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Tender and moist Gluten Free Banana Zucchini Muffins are a glorious blend of sweet bananas and summer veggies. Spiced with warm cinnamon, these muffins are especially good during zucchini season, but you can enjoy them all year long. Enjoy them for breakfast or grab one as an afternoon snack!
Why You’ll Love This Banana Zucchini Muffins Recipe
Delicious Details
- Cuisine Inspiration: American
- Primary Cooking Method: Oven
- Dietary Info: Gluten-free, Dairy-free
- Skill Level: Easy
I love banana muffins, and I equally love tucking in seasonal produce to my baked goods whenever possible, like my traditional Gluten Free Zucchini Muffins! So why not combine the two?!
Make these muffins when zucchini is bursting out of your garden (or market), or bake them during the colder months for a special treat. Here are a few recipe highlights:
- Lightly sweet. Bananas are a very sweet fruit, and they’ll work hard to infuse these muffins with natural sweetness. You need just ¼ cup of extra sugar to sweeten 12 muffins.
- Adaptable. These zucchini banana muffins happily take to all sorts of variations. For example, stir in a handful of nuts or chocolate, or play around with the ground spices.
- Easily gluten free. I developed this recipe to create muffins that are so light and moist you won’t be able to tell they’re gluten free! The balance of bananas to the gluten free flour is just right and produces a muffin that’s never dry or crumbly.
What You’ll Need
I’ve outlined what you’ll find in these muffins below. Don’t forget to check the recipe card at the end of this post for the full ingredient amounts.
- Gluten Free Flour: I tested this recipe with and recommend using Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten Free Baking Flour.
- Cinnamon: A little ground cinnamon adds a touch of warmth.
- Leavening Agents: Baking powder and baking soda.
- Salt
- Bananas: Use ripe, very soft bananas for the most natural sweetness and flavor.
- Granulated Sugar: I don’t recommend brown sugar as the extra moisture can lead to a gummy texture.
- Oil: Use a neutral oil such as avocado oil or vegetable oil.
- Eggs: As with all of my baking recipes, use large eggs in these muffins.
- Vanilla Extract:
- Zucchini: No need to squeeze out the zucchini for this recipe, you’ll just fold the shredded squash into the batter.
How to Make Gluten Free Banana Zucchini Muffins
Here’s a look through my photos of how to make these zucchini banana muffins. Find the detailed instructions in the recipe card lower down.
- Prepare. Preheat oven to 425°F and line a 12-well muffin pan with cupcake liners.
- Make the dry mix. Sift together the gluten free flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
- Combine the wet ingredients. Place the banana, sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla in a bowl.
- Mix. Use a hand mixer at medium speed to combine them.
- Add zucchini. Beat in the zucchini on low.
- Mix in the flour. Beat in the dry ingredients on low.
- Rest batter. Cover the mixing bowl and rest the batter for 20 minutes.
- Add to baking pan. Divide the batter evenly between the lined pan, then bake 425°F for 5 minutes. Reduce the oven to 350°F and bake until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool. Allow the muffins to cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then turn out to cool on a rack.
Tips & Variations
This is a standard muffin recipe that nonetheless will benefit from a few best practices. Or, try a few additions to the batter that I’ve detailed below.
Here’s what you need to know:
- Use very ripe bananas. This recipe is a fantastic way to use up over-ripe and browning bananas – you want your bananas to be quite soft and ripe so that they give the most sweetness to these muffins.
- Grease the tin and the liners. If you’ve never greased cupcake liners before, these muffins are the place to start. It’s so disappointing when the paper sticks to your muffins or cupcakes. An easy, failsafe way to avoid this is to lightly spray both the baking tin and the liners with non-stick cooking spray.
- Add nuts. Add a bit of crunch with nuts! Walnuts are my favorite choice for nuts to add to these muffins, or you can try chopped pecans or almonds.
- Stir in some chocolate chips. I love adding chocolate to these muffins! Fold in 1 cup of mini semisweet chocolate chips or regular semisweet chocolate chips to the batter.
- Other spices. Cinnamon is a classic choice in banana muffins, but I’ll often switch it out for ground ginger or a do a combination of cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg for more flavor. You could also add 1 teaspoon of lemon zest for a little citrus flavor.
Proper Storage
These banana zucchini muffins are nice and sturdy, and the bananas keep them from drying out, making them last longer than other gluten free muffins. Here’s how to store them:
- Counter – Place the cooled muffins in an airtight container and store them on the counter for up to 3 days.
- Fridge – Add the muffins to an airtight container and store them in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- Freezer – Store muffins in an airtight and freezer-safe container or freezer-safe sealable bag in the freezer for up to 3 months. Defrost the muffins in the fridge before serving.
Make It A Meal
Muffins make a lovely breakfast with some cold brew coffee or as an afternoon snack, or you can round them out into more of a meal with breakfast dishes or a smoothie. Here are a few more ideas:
- Eggs. Add a side of muffins to a serving of Hawaiian Scrambled Eggs or a simple preparation of Baked Eggs for a satisfying breakfast.
- Casserole. A gluten free breakfast casserole is perfect with banana zucchini muffins. Try my Tater Tot Breakfast Casserole or Cheesy Hashbrown Potato Casserole and add a side of crispy bacon.
- Fruit. Banana muffins can be served with berries like sliced strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries, or you can make a fruit salad. My Watermelon Berry Fruit Salad and Mango Berry Fruit Salad are nice options.
- Smoothie. A freshly blended smoothie is the ideal accompaniment to a warm banana zucchini muffin! Some of my favorite smoothie recipes include a Blueberry Cheesecake Smoothie, Strawberry Banana Smoothie, Banana Chai Tea Smoothie, or a Chocolate Pumpkin Smoothie.
Gluten Free Banana Zucchini Muffins
Tender and moist Gluten Free Banana Zucchini Muffins are a glorious blend of sweet bananas and summer squash plus a little cinnamon for warmth.
Servings: 12 muffins
Ingredients
- 2 cups 1:1 gluten free flour, 296 grams (recommended: Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten Free Baking Flour
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup mashed overripe banana
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup avocado oil, vegetable oil, or another neutral oil
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup finely shredded zucchini (no need to squeeze out the liquid)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F and line a 12-well muffin pan with cupcake liners. Spray the liners with nonstick cooking spray so the muffins don't stick to the paper.
- In a medium bowl, sift or whisk together the gluten free flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, use a hand mixer at medium speed to blend the banana, sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla extract until combined. Reduce the speed to low and blend in the zucchini. Turn off the mixer and add the flour mixture to the bowl. Turn on the mixer to low speed and mix until just combined.
- Cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap and allow the batter to sit for 20 minutes. This allows the gluten-free flour time to absorb more liquid.
- Once the batter is ready, divide the mixture between the lined pan. The cups will be nearly full. Bake at 425°F for 5 minutes. Reduce the oven to 350°F and bake for an additional 14-17, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Allow the muffins to cool for 5 minutes in the pan, and then transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Nutrition Facts
Gluten Free Banana Zucchini Muffins
Amount Per Serving (1 muffin)
Calories 152
Calories from Fat 54
% Daily Value*
Fat 6g9%
Saturated Fat 1g5%
Trans Fat 0.003g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1g
Monounsaturated Fat 4g
Cholesterol 31mg10%
Sodium 156mg7%
Potassium 124mg4%
Carbohydrates 23g8%
Fiber 3g12%
Sugar 7g8%
Protein 3g6%
Vitamin A 75IU2%
Vitamin C 3mg4%
Calcium 37mg4%
Iron 1mg6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Disclaimers: Please discuss your individual dietary needs (i.e. gluten free) with a physician. Even when not specified, be sure to verify all ingredients are gluten free, if needed, by reading labels on all packaging and/or confirming with the manufacturer this varies by brand and can change at any time. Nutrition information shown is an estimate and not guaranteed to be accurate.
Did you make this?
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This looks yummy and healthy!
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