Gluten Free Banana Muffins

Warning: This muffin recipe may introduce you to some ingredients that you don’t recognize. Let me assure you, though, that it’s worth giving these Gluten Free Banana Muffins a shot because they are absolutely moist, delicious, and healthy!

Why I Make These Muffins All the Time

Don’t toss this recipe out because some of the ingredients sound weird. Hang with me here as I tell you why they’re worth it.

1. Moist and delicious! They taste like banana bread in a muffin form.
2. The batter is made in the blender (seriously!) in no time, which means fewer dirty dishes.
3. Packed full of protein, fiber, and so much more goodness. All real food ingredients that you can feel great about eating.
4. Freezer-friendly and perfect to make ahead for busy mornings.
5. Very filling and will keep you satiated for hours.

Ingredients in Gluten Free Banana Muffins

Since some of these ingredients may not be ones you normally have in your pantry, I want to introduce them to you and explain why I think they are worthy of investing in.

The first ingredient you might not recognize, but that is gaining huge popularity in the Paleo diet realm, is almond flour, also known as almond meal. This ingredient is just finely ground almonds.

I always have a bag of almond meal in my fridge, as it’s a simple way to add in protein and nutrition to things like smoothies, oatmeal, pancakes and waffles, Powerball Cookies or homemade granola bars. It also works surprisingly well as a gluten-free flour in baked goods, like this recipe.

Perhaps most convincing to me of almond flour’s worthiness is to look at all the health benefits. Raw almonds are a good source of:

• Monounsaturated Fats: These are the GOOD fats associated with lowering your risk of heart disease.
• Protein: This helps satisfy hunger and may aide in weight loss.
• Magnesium: A fourth cup of almonds contains almost 25 percent of the daily recommended amount of magnesium, which improves the flow of blood, nutrients and oxygen through the body.
• Antioxidants: One-fourth cup of raw almonds contains 45 percent of the daily recommended intake of the antioxidant vitamin E, which helps protect your skin from harmful free radicals.
• B vitamins: These include riboflavin, niacin, thiamin, B-6 and folates, which support the body’s process of cellular metabolism. (source)

Ground flaxseed may be another health food you’ve heard of but not tried. Again I always have a bag of this in my fridge and use it in many of the same ways that I use almond meal. Read this post to find out more about this versatile and incredibly healthy ingredient.

You’ll also notice I’ve used almond butter in these muffins. I love, love, love almond butter for it’s deep flavor, as well as, for all the health reasons I listed above. However, if you only have peanut butter on hand, that will work. In fact, I tested these muffins with PB and they turned out delicious. They just have a more…well…peanutty flavor.

Oats: old-fashioned rolled oats to be exact. This grain can be gluten-free, if you buy the specifically gluten-free ones in the health section. Oats provide another way to add fiber and protein in a whole grain form.

Lastly, I’ve used only all-natural forms of sugar–honey (not much really) and bananas–to sweeten these guys. No refined sugar needed here. These gluten free banana muffins are truly naturally sweet.

Other than those main components, you’ll need baking soda, salt, eggs, and vanilla extract on hand.

After a trip to the store to grab your new and exciting ingredients, snatch your blender and a muffin tin and you’re ready to get started. Watch this short video to see how they come together…

How to Make Gluten Free Banana Muffins

Follow along on our 30,000 foot view of how to make this tasty breakfast (or snack)…

You’ll start by blending the rolled oats in a high powered blender. This chops them up finely and essentially turns the grain into flour.

Next, you’ll add the rest of your ingredients to the blender and pop on the lid. Start by blending slowly and gradually increase the speed. Because there is no gluten in this recipe, you don’t have to worry about over mixing the batter.

If you have a hard time getting it to go, stop and stir or push down the ingredients and try again. If you don’t have a high powered blender like a Vitamix or Blendtec, this may take a few tries.

We recommend using paper or silicone liners in a metal pan or using a silicone muffin tin for easiest clean-up.

Add a heaping 1/4 cup of batter to each muffin cup. Use a scraper to get as much batter out of your blender as you can. You should end up with 15 muffins.

Then, sprinkle some rolled oats or even some mini chocolate chips over the top to make them look pretty!

You’ll bake these in a preheated oven at 375°F for about 15 minutes. If you’re using a silicone pan, it will take about 3-5 minutes extra.

While I do hope you enjoy these muffins, hopefully you won’t eat as many as I did at 9:30 p.m. while making these for breakfast the next day!