Almond Butter Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins (GF)

One of my favorite muffin recipes ever! These almond butter banana chocolate chip muffins are dairy-free, gluten-free, and naturally sweetened.

One of my favorite recipes is these double chocolate peanut butter banana muffins. So, I adapted that recipe to make these almond butter muffins for a peanut-allergy friendly version for my little brother. The almond butter swap also happens to make these muffins Paleo-friendly if you omit the chocolate chips or use Paleo-friendly chocolate chips!

I’m typically a bit wary of gluten-free or Paleo baked goods, but these almond butter banana chocolate chip muffins are the BEST. They’re super moist, chocolate-y, and rich.

I often use Enjoy Life mini chocolate chips, which are dairy-free and Paleo-certified. I also really like Lily’s chocolate chips (sweetened with Stevia) for a lower sugar option.

I’ve made these muffins for girls’ nights, brought them to my small group, and even made them for friends’ birthdays, and no one has figured out that they’re healthy or gluten-free unless I mentioned it!

The Ingredients

Just ripe bananas, almond butter, dark chocolate cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt, eggs, honey, chocolate chips, and milk.

I typically use almond or coconut milk since that’s what I keep on hand, but any type of milk works just fine.

Even with the added honey and chocolate chips, these banana chocolate chip muffins only have 9 grams of sugar each! (For reference, I checked to see how much sugar is in one standard-size chocolate chip muffin at Starbucks– 39 grams!).

I’ve also experimented with both reducing and entirely omitting the honey for an even lower sugar version, and they still taste awesome if you don’t mind a slightly less sweet muffin. If you’re used to eating super dark chocolate, you’ll love the lower-sugar version!

The ripe bananas add enough sweetness that the muffins aren’t bitter at all. So, I added a recipe note about that option.

What Type of Almond Butter To Buy

Depending on where you shop, you may have a ton or just a few options for brands and varieties of almond butter (no sugar added, flavored with vanilla/hazelnut/chocolate, etc.). This is what I look for in a healthy almond butter, if possible:

Raw Almonds: Raw almonds are generally considered healthier than roasted, so I buy raw almond butter when I can. I’m also not typically into flavored nut butters since they’re not quite as versatile and usually have added sugar, so I usually just buy plain raw almond butter.

No extra ingredients: Like peanut butter, some almond butters have extra ingredients like sunflower oil and sugar. I look for almond butter with just one or two ingredients: almonds and possibly salt.

Organic? The organic raw almond butter I’ve found typically costs double its non-organic counterpart, which isn’t worth it to me personally. So, I generally don’t worry too much about organic vs. non-organic almond butter.

I usually get plain (non-raw) almond butter at Costco or I also really like Trader Joe’s raw almond butter. I usually stock up whenever I go to one of those stores or when there’s a great sale at another store since almond butter can be pricy!

A little more about these muffins: the banana and almond butter flavors are subtle, so the double chocolate definitely dominates. 😍😍

I accidentally under-baked my first batch of these almond butter muffins, and right out of the oven, they tasted like gooey molten lava cakes. They sunk in the middle slightly as they cooled, but they tasted amazing.

Straight from the freezer, I pop a muffin into the microwave on medium-high power for about 25 seconds and it’s like warm, melty chocolate cake. The best healthy after-dinner treat for my chocolate cravings!

Along with my favorite gluten-free chocolate chip pumpkin muffins, I bake a batch of these gluten-free double chocolate muffins every week or two.

Muffins freeze so well, so I almost always have a bag of homemade muffins in my freezer for when friends come over or for when I make someone a little care package. These disappear SO fast!

If you try these almond butter banana chocolate chip muffins, let me know in a comment (with a star rating!) or take a photo and tag me @livbane on Instagram! I’d love to see. I hope you love these as much as I do!

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5 from 4 votes

Almond Butter Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins (Gluten-Free)

These gluten-free almond butter banana chocolate chip muffins are rich and decadent, and you'd never know they're actually low in sugar (sweetened with banana and a touch of honey), have no oil or butter, and are naturally gluten-free!

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes minutes

Servings: 12 muffins

Calories: 209kcal

Author: Liv

Ingredients

Liquid Ingredients

• 2 medium-large ripe bananas (approx. 6-7 oz. each, weighed with peel) (speckled bananas are best)
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup natural almond butter (can sub peanut butter)
• 3 Tbsp. honey or pure maple syrup*
• 1/4 cup milk or almond milk

Dry Ingredients

• 1/2 cup DARK chocolate cocoa powder (I've also tried regular cocoa powder, but I highly recommend Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa Powder if possible. You can buy in the baking aisle of most grocery stores!)
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 cup semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• In a medium mixing bowl, mash the bananas. Add eggs, almond butter, honey, and milk and stir well.
• In a separate small bowl, stir together dry ingredients (cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt).
• Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir lightly until just combined, being careful not to over-mix.
• Spray 12 regular-size muffin cups with cooking spray or fill with muffin liners. Fill with batter and sprinkle chocolate chips on top of each muffin cup.
• Bake for 15-17 minutes until the muffin tops are mostly set if you lightly jiggle the pan. (If you insert a toothpick, they'll still be gooey, but they'll set more as they cool).
• Let muffins cool for 15 minutes and then remove from the muffin tin, using a knife around the edges to loosen the muffins if needed. Store leftover muffins on the counter or in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Freeze remaining muffins for up to 2-3 months.

Notes

Since these muffins are already dark, it can be a bit hard to tell when they're done baking. Err on the side of under-baking (they'll be dry if over-baked!)

*I've experimented with as little as no honey and as much as 1/4 cup honey. I've found that 2-3 Tbsp. is perfect for me as someone who enjoys very dark chocolate. If you're not used to especially dark chocolate, you may wish to start with 1/4 cup. If you're following a low-sugar diet and enjoy very dark chocolate, you can successfully omit the honey entirely, as the bananas add sweetness.

 

Two things I always use: these natural (unbleached) baking cups + Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa Powder

 

Nutrition

Serving: 1muffin | Calories: 209kcal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 14g | Sodium: 91mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 9g

Adapted from this recipe