Classic gluten-free banana muffins. Make them with or without chocolate chips and nuts. This easy one-bowl recipe comes together in just minutes!
What was your favorite baked treat as a kid? Chocolate chip cookies? Chocolate cupcakes?
Mine was…banana bread.
Some other favorites of my childhood: watching Jeopardy, listening to adult contemporary music*, and reading an entire book in one sitting.
*Michael Bolton was the first concert I ever attended. I was, maybe, 13. And, if memory serves, I and the other attendees, who were almost all middle aged women, loved every second of it.
As you can see, I was a wild one with lots of friends and no social anxiety about fitting in at all. (<—That entire sentence is a lie. But you already knew that, didn’t you, smarty pants?)
But you didn’t come here to read about my awesome childhood. You came here because you’re wondering how to make the best gluten-free banana muffins. I got you.
This recipe was inspired by my gluten-free banana bread recipe. Like classic banana bread, these muffins bake up dense and flavorful. Unlike the original recipe, which uses butter, these muffins are naturally dairy-free.
You’ll only need one bowl to make these muffins. Start out by mashing together some really ripe,almost black, bananas with some dark brown sugar. The overly ripe bananas bring an intense flavor to muffins, while the dark brown sugar adds a caramel-like sweetness.
Then add the oil (or melted butter if you aren’t dairy-free), a couple of eggs, and a gluten-free flour blend. I really like Bob’s 1:1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour for this recipe. If you use your own blend, be sure it contains a little xanthan gum or the muffins might not rise as high as you’d like.
Mix everything together and then divide the batter evenly between 15 muffin cups. For banana muffins and gluten-free blueberry muffins, I like to line the cups with paper liners. If you want to skip the paper liners, grease each muffin cavity lightly with oil to prevent the muffins from sticking. Do this even if you’re muffin pan is nonstick.
Bake until a cake tester inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Once the muffins are done, let them sit in the pan for about five minutes. I use a timer or I totally forget about them. Then move the muffins to a wire rack to cool. This prevents the muffins from getting soggy and damp in the center.
That’s it. These gluten-free banana muffins bake in about 15 minutes, which gives you just enough time to watch half an episode of Jeopardy or listen to a few Michael Bolton tunes.
Gluten-Free Banana Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 cups Bob's Red Mill 1:1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour (9 ounces/ 260 grams)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup lightly packed dark brown sugar (5 1/2 ounces/ 155 grams)
- 3 medium very ripe bananas (about 15 ounces/ 425 grams)
- 2 large eggs, whisked (about 4 ounces; 113 grams)
- 1/2 cup oil or (1 stick) butter, melted and slightly cooled (4 ounces; 113 grams)
- 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips, optional (3 ounces; 85 grams)
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, optional (3 ounces, 85 grams)
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.. Grease or line 15 standard size muffins cups with paper liners.
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In a large bowl, mash the bananas with a fork or potato masher. Add brown sugar, oil, and eggs. Add the gluten-free flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix until combined. Add chocolate chips and nuts if using. Fill prepared muffin cups halfway with batter.
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Bake for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes; remove from pan and place on a wire rack to cool completely.
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Store, wrapped, on the counter for up to three days or freeze for up to three months.
Erin Morin says
Love these! I subbed coconut sugar for brown sugar and added about a 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract. Wonderful!
Sarah Mac says
Very good base recipe. It worked out to 26 mini muffins for me. I included 1/3 of mini semi-sweet chocolate chips, 1/3 chopped walnuts, 1/2 tsp vanilla, a dash of Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Pie Spice, and used walnut oil as opposed to butter. I am partial to a stronger banana flavor so I am going to try it again with 4 bananas and 1 egg next time and see how it goes, but still very happy with the results!
Denise says
Great recipe! Only had two bananas, added 1 tsp vanilla & cinnamon as suggested and used coconut sugar instead of brown. Also added blueberries.
Nadya Weber says
I just made these and promptly ate 3! Yum.
I have some odds and sods of alt flours that I mixed in with my Bob’s GF 1-1 flour (added teff, oat, and a mixture of rice, potato starch, and others). Worked out perfectly! So delicious.
Johanna says
I love it. So easy and fun. Thanks
Tremzy says
Came out so great. It also set up perfectly. Just delicious. Do you have more gluten free recipes to share or perhaps a gluten free cookbook🍴🍸
Elizabeth says
Glad you enjoyed it! There are many recipes on the site. Enjoy!
Patricia Cameron says
These muffins are delicious! My family loves them, I will definitely make these again.
colleen Robillard says
I just made these and loved them!! I did change flour a little by mixing my Bob’s 1:1 with some almond and coconut flours (sifted together) then measured out the 2 cups. These were super moist and flavorful! Will make often
Findapenny says
Absolutely in love with these, best muffins I’ve ever had! I used Bob’s Red Mill Paleo Baking FLour, white sugar instead of brown, and added cinnamon and nutmeg. I tried it a few different ways: chocolate chips and dates (FABULOUS), blueberries and walnuts (FABULOUS), cocoa and hazelnuts (meh). The blueberry variation requires a bit more flour since the blueberries burst while baking and add moisture, but it’s at least as delicious as the chocolate chip variation.
Lulabelle says
I guess I’m the only one these didn’t work out for. The dough was a sticky bread- like dough that formed weird shapes when it came out of the oven. They looked hideous and tasted very blah, only the slightest hint of banana. It needs more sugar some kind of spice, like cinnamon. Even the chocolate chips couldn’t save these. I’m glad I’m not actually gluten intolerant so I don’t HAVE to have food like this.
Elizabeth says
Hmm..interesting. What gluten-free flour blend did you use? And you say they didn’t taste of bananas? How ripe were your bananas?
Sarah M says
I’ve baked these muffins every week since lockdown began (10 times!). Flavour and texture is spot on. I make 12 large muffins with proper muffin tops from these measurements. My best tip is to mix all of the wet ingredients + brown sugar in the blender/nutri-bullet and then just pour in the bowl with the dry ingredients. Cuts the prep time in half! Thanks for such a loyal and delicious recipe!
Kitty says
Great idea to mix together in nutribullet/blender to cut down on prep time. Thank you ! These ARE an awesome recipe with vanilla added I feel. So glad Bob’s 1:1 is available so readily.
MamaLana says
These were MOIST without added liquid, they rose perfectly and yes.. we added more chocolate chips… “1/2 cup? This recipe doesn’t know US very well!” So the bag slipped while I was “trying“ to measure out the chips, and I turned to my daughter and asked “did that look like a 1/2 cup?” She laughed and said “heck no!” Needless to say, they were awesome (we used about 3/4 cup regular semi-sweet baking chips). Hubby who is finicky about GF foods loved them as well!
Timea says
Best muffin recipe! I baked it using buckwheat four. Turned out very tasty!!!
Gaye Hunter says
These are the best! Do you have calorie count for this?
Elizabeth says
I don’t. I’m sorry!
Kim says
Made them a few times now and they were deliciously moist and tasty. I did add some cinnamon and split the recipe in half, I added half the choc chips to one half and cinnamon and mixed spice to the other half. Both tasted great.
Jessica says
They are currently cooking but the recommended cooking time is wrong mine were only half cooked with 22 minutes in the oven
Elizabeth says
Hmm…I don’t think so. I’d check your oven temp. 44 minutes for a pan of muffins would be a long time!
Kitty says
Perhaps do in smaller muffin pan, or be sure your ingredients are room temperature at time of mixing ?
Sarah Williams says
These were awesome! Didn’t have egg so used 1/2 cup plain greek yogurt. Also made them in mini-muffin tins. Turned out delicious!
Holly Love says
Just made these for the first time today and they’re OUTSTANDING! So very grateful that weights were included – THAT is what ensures real success and I can’t understand why more recipe writers don’t use them. Also grateful to the reviewer who suggested doing the first step in the Vitamix – so EASY. I added 1 tsp ground coriander, used only 1/2 brown sugar because I like things less sweet, and 100 g coconut oil due to1) my jumbo eggs and 2) my sugar reduction reducing dry ingredient weight. I needed 24 minutes to bake but I’m unsure of my true oven temp. I put the walnuts on top which made for a beautiful presentation. Absolutely company-worthy – which is always my highest compliment! I can hardly wait until my husband gets home to try them. Love the tip about making sure to move them out of the pan after 5-10 minutes to prevent soggy damp centers – I never knew that’s what was often causing that for me. During pandemic time when I want to food shop as little as possible, I buy a boatload of bananas every time. Can’t wait to make these again and again!
Elizabeth says
Yay! I’m so glad you enjoyed them!
Becky Johnson says
Baked these this morning, following the recipe as written, using gluten free flour (Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 Gluten Free Blend) and Splenda brown sugar Blend. 15 regular sized muffins as stated in the recipe. Used crisco to grease the muffin cups for easy release. Vanilla extract would be a good addition. I’ll keep this recipe handy for future use!
Martin Hartley says
Made these a few times now and they turn out great each time. I added the nuts and chocolate chips giving them a nice textural contrast. I’ve been using King Arthur measure for measure GF flour and it works well. (good price on amazon)
It is so much nicer to bake GF now. I started baking GF for my wife 30 years ago and it was awful trying to use bean flour and coarse rice flour.
Elizabeth, thank you for including the weights this makes baking far more accurate