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You’ll be happy to have these Gluten Free Peanut Butter Banana Muffins on hand for breakfast, a lunchbox treat, or an after-school snack. This easy mini muffin recipe is mixed up in seconds, baked in minutes, and chock full of chocolate chips. It’s a healthy treat that kids and adults love!
For another version you’ll enjoy, try Gluten Free Almond Blueberry Mini Muffins.
Mini Peanut Butter Banana Muffins – Easy Gluten Free Snack!
The combination of banana, chocolate, and peanut butter is always a hit in my house. I’ve pretty much put these three ingredients in just about everything from a Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie to Banana Chocolate Peanut Butter Energy Balls. And while it sounds like an indulgent dessert pairing, it’s actually a great base for healthy snacks.
These peanut butter banana mini muffins are no exception.
The only flour is from ground oats plus whole old-fashioned oats, so there are fiber-rich whole grains. They need just a little maple syrup to enhance the sweetness of the bananas. Additionally, the peanut butter adds lots of satisfying protein. And when you use mini chips, you only need a few to have tons of little chocolaty bits in every bite.
They are a kid-favorite, gluten free, dairy free snack you can enjoy on their own or even with a Strawberry Banana Smoothie!
Are these muffins gluten free?
I used to call these “flourless” muffins since they don’t have any all-purpose flour. But they do have oat flour, made simply by pulsing oats in a blender or food processor to form a flour. So while they technically aren’t flourless, it’s easy to make them gluten free muffins.
While oats themselves are not a gluten-containing grain, they are at risk for cross-contamination. I explain in more detail in my article Are Oats Gluten Free? But what it comes down to is that if you have celiac disease or have another reason to go gluten free, you should use certified gluten free oats.
If that doesn’t matter to you, then use any oats you have on hand and know that you are making a healthy snack packed with whole grains.
Peanut Butter Banana Muffin Ingredients
Here’s a quick list of what you’ll need to make these mini muffins, If you have a banana getting overripe on your counter, you probably also have everything else you’ll need. Scroll down to the recipe card for the full amounts.
- Banana. About one large, one mashed. The more ripe it is, the more natural sweetness in your muffins.
- Peanut butter. Creamy is preferred.
- Maple syrup. Use pure maple syrup, not pancake syrup. You can substitute honey.
- Vanilla extract.
- Egg.
- Old-fashioned oats. Some of it will be pulsed in a blender or food processor to form oat flour, and some will be added whole. Be sure to use certified gluten free oats, if needed.
- Salt.
- Leavening. You’ll need both baking soda and baking powder.
- Mini chocolate chips. You can use regular-sized morsels, but the mini chips distribute better in the mini muffins.
How to Make the Mini Muffins
Preparations. Preheat your oven to 350°F and coat a mini muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray. Process the oats to make the oat flour, if you haven’t already.
Make the batter. Beat the banana, peanut butter, maple syrup, and vanilla extract, then blend in the egg. Fold in the dry ingredients, followed by the oats and chocolate chips.
Bake and cool. Divide the batter in the mini muffin pan and bake until golden brown. Cool in the pans for several minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
Storing the Peanut Butter Banana Muffins
These mini muffins will last at room temperature for 3 or 4 days if kept in an airtight container. Or they can be refrigerated for up to a week. If you prefer a warmed up muffin, pop it into the microwave for just a few seconds. This will make the chips nice and melty.
Can you freeze them?
These mini muffins freeze very well. If wrapped well with plastic wrap or in an airtight freezer bag, they will stay good for a couple of months. You can put them into the fridge the night before you want to pack them into lunch boxes or serve them.
Things You’ll Need
- Hand mixer – I like my inexpensive Hamilton Beach hand mixer for simple batters like this.
- Mixing bowl – I like to have a variety of sizes on hand.
- Nonstick mini muffin pan – a good one like this one from Wilton is critical. For these types of muffins, I typically don’t like to use paper liners. I feel like too much of the muffin sticks to the liner. However, if you use a good mini muffin tin, you’ll be fine.
- Wire cooling racks – these stacking ones are great to save counter space if you are doing a lot of baking.
Gluten Free Peanut Butter Banana Muffins
Ingredients
- ½ cup mashed banana (about one large banana)
- ½ cup creamy peanut butter
- ¼ cup maple syrup or honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- Pinch salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 7 tablespoons oat flour (place old fashioned oats in a high powered blender or food processor and process into a fine powder before measuring, certified gluten free if necessary)
- ⅓ cup old fashioned oats (certified gluten free if necessary)
- ¼ cup mini chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and spray a mini muffin tin with nonstick spray.
- In a large bowl, using an electric hand mixer, beat together the banana, peanut butter, maple syrup, and vanilla extract. Then beat in the egg.
- Add the salt, baking soda, baking powder, and oat flour and blend until just combined.
- Stir in the old fashioned oats and mini chocolate chips.
- Divide the batter between the 24 muffin cups.
- Bake at 350°F for 10-14 minutes or until golden brown and they spring back when you touch them.
- Cool in the pans for several minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
Did you make this?
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Can almond or coconut flour be substituted for the oat flour? Would any other changes need to be made to the recipe?
I’m sorry, this is something I have not tested. Coconut flour absorbs a lot of moisture, so I expect you would need less. Almond flour could be about the same amount, but again, I don’t have experience using it in this recipe. If you try either, let me know how it turns out!
Sooo delicious! Recipe is a keeper!
So happy to hear this!
What could I substitute bananas for? I’m allergic to them but these look so good!
Hi Vivian,
You can try substituting 1/3 cup of unsweetened applesauce for the banana, because like bananas, applesauce is also a great fat substitute. The only thing I’m concerned about is that the batter may be too thin. If it seems too runny, add in an extra tablespoon of oat flour. Please let me know how they turn out for you!
Oh gosh I feel like that would totally happen to me-I have such a problem with going on autopilot. Fingers crossed that when James goes to school there are no nut allergy issues, gahhh. Esp because uh yeah love pb and so does he! So we’d all be about these muffins!
It’s so common now, which is so crazy. Every school handles it differently though. Now in elementary school I can send in anything, but we’ve talked a lot about being careful and aware of their friends. But you can definitely enjoy these muffins at home!!
ahhh nut allergies are SO SCARY!
and these mini muffins look fantastic! even if they can only be enjoyed at home <3
I can only imagine how you must have felt upon realising. You shouldn’t be so hard on yourself, I mean you’re only human, mistakes happen.
The muffins you mention sound fantastic!
I tried to now feel bad – doing the right thing and calling the school made me feel better too!