Gluten-Free Banana Bread Muffins
Get ready to fall in love with banana bread all over again with these Gluten-Free Banana Bread Muffins. With a sweet, tender crumb, cozy cinnamon, and gooey pockets of chocolate, they bake into a convenient, grab-and-go treat that you can enjoy any time!
Mashed and mingled with a touch of baking soda, the ripe bananas create an irresistibly tender and moist base. The addition of rich, melted butter, a splash of vanilla, and chocolate chips provide just the right amount of decadence without being overly sweet.
Say goodbye to dry, crumbly gluten-free disappointments. These banana bread muffins are reliably moist and flavorful every single time. Just don’t expect any leftovers! I made these last week and my family devoured them. I think raisins and walnuts would be great, too.
What are gluten-free banana bread muffins?
These gluten-free banana bread muffins capture all the nostalgic comfort of classic banana bread in a perfectly portioned treat that everyone can enjoy. Made with ripe bananas, warm cinnamon, and rich chocolate chips, they bake up irresistibly moist and tender without a trace of gluten.
Perfect for busy weekday breakfasts or cozy weekend brunch boards, they’re also freezer-friendly so you always have a wholesome snack ready-to-go!
Why you’ll love these gluten-free banana bread muffins
- Made with gluten-free flour, these muffins are a treat everyone can enjoy.
- They freeze beautifully, so you can always have a delicious snack on hand.
- Ideal as a quick breakfast bite or a scrumptious addition to a weekend brunch board.
- A delicious and clever way to use up those overripe bananas on your counter.
Ingredients needed to make gluten-free banana bread muffins
- Bananas: You’ll need 3 large bananas which will make about 2 cups of mashed banana.
- Baking soda: This leavening agent is essential to ensure the perfect rise in these muffins.
- Butter: Melted for easy mixing. I prefer to use unsalted butter for better control of the level of salt in the batter.
- Granulated sugar: Granulated sugar provides clean sweetness, preventing the muffins from tasting overly heavy or molasses-forward. For a deeper caramel-like depth, swap with 1/2 cup of light brown sugar. You could also use pure maple syrup or coconut sugar to eliminate refined sugar.
- Ground cinnamon: These gluten-free banana bread muffins get a lovely boost of warmth from the ground cinnamon.
- Salt: Balances the flavors in these muffins. Reduce if using salted butter in the muffin batter.
- Vanilla extract: For added depth of flavor. Add 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract for nutty notes, if you like.
- Eggs: Allow your eggs to reach room temperature for easy mixing. For an egg-free muffin base, use 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce per egg.
- Flour: I’ve used gluten-free all-purpose flour with xanthan gum. I highly recommend Trader Joe’s GF flour.
- Gluten-free chocolate chips: For delicious pockets of gooey decadence.
How do you make gluten-free banana bread muffins?
Prepare and preheat:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners or spray with cooking spray.
- On a large plate, mash the ripe bananas with a fork and add the baking soda. Gently stir to combine and allow to sit for a few minutes.
Make the muffin batter:
- In a large bowl, add the melted butter.
- Stir the melted butter into the mashed bananas.
- Add in the sugar, salt, ground cinnamon, pure vanilla extract and eggs and stir until combined.
- Add in the gluten-free flour and mix until fully combined.
- Stir in the GF chocolate chips.
Bake and cool:
- Use a spoon to add the batter to the muffin cups.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Allow the muffins to cool. Enjoy!
Serving
These gluten-free banana bread muffins are the perfect addition to a warm cup of coffee, served with a little bit of Maple Almond Butter and some jam.
They’re delicious any time of the day – as a breakfast treat alongside fresh fruit salad or a midday snack!
Sandy’s tips and substitutions:
- Storage: Store leftover banana bread muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
- Freezing and making ahead: You can bake the muffins ahead of time, wrap them individually in plastic wrap, and freeze them for up to a month. Thaw the muffins overnight on the countertop and serve at room temperature or slightly warmed in the microwave.
- Make extra: Double, triple, or quadruple your batch of gluten-free banana bread muffins for your enjoyment whenever you have a craving for these insanely delicious muffins.
- Don’t overfill the muffin pan: Only add the batter to the muffin cups until ¾ full as the muffins will rise while baking and you don’t want them overflowing, making a mess, and not looking as good.
- Don’t overmix: Be careful that you don’t overmix the muffin batter or they’ll become overly dense.
- Preferred muffin pans: I love to use these new silicone muffin pans when baking muffins. Just spraying them without the use of paper liners worked perfectly!
Variations:
- Mix-ins: Feel free to add chopped nuts (pecans or walnuts) to the muffin batter for extra flavor and texture. Creamy peanut butter gently swirled into the batter before baking will also add a rich, nutty flavor.
- Chocolate chips: Feel free to use GF milk chocolate chips, GF semi-sweet chocolate chips, GF dark chocolate chips, or GF white chocolate chips.
- Vegan banana bread muffins: Replace eggs with flax eggs (2 tablespoons ground flaxseed mixed with 5 tablespoons water) and use dairy-free butter and vegan chocolate chips for a plant-based version.
- Blueberry banana muffins: Substitute the chocolate chips with 1 cup of fresh or frozen blueberries for a fruity twist on the classic combination.
- Classic banana bread loaf: Pour the batter into a greased 9×5-inch loaf pan and bake at 350°F for 50-60 minutes, or until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean.
Have leftover bananas that are about to overripen? Use them to treat your family with all sorts of scrumptious treats, such as Banana Breakfast Cake, Strawberry Banana Bread, or Banana Meringue Cookies.
More fruity muffins you may want to try:
- Cranberry Pumpkin Muffins
- Apple Cider Muffins
- Muffins with Lemon Curd
- Chocolate Raspberry Oatmeal Muffins
Get the Recipe:
Gluten-Free Banana Bread Muffins
Ingredients
- 3 large bananas, ripe (about 2 cups mashed)
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ⅓ cup butter, melted
- ½ cup granulated sugar [for no refined sugar use pure maple syrup or coconut sugar]
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 1 ½ cups gluten-free flour all-purpose flour with xanthan gum [I use Trader Joe’s GF flour – it’s awesome!]
- ½ cup gluten-free chocolate chips
Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners or spray with cooking spray. We use the new silicone muffin pans.
- On a large plate, mash the ripe bananas with a fork and add the baking soda. Gently stir to combine and allow to sit for a few minutes.
- In a large bowl, add the melted butter.
- Stir the melted butter into the mashed bananas.
- Add in the sugar, salt, ground cinnamon, pure vanilla extract and eggs and stir until combined.
- Add in the gluten-free flour and mix until fully combined.
- Stir in chocolate chips.
- I use a spoon to add the batter to the muffin cups.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Please watch your oven because all ovens are different.
- Allow the muffins to cool. Enjoy!
Hello and welcome to my home and table!
I’m Sandy—lover of food, family, cooking, THE BIG BOARD, travel, and bringing people together. Through great recipes and connection around the table, we become better, stronger, and more courageous people. Feasting on Life is real, and every time we do it, we grow a little more. Read more...
