Moist, tender banana muffins ready to be devoured for breakfast or a snack. Extra soft thanks to using yogurt, these banana muffins have such a fantastic crumb you’d never know they’re gluten free. These gluten-free banana muffins are free of: wheat, gluten, dairy, fish, shellfish, peanut, tree nuts and sesame.
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WHY THESE GLUTEN FREE BANANA MUFFINS ROCK
Muffins are such a fabulous food–they work for breakfast, snacks, packed lunches or after school offerings. They’re portable and are basically a handheld cake. You don’t get much better than that. Add to the fact you can use up your spotted bananas for a naturally sweet flavor and these are hard to have self control around.
By using bananas, which already have a lot of moisture and pair that with brown sugar and yogurt you get ultra soft muffins that don’t taste or feel like they’re gluten-free.
These are easy to make, require one bowl and before you know it, you’ll be sinking your teeth into a delightful banana muffin.
My favorite way to eat them is to cut them in half and spread a little butter on them. Yum, yum! And don’t forget, I have an incredible gluten-free banana bread too, if you’d rather enjoy it in a loaf form.
CAN I MAKE THESE GLUTEN FREE MUFFINS DAIRY FREE TOO?
Yes, you can! Some muffins use butter, but I feel like that can weigh them down and compete with the taste. Because I only use oil as the fat, you only have to worry about the yogurt.
I would sub in a dairy-free yogurt with a brand like Silk or So Delicious. Use their vanilla variety and you should be good to go.
If you’d rather not guess and swap things in, I do have a recipe tested banana muffin that is gluten, dairy and egg free for those are gluten-free vegan.
DO I NEED TO WEIGH MY BANANAS?
One thing that always drives me crazy with recipes that use vegetables like zucchini or bananas is that they can vary significantly. Using too much of them can affect the texture of the baked good because of how much water they have in them.
I find using a kitchen scale is the best way to ensure your bananas are not too small or too large. My two bananas weight 13 oz unpeeled, and 8.75 oz peeled. I’d try to stick to those weights, even if it means only using 1 and 1/2 bananas, if yours are larger than mine were.
A digital kitchen scale is inexpensive and you’ll find you use it all the time after you purchase one.
DO I HAVE TO USE SPICES IN MY BANANA MUFFINS?
I think a little cinnamon and nutmeg go hand in hand with a banana muffin. I think they make them even better with the slight warmth and aroma they bring. Some purests prefer to not have any spices in theirs, and that is fine too. You are welcome to omit the cinnamon and nutmeg in the recipe if you’d rather not have them.
CAN I ADD MIX INS?
Yes, you can. My kids also love these with chocolate chips in them, and if you can have nuts, chopped walnuts are always a classic call back. Add as many as your heart desires. I don’t offer a measurement as everyone likes a different amount.
Adding yogurt is also nice because it adds extra protein to make them even more filling.
CAN I USE A DIFFERENT YOGURT?
I just used a generic brand of vanilla yogurt. Feel free to use whatever brand you want. I don’t think the vanilla is overpowering and adds a nice note. I have not tried it with unsweetened or Greek yogurt. I would assume it would still work, but haven’t tested it for sure. Be sure to comment below if you try it.
WHAT TYPE OF BANANAS SHOULD I USE?
Do not use green bananas as those are unripe and will not be sweet enough. Aim for ones that are a few days old that have some bruising or speckled spots on them. Those have a much sweeter taste to them.
WHAT TYPE OF GLUTEN-FREE FLOUR SHOULD I USE?
I recipe tested this with Walmart’s Great Value All Purpose Gluten-Free Flour. Note that using a different brand may result in different results as all brands have slightly different grains they use and different ratios that they use them in. I try to stick to a blend that is mostly rice flour, potato starch and tapioca starch. Some sorghum is usually OK. Make sure your blend includes xanthan gum, and if it doesn’t add 1/2 tsp to the recipe.
I would think King Arthur’s Measure for Measure would work too as it’s fairly close to Walmart’s blend. If you try it with another blend, please commend to let future readers know of your results. I would NOT recommend subbing in a single grain in place of a blend.
WHAT INGREDIENTS THESE MUFFINS NEED
- Bananas
- Canola oil (or other neutral oil)
- Brown sugar
- Egg
- Vanilla yogurt
- Vanilla extract
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Ground cinnamon
- Ground nutmeg
- All-purpose gluten-free flour
WHAT TOOLS THESE MUFFINS NEED
- Large mixing bowl with handheld electric beaters or a stand mixer with the paddle attachment
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Spatula
- Light metal (not dark!) muffin tin (and cupcake liners if using, I do not)
- Non-stick spray of choice
- Wire rack for cooling
MORE GLUTEN-FREE MUFFINS
I am obsessed with muffins and have tons on my website. From blueberry muffins, pumpkin spice, chocolate chip, double chocolate banana, applesauce and more all of my muffins are gluten free and ready for the eating.
I also have 150+ allergy friendly breakfast recipes in case you want to branch out and try things like scones and gluten-free pancakes.
DO I HAVE A VIDEO SHOWING HOW TO MAKE IT?
Yes I do. This video visually shows you how to make it to ensure you have breakfast success! The video should auto populate, but if it doesn’t it’s embedded into the bottom of the recipe card. If that doesn’t work, you can view it on my YouTube channel.
Gluten Free Banana Muffins + VIDEO
Ingredients
- 2 large bananas (weight unpeeled: 13 oz, peeled: 8.75 oz)
- 1/4 cup canola oil (or other neutral oil)
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 3/4 cups vanilla yogurt
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 and 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose gluten-free flour, measured by spooning and then leveling
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F.
- Weigh your spotted, browned bananas and ensure you have the correct amount.
- Place them in a large mixing bowl, or in the bowl of a stand mixer along with your oil, brown sugar, egg, vanilla yogurt and vanilla extract.
- Mix with electric handheld beaters or with the paddle attachment until everything is combined and your bananas are mashed.
- Add in your baking powder, soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Mix.
- Measure your gluten-free flour by spooning the flour into the measuring cup and then leveling with a knife (do not scoop and compact it). Lightly mix the flour into the batter until just combined.
- Evenly pour the batter into a greased muffin tin (if you're using cupcake liners, still grease those too with a non-stick spray of choice).
- Tap the muffin tin onto the counter to help the batter settle.
- Bake in a preheated over at 425 degrees F for 8 minutes.
- Once the eight minutes are up, turn your oven down to 350 (without opening it). Finish baking for 8 minutes, or until edges are done, and the tops spring back when touched.
- Pull out of the oven and allow the muffins to stay in the hot muffin tin for five minutes. Then, turn out onto a wire rack to continue cooling.
- Muffins stay good for 2-3 days room temperature, covered.
Notes
For substitution questions and for best results, please read above the recipe and watch the video attached below.
*Our allergies, while severe and that get re-tested frequently, are such that we can go strictly by what's on the label. I do not call companies to see what things are derived from, or call manufacturers to see about potential cross contact. If your allergies require you to do so, please do your own homework. I cannot assure you of any ingredient's safety, only you can do that. I simply share what works for our family
**If you are going to feed this to someone with food allergies, and you yourself do not have food allergies, I HIGHLY recommend having them check every single brand and ingredient you are using, to ensure they're OK with each part of the recipe. And, to make sure you've talked to them about how to avoid cross contamination in your kitchen.
Inspired by: My gluten-free vegan banana muffins, Sugar Spun Run, Allrecipes and America's Test Kitchen
DON’T FORGET TO PIN IT, SO YOU DON’T LOSE IT. BE SURE WHILE YOU’RE THERE TO CHECK OUT MY OTHER GLUTEN-FREE PINS.
Hi! I’m Megan, a mom to four kids, two with multiple food allergies & one with EOE. I’m a published cookbook author that constantly tweaks recipes to make them allergy friendly–it’s an addiction. I share every recipe & tip with the hope that they help you as you manage your food allergies & dietary restrictions. You can still be awesome, even with food allergies!
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