These are the best gluten free Banana Muffins. I've made dozens of versions substituting different flours to learn how it affects the taste, texture and structure. I also make many variations from loaves to cakes, both plain and fancy. This is the kind of recipe every gluten free cook needs.
You only need is a handful of muffin recipes when you have ways to vary them for the changing seasons and special occasions. I have seven recipes and make them into everything from mini donuts to stuffing balls. To see those ideas check out my post, Gluten Free Muffins: A Recipe Roundup.
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🍌 Ingredients
This recipe is written with my everyday gluten free flour blend plus a small amount of a second flour. You'll be surprised how much just a few tablespoons of another flour with change the results. I'm sure you can use your go-to flour blend and experiment from there.
- EGFG gluten free flour blend (sweet rice flour, potato starch, sorghum flour, millet flour)
- any gluten free flour (try oat, almond, coconut, teff, buckwheat or just more of your everyday blend)
- sugar
- baking powder & baking soda
- xanthan gum
- ripe bananas
- eggs
- cooking oil - I'm moving away from vegetable oils and use olive oil in most recipes
- vanilla
- Add ins: nuts, chocolate chips or coconut
See recipe card for exact amounts.
📹 Instructions: Making a Flour Blend
You don't need to make a homemade flour blend for this recipe but if you're not making muffins that everyone wants to eat, you need to learn more about gluten free flour.
Read the label for store bought blends or look at this list of 11 Gluten Free Flour Recipes. Start to pay attention to what flours you're using and try something new for a different result.
It takes less than ten minutes to make my flour blend yet it took me many years to figure out what combination of flours worked best for the kind of things I bake. Then a few more years to get super organized so I could make this blend in minutes. The reason I started this blog was so you didn't have to do that.
Substitutions
Xanthan gum - The best substitute for xanthan is guar gum. Use it in equal amounts in any recipe calling for xanthan gum.
EGFG Gluten Free Flour Blend - Everyone wants to know if they can substitute "their" favourite flour blend in every gluten free recipe. The answer is, maybe. For muffins your flour will likely work, but you will get slightly different results.
This is how gluten free cooks learn. Bake, eat, repeat!
I refer to my everyday blend as EGFG gluten free flour blend (that stands for Everyday Gluten Free Gourmet). I don't call it an all-purpose blend because it doesn't work in yeast breads, pizza dough, homemade pasta and a few other things.
It does work for the majority of my everyday baking and I love it. If you don't have a blend like this, that is what you should be aiming for. Join me online for my flour class.
Variations
I love to transform everyday recipes into something with a gourmet presentation. Here are some of the ways I do that with this recipe for banana muffins. How to vary the flours is written into the recipe card. The rest you can figure out simply by reading the caption.
Equipment
Many people struggle with baking. Every oven is different, standard baking pans vary and even your kitchen temperature and humidity can affect the outcome of baked goods. When your recipe turns out, you will know the joy of baking.
In my post Baking by Weight, I explain how accurately weighing your flour will give more consistent results. I use my digital kitchen scale to make my EGFG flour blend. For muffin recipes I just use cup measurements but it is quicker to weigh flour if you're making large batches or multiple recipes at the same time.
Bakeware also makes a difference. Buy quality, not the most expensive but not the cheapest either. Here are a few pans gluten free cooks like for baking muffins.
- regular size muffin pan in 6 or 12 cups, my choice for everyday snacks
- mini size muffin tin for a change from the ordinary
- silicone muffin baking pan, 6 or 12
- ceramic coated muffin tin
- a regular 10-inch Bundt pan, or even the mini Bundt pans
- regular round silicone muffin liners or a set of different shaped muffin liners
Storage
Gluten free baking goes stale more quickly than baking with wheat flour. For that reason I always recommend you store your baking in air tight containers as soon as it has cooled completely. Of course I don't do that every time, but I should!
Muffins also freeze well, no matter what kind of pan you baked the recipe in.
💡 Top Tip
Muffins thaw quickly on the counter or in a lunch bag. If you like to eat them right out of the freezer learn to use the power level setting on your microwave. The muffins will keep their structure and even be slightly warm once you figure out the power level and exact defrost or warming time.
Best Gluten Free Banana Muffins
Equipment
- Portion scoops, set of 3 Buy them, you'll never regret it!
Ingredients
DRY INGREDIENTS
- 1¼ cups EGFG gluten free flour blend* 165 g (see notes)
- 2 tablespoon any gluten free flour (try oat, almond, coconut, teff, buckwheat etc.)
- ½ cup sugar
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon xanthan gum**
- ¼ teaspoon salt
WET INGREDIENTS
- 3 ripe bananas
- 2 eggs
- ¼ cup cooking oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
OPTIONAL ADD INS
- ¼ cup chopped nuts, chocolate chips, shredded coconut, dried pineapple etc.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Prepare muffin pan with paper or silicone liners.
Dry Ingredients
- Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl. Set aside.
Wet Ingredients
- In another bowl mash bananas. Add eggs, oil and vanilla. Mix thoroughly.
- Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients. Stir until combined.
- Using a portion scoop fill muffin cups ¾ full. Bake for 22-25 minutes.
- Cool in the pan for a few minutes then transfer to rack and cool completely.
- Store in airtight container. Freeze if not eating within a few days.
Notes
Nutrition
Now just get in the kitchen, bake up a storm, make some notes and save your favourite recipes. I'd love to hear in the comments below if this recipe worked for you.
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Linda
Tried both the rhubarb and the banana muffins, both excellent. Your comment regarding the structure changing after bringing them out of the oven was very helpful. I have used Pamela’s gluten free blend but am anxious to try mixing your blend. Trying gluten free recipes has been such an adventure!
Cinde Little
Hi Linda, I'm glad both muffins turned out and you liked them. Yes, gluten free baking is an adventure for sure! The cooling time is so important for the structure, wish I knew that one a few years sooner. 🙂 I see that Pamela's GF flour also uses sweet rice flour. I find that it helps foods stay more moist than other blends with a large amount of white rice flour. Many people make my recipes with different flour blends, it just takes time to really find what you like and what works for the kind of recipes you make. It sounds like you're well on your way, happy baking!
Raj A.
Made these banana muffins for breakfast today. They smelled heavenly, looked beautiful, and tasted delightfully yummy. Definitely a keeper recipe. Thank you, Cinde!
Cinde Little
Hi Raj! I'm so glad you found this recipe and that it worked for you. It has been my go-to recipe for experimenting with different flours for years. I hope that helps you learn more about gluten free baking. Thanks!
Faye
I love this recipe! I have adapted it to lower the sugars. I add one banana and no sugar. It has been a big hit with my granddaughter who loves bananas and muffins that are not too sweet.
Cinde Little
Hi Faye and nice to hear from you! Thanks for letting me know, I'll try that. Over time I try and use less sugar in most recipes too and this muffin recipe is where I do lots of my experimenting. Please tell your granddaughter that I think your idea was a brilliant substitution!
Phyllis
I just finished baking these muffins-delicious. I added 2tbs of buckwheat flour and will try subbing in more next time.
Cinde Little
Thanks for letting me know Phyllis. I just made them and substituted 1/2 cup of almond flour for the total amount of flour. I also recently made them with coconut flour (I think it was 1/2 cup that time too). Both recipes turned out fine but definitely had a different texture and only a subtle change in taste. Keep baking and keep learning!
Karen Timmerman
Not great! Should the recipe include xanthan gum?
Cinde Little
Sorry to hear these muffins didn't turn out for you Karen. I list xanthan gum as an optional ingredient but the results will still vary with different flour blends. I've learned by experimenting that when I substitute a portion of the flour with almond flour or coconut flour xanthan gum isn't necessary. I'll fix the wording and remove the 'optional' behind xanthan gum. Then I'll move that option into the notes section at the bottom. I make this recipe all the time so thanks for letting me know.
Cinde Little
Yum!
Janine Wilson
Hi Cinde, just want to say that I love getting your emails, I see you have a cookie receipe using teff flour which I have in the cupboard, I tried to make Ethiopian flat bread , taste so different to other flours. I am keen on trying your choc chip cookies, I am also trying to cut out sugar and using stevia , so a lot of playing in the kitchen
Many thanks again
Cinde Little
Thanks Janine, I'm happy to hear you're having fun. Teff flour goes well with anything chocolate and mocha so try some in these muffins and add chocolate chips or add some to a brownie recipe. I used mine up experimenting making pasta the last several months but I told myself next time I buy it I'm making injera, that Ethiopian flatbread. I haven't made it in years but a gluten free blog should have all those naturally gluten free breads from around the world...don't you think? So many recipes, so little time. 🙂 And replacing sugar is another project! I often decrease the sugar in my recipes by 2-4 tablespoons and it usually works (I don't do that with GF cookies). With so many options to replace sugar now you've got a lifetime of tinkering. Enjoy!
Susy Baron Spiro
Hello I'm new to all this. My son who loves all kind of muffins has just been diagnosed as having a major nickel allergy as well as being gluten free. I'm a loss as to what to bake with. Any suggestions?
Thank you!
Susy
Cinde Little
Hi Susy, it is always overwhelming to start on a gluten free diet. The good news is that there are lots of people and resources to help you get started. I make my own gluten free flour but it takes time to learn about the options and find what you like. I suggest you try some simple muffin recipes with a store bought gluten free flour blend. Buy small quantities to start as you learn what your son likes and doesn't like. Also, use recipes that are written for gluten free flour first, you can learn to adjust old favourite recipes later. Use the magnifying glass in the top right hand corner of every page on my website to SEARCH. Here is the link to my MUFFIN RECIPE ROUND UP here. https://everydayglutenfreegourmet.ca/2020/03/27/recipe-round-up-gluten-free-muffins/ The nickel allergy will also take time to learn about so be sure to access all the medical resources available to you. You should also have support from a dietician who specializes in celiac disease to ensure your son is getting proper nutrition as you learn about avoiding foods with gluten and nickel. AllergicLiving.com is also a credible resource for people with allergies and their recipes are free of the top allergens. Best of luck!
Joeli
Can these be done with honey/agave/maple instead of white sugar? Just curious because if so, these would be PERFECT!!
Cinde Little
Hi Joeli, You can definitely substitute, it will just take a few tries to perfect it and these are 4 tips to get there. 1) use less honey than sugar (I’d start with ⅓ cup); 2) reduce the liquid; 3) add more baking soda (could increase to ¾ tsp) and 4) lower oven temperature by 25°C. I recommend starting with one adjustment at a time and making good notes. I also think I'd start with honey first. I can't wait to hear what you learn so share it here if you remember!
Shelley Zingerella
I liked these muffins because they were very soft and fluffy-like. Good tasting.
Cinde Little
Thanks for letting me know they worked for you Shelley. I make these all the time and sometimes substitute some amount of a different flour either to use it up or try it out. Happy Baking!