If you're on the hunt for healthier Almond Flour Banana Muffins that are Paleo, gluten-free, grain-free, and actually taste delicious, try making this easy recipe that bakes in less than 20 minutes. You'll love how moist and tender these are.
Crowned with a delightful crumb topping lightly spiced with cinnamon, these homemade almond flour muffins have lots of banana flavor and are soft and fluffy inside.
They also have just the right amount of sweetness, making them a great choice for a healthier breakfast or snack to include in your weekly meal planning.
I love them as much as my old-time favorite Banana-Walnut Muffins because they're an excellent way to use up overripe bananas. So grab two mixing bowls, a spatula, a muffin tin, and lets make these Paleo muffins today!
Ingredient notes
Here's how a few key ingredients gives these almond flour banana muffins their signature flavor and texture:
- Blanched almond flour or almond meal: Be sure it's finely ground with the skins removed (blanched) so it binds well with all the other ingredients, making your muffins soft and fluffy and the streusel topping nice and crumbly.
What is almond flour
Just like wheat flour is made by grinding wheat grains, almond flour (also known as almond meal) is made by grinding almonds into fine flour with or without the skin.
It is the most commonly used flour in gluten-free, grain-free, Paleo baking for making cakes, cookies and breads because the texture and flavor it gives baked goods closely resembles recipes made with all-purpose flour.
Make your own to use in this recipe! I have a video showing you how to make almond flour at home and it's so easy.
Prefer to buy it? The best places to buy it is on Amazon or at Costco. The brands that work best for baking are Honeyville, Wellbee's or Costco's Kirkland brand.
- Banana: Helps to bind the ingredients, and adds sweetness and moisture.
- Pecans (optional): Gives a lovely crunch and nutty flavor.
- Butter or coconut oil (dairy-free): Makes the muffins and crumble topping tender, moist and super flavorful.
- Sweetener (optional): I like to add a tablespoon of honey or maple syrup for sweetness, but you can make it sugar-free and low-carb by substituting it for a keto sweetener, or omitting it all together.
- Eggs: Eggs create a lighter and fluffier texture.
Add-in options
Add-ins are completely optional, but I suggest adding nuts, seeds, shredded coconut or chocolate chips for a little more texture and flavor. Other options are raisins, dried cranberries or blueberries, oatmeal, or a blend of each.
To enhance all of the flavors you could also throw in some lemon or lime zest as well as vanilla extract and other spices such as all spice, cardamon and nutmeg.
How to make
Though you can find the full printable recipe below, let me walk you through the steps to show you how to make the best banana muffins with almond flour. Be sure to also watch the recipe video!
- Mix the dry ingredients: Using a spatula, mix together in a medium bowl the flour, baking soda and salt until there aren't any lumps left. Or sift the ingredients into the bowl using a fine mesh sieve.
- Mash the banana: In separate large bowl, mash the banana with a fork or potato masher.
- Mix the wet ingredients: Using a whisk, mix together the mashed banana, egg, butter and sweetener.
- Stir wet and dry ingredients together: Using a rubber spatula, gently mix the wet and dry ingredients to form your batter. Mix until just combined - the batter is supposed to be thick.
- Add nuts: If you're adding pecans fold them into the batter now.
- Fill muffin pan: Use a spoon or ice cream scoop to fill each cup in your muffin tin to the top.
Note: Using paper liners is an option, but you can also grease the pan with butter or coconut oil.
- Make the crumb topping: This is super simple! Add to a bowl the flour, cinnamon and butter, and use your fingers to mix everything together. Next sprinkle the crumbs on top of each muffin.
- Bake: Bake in a preheated oven to 350°F for about 18 to 20 minutes or until a stick inserted into the center comes out clean. Then set the pan over a wire rack to allow the muffins to cool.
Note: Every oven is different so if you need to bake your muffins longer but the tops look done, place a piece of aluminum foil on top and that will prevent the crumbs from burning while your muffins bake all the way through.
Servings: This recipe makes 6 to 8 standard size muffins depending how full you fill each muffin cavity. It's not a problem to overfill each one. You can also bake them in a mini muffin pan.
Baking tips
- Banana: Since it adds so much flavor to these muffins, the type you use can make a difference and Apple Bananas are my favorite to bake with.
- Crumb topping: Add a tablespoon of maple or coconut sugar to the crumbs mixture to make those tops sweeter. You can also reduce the amount of flour added to 2 to 3 tablespoons to make it less crumbly and more buttery.
- Measure ingredients by weight: I recommend measuring your banana by weight using a scale so that your muffins have just the right amount of moisture. If you don't have a scale use measuring cups. Chop the bananas into little pieces and fill the measuring cup to the top. You’ll need 1 ½ cups (about 2 regular bananas or 4 Apple bananas).
How to store, make ahead & reheat
- Storing: Store your muffins in an airtight container in the fridge for a few weeks. Or at room temperature for up to 5 days.
- Freezing: Place in airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months. Then allow them to come to room temperature and enjoy them again.
- Reheating: If you like your muffins warm, reheat them in the microwave or oven at 350°F for a few minutes.
- Making ahead: You can prepare the batter a couple of days in advance and leave it covered in the refrigerator. When ready to bake, allow it to come to room temperature before filling your muffin tin, then bake as directed.
Troubleshooting
Why did my muffins sink in the middle? Most likely this is because your almond flour was not ground fine enough or it wasn't blanched. This might also happen if you miss-measure your ingredients.
Why did my banana muffins not rise? This is normal when you bake with a gluten-free flour that is nut based. However these muffins actually rise quite well. And a tip I can give you to get more lift is to fill each muffin cup to the top.
FAQs
This substitution is not easy and I do not recommend it. But I made it simple for you by creating the best Coconut Flour Banana Muffins recipe. Be sure to check it out next.
Yes you can, however these flours are denser and more absorbant so you'll need to reduce the amount of flour added to about ½ cup.
If you have overripe bananas but aren’t ready to bake with them yet, freeze them to use later! When ready, take them out of the freezer, let them come to room temperature, dry out the excess moisture with a paper towel and start measuring the amount called for in the recipe.
If you make these banana muffin recipe I would love to hear your opinion so please leave a comment and rating below.
Here are a few more healthy almond flour muffins to inspire your gluten-free and Paleo baking.
Recipe video
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Recipe
Almond Flour Banana Muffins
Ingredients
- 1½ cups (171g) blanched almond flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon fine himalayan salt
- 1 ½ cups (233g) bananas
- 1 tablespoon (22g) raw honey, optional
- 1 egg, room temperature
- 5 tablespoons (70g) melted butter, or melted coconut oil - 5 tablespoon (57g)
- ⅓ cup (38g) pecans, chopped
Crumbs:
- 4 tablespoons (30g) blanched almond flour, (or 2 to 4 tbsp)
- 1 tablespoon (14g) butter, cold or coconut oil
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a standard size muffin tin with baking cups.
- Using a spatula, mix together in a medium bowl the flour, baking soda and salt until there aren't any lumps left. Or sift the ingredients into the bowl using a fine mesh sieve.
- In a separate bowl, mash the bananas with a fork or potato masher, then using a whisk mix in the honey, egg and butter.
- Using a rubber spatula, gently mix the wet and dry ingredients to form your batter. Mix until just combined - the batter is supposed to be thick.
- Fold pecans into the batter.
- Spoon batter into prepared muffin tin, filling each to the top.
- Sprinkle the top of each muffin with the crumbs and bake until a stick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 18 to 20 minutes. Then set the pan over a wire rack to allow the muffins to cool.
Crumb topping:
- Using your hands, mix together all ingredients for the crumbs until mixture resemble coarse meal.
Notes
Nutrition per serving
This recipe was originally published on Mar 22, 2013 and this post has been updated with new information, photos and recipe video. The only adjustment made to the recipe was to the crumb topping: changed adding ⅛ to ½ teaspoon cinnamon; and changed adding 2 tablespoons almond flour to 3 to 4 tablespoons.
