Banana Nut Muffins are ultra moist, easy to make, secretly healthy, and FULL of chopped walnuts and cinnamon spice. This gluten-free and Paleo banana bread muffin recipe is the best make-ahead breakfast treat for when you are on-the-go!
If you like this healthy banana recipe, you might also like these Paleo Chocolate Banana Muffins, this, Almond Butter Banana Overnight Oats, and this Beet Smoothie recipe.
Healthy Banana Nut Muffins Recipe
Not sure what to do with that entire bunch of overripe bananas? No need to fret! You are in the right place – and I’ve got some banana nut muffins for you!
Don’t have overripe bananas? No worries, either. I’ll fill you in on a few tips to get those bananas to ripen up quickly!
Not only are these banana bread muffins super moist, ultra spicy, and loaded with chopped walnuts, but they are also secretly healthy! They’re gluten-free, dairy-free, vegetarian, Paleo-approved and are the absolute BEST banana muffins you have ever tasted.
Think I’m exaggerating. I dare you to eat just one!
How to Make
While it may first appear that there are quite a few ingredients in this recipe, trust me when I say these banana bread muffins are actually super easy to prepare.
How to make banana nut muffins:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Mash ripened bananas thoroughly.
- Whisk together your wet ingredients of eggs, vanilla, coconut sugar, maple syrup, bananas, coconut oil, and almond milk.
- In a separate bowl, combine cassava flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Whisk to combine.
- Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir by hand until just mixed. Stir in chopped walnuts.
- Line a regular-sized muffin cup tray with cupcake liners and then fill each cup to ¾ full.
- Bake banana nut muffins in preheated oven for 22-24 minutes.
Cook’s Tip: Test the doneness of the muffins by inserting a toothpick into the center of one muffin. When it comes out with a few crumbs, they are done.
Ingredients in Healthy Banana Bread Muffins
Now that you understand the general process for making your healthy breakfast muffins, let’s take a closer look at the ingredients you will need:
- Ripe bananas – The riper the better. However, you can get by on slightly ripe bananas.
- Sweeteners – A blend of coconut sugar and maple syrup is used to give these muffins their natural sweetness.
- Coconut oil – In order to make these banana nut muffins dairy-free coconut oil is used in place of butter. If you are allergic to coconut oil you can also use butter or a vegan butter stick substitute.
- Almond milk – Cashew milk and soy milk will also work great.
- Cassava flour – This flour is the secret to the muffins’ fluffy texture. Please do not try to substitute all purpose flour or any other Paleo baking blend as they will have varying results. Otto’s Cassava Flour was tested in this recipe.
- If you’re not a fan of cassava flour, check out these Almond Flour Banana Muffins instead!
- Spices – Cinnamon and nutmeg are used, but you can also use a touch of ground ginger, cloves, or a pumpkin spice blend.
How to Know When Bananas are Ripe
A big component to making these healthy banana muffins is to use bananas that are ripe. A few things to keep in mind when selecting which bananas to use:
- Using ripe bananas will be much easier to mash and will have a deeper level of sweetness than unripe bananas.
- Sometimes the brown spots on a banana are not indicative of ripeness, but are in fact just signs of bruising.
- A good way to tell if a banana is ripe is to look at the stem.
- A ripe banana will have a yellow-brown colored stem.
- An unripe banana will still have a green stem.
The “ripe” banana picture above is JUST ripe enough to use in this banana nut muffins recipe. A few more days to ripen would be even better!
How to Quickly Ripen Bananas
There are few ways you can quickly ripen bananas if you are in a pinch to make this banana nut muffins recipe.
How to ripen bananas:
- Paper Bag: Place bananas in a paper bag with a cut apple. Bananas will ripen within a day or two.
- Microwave: Microwave peeled bananas for 20-30 seconds or until the become soft and easy to mash.
- Oven: Bake unpeeled bananas in a 300 degree oven for 10-15 minutes or until they begin to brown.
- Naturally: Store them in a warm place and keep the bananas in a bunch.
Ingredient Substitutions
As mentioned previously, these healthy banana bread muffins are already gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free, vegetarian, and Paleo. Here are a few ideas for ingredient swaps if you do not have them on hand:
- Coconut sugar – half white and half brown sugar can be subbed.
- Maple syrup – can be substituted for honey or agave nectar.
- Coconut oil – butter or vegan butter sticks can also be used.
- Walnuts – pecans will taste great or you can leave them out completely if allergic to nuts.
- Eggs – flax eggs can be substituted for regular eggs if you are vegan or allergic to eggs.
Storing & Prepping
Having snacks and breakfast items on hand is crucial when sticking to a healthy diet plan. These banana nut muffins are easy to make ahead of time and refrigerate and freeze wonderfully.
Room Temperature: Muffins will keep for 1-2 days at room temperature when store in an airtight container.
Refrigeration: Banana nut muffins will keep for up to one week if refrigerated within a few hours of baking.
Freezing: Individually wrap each muffin in parchment or wax paper and then place in a freezer-safe bag. Muffins freeze well for up to 3 months. Let muffins come to refrigerator temperature and then reheat in the microwave or oven when ready to enjoy.
Other Healthy Muffin & Bread Recipes:
Healthy Lemon Zucchini Muffins | Paleo + Gluten-Free
Paleo Chocolate Banana Muffins
Maple Pecan Oatmeal Muffins (Vegan, Gluten-Free)
Gluten Free + Paleo Carrot Cake Muffins
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Ingredients
- 1 cup bananas ripe, mashed
- ½ cup coconut oil melted
- ⅓ cup almond milk cashew, oat, or soy milk
- ½ cup coconut sugar plus additional for topping
- 2 Tbsp. pure maple syrup
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 1 ½ cups cassava flour
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- ½ tsp. cinnamon
- ¼ tsp. ground nutmeg
- ¼ tsp. salt
- 1 cup walnuts coarsely chopped, divided
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a large bowl combine bananas, oil, milk, sugar, syrup, eggs, and vanilla. Whisk until combined.
- In a separate medium-sized bowl combine cassava flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Whisk to combine.
- Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir until just combined.
- Next, add ¾ cup chopped walnuts, reserving the rest, and mix until just combined. Be careful not to overmix.
- Line a regular-sized muffin tray with cupcake liners. Spray liners with non-stick cooking spray and fill to ¾ full. Top each with 1 teaspoon of remaining chopped walnuts.
- Bake for 22-24 minutes, or until a toothpick when inserted in comes out clean.
- Let cool for 10 minutes before serving and enjoy!
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Notes
- Otto's cassava flour was tested in this recipe. Other cassava flour brands may lead to varying results.
- To make this recipe vegan substitute flax eggs for the regular eggs.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
