BANANA CHOCOLATE CHIP MUFFINS (GLUTEN-FREE, DAIRY-FREE, REFINED SUGAR-FREE)
on Jan 25, 2025, Updated Jul 22, 2025
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Perfectly moist and fluffy, these paleo banana chocolate chip muffins are your answer to a baked goods sale, a treat for a kid’s birthday party, or an excuse to liven up your own breakfast or snack time ritual.
So many of you asked if my original Healthier Classic Banana Bread recipe could be made into muffins. The answer was an astounding YES!
I learn a ton and get inspired by all of you! This is how these Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, and Refined Sugar-Free Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins came to be.
For this take, I also threw in chocolate chips because that was also a popular request from many of you.
The result is a dozen perfectly moist and not-too-sweet gluten-free banana muffins that are just as good as the loaf of bread.
These gluten-free muffins are perfect when you’re strapped for time and need to bring a baked good to a gathering or event.
Because they are gluten-free, dairy-free, and refined sugar-free, they’re a great option for just about anyone.
So whether you have given my classic banana bread recipe a try or not, I highly suggest that you add these muffins to your “must-bake soon list.” Enjoy!
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Pin ItIngredients for Paleo Banana Muffins
A dozen muffins coming right up! Be sure to have these basic ingredients stocked so you can whip up these banana chocolate muffins in no time!
- Eggs: I haven’t tried making this or the banana bread with an egg substitute. Let me know if you have success with it.
- Nut Milk: Any type will do but I’m partial to @malkorganics unsweetened almond milk.
- Avocado Oil: Canola oil is found in many classic banana bread recipes. I swapped it for avocado oil, which has a neutral taste.
- Coconut Sugar: To keep these muffins refined sugar-free, I relied on coconut sugar to sweeten them up. See the FAQs section if you want to use honey or maple syrup instead.
- Over-Ripe Bananas: The more brown spots the better! You’ll find that really ripe bananas are easy to mash.
Recipe Tip
To quickly ripen a banana, you can pop it in the oven on a baking sheet at a low temperature. Once the skin is black, take it out of the oven, let it cool, and mash.
- Gluten-Free Flour Blend: These blends are readily available in most major grocery stores, which makes gluten-free baking much easier! See the FAQs section for other helpful tips on baking with gluten-free flour.
- Baking Powder and Baking Soda: Both are needed to keep these muffins light and fluffy.
- Cinnamon: Bananas, chocolate, and cinnamon are the ultimate combo!
- Dairy-Free Chocolate Chips: @huchocolate is my favorite dairy-free chocolate brand! Their chocolate chips are perfect for this recipe, and for munching too! Not that I ever do that…
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How to Make Gluten-Free Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
Start by preheating the oven to 350°F. Grease or line a muffin tin with muffin liners. Note that this recipe makes 12 muffins.
To a large mixing bowl, add the eggs, nut milk, avocado oil, coconut sugar, and vanilla extract.
Using either a whisk or a hand mixer, beat until well combined. Stir in the mashed banana with a spatula.
To a small mixing bowl, add the gluten-free flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt, and stir gently until just combined.
Add the dry ingredients to your wet mixture. If I have the time, I like to sift them in to avoid lumps but this is an optional step.
Mix until just combined and no dry lumps are remaining. Some lumps from the banana are totally fine.
Stir in the chocolate chips then pour the batter into your prepared muffin tin and bake for 22 to 24 minutes until the outside has deepened in color and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
After baking, allow the muffins to cool on a wire rack. Patience is key here!!
Once cool enough to handle, remove the muffins from the tin, eat, and enjoy!
FAQs and Recipe Variations for Gluten-Free Banana Muffins
Baking gluten-free treats truly is a science! Almond flour can’t be subbed 1:1 as it results in a much denser loaf. I recommended a gluten-free flour blend, which is available at most grocery stores. I use either @bobsredmill or @kingarthurbaking blends with great results.
I haven’t tried but it should work! All purpose flour should work, too.
I don’t recommend subbing out the coconut sugar entirely. If you use only a liquid sweetener, like honey or maple syrup, your muffins will be dense and won’t rise properly. If you want to cut back the coconut sugar, try using 1/4 cup of honey or maple syrup and 1/3 cup of granulated sugar, such as coconut sugar, monk fruit, or cane sugar if that’s all you have access to.
More Gluten-Free Dessert Recipes To Try:
- Peach Cobbler (Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free)
- Gluten-Free Cinnamon Swirl Coffee Cake
- Edible Cookie Dough Bars with Salted Chocolate Ganache
- Chocolate Chunk Peanut Butter Blondies
- Healthier Carrot Cake Bars
GLUTEN-FREE BANANA CHOCOLATE CHIP MUFFINS
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- ¼ cup nut milk, at room temperature (I used Malk Organics Almond Milk)
- ¼ cup avocado oil
- ½ cup coconut sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 cups over-ripe bananas, mashed (about 4 large bananas)
- 1 ½ cups gluten-free flour blend
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup dairy-free chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Grease or line a muffin tin with muffin liners. This recipe makes 12 muffins.
- To a large mixing bowl, add the eggs, nut milk, avocado oil, coconut sugar, and vanilla and whisk or beat with a hand mixer until well combined.
- Stir in the mashed banana.
- To a small mixing bowl, add the gluten-free flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt, and stir gently until just combined.
- Add the dry ingredients to your wet mixture. I like to sift them in to avoid lumps but this is optional. Mix until just combined and no dry lumps are remaining (you will still have lumps from the banana).
- Stir in the chocolate chips then pour the batter into your prepared muffin tin and bake for 22 to 24 minutes until the outside has deepened in color and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- After baking, allow the muffins to cool on a wire rack. Once cool enough to handle, remove the muffins from the tin. Enjoy!!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Delicious! So good! Full of flavor!
I’ve been making your blueberry muffins on repeat. Can I add protein powder in these as well? If yes would you recommend 1/3 of a cup? Thank you!
Hi Aneta! So glad you love the blueberry muffins! Yes, you could try â…“ cup of protein powder and reduce the gluten-free flour blend to 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons. Let me know if you give it a try!
Thank you for help! I used aP Flour and vanilla protein plant based protein powder and they are absolutely amazing!!! So good!
These Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins have such a delicious flavor, and I love how easy they are to make! The texture was a little dense for me the first time, likely because the muffin tins were filled too full. After making a few tweaks (reducing the banana slightly, adding a bit more baking powder, and filling the muffin tins about â…” full), they came out perfectly fluffy and baked through. If you like a slightly lighter, fluffier muffin, I definitely recommend adjusting the batter amount and oven temp. Overall, the taste is fantastic, and these muffins are a hit in my house!
Thank you for the feedback, Paige!
I used 1 cup whole wheat flour and 1/2 cup all purpose flour and these turned out fantastic!
So happy to hear that, Reagan! Thank you so much!