Healthy Banana Nut Muffins (with Steel Cut Oats)

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These Healthy Banana Nut Muffins are incredibly soft, tender and packed with a powerhouse trio of ripe bananas, crunchy walnuts and hearty steel cut oats. They're also bursting with wholesome ingredients like whole wheat flour and sweetened with golden honey, a touch of coconut sugar and those super ripe bananas. By soaking the oats in almond milk overnight, you'll unlock the secret to a muffin that is unbelievably moist. Soaking adds an extra step, but trust me, it makes all the difference!

Side view of banana nut muffins and one with a bite taken.

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Table of Contents

Versatile and forgiving recipe
How to make dietary variations
Additional ingredient notes and swaps
Helpful tips before you get started
How to make banana nut muffins with steel cut oats
Frequently asked questions
A note on measuring ingredients
More oatmeal muffin recipes
📖 Recipe

This recipe was originally published in September 2019. I recently revisited it to add weighted measurements to the recipe card, and decided to make a few tweaks to ensure a better rise. If you prefer the original recipe, leave a comment below or email me, and I'll send you a copy.

Versatile and forgiving recipe

This is how one reader put it, and I couldn't agree more! I've been making these muffins for almost 10 years, and I'm always trying new things with them. Whether you want to stick with the dairy-free version, go fully vegan, or need them to be gluten-free or nut-free, I've already done the kitchen 'beta testing' for you. You can swap with confidence and make these muffins exactly the way you want them.

How to make dietary variations

Gluten-free - substitute the whole wheat flour for 1-to-1 gluten-free baking flour and make sure your oats are certified gluten-free.
Vegan - replace the honey with maple syrup and use a flax egg instead of an egg.
Nut-free - substitute dairy milk for the almond milk, and replace the walnuts with pumpkin seeds, raisins or chocolate chips.

Ingredients to make banana nut muffins arranged in individual dishes.

Additional ingredient notes and swaps

Bananas - For the best flavor and sweetness, use overripe bananas with plenty of brown spots.
Oats - Steel cut oats give these muffins a hearty, nutty texture. If you're short on time, swap them for old-fashioned oats and reduce the soak time to just 30-60 minutes. (This is how I make these air fryer oatmeal chocolate chip muffins).
Milk - While I use unsweetened almond milk to keep these muffins dairy-free, you can use any type of milk you like. Some of my favorite plant-based options are oat milk and cashew milk. You can also make them with dairy milk if you don't need the muffins to be dairy-free.
Whole wheat flour - I usually make these muffins with whole wheat flour, but if you only have all-purpose white, feel free to use it.
Coconut sugar - If you don't have any (I usually pick it up in the organic section of the grocery store), you can use brown sugar instead.
Walnuts - Keep things nutty but swap out the walnuts for chopped pecans.

Helpful tips before you get started

Don't overmix the batter. This can create a dense or tough muffin instead of a soft and fluffy one. Stir together the wet and dry ingredients until almost incorporated and then fold in the walnuts.
Use a light colored pan. Dark colored pans brown muffins faster, especially on the bottom. If you're using a dark pan, just keep an eye on the muffins as they near the end of their bake time.
Use muffin liners. Even when using light colored pans, for some recipes, I like to use parchment liners to prevent over browning. (Parchment ones are great because they don't stick to the muffins!)
Start high and reduce temperature. I've been using this technique more lately as it ensures a better rise and nice dome on muffins.

How to make banana nut muffins with steel cut oats

Once the oats are soaked, this recipe comes together quickly!

Oats and almond milk combined in a glass bowl (before soaking). — **Step 1:** Stir together the oats and milk and let soak in the fridge for 5-6 hours, or overnight.

Oats fully soaked in almond milk in a glass bowl. — **Step 2:** Remove oats from the fridge. They should have fully aborbed the milk.

Dry ingredients whisked together in a glass bowl. — **Step 3:** In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.

Wet ingredients mixed together in a large glass bowl with a whisk. — **Step 4:** Add the egg, honey, oil, coconut sugar and vanilla to the oat mixture and whisk to combine.

Dry ingredients mixed into wet ingredients with a spatula and chopped walnuts on the side. — **Step 5:** Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and stir until almost combined.

Walnuts mixed into batter with a spatula. — **Step 6:** Fold in the walnuts, being careful not to overmix.

Muffin batter divided into a 12-cup muffin pan. — **Step 7:** Add the batter to a 12-cup muffin pan lined with parchment liners. They should be filled almost to the top.

Baked muffins in the muffin pan. — **Step 8:** Bake at 425F for 5 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 350F and bake for another 12-14 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean.

Frequently asked questions

How should these muffins be stored?

Keep them stored in an airtight container at room temperature and they'll last for about 3-4 days.

Do they freeze well?

Yes! To freeze them, let them cool completely and store them in a single layer in a freezer safe container for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature when you're ready to enjoy.

Can you make them with berries instead of nuts?

Yes, instead of walnuts, you can add blackberries, blueberries or raspberries. You can also follow this recipe for blackberry banana oatmeal muffins for more precise ingredients and directions.

A note on measuring ingredients

For convenience, US cup measurements are included in the recipe card for this recipe. To ensure greater accuracy, however, weight and volume measurements are also provided. So, if you see grams (g), you'll want to use a kitchen scale to weigh your ingredients, and if you see milliliters (ml), you'll want to use a liquid measuring cup. Smaller quantities of ingredients are provided in teaspoons and tablespoons.