There’s nothing like a fresh, melt-in-your-mouth gluten free banana muffin.
I love using fruit like bananas or applesauce to reduce the fat and raise the flavor of my quick breads like these gluten free muffins, so this recipe is a happy marriage of tasty gluten free banana bread and lower fat muffins!
I’m also known for adding blueberries to nearly any muffin recipe, and this gluten free banana muffin recipe is no exception.
There’s just nothing wrong with a pop of sweetness here and there. Of course, this recipe is plenty good on it own — sans berries — so it’s really up to you!
Or you could add chocolate chips or chunks for more of a chunky monkey style muffin or if you’d rather skip it, just make a tradition gluten free banana muffin your way! (If you really are looking for a straight up blueberry muffin recipe, hop to that recipe here.)
Just look at how moist and yummy these muffins are! I want another one right now, actually.
The addition of flaxseed meal offers a subtle, but nutty flavor, support for the structure of the muffins and a serious nutritional boost you can feel good about every morning you bite into one of these yummy treats!
Feel free to use any berries, chips or other additions … or none at all for a traditional banana bread taste.
And of course — more options: for an even easier muffin-making experience, just grab one of my easy, yummy award-winning gfJules Muffin Mixes!
Depending on the size muffin you’re keen to make, the mix or this scratch recipe makes between 10-16 muffins (mini muffins are around 24). The giants take longer to bake, but they are oh-so-satisfying!
How’s your favorite way to enjoy a gluten free banana muffins? Are you all in with fruit, or do you add some chocolate? Any other funky additions I should know about and try? I’d love to hear about them!
Share in the comments below, and as always, feel free to join in the conversation on my gfJules Facebook page, Instagram or Twitter! I also pin lovely gluten free recipes all the time – follow my Pinterest boards!
Gluten Free Banana-Blueberry Muffins made from gfJules Muffin Mix. Muffin cups filled nearly full; made 13 muffins this size.
If you love recipe videos, check out my gfJules YouTube channel. And if you’d like more gluten free recipe inspiration delivered to your email box, sign up for my free recipe e-newsletter where you’ll be the first to hear about my new recipes, articles and of course, all the latest gluten free news (and sometimes even coupons – squeeee!).
Happy muffin baking!
Gluten Free Banana Muffin Recipe
Gluten Free Banana Muffin Recipe
Delightfully moist and light, flavorful gluten free banana muffins are on the menu! With or without blueberries or chocolate chips, this will be your family's new favorite muffin recipe!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter or nondairy alternative (e.g. Earth Balance® Buttery Sticks)
- 2 large eggs or egg substitute of choice (like aquafaba OR 2 Tbs. flaxseed meal, chia or salba steeped in 6 Tbs. very warm water)
- 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup plain or vanilla yogurt, dairy or non-dairy (like So Delicious) OR sour cream (dairy or nondairy)
- 1 cup mashed ripe banana (approximately 2 bananas) OR 3/4 cup applesauce
- 1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries, cranberries or chocolate chips (optional)
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)
PLUS
- 1 gfJules Gluten Free Muffin Mix
- 1/4 cup sugar (optional -- only if you like sweeter muffins)
OR if baking from scratch instead
- 1 1/2 cups (202.5 grams) gfJules All Purpose Gluten-Free Flour
- 1/2 cup granulated cane sugar
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 3 Tbs. flaxseed meal (OR same amount gfJules All Purpose Gluten Free Flour)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Oil or line 15-20 muffin pans with papers (depending on size of muffins).
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together dry ingredients (not including sugar) if mixing from scratch.
Cream butter with sugar or 1/2 of gfJules Muffin Mix until light. Add eggs/sub, sour cream, vanilla, and mashed bananas and mix well.
Gradually blend the remaining dry ingredients or Muffin Mix into bowl until integrated, then gently stir in berries.
Spoon batter into muffin tins 2/3 - 3/4 full.
Bake for 30 minutes (longer for jumbo muffins) or until lightly browned and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Cool on wire racks.
Nutrition Information
Yield 15 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 181Total Fat 11gSaturated Fat 5gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 5gCholesterol 42mgSodium 307mgCarbohydrates 19gFiber 2gSugar 16gProtein 3g
Please keep in mind that nutrition information provided is per serving, which may vary. While we have taken care to provide you with the most accurate nutritional values possible, please note that this information may differ significantly depending on the exact ingredients and brands that you choose to use to make this recipe. Additionally, where options are given for ingredients, the resulting calculation may include all ingredient options instead of only one per line, skewing the totals significantly.
I hope you love this recipe as much as we do!
Pin it for later!
I have made these with just bananas and the kids liked them a lot but when I decided to try making them with half applesauce and half banana they became the most requested muffin I make (and I make muffins a lot).
I think using both in equal amounts allows the banana and apple to be more background to the blueberry instead of the other way around.
I love blueberry muffins and missed them so much when we went Gluten Free. Now they are back and better than ever. Thank you.
Great idea, Kristine! So glad to hear about your results – I think I’ll try this recipe your way next time!
Used the same idea with your muffin mix which we love. It is nice to have the option of the mix when tight on time. Thanks for all the great products. Very excited to attend one of the upcoming events you will be speaking at.
Fantastic, Kristine! So glad the mix is helpful to you, too! I’ll be happy to meet you – which event will you be attending?
The Baltimore Celiac Support Group. I have also seen you at the Celiac Walk which we have participated in the past two years.
I used apple butter instead of sauce which has less liquid. I’m adding apple juice to make up for it. Any thoughts on what the correct consistency of the batter is if you’re swapping ingredients?
Hi Paula, you shouldn’t need to add much apple juice to get it right – the batter shouldn’t be thin, but should easily be spooned into muffin cups. Let me know how it turns out!
Hi Jules, just wanted to thank you for this wonderful recipe! I have made it a few times and my family loves it. I also wanted to thank you for all of your amazing products. They have made my transition to gluten free seamless. Thanks again!
Fantastic, Patty! So glad to hear that you’ve found some recipes and products that you love and can make for your whole family! Thanks so much for taking the time to write to me – enjoy!
Hello Jules…do you freeze your muffins and only take out what you need?I made a GF box kind and after a few days of leaving the them, they gave an awful taste. Always appreciate the treats and tips you post…thank yo and well wishes to all…
Hi Tammie, my muffins (made from scratch or my mix) last for at least 3-4 days stored in a plastic zip-top bag without freezing them. They taste great without microwaving or anything, so there’s really no need to freeze them. Otherwise, you could certainly freeze them and only take out what you need, but because they last for several days without freezing, it makes them handy for traveling!
I love blueberry muffins and so does my family. Only issues is bananas make me bad sick, just like wheat does! Do I have to add the bananas? Or is there something else I can use?
Hi Mykel – you can absolutely use 1 cup applesauce, apple butter or even pumpkin puree in place of the bananas. Enjoy!
I made this modifying a bit- omitted the blueberries, flaxseed meal and cinnamon and added 1/2 cup Nestle chocolate(powder-pure choc) and about half a bag of Enjoy Life mini choc chips to make a chocolate banana choc chip muffin-Yum! Used the vanilla yogurt as well.
Another great recipe, thanks Jules!
Nice modifications, Jen! Thanks so much for sharing so we can all give those a try! I love the idea of chocolate with the blueberries, and of course I love the flaxseed meal! And by the way, I personally believe that most baking recipes could use a little extra cinnamon!
I made your muffins this morning and they turned out great – THANK YOU! I am new to gluten-free, sugar-free, dairy-free cooking. Thankfully my husband is not intolerant to eggs. I replaced the cane sugar for coconut sap crystals; I used tofutti sour cream, and peaches instead of blueberries. I halfed the recipe, except I still used 2 eggs (by accident) and the flaxseed meal, but they still came out great. I also made a crumb topping: 2 tbsp gluten-free baking flour, 1.5 tbsp vegan butter, 2 tbsp coconut sap crystals, heavy sprinkle of cinnamon – blended with a fork until crumbly, top muffins before baking. I gave one to my neighbor (a foodie) and she was surprised at how tasty they were. Thank you again!
Maggie – that’s fantastic! I love when folks make recipe modifications and they still turn out great – you have a new recipe!
I made these pancakes this morning just as the recipe called for. They had a wonderful flavor but the inside was gooey. What will change that
Sandra – did you make pancakes or these blueberry muffins?
Another great recipe, Jules! I added a little streusel topping using the flour, too, and just finished off two of them…so good!
oooh Linda, yummy! Streusel makes everything even better!
I grind my own flax seed, so just wondering if the flax/water substitute should be 2T ground flaxseed meal or 2T flaxseed meal, ground! I actually measured and there is quite a difference. Thanks.
Hi Joanie – it never hurts to clarify! It’s measured flaxseed meal, not measured flaxseeds. Great question!
I have also had problems with my children being allergic to bananas, or not having bananas on hand when ready to make these muffins. I’ve found that I just add another 1/2 cup of sour cream, or yogurt and they come out just fine!
Great subs, Elizabeth! Thanks for sharing!
If I just want to make banana bread should I increase the amount of banana? I would be skipping the berries & cinnamon. Thank you!
Paula, the blueberries and cinnamon really just add zing. If you want straight up banana bread, I’d still recommend adding a bit of cinnamon, but just skip the blueberries – the banana proportion will be fine. Someone also shared their homemade banana bread recipe on my facebook page just today – you can check that one out too!
I have loved all the recipes I have tried from your site, and I plan to try this one tomorrow. Would it be possible to have a “print” version of recipes so it could be shorter when printed out?
I just had a request for strawberry muffins. Could I substitute the blueberries for strawberries??
I just dumped out all my gluten flour.. going forward Jules Gluten free is all that will be found in my house– I hope no one will notice the difference!
Hi Julie – so glad you’re loving the flour! About subbing strawberries in this recipe, it would certainly be possible to make that sub, however, strawberries add a lot more moisture to recipes than do blueberries. Recognizing that, you may want to cut back on other liquids a bit, or recognize that you may have to bake these a bit longer and they still may be a bit wetter. They would probably work better if you used mini-muffin pans instead of regular size. Another thought would be to use shortening rather than butter or non-dairy alternative (that will cut back moisture); I would also strongly recommend using the optional flaxseed if you sub with strawberries. The good news is that they’ll be delicious with strawberries – as long as you’re ok if the texture is a little off, you can’t go wrong, they’ll just be different. This is why I love baking (recipes either work as expected or you get to eat yummy “mistakes” anyway!)! Have fun!
My daughter is newly diagnosed as celiac and as has several food allergies including eggs. I made these muffins today and they are delicious! The only thing is that the base of the muffins are very chewy, almost tough……am I doing something wrong? Maybe too much mixing or oven too hot or is it because of using the egg replacer?? I would love to have these be a little less chewy as they taste great.
Hi Julie – I’m not sure which egg replacer you are using, but I like the flaxseed and water egg replacer with muffins like these – give that a try! Otherwise, if they are tough at all, your oven may be too hot or you are baking a bit too long, as these muffins should be very moist and fluffy!
I made a couple adjustments to make this recipe have less fat and sugar. I haven’t tried the original recipe, but this turned out delicious.
Substitute 1/4 cup grapeseed oil for the butter.
Substitute 2Tbs of agave for the sugar.
Just mix these together, no creaming the butter and sugar.
I used plain 2% Greek yogurt instead of sour cream.
Increased vanilla to 2 tsps. Reduced cinnamon to 1 tsp.
And I probably used 1 1/2 cups banana b/c I had several that were very ripe.
I love this recipe, Jules – nice and buttery & moist. If I have bananas that are getting too ripe & turning brown, I just pop them in the freezer w/the peels on them and when I need them for a recipe like this, just defrost them in the microwave, peel them and they’re good to go. I made two batches of them last week – SO good!
That’s a great tip about freezing the bananas. I actually peel them, then put them in freezer bags. That way, if I want them for a shake or something instead, they’re like banana ice cubes and make great smoothies and protein shakes! If I want them for a recipe like this one, I can set them out to thaw or microwave, as you suggest. Nice to have as an ingredient you always have on-hand!
Do you think I could substitute something else for the bananas? And plain yogurt for the sour cream? My bananas got overly ripe and I have no sour cream… I do have blueberries and applesauce. Any suggestions for me? Since i need to make them tonight i’m in a bind. Any suggestions will be welcome. Thanks!
Jane, you could sub out the sourcream with plain yogurt or even vanilla yogurt. I actually used blueberry flavored yogurt once too! As for the bananas, you could use applesauce, but the recipe will be quite different.
Just made this recipe this morning and three teenagers thought they were excellent! I found out at the last minute that we were out of our frozen-picked-them-our-own-selves-blueberries, so I substituted Blueberry Craisins. We all agreed, this recipe is a keeper!
This recipe is amazing. I have printed it out and made the recipe as is and also substituted the blueberries with peaches, apples, and pumpkin. The peach were the best but all have been amazing! I gave a pumpkin muffin to a friend who said that he would not have known it was gluten free if I didn’t tell him. I put about 1 cup of pumpkin in along with approximately 1 more tsp of cinnamon, 1 tsp nutmeg, 1 tsp clove and 1tsp sugar. I only use sugar in the raw so the batter is grainy but melts in the oven. I also took mine out after 20 minutes, but I’m thinking cook time varies with the oven. Either way, these are dynamite and I am so super thankful that I found this site! Thank you so much Jules!
I am looking forward to trying these…. I’ve figured out how to make a bunch of different breads and muffins, but the “perfect” blueberry muffin still eludes me.