These banana nut bread mini muffins have all the flavor of your favorite banana nut bread baked up in bite size muffins! They’re light and fluffy, moist and tender, and they stay so soft at room temp for several days. Easy ingredients + minimal prep time means these muffins are ready in less than 30 minutes.

You can be enjoying them with your morning cup of coffee if you get started now!

A basket with a variety of banana nut bread mini muffins.

These banana bread muffins are no fuss-just simple ingredients and an easy recipe. You can leave them plain on top, sprinkle with a little cinnamon sugar and pecans, or make the optional streusel for something extra sweet. Let’s bake!

Ingredients for Banana Nut Bread Mini Muffins:

All purpose flour, 1 cup or 135 grams
Sugar, 1/2 cup or 98 grams
Baking powder, 1.5 teaspoons
Salt, 1/4 teaspoon
Cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon
Milk, 1/2 cup
Vegetable oil, 1/4 cup
Vanilla, 1/2 teaspoon
Banana, 1 medium (overripe)
Pecans, 1/4 to 1/2 cup

To make the optional streusel topping:

Butter, 3 tbsp
All purpose flour, 1/4 cup
Brown sugar, 1/4 cup
Cinnamon, 1/4 tsp
Salt (just a pinch)

How to choose bananas for baking

It’s time to grab those ugly bananas! It’s their time to shine. We want the overripe ones: more brown than yellow, they fall off the stem when you pick them up. They’re soft and have a strong banana aroma. These are perfect for baking because they’re super sweet, easy to mash, and they give the best flavor in baked goods. (I know the ugly bananas aren’t in most of my photos -they aren’t appetizing to look at, but this is what I used in these muffins!)

Ripe (yellow with a little brown) and overripe (mostly brown) bananas showing the difference in color.

Tools you may need

Medium & small mixing bowl, whisk, spatula, mini muffin pan & liners. You can also bake these as regular size muffins if you’d like, instructions for that are below and in the recipe card.

How do I make banana bread mini muffins?

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line an 24 count mini muffin pan with mini liners or spray with non-stick baking spray.

If you’re making the streusel, melt 3 tablespoons of butter in a small mixing bowl, then add the remaining ingredients: 1/4 cup each of all purpose flour and brown sugar, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon and a tiny pinch of salt. Mix together with a fork until you get a large crumb mixture. Set aside.

Streusel ingredients in a bowl before mixing.

Streusel ingredients in a bowl after mixing.

For the muffins: in a medium mixing bowl, add 1 cup flour, 1/2 cup sugar, 1.5 teaspoons baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon salt and whisk together. In a separate bowl, add 1/2 cup milk, 1/4 cup oil, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, and 1 medium banana.

Dry muffin ingredients in a bowl before mixing.

Wet ingredients in a bowl before mixing.

Mash the banana and then whisk everything together, then add the wet ingredients to the flour mix, and stir gently just until combined. Muffin batter should have lumps. Stir in most of the 1/2 cup chopped pecans, reserving a few for sprinkling on top if you like.

Using a small cookie scoop, add one scoop of batter to the muffin cups. It should fill each one about 3/4 of the way full. Top with a few pecan pieces and a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar, streusel, or leave them plain. I used all three for variety!

A mini muffin pan filled 3/4 of the way with banana nut batter.

Muffins topped with streusel, pecans and cinnamon sugar, and some left plain.

Bake for 12-14 minutes until golden on the top and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove them from the pan immediately and let cool for a few minutes on wire cooling rack. Enjoy while warm!

banana bread muffins cooling on a wire rack.

Ideas for Variations:

Add mini chocolate chips, switch out the pecans to walnuts or leave them out if you aren’t a fan. Switch up the streusel topping, one with oats and chopped nuts would be fantastic. You can also top them with coarse sugar for a sweet crunch.

A close up of banana muffins showing size and texture

Making other muffin sizes

Want regular muffins instead of minis? This recipe will make 9 average or 6 oversize muffins using a standard muffin pan.

For the smaller size, fill 9 muffin cups 2/3 full and bake for 16-18 minutes.
For the oversize (with spilling over muffin tops), fill 6 cups all the way and bake 18-22 minutes.
To make a dozen: double the recipe and you can make 12 oversize muffins.

Questions about muffins?

Can this be made ahead?

They can be made a day ahead of time, as these stay fresh at room temp for several days. The day the muffins are baked, they’ll have a crisper top, but they will get soft and slightly sticky after the first day.

Can you freeze this recipe?

Muffins can be frozen in an airtight freezer safe bag or container for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in fridge. Warm in the microwave for a few seconds or reheat in the oven before serving.

a stack of banana nut bread mini muffins in a basket.

Print Recipe

Banana Nut Bread Mini Muffin

These banana nut bread mini muffins have all the flavor of your favorite banana nut bread baked up in bite size muffins! They're light and fluffy, moist and tender, and they stay so soft at room temp for several days.

Recipe by: Katie Gets Creative

Prep Time: 15

Total Time: 29

Servings: 24 mini muffins

Ingredients

1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 ½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp cinnamon
½ cup milk
¼ cup vegetable oil
½ tsp vanilla
1 banana
½ cup chopped pecans

Streusel Topping: (optional)

3 tbsp butter
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
salt

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400℉.
To make the streusel: melt 3 tbsp butter in a small mixing bowl, then add the remaining ingredients: 1/4 cup all purpose flour, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/4 tsp cinnamon, and a tiny pinch of salt. Mix together with a fork until you get a large crumb mixture. Set aside.
For the muffin batter: In a medium bowl, whisk together 1 cup all purpose flour, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 ½ tsp baking powder, ¼ tsp salt, and ¼ tsp cinnamon.
In a separate bowl, add ½ cup milk, ¼ cup vegetable oil, ½ tsp vanilla and 1 banana. Mash the banana and mix together well. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix gently just until combined. Stir in the ½ cup chopped pecans .
Using a small cookie scoop, add the batter to the muffin pan. Should fill each cup about 3/4 fill. Bake for 12-14 minutes until lightly brown on top and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove them from the pan immediately and let cool for a few minutes on wire cooling rack. Serve warm!
Store muffins in a tightly covered container. Leftover muffins are best enjoyed warm. To reheat: place in microwave for about 10 seconds. Muffins stay soft and moist at room temp for several days.

Notes

To make regular size muffins: This recipe will make 9 regular or 6 oversize (spilling over muffin top) muffins using a standard cupcake pan.

For the smaller size, fill the cups 2/3 full and bake for 16-18 min.
For oversize, fill the cups all the way and bake for 18-22 minutes.
For a dozen, double the recipe and you can make 12 oversize muffins.

Filling & Topping Ideas: Add mini chocolate chips, or switch out the pecans to walnuts. Try another streusel topping, one with oats and chopped nuts would be fantastic. You can also top them with coarse sugar for a sweet crunch.

I’d love to hear from you!

If you try this recipe and love it, please leave a comment and a star rating and let me know how it went. Happy Baking!

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