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But First We Brunch » Recipes » Breads and muffins

Banana Nut Streusel Muffins

Published: May 18, 2023 · Modified: Sep 4, 2024 by Cynthia Christensen · This post may contain affiliate links · 4 Comments

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5 from 4 votes
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These Banana Nut Muffins are topped with a nutty cinnamon streusel and made with Greek yogurt, for the most moist and delicious muffins you've had in a very long time!

Banana nut streusel muffins in a muffin pan.

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I really love a good Banana Nut Muffin topped with streusel. Moist, but not wet (you know what I mean). Fluffy, but not falling apart crumbly. Great banana flavor, but not so full of bananas that it sticks to the roof of your mouth, right?

I was never fully on the banana bandwagon. Over the years I started to think I hated them. I talked about that struggle when I made my Banana Bundt cake. At first I thought it was because my doctor wanted me to add a banana a day to my diet for heart reasons. I started to resent the bananas (it wasn't their fault), so I thought I had to hide them behind other flavors.

Experimentation, and a stronger heart, led me to find that it's not the banana that I hate, it's too much banana. Eating other potassium rich foods took them off my daily menu and then I began to use bananas responsibly. In moderation. These Banana Nut Muffins have just the right amount of banana with just a touch of cinnamon in the streusel and they're perfection.

(p.s. most muffins could benefit from a bit of streusel. like wearing just a hint of gloss or a tasteful pair of earrings. it gives muffins that perfect finish.)

Jump to:
  • Ingredients
  • Substitutions
  • Variations
  • Instructions
  • Secret Ingredients
  • Recipe FAQ's
  • More muffin recipes
  • 📖 Recipe
  • 💬 Comments

Ingredients

There are no crazy ingredients in these Banana Nut Streusel Muffins. Mostly stuff you have or can get easily. Don't make yourself crazy trying to gauge the perfect banana moment that is somewhere between black and rotten. If you can squish the banana easily, we're good. If you can mash it with a fork, it's go time.

Image of ingredients for banana nut streusel muffins.

See recipe card for quantities.

Substitutions

Hey, we all have preferences and sometimes we don't have all the specific ingredients that a recipe calls for. I think we got this.

  • Nuts - Feel free to switch out the nuts, or omit them altogether from both the muffin and the streusel.
  • Greek yogurt - You can absolutely use regular (not Greek) yogurt in these muffins. You can also substitute with buttermilk, sour cream, or kefir if you like.
  • Streusel - I actually heard from two separate people on social media who informed me that "streusel ruins muffins". Hmm. Well, that's certainly an opinion. Please feel free to omit the streusel if it offends you?

Variations

I mean, it's a Banana Nut Streusel Muffin made with Greek Yogurt. I think it's pretty near perfect, but here's a few ways you can play with your food.

  • Cinnamon - I have enjoyed a cinnamon banana muffin or two in my day. Add a teaspoon of cinnamon to your dry ingredients and see what you think.
  • More fruit, please - Pop in a cup of blueberries for fun.
  • My husband's grandmother's quirky add-ins - The first thing my husband ever asked me to make was his Grandmother's banana bread. It was banana chocolate chip with, get this, maraschino cherries. Not my thing, but he loves it. Try it and see!
  • Raspberry - Add some raspberries, like in my Small Batch Raspberry Banana Muffins for a bright fruity bite!
  • Want an egg-free muffin? Try my Eggless Banana Muffin recipe! With just 4 ingredients and ready in under 30 minutes, they’re simple, delicious, and easily dairy-free with vegan yogurt. Check it out for all my tips!"

Crazy for bananas? For a truly decadent breakfast or brunch, try my Bananas Foster Waffles with crispy waffles and rich, buttery bananas foster sauce or my pumpkin spice banana bread, for Fall coziness all year round.

Instructions

There are just two steps to making these Banana Nut Streusel Muffins, it just seems like more because I take a lot of pictures. Make the streusel, then make the muffins, that's it. But let's take the scenic route.

Toasted walnuts on a small sheet pan.

1. Chop up one cup of walnuts. Place ¾ of a cup on a sheet tray and toast at 350°F for 5 minutes. Chop the rest of the nuts very fine, almost to a powder.

Ingredients to make a streusel crumb topping in a glass bowl.

2. Add the finely chopped walnuts to your streusel ingredients; flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, a pinch of salt, and cold cubed butter.

Ingredients to make a streusel crumb topping in a glass bowl.

3. Work the butter and other ingredients together with your fingers until you get a nice lumpy streusel topping.

Crumb topping in a glass bowl.

4. In a large bowl, mash two very ripe bananas with a fork. I like to leave them just a bit chunky.

Mixing wet ingredients mashed banana.

5. Add your eggs, vanilla, and Greek yogurt to the banana and mix well.

Folding flour into muffin batter.

6. Add in the flour, sugar, baking powder and baking soda, and salt and combine with the wet ingredients until almost combined, but flour spots remain.

Mixing melted butter into muffin batter.

7. Add cooled melted butter that you have combined with a neutral oil and mix until everything is just combined. Fold in the toasted walnuts.

Scooping muffin batter into muffin pan.

8. Divide the batter evenly into each hole of your well greased muffin pan. You'll get 12 muffins holding about ¼ cup each.

Adding streusel to the top of muffins.

9. Evenly distribute the streusel over all the muffins, using about 1 rounded tablespoon per muffin.

Banana nut streusel muffin in a muffin pan before baking.

10. Allow the muffin batter to rest while you preheat your oven to 425°F for at least 15 to 20 minutes.

Banana nut streusel muffins in a muffin pan.

11. Bake at 425° for 5 minutes, then turn your oven temperature down to 350°F, without opening the oven door, and bake for another 20 to 22 minutes. Let cool for about 10 minutes in the pan, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely, or until you can't wait anymore. I get it. They smell great don't they?

Author's hand holding a banana nut streusel muffin.

Can't get enough streusel in your life? Try my Sour Cream Coffee Cake Muffins, with a ribbon of streusel in the middle and crunchy streusel on top. They're delicious!

Secret Ingredients

I have 3 sorta secret ingredients in my Banana Nut Streusel Muffins:

1. The first secret ingredient is whole milk Greek Yogurt. The added fat and the thickness of the Greek Yogurt add a creaminess that imparts extra moisture to your final muffin. It also adds a crave-worthy tanginess that offsets the sweetness of the bananas. Finally, it works with the baking soda to give your muffins extra lift and lightness. No more stodgy muffins.

2. My next secret ingredient is actually a lack of ingredients. Specifically, this Banana Nut Muffin uses less bananas than most of the recipes you'll find out there. In my experience, too many bananas gives you a more dense and heavy Banana Nut Muffin. I've experimented a lot and found that 2 bananas gives you just the right amount of banana flavor without the heaviness.

3. The final secret ingredient is time. Giving the muffins at least a 15 minute rest before baking is one of the secrets to a better muffin. This resting time allows the flour to fully hydrate, giving you a taller and fluffier Banana Nut Muffin, and there ain't nothing wrong with that!

Want another delicious muffin made with Greek yogurt? Try my Bakery Style Blueberry Streusel Muffins! Packed with ripe, juicy blueberries, and topped with lots of brown sugar streusel, they are a decadent and delicious way to breakfast!

Recipe FAQ's

Can I make this Banana Nut Streusel Muffin batter the night before for even taller, fluffier muffins?

You can make this batter up to 12 hours ahead. You will still get the extra flour hydration and extra poof, but you won't get some sort of fluffiness explosion the longer it sits. I find that after 30 minutes you reach max fluff capacity, but you can make them ahead to save time in the morning. And that's good too!

How do I store leftover muffins?

I like to store my muffins in a covered container, such as a cake stand or large airtight container. They will last up to 3 days at room temperature before going stale.

Can I reheat my Banana Nut Streusel Muffins?

Although I prefer them at room temperature, you can heat your muffins in a 350°F oven for about 5 minutes or microwave them for no more than 15 seconds, just to take the chill off.

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Cynthia from But First We Brunch writing down a brunch recipe.

Did you try this recipe?
Leave a comment with a ⭐️ rating below to tell me all about it, and don't forget to tag me on Instagram!
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-Cynthia

📖 Recipe

closeup of the inside of a banana nut yogurt muffin.

Banana Nut Streusel Muffins

These Banana Nut Streusel Muffins are topped with a nutty cinnamon streusel and are made with Greek yogurt, for the most moist and delicious muffins you've had in a very long time!
5 from 4 votes
Author: Cynthia Christensen
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes mins
Cook Time 25 minutes mins
Resting time 15 minutes mins
Total Time 1 hour hr
Course Breakfast, Brunch
Cuisine American
Servings 12 muffins
Calories 240 kcal

Equipment

  • Small sheet pan
  • Standard size muffin pan
  • Medium scoop
Prevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients
 

Streusel Ingredients

  • ¼ cup (30 g) chopped walnuts very finely chopped
  • ½ cup (60 g) all-purpose flour
  • ⅓ cup (75 g) dark or light brown sugar
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt a pinch
  • 4 tablespoons (56 g) unsalted butter

Dry Ingredients

  • 2 ¼ cups (270 g) all purpose flour
  • ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
  • 2 teaspoon (2 teaspoon) baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) kosher salt
  • ¾ cup (90 g) walnuts finely chopped

Wet Ingredients

  • 1 cup (225 g) mashed bananas from 2 medium bananas
  • 2 large (2 large) eggs room temperature
  • ½ cup (120 ml) Greek yogurt room temperature
  • 4 tablespoon (56 g) unsalted butter melted
  • 4 tablespoon (60 g) vegetable oil
  • 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) vanilla extract or paste

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray the wells of a standard size muffin pan with nonstick spray, or line with muffin liners.
  • Finely chop 1 cup of walnuts. Place ¾ cup of them on a small sheet pan and toast in a 350°F oven for 5 minutes. Increase oven heat to 425°F.

Make Streusel

  • Further chop the remaining ¼ cup of walnuts until very fine, almost flour-like. Add to a small bowl with flour, brown sugar, ½ teaspoon of cinnamon, and a pinch of salt. Add 4 tablespoons of cold, cubed butter. Work together with your fingers until the streusel is a mixture of larger lumps and fine sandy textured streusel. Set aside.

Make muffins

  • Melt ¼ cup unsalted butter. Add ¼ cup of neutral oil, such as canola or avocado oil to cool it off. Set aside.

In a large bowl, use a fork to mash your bananas until just a few lumps remain. If you prefer them more smooth, keep going, or use a hand mixer to pulverize them. Add eggs, vanilla, and Greek yogurt and whisk together.
  • Whisk together your dry ingredients and add to the wet ingredients. Mix until almost combined. Drizzle in the butter and oil mixture and stir until everything is incorporated. Gently fold in your toasted walnuts.
  • Using a medium scoop or measuring cup, place ¼ cup of batter into each muffin cup, or until all the batter is used. Sprinkle each one on top with a rounded tablespoon of streusel. If you have leftover streusel, evenly divide it among the muffins.
  • Bake at 425° for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes turn the oven down to 350°, without opening the oven door. Bake for another 20 to 22 minutes, or until a clean toothpick inserted into the center muffin comes out with few or no crumbs attached.

Save This Recipe! 💌

I'll email this recipe to you, so you can come back to it later, plus you'll get great new recipes from me every week!

Notes

Note on Greek yogurt When it comes to the liquid I use in muffins, I sometimes make adjustments based on what I have in the fridge at the moment. You can absolutely use regular yogurt, buttermilk, sour cream, or kefir in place of the Greek yogurt, if that’s what you have on hand. If you substitute with milk - whole milk, skim milk, or almond milk for instance - remove the baking soda from the recipe and increase the baking powder to 3 teaspoons.
Don't need a dozen muffins? This recipe is easily divided in half for 6 muffins. Just click the .5X button next to the ingredient list. You can also double the recipe by clicking 2X.
Calories: 240kcal | Carbohydrates: 30g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 41mg | Sodium: 229mg | Potassium: 158mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 176IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 68mg | Iron: 2mg

The nutritional and caloric information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It does not assert or suggest that readers should or should not count calories, and should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s or doctor’s counseling.

Tried this recipe?I would love for you to leave a comment!

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Comments

    5 from 4 votes (3 ratings without comment)

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  1. Maria Assunta Menna 🌸 says

    September 08, 2024 at 7:51 pm

    I just make this and it is soooo delicious and all my family love it. I will definitely will make this again. Thank you for this simple recipe ❤️

    Reply
    • Cynthia Christensen says

      September 08, 2024 at 8:14 pm

      I’m so glad everyone liked it!

      Reply
  2. Maria says

    May 25, 2023 at 7:06 am

    5 stars
    Made this recipe this AM and they are delicious. So tender, love the walnuts and the streusel top. I also truly appreciate that you put a half portion button, I usually have to do the math myself, LOL. I got 6 tall and beautiful muffins. Will definitely be making these again. Thank you.

    Reply
    • Cynthia says

      May 25, 2023 at 7:09 am

      That is so amazing to hear! I love these muffins so much and I’m glad that you do too!

      Reply
Picture of the author with a banner, stating welcome to my blog I am Cynthia.

In our house we get up with the sun, and most of us don't stop working until late in the night, so breakfast and brunch are our family meals. So join me at the kitchen counter, where I cook up delicious food for my busy family, starting first thing in the morning!

More about me →

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