These Pumpkin Spice Banana Nut Muffins are fluffy and flavorful! I love adding extra walnuts and a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar on top for the most amazing texture.
Muffins make the easiest grab and go breakfast for my family. They can be scarfed one-handed while getting ready for school and work plus they’re so easy to make!
I’ve been accidentally gatekeeping my banana pumpkin bread recipe for nearly two years since things have been so hectic between two moves and starting our new life here in Texas.
On the bright side, the delay gave me ample time to test and perfect the recipe.
This week I added some chopped walnuts and turned them in to the most AMAZING pumpkin spice banana nut muffins. I’m so excited to share the recipe with y’all!
Ingredients Needed
- super ripe spotty bananas
- canned pumpkin puree
- unsalted butter
- sugar (I use a mix of light brown and granulated)
- eggs
- all-purpose flour
- cinnamon
- pumpkin spice
- baking soda + salt
- chopped walnuts
Ingredient Tips + Tricks
I love using chopped walnuts for these pumpkin spice kissed banana nut muffins but feel free to use chopped pecans or even a combination of the two!
Be sure to grab some super ripe bananas – the more spots the better! This will yield sweeter muffins. As for the pumpkin puree, I typically grab the grocery store’s brand of canned pumpkin.
You can even turn these muffins into pumpkin banana bread if desired. You’ll use a 9×5 loaf pan lined with parchment paper and bake at 325 F for 60-70 minutes.
Homemade Pumpkin Spice Blend
No pumpkin spice? No problem! Here’s now to make your own at home with a blend of tasty spices.
Ingredients
- 3 TBSP ground cinnamon
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- 2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 tsp allspice
- 1 tsp ground cloves
Instructions
Simply mix well and store in an airtight container or upcycled spice jar!
Pumpkin Spice Banana Nut Muffins
This rockin’ recipe yields 12 fluffy muffins. If you’d like larger domed tops (like in bakery muffins) simply overfill the muffin cups by dividing the batter between 10 cups instead of 12. Adjust bake time by adding a minute or so to your total time, checking for doneness at the 25 minute mark. Enjoy!
Pumpkin Spice Banana Nut Muffins
Ingredients
- 8 TBSP unsalted butter, room temperature (1 stick )
- ½ cup light brown sugar (100 grams)
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar (100 grams)
- 2 large eggs
- 2 medium/large spotty extra ripe bananas
- ½ cup canned pumpkin puree
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp pumpkin spice
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (240 grams)
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- ¾ cup chopped walnuts ¼ cup reserved for topping
- optional cinnamon sugar for topping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. We will turn it to 350 after the muffins go in; the initial higher bake time gives the fluffy muffins a chance to rise a bit taller.
- Line a 12 cup muffin tin with parchment or paper liners.
- In a medium bowl, mash the bananas with a fork or whip with an electric beater. Mix in pumpkin.
- In another bowl, mix together the flour, cinnamon, pumpkin spice, baking soda, and salt.
- LOVE pumpkin spice and cinnamon? You can totally add a little extra for a super spiced muffin.
- Finely chop walnuts and set aside.
- Cream the sugar and butter in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Add the banana mixture to the butter mixture and mix until combined.
- Add dry ingredients, mixing just until flour disappears. Batter will be very thick.
- Fold in ½ cup of the walnuts into the batter saving the remaining ¼ cup for topping the muffins. Prefer walnuts on top but not in the batter? You can do that too!
- Divide evenly between lined muffin cups.
- Sprinkle the tops of each muffin with cinnamon sugar. Optional but delicious! Add reserved walnuts on top.
- Place muffin tin in oven and immediately reduce heat to 350°F.
- Bake for approx. 25-27 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean from the center.
- Carefully transfer muffins to a cooling rack and be sure to enjoy a muffin or two while they're still slightly warm. My favorite!
Notes
Nutrition
Make Ahead + Freezer Muffin Tips
These muffins will stay fresh and fluffy for 3 days on the counter. Individually wrap muffins and store in an airtight container. Warm them up in the microwave for 15-20 seconds when you’re ready to dive in!
They also freeze marvelously for later! To freeze, gently wrap each muffin in foil and add to a freezer bag. When you’re ready to eat them, remove the muffins from the freezer, carefully unwrap them, and thaw at room temperature. To serve warm, reheat the unwrapped muffins in the microwave for 15-30 seconds *OR* heat oven to 350, place the foil-wrapped muffins on a baking sheet, and warm for 10-15 minutes.
More Marvelous Muffin Recipes
- Banana Streusel Muffins
- Pumpkin Cornbread Muffins
- Bakery-Style Jordan Marsh Blueberry Muffins
- Small-Batch Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins
- Gluten-Free Cranberry Orange Muffins via Stephie Cooks
- Double Chocolate Banana Muffins
If you get a chance to try these pumpkin spice banana nut muffins, let me know!
Drop me a note in the comment form below or tag your photos with @peasandcrayons on Instagram so I can happy dance over your creation. I can’t wait to see what you whip up!
Questions & Reviews
These muffins were amazing! Love the perfect combination of flavors!
Yay! Thanks Julie!
So good! The only thing I added was vanilla because I love a little vanilla. Totally love the idea of overfilling to get the crunchy top! Came out perfect!
Vanilla is always a great addition! I’m so happy you enjoyed the muffins. Thanks Samara!
These are so delicious! Not too much “spice” for my young kids but also not bland so my husband and I inhale them! It’s fun for the whole family to make and so yummy! Easy breakfast for week day mornings or for an after school snack.
Really good recipe! I made it as a loaf and put the cinnamon sugar on top so it had a wonderful crunchy texture, while the inside was nice and soft. In the ingredients, next to the cinnamon, you wrote “should I add extra?” I think yes, and I will add more cinnamon and pumpkin spice next time because I’d like to emphasize the spice a little more than the banana. Thanks for sharing! I love your recipes and welcome to Texas!
LOVE it as a loaf! Once I can muster pretty pictures of the sliced bread (it’s so tricky haha!) I’m going to give it it’s own dedicated post. I love extra cinnamon and pumpkin spice too – I wasn’t sure if it would be overpowering for people if it increased the ratios so i’ll put a little note for them to decide based on preference. Cinnamon is my love language, haha! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe Kathy! Thanks a bunch! xoxo
Best muffin recipe!!! My kids normally don’t like banana nut but loved these!
Yay!!!!!! So so glad you enjoyed them!