Made with almond flour and ripe bananas, these Almond Flour Banana Muffins have no added sugar and are higher in fiber & protein than most muffins.
About Almond Flour Banana Muffins
I love these muffins. Love love love them. I've made them multiple times, and I feel sad when my kitchen is without these muffins.
These muffins are not your ordinary, run of the mill muffins. This almond flour banana muffin is made without added sugar, it's higher in fiber and protein, and you can eat for breakfast without having to expect to crash an hour later.
You can eat them for breakfast. Throw them in your purse on days you know you won't be back home for a few hours (saving money and a stomach ache from having to eat whatever random snack food you can buy). Or even eat them for dessert.
My absolute favorite part about these muffins is that they have no added sugar. The trick is using really ripe bananas and enhancing the flavor with cinnamon, a touch of nutmeg, and almond & vanilla extracts.
Ingredients
Almond flour:
Flaxseed meal: I've made them with flax and also with chia seeds. Make sure that you have flax meal or ground flax seeds. Your body can't break down the whole flaxseed. You don't have to worry about that with chia seeds. However, they are a little more expensive than flax.
The taste of the muffins is the same with either option, and they both provide fiber and beneficial omega-3 fatty acids.
Baking soda & baking powder:
Bananas:
Coconut oil: I've tried them multiple ways. I like both the butter and coconut oil version. Honestly, I didn't notice much of a difference. The ones with butter were a little less dry... I know that sounds awkward but, gah, I hate the word moist. Does anyone have a better word to describe a muffin or cake than that word?
Eggs:
Flavorings:
Cost of Recipe
- Almond flour 2 cups: $3.18
- Flaxseed meal 2 tablespoons: $0.12
- Baking soda 1/2 teaspoon: $0.01
- Baking powder 1/4 teaspoon: $0.01
- Salt 1/4 teaspoon: $0.01
- Cinnamon 1 teaspoon: $0.07
- Nutmeg 1/8 teaspoon: $0.03
- Bananas 2 medium: $0.48
- Coconut oil 1/4 cup: $0.72
- Eggs 4 large: $0.92
- Vanilla extract 1 tablespoon: $1.77
- Almond extract 1/8 teaspoon: $0.04
TOTAL COST: $7.36 or $0.61/muffin (Based on San Diego Sprouts 2020)
How to Make Almond Flour Banana Muffins
Banana Almond Muffins Recipe Tips
These are pretty mindless to make; just stir together the dry ingredients, stir together the wet ingredients, then add the wet ingredients to the dry.
One thing that I think helps is to make sure that you stir together the room temperature butter or coconut oil with the bananas before adding in the eggs. I forgot to do this with the butter, and I had chunks of butter in the batter.
It wasn't a big deal; you couldn't tell in the baked muffins. Just thought I'd mention it...
One last thing, the muffins were kind of stuck in the paper liners. I recommend either greasing the muffin tin, using silicone muffins liners, or foil liners.
Storage Suggestions
I keep these in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can also freeze them for up to 4 weeks. Let thaw in the fridge at least 2 hours before you want one.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Benefits
Because these are sweetened only with ripe bananas, you don't get the sugar crash often accompanying regular muffins. And it makes them great for breakfast, snacks, or dessert.
What to Serve with Banana Almond Muffins
If you're eating as a snack or dessert, I think they are good on their own. For breakfast, I like to add a hard boiled egg or I serve it with scrambled eggs & salsa.
Final thoughts:
These are great to have on hand because you can really eat them at any time of day. Plus, they are loved by adults and kids alike. Bonus points that they are sweetened only with ripe bananas and you can use up your extra ripe bananas to prevent food waste.
MORE NO ADDED SUGAR RECIPES (sweetened with fruit) YOU'LL LOVE:
- Walnut Chocolate Chip Cookies
- German Chocolate Brownies
- Almond Butter Banana Cookies
- Sugar Cookie Dough Dip
- Peanut Butter Banana Cookies
Banana Almond Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 cups almond flour or almond meal
- 2 TBSP flax meal or chia seeds
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp nutmeg optional
- 2 small/medium bananas mashed
- 1/4 cup coconut oil or butter (room temperature)
- 4 eggs
- 1 TBSP vanilla extract
- 1/8 tsp almond extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a muffin tin, line with foil liners, or use silicon liners.
- Whisk together almond flour, flax or chia, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside.
- Stir together mashed bananas and oil or butter until well combined. Stir in eggs, vanilla extract, and almond extract.
- Stir banana mixture into dry ingredients. Mix until well combined.
- Transfer batter to prepared muffin tin or to silicon liners. Bake in preheated oven for 20-22 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool. Keep covered for up to 4 days.
What to Use in This Recipe
Meme
This post was originally published on March 20, 2014. Text, recipe, and photos have been updated.
Doesn't this recipe look good?! You should probably share it:
Kristina says
I made these and they are very good! Anyone know how many net carbs are in 1 muffin?
Meme says
So glad you enjoyed them!! The nutrition facts are included under the recipe (where it says "Click here for Nutrition Facts") if you want to know more about the muffins 🙂
Kristina says
Oh I didn’t see that there, thank you!
Meme says
It’s easy to miss!! Happy to help! 🙂
Frances Ali says
Hi. Just wanted to let you know I tried this recipe and it came out great.!!!!
Meme says
YAYYYYY!! I'm so glad it turned out well! Thanks for coming back to share 🙂
xo
Christine says
Can you add walnuts or raisins?
Meme says
Yes, you definitely can add nuts, raisins or even chocolate chips! I'd add about 1/4 to 1/2 cup to start. Then increase if you think they need more 🙂
Enjoy!
Stacey says
Can they be made without Flax seed?
Meme says
Yes, the batter won't be as thick, but they should still turn out ok. You could also add an equal amount of chia seeds or any other seeds to make sure the consistency is right. Good luck!
Ang from the mitten says
Amazing! I used 1/4 applesauce as a substitute for 1 egg (to give them a little more sweetness) and used chia seeds, not flax. I used half coconut oil and half butter for the oil. These were moist and delicious!
Sonny says
During the lockdown, I only have baking soda... will this work without the baking powder or can I add something else to balance it? Please advise.
Meme says
Eek! I honestly don't know because I haven't tried it (and I don't have the ingredients to make these to test. My niece has a severe peanut and treenut allergy so I can't make them around her!). Anywho, I did find this on the internet 🙂
"use a teaspoon of lemon juice plus a ¼ teaspoon baking soda to make 1 teaspoon of baking powder"
Sorry I couldn't be more helpful. I'd love if you came back to let me know if you try it out!! Thanks for stopping by!
Cindy says
These muffins are better than muffins made with regular flour. I love that they do not have any added sugar. I do double the banana and reduce the egg by half for a little more sweetness and banana flavor. I like the option to use butter (most almond flour muffin recipes don't). I have tried it with butter and coconut oil and prefer the butter. Adding the chia seeds gives them a little extra nuttiness and I also like to add some mini semi-sweet chocolate chips (about 1/2 cup - more if using regular size chips). I skip the almond extract since there is already so much goodness in this recipe.
Meme says
YAYYYYYYY!!!! I am so excited to hear you enjoyed them. I love how you make those little changes. Adding chocolate chips and increasing the banana sounds so good! And I prefer the butter in there too 🙂
Thanks so much for sharing your feedback!! xo