These Dairy Free and Gluten Free Banana Muffins include chocolate chips and walnuts and are crispy on the outside, soft on the inside and truly easy to make with a few simple ingredients.
These muffins make a great breakfast grab and go item to have on hand for the little ones or for the adults in your life. Make these banana muffins gluten free once and they will be the next best gluten-free banana muffins you ever make using flax seeds, chocolate and walnuts.
Jump to:
- Why are Banana Muffins Good for You?
- How do You Make Gluten Free Muffins Rise?
- Is Oatmeal Gluten Free?
- Ingredients Used to Make Gluten Free Muffins
- Instructions on How to Make Gluten Free Banana Muffins
- Top Tip
- Substitutions and Variations for this Banana Muffin Recipe
- Equipment Recommended to Make Banana Muffins with Chocolate Chips
- Storage of Your Gluten Free Banana Muffins
- Food Safety
- Other Paleo Recipes
- PIN it Here
- Recipe Details
- Comments
Why are Banana Muffins Good for You?
Bananas are healthy and good for you because they have potassium which is a critical mineral that is used by your body to function. It gives you energy and helps with digestion. Bananas help to maintain blood sugar levels which is very important for diabetics. Bananas help to prevent heartburn and believe it or not studies have also shown that they boost immunity and fight cancer.
If you like muffins, try these Double Chocolate Chip Muffins. If you are more into cake, this Banana Bread Loaf will work just fine to re-purpose over ripened bananas.
How do You Make Gluten Free Muffins Rise?
If you want to use a gluten free baking powder, make sure that it is certified as being gluten free.
While baking powder and baking soda are not interchangeable, baking soda will help to make the batter rise initially before the baking process. While baking powder when heated causes a chemical reaction that results in batters rising through the cooking process.
Is Oatmeal Gluten Free?
Pure oats are gluten free. Unfortunately, oats are often contaminated because they are processed in the same facility where gluten products are processed too.
If you want to use gluten free Oats, make sure that it is certified gluten free. Even gluten free oats would not be compatible for persons on a Paleolithic diet.
These gluten free chocolate chips muffins can be made at any time of the year because bananas are always readily available at your super market.
If you like banana muffins, you may also love Banana Loaf. Note that it is not a gluten free banana loaf, but you can easily convert it by using gluten free flour. These banana nut muffins also pair very well with this sugar free Blueberry Chia Seed Jam or Homemade Almond Butter.
Ingredients Used to Make Gluten Free Muffins
These muffins are made with wholesome ingredients including:
- Bananas
- Egg
- Gluten Free Flour
- Flax Seed
- Vanilla Extract
- Coconut Oil
- Cinnamon
- Gluten Free Baking Powder
- Almond Milk
- Walnuts
- Chocolate
See recipe card for quantities.
Gluten free flour is easy to make and usually contains almond flour, coconut flour and a few other ingredients. If you are interested in making your own, see this recipe for Homemade Paleo Flour.
This page contains affiliate links, which means I may receive commissions if you choose to purchase through links I provide (at no extra cost to you). Thank you for supporting the work I put into this site! As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Instructions on How to Make Gluten Free Banana Muffins
Preheat your oven to 350° F. Start by mashing ripe bananas.
Then add egg, 1 cup of the flour, flax seed, melted coconut oil, cinnamon, and baking powder. Mix.
If the batter looks runny, continue to add the remaining flour and add the almond milk. Scoop ⅓ of the batter into a small bowl and add the walnuts and the chocolate. Set aside.
Use a spoon to scoop the plain batter into muffin liners, one scoop at a time. Repeat until you have evenly distributed the batter.
Now top the regular batter with the walnut and chocolate batter in each muffin liner, evenly distributing the batter.
Repeat filling the muffin liners until all the batter has been used. If you are using parchment muffin liners use a muffin tray with them or tart cups to hold the shape of the muffin. Some liners are really flimsy and won't hold the batter in place resulting in a muffin cookie!
Bake at 350° F for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.
Top Tip
Use a large scoop to transfer the batter to the muffin liners that are placed in a muffin tray. One scoop per muffin liner, repeat until all the batter is used. This will ensure that you have all muffins will have the same amount of batter.
Hint: Evenly distributing the batter ensures that all the muffins cook through evenly at the same time.
Substitutions and Variations for this Banana Muffin Recipe
Here are a few options for substitution and variations of this gluten free banana muffin.
- Chocolate - substitute the chocolate for berries.
- Topping - add a gluten free oatmeal crisp topping including brown sugar or maple syrup
- Flour - use regular white or whole wheat flour if you don't want to use gluten free flour.
- Filling - once cooked and cooled, add a jam filling or a hazelnut filling to bring your muffins over the top.
If you decide to make these using regular flour, you may need to tweak the amount of flour and milk depending on the consistency of your batter.
Equipment Recommended to Make Banana Muffins with Chocolate Chips
Equipment can have a big impact on how a recipe turns out. You will need either a muffin tray and muffin liners made of parchment paper to easily make these gluten free muffins.
Measuring spoons and a measuring cup will also be helpful for measuring ingredients in this recipe.
This page contains affiliate links, which means I may receive commissions if you choose to purchase through links I provide (at no extra cost to you). Thank you for supporting the work I put into this site! As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Storage of Your Gluten Free Banana Muffins
These banana muffins store well in a bag at room temperature. However note that Homemade muffins do not contain preservatives, so they need to be consumed within 3 to 4 days. If you make a lot of muffins, freeze half and take them out as you need them. Let them thaw out for an hour before consuming.
Food Safety
Note that the storage guidelines provided on this page and site are estimates from personal experiences. We are all adults and as an adult you are responsible to ensure that the food you eat is safe to eat. Since, I'm not a food safety expert, you are responsible to review your local guidelines on food storage prior to storing any food left-overs.
Remember to:
- Not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat
- Wash hands after touching raw meat
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Never leave cooking food unattended
- Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove
For Canadian Guidelines check Government of Canada's Food and Safety Guidelines, see more guidelines at USDA.gov.
Other Paleo Recipes
PIN it Here
Recipe Details
Gluten Free Banana Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 bananas
- 1 egg
- 1 ½ cup of Gluten Free or Paleo Flour see notes section for link to homemade Paleo Flour
- 3 tablespoons of Flax Seed optional
- 1 teaspoon of Vanilla Extract
- ¼ cup of Coconut Oil melted
- ½ teaspoon of Cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon of Baking Powder
- ½ cup of Almond Milk
- ⅓ cup Walnuts chopped
- ⅓ cup of Chocolate Chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Prepare your muffin liners and place them in a muffin tray.
- Mash up your banana.
- Add egg, 1 cup of the flour, flax seed, vanilla, and cinnamon and mix.
- Add the coconut oil and the baking powder.
- If the batter is runny add remaining flour and mix.
- Scoop about ⅓ of the batter into a smaller bowl and add the chocolate chips (or chopped chocolate) and mix. Set aside.
- Scoop a little bit of the plain batter into each muffin liner alternating until all of the batter has been used.
- Take the batter with the chocolate and walnuts and repeat step 8.
- Place your muffins in the oven for 40 minutes or until fully baked. Test the doneness by placing a toothpick in the centre of the muffin. If the toothpick comes out dry, not sticky, then they are done.
Janice says
These muffins were crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. I love that they were just the right size, not to big and not to small. Good tasting too and not so sweet!