When I was a kid, I loved all the traditional cereals most kids love: Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Trix, Lucky Charms, Froot Loops. Man! I used to spend the night with my grandparents here and there. It’s funny because I think I may have been the only grandkid (in my family, duh!) that did that. I was named after my grandma and we were super tight because of that.
I loved spending the night with them. Doing word search puzzles with my grandma. And breakfast, I will never forget breakfast with them. So simple, but something that has always stuck with me. Toast with homemade jam. Grape juice. My grandparents would split a banana. And my grandma would pull out the stalest box of Froot Loops while they ate Raisin Bran. And it never bothered me that it was super stale because I just enjoyed spending that time with them so much!
Okay, that was a totally random aside because this recipe has nothing to do with Froot Loops! Just listing off all those cereals I ate as a kid gave me a sense of nostalgia! And I miss those breakfasts with my grandparents!
Anywho, besides all those “kids” cereals, I absolutely loved Banana Nut Crunch cereal. Did you ever have it? I don’t know if they even still make it! Dried bananas with nuts and whatever cereal flakes mixed in, sprinkled with sugar… okay, lots of sugar ~ I was a kid!
So recently, Banana Nut Crunch cereal popped into my head, and I thought… hmmm, how about banana nut crunch muffins? I mean, my family loves banana bread, with or without the nuts, so this was a great and fun twist! And let me tell you, I am so glad I thought of it because these turned out deliciously! I mean, I. Am. Addicted. level of deliciousness!
These really could not be easier to make. And what really takes them over the edge is the cinnamon nut streusel on top. A lot of streusel toppings are made by cutting butter into flour often with cinnamon and sugar. I actually make an apple crumble pie using a similar streusel topping. But what’s great with this streusel is that there aren’t the added fatty calories from butter and flour. The streusel is made with shaved almonds and chopped pecans tossed with cinnamon and sugar and they bake right into the muffins. Now, I’m not gunna lie… I did enjoy a muffin smeared with butter because, well, muffins are just so delicious that way!
Besides the cinnamon nut streusel, I did add walnuts to the muffin mix also, making this a triple nut muffin! Aw yeah! I added a cup of walnuts, but I’m still wrestling whether or not I would double that, so, if you really love walnuts, make it one and a half or two cups of chopped walnuts!
When I make banana bread, I actually like to use greener bananas. I like the taste it gives to my banana bread a bit more. But for these muffins, I let the bananas get very, very, very brown. It adds a nice sweetness while also making it easier to blend the bananas in with everything.
I opted to make six giant muffins, which took a bit longer to cook in the oven. That also meant needing to cover the top of the muffins after about 20 minutes so the streusel wouldn’t burn. But, if you’re making 12 normal size muffins, the streusel should be fine as the muffins should finish cooking in about 18 minutes. However, if you do see the streusel starting to darken too muffin, just pop a piece of aluminum foil over the top of the muffin pan to prevent the streusel from continuing to darken.
And that’s it! This makes for such a delicious breakfast, but it’s great as a snack or dessert too! What were your favorite cereals growing up?? Connect with me on Instagram and share with me!
Banana Nut Crunch Muffins with Cinnamon Nut Streusel
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 12 small muffins or 6 large muffins 1x
- Category: Baking, Breakfast, Dessert
Ingredients
Muffins
2 cups (285 g) all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
¼ tsp salt
3 large very brown bananas
1 large egg
¾ cup brown sugar
1 – 5.3 oz container nonfat vanilla Greek yogurt
⅓ cup unsweetened almond milk (feel free to use unsweetened vanilla almond milk ~ or substitute with skim milk)
1 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
Streusel Topping
½ cup pecans, roughly chopped
½ cup shaved almonds
¼ cup brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 425°F.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.
In the bowl of a stand mixer or a large bowl (if using a handheld electric mixer), whisk together the bananas, egg, sugar, yogurt, and almond milk on low. Slowly increase the speed to medium as the ingredients come together. Turn the mixer off and add the dry ingredients. Again, mix together on low and slowly increase the speed as it comes together. With a rubber spatula, fold in the chopped walnuts.
In a small bowl, toss together the chopped pecans, almonds, brown sugar, and cinnamon.
Lightly grease your muffin tray, using either 12 small muffin cups or 6 large cups. Pour the muffin mix to the top of each cup then generously top with the streusel. Bake for 5 minutes at 425°F then lower the temperature to 350°F.
For small muffins, bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out cleanly when inserted into the middle. For large muffins, bake 25 to 28 minutes, covering the muffins with aluminum foil after about 20 minutes to prevent the streusel from burning.
Let sit to cool slightly. Carefully insert a knife around the edges of the muffins before gently removing them from the cups. Enjoy!
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