Made with wholesome ingredients and naturally sweetened, these almond flour banana muffins with coconut are perfect for breakfast and make a great grab-and-go snack. Gluten-free.
I try to sleep in when I can. I really do.
However, my body’s internal alarm clock goes off early, despite my best intentions.
Today, I didn’t argue with the 7:00am wake-up call. I knew I had three very ripe (black!) bananas sitting patiently on my kitchen counter asking for immediate attention.
I slipped on my pair of chocolate brown Uggs, poured myself a glass of iced coffee with almond milk, and pre-heated the oven.
I mashed the over-ripe bananas with a fork, releasing their sweet, rum-like aroma into my quiet cooking space.
I cracked two cage-free eggs, revealing their bright yellow yolks.
I fluffed the almond flour (technically almond meal), accessorizing its nutty flavor with a necessary 1/4 cup of coconut.
Between the caffeine of my bold cup of joe and the aromas of the aforementioned ingredients, it was apparent my appetite was turned on by the grumble in my tummy.
I paused production for an early morning appetizer: half of an (under-ripe) banana with freshly-ground almond butter.
Too much almond butter and banana… there is no such thing.
Assembly resumed.
I admired the consistency of the finished muffin batter in the turquoise bowl. It appeared to have potential.
In the lined muffin tin, I gave the shiny batter a couple of good luck taps, gingerly slid the pan into the oven, and set the clock for a time of twenty.
With five seconds remaining, I stopped the timer in apprehension of disturbing my sleeping roommate.
I opened the oven door with hesitation of a baking disappointment.
I picked the prettiest to poke with my glass bead-decorated cake tester and smiled.
Breakfast was going to be good.
I gave them all of three minutes to cool as I opened the blinds to welcome unexpected sunshine.
I pealed off the paper of muffin number one (of two), and gently broke off a chunk of warm banana goodness, infused with pure maple syrup and homemade vanilla extract.
They were perfect in every way.
As I chewed my last bite, I pondered how I could extend this morning moment.
- 2 cups almond flour or meal
- ¼ c. unsweetened coconut
- ¾ tsp. baking soda
- ½ tsp. baking powder
- ¼ tsp. salt
- 2 very ripe bananas, mashed
- 2 eggs
- ¼ c. pure maple syrup
- 3 Tbsp. coconut oil, melted
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl.
- Mix wet ingredients in a medium bowl.
- Add wet mixture to dry mixture.
- Scoop batter (~1/4 cup) into a paper-lined muffin tin.
- Bake at 350F for 16-20 minutes.
Enjoy & Happy Sunday!
Photos updated March 2018.
Originally published Sunday, April 7, 2013.
Aaw, what a lovely story, can I come round for brekkie ;)? Love the way you wrote that, made me feel all sunny and happy. And the muffins sound super easy too, yay.
Best recipe post ever.
:)
You’re back! They sure look good.
oh those ripe (fermenting?) bananas :)
HILLARY! You’re back! I missed reading your posts :) and omg those sound amazing.
These look SO delicious. Your photography is fabulous, too! :)
This resembles my Sunday mornings to a tee :) I can’t sleep in at all, so I cherish the quiet mornings I have to myself while my roommate is still sleeping. This looks so simple and delicious, I’ve been hooked on almond meal lately!
And your pictures are gorgeous! What camera do you use?
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX9V: https://www.nutritionnutontherun.com/2012/05/26/hint-hint/#.UWcjx6KyC5I
I haven’t tried baking with almond flour, but would like to give it a go sometime soon. This recipe sounds like a perfect place to start. I wish I had one to eat at work right now! :)
Oh, you must try almond flour – it’s terrific!!
One of my goals for April was to make one new, healthy breakfast, snack, and dinner recipe. I made these muffins to take for a snack at work, and it worked! I stumbled upon your blog last week and have enjoyed the workouts and recipies. Thanks!
Hi Hillary, we just baked a batch of your almond flour banana muffins, and four are already gone! We are always looking for healthy and delicious muffin recipes. My little 3 1/2 year olds LOVE muffins. I haven’t baked with just almond flour yet — we use mostly whole wheat pastry flour and white whole wheat flour. I’m so glad I tried these, they are delicious. It has an almost corn muffin consistency. Yummmy. Thank you so much, Hillary, for a delicious and healthy recipe.
Wonderful story of a beautiful morning…love it! Am trying the muffins tomorrow…thank you so much!
ok i’m going to sound stupid here (it may be my pregnant brain lol), but i can’t see how much almond meal you used?
2 cups
Mmmm I love coconut! And muffins. Seriously my most favorite thing EVER to bake! :)
3 T coconut oil, melted
tbsp, tsp ?
Tablespoons
I’ve made these several times and not only are they healthy, they’re delicious, fluffy and extremely moist. I make them on Sundays and eat them for breakfast all week. Even my picky husband likes them ;) Thanks for this great recipe!
So glad you like the recipe! I almost made a batch today, but went for cashew meal cookies instead :)
Hi, just made your muffins with craisons and slivered almonds added – just about the best thing ever! Thanks so much!!
Yummm, great additions!
Umm, WOW! I’ve never seen a recipe written so much like a poem before! Beautiful. Thanks for sharing.
Could you substitute the coconut oil for butter or olive oil?
I think melted butter or olive oil would work, but coconut oil would be my top preference (for nutritional value and flavor).
Okay, holy moly, they just came out of the oven and while they were still warm I couldn’t resist trying one… SO. GOOD. OMG. They are so moist and delicious! You’d never guess how healthy they were for you! Just, wow, thank you so much for the recipe! It’s a keeper!
Yay, so happy you like the recipe — enjoy!
These muffins are delicious! Thank you for sharing the recipe. What is the nutritional information for one of these muffins?
Hi Monica – I’m so happy you liked them! I don’t know the nutritional stats for these muffins as I don’t typically calculate that, but I do know that they are full of healthy fats :)
Hello…this may be a silly question, but I’m new to cooking with coconut oil. Do I measure 3T of it in its solid state or melted state? Look forward to trying this recipe!!
Good question — melted.
I had two old bananas and did a pretty wide search for a gluten free recipe. This one had coconut in it, so it popped to the top on my radar. They are delicious. Airy, flavourful and energy-giving. I followed the recipe steps, with the small addition of about 1/4 tsp of cinnamon. Thank you for testing and sharing this recipe. Plus it made a dozen, not 6 or 8. Bravo!
I made these muffins last night! I brought them in for my co-workers today and everyone loved them. They were so delicious and buttery with a nice texture. Thanks for the amazing recipe! It’s nice to bring in treats for my co-workers without giving them a sugar crash. <3
I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe, Natalie :)
Hi! Super excited to bake these, as my neighbor highly recommends them. My daughter has a tree nut allergy and can’t do almond meal/flour. Would coconut flour work as a replacement? If so, how much?
Thank you!! :)
Hi Anna: I haven’t tried this recipe with coconut flour, so I’m not sure how it would work. If you try it, let me know :)
Thank you for this recipe! I just made it tonight, and it turned out great.
These sound fabulous! I was wondering if there would be any way to use the leftover almond pulp from making almond milk in these. Would I need to dehydrate it first?
That’s a great idea, Stacey. I have never used almond pulp, so I don’t know the answer. My guess would be that yes, it would need to be dehydrated. Let me know if you give it a try — enjoy! :)
Nooo! I cook this regularly for my friends who need GF, and it’s always a hit. But I’m having some over in for dinner tonight (in 1hr), and your Recipage no longer works! Why oh why did I not save this somewhere else, so I didn’t have to rely on the website! Eeeek!
Ugh, what a drag! So sorry about that. If my memory is correct, here is the recipe (roughly):
2 c. almond meal/flour
1/4 c. unsweetened shredded coconut + more for topping
1/4 c. pure maple syrup
3 Tbsp. coconut oil
2 ripe bananas, mashed
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. each baking powder & baking soda
pinch of salt
Amazing recipe. Love that you don’t need the full fat yogurt to make these moist and fluffy. I added halved pecans and topped with a slice of banana and sprinkled it with coconut! I did get confused on the 3/4 teaspoon (not a baker), lol, just in case anyone else out there is as foggy like me 3/4 teaspoon is 4ml. I used 1/2 teaspoon and 1/4 of a teaspoon. Correct me if I am wrong. So good, so, so good. Thank you!!! A keeper.
Glad you enjoyed the recipe, Lin!
I loved these muffins. Thanks for sharing!
Glad you loved them! :)
These muffins are in the oven now !! And they smell amazing.
Mmmm, enjoy!
Just took these muffins out of the oven. Have not tasted them yet but they look and smell divine. A couple of questions. Re the coconut oil, it sounds like you measure the 3 T before you melt it. The oil is so hard I find it difficult to get a correct T measure. Should it still measure 3T AFTER it is melted? Also, I only wound up with 8 muffins but they all look appropriately sized. Would appreciate hearing your thought about these “issues.” Thanks in advance.
Hi Marjorie – I measure the coconut oil melted, and sometimes don’t get a full dozen (often around 10 muffins). Hope you enjoy them!
Hi. I only have Rice Malt Syrup, Xylitol & Ethryitol on hand. Which one if these sugar substitutes can I use in place of the maple syrup? Hoping that theses muffins will still be moist? Thank you.
Hi Sheryse. I haven’t made this recipe with any of those sweeteners, so I can’t promise that they will turn out. If I were you, I might try the rice malt syrup. Let me know how they turn out!
This is my first time cooking with almond meal! Your recipe is amazing, thank you!! So delicious and moist, I think I will be baking a lot more with almond meal from now on!! I did make the mistake of not using paper liners (I just greased with coconut oil) and wow did they stick in the metal pan I used! Will know better for next time. Thanks again for an awesome recipe!
Hi Holly! So glad you enjoyed the recipe. Sorry to hear that they stuck to the pan. I typically use muffin liners when I have them, but I haven’t had too much of problem with them sticking when I use coconut oil. Muffin liners are the way to go though… better luck next time! Thanks for trying the recipe :)
Made these this morning! My house smells divine and the muffins are DELICIOUS! Love the simplicity of this recipe because I already had all of the ingredients! Thank you!
So happy you loved the recipe! I make the recipe almost weekly as it’s so simple and I usually have all the ingredients on hand, too!
I have liquid coconut oil. Would that be equivalent to melted solid coconut oil?
Yep! :)
Absolutely scrumptious! I made these after slowly watching a bunch of bananas slowly go untouched in the fruit bowl. I didn’t have coconut but added cinnamon and nutmeg for an extra twist. Also used 2 tablespoons of stevia. Do you have the nutritional info for these? Because I ate 4, that’s how light and good they were!
Hi Val – I’m SO glad you enjoyed the recipe! It’s one of my absolute favorites. I don’t have the nutritional info for the recipe… out of curiosity, did you use the 1/4 cup maple syrup and 2 Tbsp. stevia, or just stevia?
These were amazing! I used 1/3 c raw honey instead. My friends wanted the recipe!
I’m so glad you and your friends enjoyed them!
Hillary, you don’t know how happy you’ve made me. I have been on a gluten-free diet for only about a month. I have been craving a gluten-free muffin or bread the whole time and haven’t been able to find anything that had all of the ingredients that I’m allowed to have as I have a few GI issues. These muffins are absolutely delicious. They are so moist and flavorful. They taste like they have a ton of sugar in them but that’s just from the ripe bananas. It’s a fairly easy recipe. Thank you so much for sharing this. I’ll probably be making a batch every other day because I can’t stop eating them. That probably won’t be too beneficial LOL
Hi Marne – I am so happy to hear you love the muffins. I whip up a batch so often, I nearly have the recipe memorized. Enjoy!
Taste great! I was visiting at my daughter’s home. I discovered this recipe, she didn’t have all the ingredients. So I made a few changes. Enjoyed them tremendously.
Note to self: added 1/4 cup applesauce and quarter chopped pecans. Sugar free vanilla flavored syrup. Later found the maple syrup and my daughter drizzled a little on the muffin and wow. Will remake recipe as instructed to compare recipe.
Hi Anita – so glad you enjoyed the recipe, even with a few tweaks. I’ll be curious to know what you think if you remake the recipe as instructed. I predict using pure maple syrup will make quite a difference – enjoy!
Yes I have made your recipe two more times again with the maple syrup.
Soooooo amazing!! I know they don’t need it, but we use choc chips as well and OH MY GOSH.
I’m so glad you liked them! I add chocolate 99.9% of time, too!
I tried this recipe…unfortunately they didn’t turn out – they fell and had soggy centres even after baking longer than recommended. I used pure almond flour from Costco which doesn’t have any other flours mixed in. I usually mix almond flour with coconut, rice, tapioca or quinoa type flours for muffins in the past giving me good results.
Hi Pauline. Thanks for the feedback. I’m sorry to hear your muffins didn’t turn out. I, too, usually use the blanched almond flour from Costco and have never had this issue. Hope you have better luck next time, it’s one of my favorite recipes!
This recipe is delicious. Thank you!!!!
So glad you enjoyed it, Adriana!
Love this recipe! Thanks for sharing :)
Of course, enjoy!
Yum! I used almond meal and shredded coconut, then stuffed a few frozen blueberries in the middle. Very good and easy recipe. Thank you.
Wonderful! :)
I have just discovered the joy of baking with almond meal (we are gluten/dairy intolerant) and this recipe was perfect to try and quick and easy to make. I have just made a coffee for hubby and I to go with the muffins. They are so delicious, I don’t think they will last too long in our house. This will definitely be a go to recipe.
I am so glad – they go perfectly with a cup of coffee, enjoy! :)