Banana Nut Muffin

Banana nut muffins are best with ripe bananas that you let ripen and then keep in your freezer. They will look scary blackish color, but don’t worry!

That means they are ready ripe for your banana nut muffins.

If you don’t have bananas on hand and you want to avoid taking a trip to the store or waiting on your muffins, then you can use banana liquer like 99 Bananas. It will be just as good.

It’s like using vanilla extract, but this is banana extract.

It’s brilliant because you can keep a small vial container year-round in your cupboard that takes up less space than frozen bananas.

The Mix Flour Method

And if you’re a traditionalist or prefer using fruit, take your ripe bananas and mash up in a bowl.

You can add your flours of choice.

My favorite is whole wheat flour for this as it has more protein and fiber. And will give this muffin a healthy look and vibe.

They look more homemade and more wholesome especially if you prefer healthy and whole foods.

I like to mix up the gluten-free almond flour and oats to get different textures. And sometime coconut flour.

And if you use the mix flour method, use a little AP flour (all-purpose flour) so there’s a good rise, if you’re not using whole wheat flour or bread flour that has higher gluten counts.

Add a beaten egg, and if you don’t have any bananas on hand, this is a good opportunity to use applesauce… or more ripe bananas! And actually, sometimes you can have too much egg (see problems below).

And lastly add your optional chopped nuts.

Walnuts is a nice banana taste paring, but you can use any nuts you prefer like almonds or pecans.

Almond slivers that are more crunchy. You can chop those up fine.

And don’t forget your teaspoon or so of baking powder to help your muffin rise.

If you don’t have any on hand, you can use baking soda (probably in your fridge as an orange Arm & Hammer box) and apple cider vinegar that’ll add a nice tartness. Vinegar is a good ingredient to substitute some of the milk. Or use lemon juice if ACV is handy or desired.

And if you’re allergic to nuts, often you can use pine nuts that come from pine cones, and they’re “quasi” nuts, so okay with those with tree nut allergies, or peanuts that come from ground bushy plants.

And finally add your sweet and salt. I suggest using chopped dates, shredded coconut, and/or honey if you want to stay with healthy sweet ingredients.

And a pinch of salt of regular or sea salt.

And you can fold in chocolate chips if you desire, as a lovely taste pairing with bananas. The banana nut muffin batter should be like chunky applesauce.

You don’t want it too runny wet or else it will take too long to bake or dry out.

And you don’t want too thick because then you get a dense muffin that isn’t as crumbly like those supersize muffins you see at the bakery.

Banana Nut Muffins Common Problems That Are Easy to Fix! So don’t panic… 

Troubleshooting Issues:

If your batter is too thick, you can add a little milk of choice to the batter. Remember to make a chunky applesauce texture.

If you batter is too wet, add back some flour or dry ingredients like oats for the breakfast healthy versions.

If you use eggs, don’t add one too many as that’ll end up with a dense baked good and not a cakey light interior.

Bake on 350 degrees Fahrenheit (approx.. 180 degrees Celsius). When the top looks golden brown, run a toothpick through to test if the middle and bottom comes out clean with possibly a few crumbs, that means it’s a light and fluffy well-balanced interior.

Enjoy!

If you like this recipe, you’ll love this moist chocolate banana bread recipe. 🥮