Set aside.
- In a separate mixing bowl, combine the spelt flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and sea salt. Mix well.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir to combine. Do not over mix.
- Fold in the walnuts.
- Pour the mix into the prepared muffin pan, approximately ⅔ of the way full.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean and tops are golden brown.
- Allow to cool on a cooling rack.









Denise Ciummo
Excellent recipe...we added some dark chocolate chips as my daughter is experiencing some anemia and low potassium...so all in all these are not only delicious but a super food for her issues 😘
Lacey Baier
Hard to go wrong with adding chocolate!
Diedra
These r very good thanks
Lacey Baier
You're so very welcome!
Julie
I made these today as a change from my regular banana nut wheat germ muffins. They are so easy they don't require an electric mixer, just a large bowl and a wooden spoon. These muffins are so light and full of banana flavor! I used about a third cup sugar and substituted Splenda for the rest of the sugar called for. I used 1/3 cup chopped honey roasted peanuts instead of the walnuts and sprinkled a few chopped peanuts on the tops before baking. The results were heavenly. I will definitely make these again!
Lacey Baier
Great ideas for substitutions - I love how easy they are to make, too!
PJM
My friend gave me a bunch of ready bananas. I made one batch from a difft. recipe last night. They were easy, look great, taste great, and have a good texture.
I made these this morning, with the same toasted oats and sunflower seeds I used yesterday; these had toasted coconut instead of pecans.
The batter easily made 18; yesterday's made 15.
When they came out, they didn't look as good to me. But they pull apart beautifully. I'm amazed they can be so moist and have such a light texture. They are delicious as well. They taste a lot saltier tan the first batch even with just 1/8 tsp in this one.
Thanks!
Holly
I made these muffins and they were so delicious. Probably the best recipe I have made for banana nut mufind ever. Awesome recipe. Thank you for sharing it
Gloria Gonzales
Just made these muffins. Super easy and super super delicious. The only thing I did differently was use pecans instead of walnuts. My family loved them. Thank you Lacey, I am sure I will be making them very very often.
YY
Question: is the 1/3 cup of butter measured pre-melted? Thanks!
Wayne Jory
Love these muffins! The kids see black bananas and know what's coming. Lol. Thanks for sharing the recipe. Just fyi, I reduce the temp to 325 since I have a dark pan, like it asks you to do for box blueberry muffins. They come out perfect. 5 stars!
Emily Hammond
Can i skip the baking soda? for the use of powder will that work
Jennifer Cashman
My mom and I baked these together for Mother's Day, they are in my oven right now 🙂
What is the calorie count for 1 muffin?
Also, did you make a "healthier" version? Can you please let email me that one?
Thanks for making my day special with my mom!
Mama Bee
Oh I just wanted to let you know, Lacey, that I used your recipe as a basic outline for baking these little bad boys.... however, I am a mad scientist in the kitchen and I literally CAN'T just simply follow a recipe, I've got the need to put my own spin on things..... so instead of the full 1/3 cup butter, I used 3tbs melted butter and 2 1/2tbs unsweetened applesauce.I also used 1/2 cup brown sugar and only 1/4 cup granulated and increased the vanilla to 2tsp. I used 1/2 tsp kosher salt just to bring out the sweetness a bit more, added a pinch of cinnamon and then here's where things got WILD ?after adding the walnuts, I added a half cup milk chocolate chips and then poured the batter into a loafpan (the raw batter was delicious, btw...lol... I definitely love me some raw batter/dough even with the raw egg) and set the timer for 30 min. Checked it at 30 min (still a little under baked) and then reset the timer for another 5 min.... I believe it was a total of 50 min until I got it baked perfectly and Lord Almighty was this DELICIOUS!!! When my 16 year old daughter was little, I used to make "Chunky Monkey" pancakes for her (buckwheat pancakes w banana, walnut, and choc chips) one bite of this bread brought her right back to those memories! Love it! So this is now known in our house as "Chunky Monkey Bread " lol ?. Thank you so so much!
Mama Bee
Oh, PS, we eat this as a dessert not breakfast ?
Lacey Baier
YUM!
Lacey Baier
That's SO awesome - thank you so much for letting me know how it turned out and the changes you made - so glad to hear it 🙂
Su
Hello Lacey -
Im not sure what size bananas you meant here, i have 3-4 ripe ones with me and want to try this out....do you have the measure in weight/gms instead?
Lacey Baier
I don't, but any regular-sized bananas will work 🙂
Leigh Gould
I just made these and am eating my first one piping hot from the oven. They are perfect!! I didn't change anything. Very simple to make. Filled 12 muffin cups exactly. Mine look just like your pictures. They are tender and full of flavor. I will be keeping this recipe! Thank you!!!
Lacey Baier
Yay! Aint nothin better than that!! 🙂
Carissa
Hi there. Planning on making these today. Just wondering if I am using dark or non-stick muffin pans if that necessitates a change in time or temp? Thanks.
Leigh Gould
I used a dark, nonstick pan and didn't alter anything.
Carissa
Thank you!
Lacey Baier
You're so very welcome!!
Lacey Baier
Awesome!
Kay
A non stickpin your ill still want to grease the pan just in case.
The dark pan I'd do 7 minutes less time and add two minutes until they are done. Or they will come out darker than they should.
Lacey Baier
Good to know!
Lacey Baier
You know, I'm not sure, but I doubt it does.
Cori
I used white beans instead of the butter, and substituted 1/3 of the flour with coconut four.
They are delicious! Tested them out on my kids, and they think so, too. Thanks for the easy recipe--Easy is good!
Lacey Baier
Yay! Thanks so much for letting me know how you switched things up and how it turned out!! 🙂