Gluten Free Peanut Butter Banana Mini Muffins
I love having 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.
Delicious Details
- Cuisine Inspiration: American
- Primary Cooking Method: Oven
- Dietary Info: Gluten-free
- Skill Level: Easy
The combination of banana, chocolate, and peanut butter is always a hit in my house. I’ve put these three ingredients in just about everything from a chocolate peanut butter banana smoothie to energy balls. These peanut butter banana muffins are no exception! My kids are BIG fans of these mini muffins. They’re gluten-free, dairy-free, and one or two is enough for a snack.
I sweetened my banana chocolate chip muffins with maple syrup, downsized them, and loaded them up with peanut butter to make this recipe. I use mini chips, so there are tons of chocolatey bits in every bite! For another version you’ll enjoy, try my mini almond blueberry muffins, too.
Why These Peanut Butter Banana Muffins Are the Best Gluten-Free Snack
- Mini-sized. These two-bite mini muffins are the perfect size for snacking and lunchboxes.
- No fancy flours. I grind oats into oat flour and add extra whole old-fashioned oats to these muffins for texture.
- Sweet and satisfying. The muffins need just a little maple syrup to enhance the sweetness of the bananas, while peanut butter and chocolate add satisfying richness and flavor.
Muffin Ingredients
Here’s a quick list of what you’ll need to make these mini peanut butter banana muffins. Scroll down to the recipe card for the full amounts.
- Banana: Use overripe bananas for this recipe. It’s a great reason to use up those brown, spotty ones in the fruit bowl! You’ll need about one large banana, mashed. The riper it is, the more natural the sweetness in your muffins.
- Peanut butter: I prefer to use creamy peanut butter. I recommend no-stir peanut butter, and not the kind where the oils separate. It can impact the peanut butter muffins’ texture.
- Maple syrup: Use pure maple syrup, not pancake syrup. You can substitute honey if needed.
- Vanilla extract: Or an equal amount of vanilla paste.
- Egg: Bring the egg to room temperature if you think of it.
- Old-fashioned oats: Some of the oats will be pulsed in a blender or food processor to make oat flour, while the rest will be added into the batter whole. Be sure to use certified gluten-free oats, if needed.
- Leavening: You’ll need both baking soda and baking powder, along with salt.
- Mini chocolate chips: You can use regular-sized morsels, but the mini chips distribute better in the mini muffins.
Grind the Oats to Make Oat Flour
I used to call these “flourless” muffins since I don’t use any all-purpose flour. Instead, I use oat flour, made by pulsing oats in a blender or food processor to make a fine powder. So while they do need “flour”, you can make it yourself easily at home!
How to Make Banana and Peanut Butter Muffins
- Prepare to bake. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Meanwhile, 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. Next, beat the banana, peanut butter, maple syrup, and vanilla extract, then blend in the egg. Fold in the dry ingredients, followed by the leftover whole oats and chocolate chips.
- Bake and cool. Divide the batter into the mini muffin pan. Bake these peanut butter banana muffins for 10-14 minutes, until golden brown. Cool in the pans for several minutes before removing the muffins to a wire rack to cool completely.
How to Store
- On the counter. 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.
- Freeze. 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.
Helpful Tools
- 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 pan, like this one from Wilton, is crucial. 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.
More Gluten-Free Muffin Recipes
Mini 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.
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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!