Enjoy these gluten-free banana muffins with chocolate chips for your next freezer prep session, breakfast, or brunch. They’re dairy-free and egg-free too!
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If you miss muffins on your gluten-free diet or get sick of paying double or triple what you think they should cost at the store for premade ones, you’re not alone.
I love baked goods like muffins and donuts, but I don’t love shelling out an arm and a leg for them when I get the craving for one. Just because I avoid certain foods in my diet shouldn’t mean I have to spend so much more money on the same food someone else can buy for a fraction of the cost!
That’s why I most often make my own muffins and baked goods at home. I can save some money AND I can make sure they’re made only with ingredients that my body can tolerate. Plus, I can be sure to add a few healthier choices than those store-bought ones with significantly less sugar in them.
The one downside is that they take more time to make than buying a premade muffin mix or muffins from the bakery. But to me, the convenience of buying them still doesn’t make up for the small amount of time spent.
Years ago, I started making these banana muffins for myself and instead of trying to get my family to eat the whole batch at once, I used them as a way to help my future self out.
I will make a batch of these muffins and enjoy one or two, then the rest go in the freezer for future me to enjoy. It’s a gift that keeps on giving and I only have to give about 10 to 15 minutes of prep time to have twelve different muffin breakfasts or snacks in the future.
While I make this recipe with bananas as the main star of the show, over time I started adding in different mix-ins like walnuts and chocolate chips. These days, this recipe almost always has the chocolate chips mixed in. What can I say, I have a sweet tooth and I love chocolate morning, noon, and night!
If you are looking for a yummy breakfast or meal prepped snack option for your freezer, you’ll love this recipe. These muffins are loaded with bananas, and best of all – they’re great for using up the forgotten ones on the counter that are turning a little too brown for eating on their own.
With healthy ingredients like eggs or flax eggs, coconut oil, maple syrup, oats, and almond flour combined with some other baking essentials, you’ll have these muffins made up in no time flat for you to enjoy now – and later. Or have a whole batch to bring with you to a brunch gathering where you know others are avoiding gluten and dairy as well.
Let’s go over the basics of this recipe and answer some questions you might have about this recipe!
How do you make banana muffins gluten-free?
To make muffins or any other baked good gluten-free, be sure to choose a gluten-free flour or gluten-free flour blend. Since gluten-free flour blends made by different manufacturers use a variety of different flour combinations and ratios, the flour option that you use may change how your muffins turn out.
Choose a gluten-free flour blend that has xanthan gum included, or if you make your own gluten-free flour blend at home, be sure yours includes xanthan gum. This ingredient is vital for binding the muffins, so they don’t fall apart in your hand and turn into crumbs.
I usually like to use a gluten-free measure-for measure flour option in most of my baking, as it has served me well across a variety of different baking projects. The one I use is King Arthur Measure for Measure flour.
Note that you can use any brand or homemade gluten-free flour blend, but the results may come out differently than those in the recipe I’m sharing in this post.
This recipe calls for other ingredients that need to be gluten-free as well. Almond flour and oats are also used, and should be labeled as gluten-free on the packaging.
While oats are naturally gluten-free, they’re often cross contaminated with wheat or other gluten-containing grains during manufacturing.
How to make banana muffins with chocolate chips dairy-free and egg-free
To make these banana muffins with chocolate chips dairy-free and egg-free, you’ll want to be sure to use chocolate chips that contain no dairy ingredients. There are a number of different brands available for dairy-free chocolate chips, but my go-to brands are Kirkland Signature (Costco) and Enjoy Life as I can find them the easiest where I live.
This recipe can be made with eggs or without. Since I avoid eggs in addition to gluten and dairy, I opted for replacing the eggs in a muffin recipe with two flax eggs.
To make one flax egg, combine one tablespoon of ground flax meal with three tablespoons of warm water. For this recipe, I used two flax eggs, so two tablespoons of flax meal and six tablespoons of warm water. You’ll want to allow this mixture to set in a container on the counter for about five minutes to coagulate before adding it to the recipe.
If you can eat eggs in your diet, feel free to use these in the recipe instead of flax eggs. Do what works best for you!
Ingredients for gluten-free banana muffins with chocolate chips
This gluten-free banana muffin with chocolate chips recipe combines ingredients you likely already have on hand. Let’s go through each ingredient one at a time, so you know what you’ll need to pick up next time you’re at the store or what to look for through your pantry before you get started.
Bananas
This muffin recipe couldn’t be called banana muffins without a few of its namesake. I used three brown-ish bananas in this recipe that had been hanging out on my counter a day or two too long. They’re great this way so the muffins come out deliciously sweet.
Eggs or flax eggs
Eggs or flax eggs serve as a binder in this recipe. If you can tolerate eggs in your diet without any problems, feel free to use these. If not, opt for flax eggs, which you can make with one tablespoon of ground flax meal combined with three tablespoons of warm water for each egg.
Coconut oil
Melted coconut oil is called for in this recipe. You can use whatever you have on hand, or if you don’t have this, swap for vegan butter or another oil. Vegetable oil could do the trick in this recipe as well.
Maple syrup
The maple syrup is used in this recipe for some added sweetness without extra refined sugar. I love using maple syrup in my baking, but you can substitute with honey if you prefer that ingredient or don’t have syrup on hand.
Vanilla extract
For some home-baked flavor, adding a bit of vanilla extract goes a long way. Use whatever you have on hand. I used the Kirkland Signature one I had in my pantry, but other favorite brands include Neissen-Massey and Simply Organic.
Almond flour
Almonds are naturally gluten-free, meaning almond flour is as well. I chose almond flour for this recipe, because it has some decent health benefits like protein, fiber, and healthy fats that are great to add to a homemade muffin recipe.
While this ingredient is naturally gluten-free, it doesn’t hurt to check the packaging and labels for a gluten-free label. This will show you the brand has paid attention to cross contamination in their facilities and tested to be sure there is less than 20 ppm of gluten in their products.
Gluten-free flour blend
Whatever gluten-free flour blend you have on hand will work for this recipe. My go-to choice is King Arthur Gluten-free Measure-for-Measure flour blend, because it works in almost all the recipes I make with great results. It can be used in specifically gluten-free recipes, as well as recipes that I’m trying to convert to gluten-free with only this one ingredient.
Gluten-free oats
While oats are naturally gluten-free, their manufacturing process isn’t always consistently safe for folks on a gluten-free diet. This grain in particular is notorious for having cross contact during manufacturing and cross contamination in their final products.
That’s why it’s important to find a brand that has a gluten-free label when buying oats when you’re sticking with a gluten-free diet. I have been using the One Degree brand of Organic Sprouted Rolled Oats recently, and it works well with this recipe.
Baking powder
Baking powder gives these gluten-free muffins some lift when they’re baking, so they rise just a bit. Be sure your baking powder is gluten-free for this recipe.
Cinnamon
I love the flavor combination of cinnamon and bananas. This ingredient gives the muffins a little extra spice and homemade flavor.
Salt
Salt is a much-needed ingredient in these muffins to simply give them a bit of flavor, and balance the sweetness of the bananas and syrup.
Dairy-free chocolate chips
While the chocolate chips are completely optional in this gluten-free banana muffin recipe, I love adding them for a little extra flavor and deliciousness. Many chocolate chips are made with dairy, but it’s not too hard to find options that don’t.
Kirkland Signature chocolate chips usually are dairy-free (be sure to check ingredients before buying just in case!). Trader Joe’s has a dairy-free option, and of course the specific allergy-friendly brands, like Enjoy Life also sell dairy-free chocolate chips.
If you didn’t want to go the chocolate chip route, you could omit them entirely or replace them with chopped walnuts.
How to make gluten-free banana muffins with chocolate chips
Making any flavor of muffin is pretty straightforward, but these gluten-free banana muffins with chocolate chips are super simple to make.
With all the right ingredients on hand, let me share with you step-by-step how to make these delicious muffins.
Preheat the oven and prep your muffin pan
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare your muffin tin with muffin liners or spray with oil. Or set aside a silicone muffin pan to use later on.
Combine wet ingredients
In a large mixing bowl, combine the mashed bananas, eggs or flax eggs, melted coconut oil, maple syrup, and vanilla extract. Stir together until well combined.
Add dry ingredients
Next, add the almond flour, gluten-free flour blend, gluten-free oats, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. You can do this in a separate bowl and then combine with the wet ingredients, but I skip this step and it turns out fine every time.
Stir to combine with the wet ingredients until just combined.
Stir in the chocolate chips
Stir in the dairy-free chocolate chips. Nothing fancy here – you’re just folding them in until they’re well-distributed throughout the batter.
Transfer muffin batter to muffin cups
Spoon the muffin batter into the prepared muffin pan, evenly distributing the batter among the twelve muffin cups. I like to use a cookie scoop to make this easier on myself, because I like the release button on the side. But any kind of spoon and system you have for transferring the batter works just as well.
Transfer to the oven and bake
Transfer the muffins to the oven and bake for 25 to 28 minutes.
Test doneness of muffins
Once the timer has gone off, test the doneness of the muffins by inserting a toothpick into the muffins. Once the toothpick comes out clean, you’ll know they’re done. If they’re not done, place them back in the oven for another minute or two.
Remove from the oven and cool
Remove the baked muffins from the oven and allow them to cool for about 10 minutes in their pan. Once they’ve cooled a bit, you will want to transfer the muffins to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Enjoy!
Enjoy with breakfast, as a snack, or serve at your next brunch get-together.
Can I freeze these gluten-free banana muffins with chocolate chips?
Yes! This recipe is one of my favorite breakfast and snack options for prepping ahead of time. Once the muffins are completely cooled, you can wrap them individually in plastic wrap, then place in a freezer storage bag and freeze.
These muffins will keep in the freezer for up to three months, but they probably won’t last that long since they’re so good!
To reheat, you can defrost them on the counter at room temperature or remove them from the plastic wrap and microwave them for about 30 seconds.
Gluten-free Banana Muffins with Chocolate Chips (Dairy-free, Egg-free)
Enjoy these gluten-free banana muffins with chocolate chips for your next freezer prep session, breakfast, or brunch. They're dairy-free and egg-free too!
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cup mashed bananas (about 3 bananas)
- 2 flax eggs or real eggs
- ¼ cup coconut oil, melted
- ⅓ cup maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup almond flour
- 1 cup gluten-free flour blend (I used King Arthur Gluten-free Measure for Measure flour)
- 1 cup gluten-free oats
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ cup dairy-free chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Prepare muffin tin with muffin liners or spray with oil. Or set aside a silicone muffin pan.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the mashed bananas, eggs or flax eggs, melted coconut oil, maple syrup, and vanilla extract. Stir together.
- Next, add the almond flour, gluten-free flour blend, gluten-free oats, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Stir to combine with the wet ingredients until just combined.
- Stir in the dairy-free chocolate chips.
- Spoon the muffin batter into the prepared muffin pan, evenly distributing the batter among the twelve muffin cups.
- Transfer the muffins to the oven and bake for 25 to 28 minutes.
- Once the timer has gone off, test the doneness of the muffins by inserting a toothpick into the muffins. Once the toothpick comes out clean, you'll know they're done. If they're not done, place them back in the oven for another minute or two until the toothpick comes out clean.
- Remove the baked muffins from the oven and allow them to cool for about 10 minutes. Transfer muffins to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Enjoy with breakfast, as a snack, or serve at your next brunch get-together.
Notes
You may omit the chocolate chips or replace with chopped walnuts if you wish.
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