These Banana Nut Streusel 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!
I really love a good Banana Nut Streusel Muffin. 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.)
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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.
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. You know what? It totally worked and I think it would make an outstanding muffin. Try it and see!
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.
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.
2. Add the finely chopped walnuts to your streusel ingredients; flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, a pinch of salt, and cold cubed butter.
3. Work the butter and other ingredients together with your fingers until you get a nice lumpy streusel topping.
4. In a large bowl, mash two very ripe bananas with a fork. I like to leave them just a bit chunky.
5. Add your eggs, vanilla, and Greek yogurt to the banana and mix well.
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.
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.
8. Divide the batter evenly into each hole of your well greased muffin pan. You'll get 12 muffins holding about ¼ cup each.
9. Evenly distribute the streusel over all the muffins, using about 1 rounded tablespoon per muffin.
10. Allow the muffin batter to rest while you preheat your oven to 425°F for at least 15 to 20 minutes.
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?
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!
Recipe FAQ's
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!
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.
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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Banana Nut Streusel Muffins
Ingredients
Streusel Ingredients
- 1 cup (120 g) chopped walnuts divided in recipe
- 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 cups (250 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
- 1 cup (117 g) walnuts 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.
- 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.
Notes
Nutrition
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.
Maria says
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.
Cynthia says
That is so amazing to hear! I love these muffins so much and I’m glad that you do too!