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You are here: Home / Breakfast / Flourless Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Muffins

November 30, 2018 42 Comments

Flourless Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Muffins

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These flourless peanut butter banana chocolate muffins are rich and decadent, and you’d never know they’re naturally sweetened with banana & a touch of honey. They’re also free of oil/butter, naturally gluten-free, and dairy-free if you use almond milk!

Flourless peanut butter banana chocolate muffins

I’ve made these muffins six or seven times already, and it’s taken me way too long to share the recipe with you all. Law school has been more time-consuming than I thought it’d be, so I haven’t blogged quite as often as I’d hoped, but I still plan to keep sharing recipes and other posts as I can!

These peanut butter banana chocolate muffins are one of my favorite muffin recipes EVER, of all of the healthy muffins I’ve tried AND all of the more traditional, super sugary ones.

Grain-free, gluten-free, dairy-free, and naturally sweetened

These muffins have no dairy or gluten, so they’ll fit most people’s dietary needs. You could even sub almond butter for the peanut butter in case of a peanut butter allergy. There’s also no regular flour or specialty flour like almond or coconut flour, so I bet you have most of the ingredients on hand already!

They’re lightly sweetened with honey, but most of the sweetness comes from just banana. Somehow, though, the banana taste isn’t super strong (which is a big plus for me). You can taste the banana only slightly if you use ripe bananas that aren’t way too ripe. Just a bit speckled is the best!

The peanut butter taste is also surprisingly mild, so the chocolate really does shine through most.

Baking ingredients for flourless peanut butter banana chocolate muffins

These peanut butter banana chocolate muffins have a perfect texture, which is hard to find in a healthy baking recipe! They’re perfectly moist–not too dry and not too wet (ick) and they’re super chocolate-y. I’m convinced these muffins have some kind of magic, because it doesn’t make sense that they taste this great and are so healthy!

Dark chocolate cocoa powder

I love using DARK chocolate cocoa powder for these muffins instead of regular cocoa powder. I tested these with both dark chocolate cocoa powder and regular cocoa powder and far preferred the dark cocoa powder. Either will work, but I can’t recommend dark chocolate cocoa powder enough. I think it tastes better in just about every recipe!

I use Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa Powder, which you can find at most grocery stores beside the regular cocoa powder, or on Amazon.

Flourless peanut butter banana chocolate muffins

When I calculated the nutrition facts for these muffins to add to this post, I’d already made them several times and fallen in love with them. So, I was blown away to discover that they only have 9 grams of sugar each. You’d never know it– they’re perfectly sweet!

Since I have a major sweet tooth and naturally gravitate toward sweet snacks rather than savory, I’ve started trying to be conscious of how much sugar I actually eat because I could easily go way overboard with sugar every single day. But muffins with 9 grams of sugar? Almost too good to be true. 😍

Compared to a typical chocolate muffin like Starbucks Chocolate Chunk muffin with 39g of sugar and 440 calories, these muffins are an awesome option (and I think they taste better, too– for 30g of sugar less and 240 calories less!).

2020 Update: I’ve further reduced the sugar by using less honey (see the recipe notes) and they’re still amazing!!

Flourless peanut butter banana chocolate muffins

Substitutions in this peanut butter banana chocolate muffins recipe

There are lots of options here to make this recipe work best for you!
• Sub regular dairy milk for the almond milk.
• Sub almond butter for the peanut butter.
• Sub peanut butter chips for the dark chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate chips on top.

Flourless peanut butter banana chocolate muffins

I hope you love these muffins as much as I do! They’re an amazing healthy after-dinner treat!

If you try these peanut butter banana chocolate muffins, feel free to let me know in a comment (and leave a star rating) or take a photo and tag me @livbane on Instagram! I’d love to see!

Two things I use for these muffins:

Usually these natural (unbleached) baking cups + ALWAYS Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa Powder

Print Pin
5 from 10 votes

Flourless Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Muffins

These flourless peanut butter banana chocolate muffins taste taste 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: 201kcal
Author: Liv

Ingredients

Liquid Ingredients

  • 2 medium-large ripe bananas (approx. 6.5-7 oz. each, weighed with peel) (speckled bananas are best)
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup smooth natural peanut butter
  • 3 Tbsp. honey*
  • 1/4 cup 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)
  • 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 bananas well, into an almost-liquid consistency. Add eggs and stir to combine. Add peanut butter, honey, and milk and stir well.
  • In a small separate bowl, add dry ingredients (other than chocolate chips): 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 cups with batter and sprinkle chocolate chips on top of each muffin cup.
  • Bake for 14-16 minutes until the muffin tops are almost fully set if you jiggle the pan. (If you insert a toothpick, they should still be a little gooey, and they'll set more as they cool).
    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!)
  • Let muffins cool for 15 minutes and then remove from muffin tin, using a knife around the edges to loosen the muffins, if needed. Store leftover muffins on the counter in an airtight container for up to 2-3 days. Freeze remaining muffins for up to 3 months.

Notes

*I've experimented as little as 0 tablespoons of 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.
 

Nutrition

Serving: 1muffin | Calories: 201kcal | Carbohydrates: 17g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 12g | Sodium: 91mg | Sugar: 9g

Lightly adapted from this recipe

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Comments

  1. Alex says

    November 30, 2018 at 10:55 am

    5 stars
    These look awesome- can you convince Marissa to make some with me???

    Reply
    • Liv says

      December 4, 2018 at 12:42 pm

      I’ll do my best! 😉

      Reply
  2. Taylor says

    March 7, 2019 at 12:33 am

    5 stars
    I made these for a pre – workout snack and they were great. They were very rich and delicious. You would have never guessed that they were as healthy as they are. These definitely taste like a treat and you get your chcolate fix in. My sister said they tasted like cupcakes.. Haha.

    Reply
    • Liv says

      March 14, 2019 at 2:39 pm

      I’m so glad you loved these muffins, Taylor!! They’re one of my favorite treats and I have to have a bag of these in my freezer at all times!!

      Reply
  3. Jill says

    March 21, 2019 at 12:28 pm

    5 stars
    These are the best! I too have a terrible Sweet tooth and they fill that perfectly I would highly recommend them. You can make little tweaks here and there to your liking. Used a trivia blend instead of honey and plain Greek yogurt instead of almond milk or milk…Mmmmm

    Reply
    • Liv says

      April 2, 2019 at 11:19 am

      I’m so glad you love these muffins, Jill!

      Reply
  4. Max Porter says

    March 26, 2019 at 8:09 pm

    5 stars
    My favorite Healthy Liv recipe! These muffins are so delicious, even my ancestors love them! I bake a batch every week and take them to the family crypt. Then when I return, only crumbs remain. I imagine some sort of Mulan-style elder’s council occurs as soon as I drop them off in order for them to be consumed. I continue to bring them to remain in their good graces, as I want a good reincarnation but my great-aunt Silba and my cousin Lurlene have hated me ever since the cattle-drive incident. I’ll let you know in my next life if the muffins have swayed my favor! If not, I’ll just make cocktails next time as at least 75% of my relatives perished in a “hey hold my beer” sort of manner. Thanks a million Liv!!

    Reply
  5. Marie says

    April 28, 2019 at 11:25 am

    Hello there!

    Have you tried making these without the honey? Thank you!

    Reply
    • Liv says

      May 1, 2019 at 6:06 pm

      I haven’t tried it! Each muffin has just 9 grams of sugar, which is quite low for muffins, so I haven’t wanted to risk it 🙂

      Reply
    • Liv says

      January 8, 2020 at 5:03 pm

      Hi Marie! Just wanted to update you that I’ve now tried making these muffins without the honey and they turned out well! They’re definitely not as sweet, but if you’re used to healthy desserts and enjoy dark, barely sweet chocolate, you may enjoy them that way, as well 🙂

      Reply
  6. Kamala says

    May 12, 2019 at 2:39 am

    Hi can I use PB2 powder instead of peanut butter? If so is it the same amount and should I make any other changes to the recipe?

    Reply
    • Liv says

      May 16, 2019 at 2:23 pm

      Hi Kamala, I haven’t tried using PB2 powder in this recipe, but since the peanut butter here is nearly the only fat in this recipe, I imagine they’d be quite dry without the real thing 🙂

      Reply
  7. Olivia says

    August 25, 2019 at 7:58 pm

    These muffins were AMAZING I added extra chocolate chips inside the batter and on the top and they were SO chocolatey🤤 I am definitely gonna make these again. And the best part was tot cake even tell they’re healthy!😂 I’m in love. Great job Liv👏👏👏

    Reply
    • Liv says

      August 27, 2019 at 5:36 pm

      So glad you like these muffins, Olivia!!!

      Reply
  8. Keishya says

    November 19, 2019 at 6:39 pm

    Recipe looks great i’m going to try to replace the eggs with ‘flax seed egg’ …will let you know!

    Reply
    • Liv says

      November 23, 2019 at 2:50 pm

      Please do let us know how they turn out 😀

      Reply
  9. Michelle says

    December 6, 2019 at 10:26 pm

    5 stars
    Instead of muffins , I made it in a loaf pan. It came out awesome !!! Will make often. Everyone loved it!! Thank you for a delicious no sugar recipe😃

    Reply
    • Liv says

      December 7, 2019 at 8:36 pm

      Hooray! I’ve thought about making it in a loaf pan, too, but hadn’t tried it yet so that’s great to hear 😀

      Reply
    • Anne Marie says

      December 13, 2019 at 12:28 pm

      Loooove these so much!!! So healthy and delish. I add a crack of sea salt on top and love that combo with the dark chocolate 🙂

      Reply
      • Liv says

        December 16, 2019 at 11:41 pm

        So glad you enjoy these!! And so good to hear from you, AM! ❤️

        Reply
  10. Eleni says

    April 1, 2020 at 5:36 am

    This is absolutely brilliant!!! I’m impressed.
    They are so moist, and fluffy, and delicious, and… and…!!!
    I omitted the honey, the salt, and the chips. And I used dairy milk.
    If my bananas are not ripe enough, I put them in the oven until they are fully black. So, i guess they are extra sweet that way.
    Thank you so much for this recipe!!!

    Reply
    • Liv says

      April 1, 2020 at 1:43 pm

      Awesome, I’m so glad you enjoyed these muffins and that the lower-sugar version worked well for you 😀

      Reply
  11. Charity Buckley says

    June 12, 2020 at 10:26 am

    5 stars
    Deliciously moist, packed full of amazing flavor and healthy! These muffins were a huge hit in our house. My son ate three as soon as they cooled and could not stop raving. I followed your suggestion and only used three tablespoons of honey. It was perfect. I thought I had dark cocoa powder only to find my daughter used it up the day before so I ended up using regular with dark chocolate chips. Excited to try the dark cocoa and some of your substitution ideas. Thanks for the amazing recipe!

    Reply
  12. Susie d says

    July 12, 2020 at 11:40 pm

    WOW!!! So rich and chocolatey!!!! Just used 2T of maple syrup but they were still very sweet. Next time (and there definitely will be a next time) I will skip the syrup altogether. Thank you so much for this recipe. Will have to try more of your recipes asap!

    Reply
    • Liv says

      July 22, 2020 at 10:44 pm

      I’m so glad you loved these, Susie! Skipping the syrup altogether works surprisingly SO well when you’re used to less sweet food!

      Reply
  13. Carol says

    December 8, 2020 at 2:05 pm

    Because of Covid-19 being able to make good bakery dishes at home is a definite plus. I just have to get the dark cocoa to make them. I was wondering how they would taste with chopped pecans on top?

    Reply
    • Liv says

      December 8, 2020 at 6:11 pm

      I think chopped pecans on top would be great!

      Reply
  14. Byron says

    December 8, 2020 at 2:07 pm

    Love cupcakes and these sound perfect. Looking forward to more good recipes.

    Reply
  15. Carol Eiseman says

    December 13, 2020 at 1:06 am

    I just bought dark chocolate cocoa today to make the muffins.

    Reply
    • Liv says

      December 15, 2020 at 10:32 am

      Hope you love them!

      Reply
  16. POPPY florence says

    January 31, 2021 at 12:19 pm

    Tried them today: perfect everything, great recipe and super easy. Thanks for posting! Poppy

    Reply
    • Liv says

      January 31, 2021 at 10:21 pm

      So glad you enjoyed these, Poppy!

      Reply
  17. Orly Maor says

    February 26, 2021 at 12:18 am

    5 stars
    Made them today super easy and used 2 of 12 mini muffin pan. very moist and not very sweet with 3 tbs of honey and not so ripe bananas. I sprinkled lightly with powdered sugar since i did not have chocolate chips. great recipe and thank you for posting!

    Reply
    • Liv says

      February 26, 2021 at 1:36 pm

      Yay, so glad you enjoyed these muffins 😊

      Reply
  18. ERIN says

    May 1, 2021 at 5:35 pm

    Very delicious muffins! We scarfed them down!

    Reply
    • Liv says

      May 8, 2021 at 12:14 pm

      So glad you enjoyed these, Erin!

      Reply
  19. Sam says

    October 12, 2022 at 11:32 am

    5 stars
    I made these for my family yesterday morning and everyone loved it! My family had eaten all of them by the time I went for seconds! I’m going to make them again today or tomorrow, and was wondering if I made a double batch if I could freeze some of the batter? These are definitely a new family favorite. Thank you!

    Reply
    • Liv says

      November 23, 2022 at 4:18 pm

      Hi Sam! I recommend freezing the baked muffins. They freeze really well and defrost/reheat great. I wouldn’t freeze the batter 🙂

      Reply
  20. JoAnna says

    September 22, 2023 at 11:06 am

    5 stars
    It’s amazing how well these come together and that there is no flour in them. They look great (except for the ones that flew out of my pan and landed upside down in the oven – my haste and silicone hotpads loosing the grip)!im so looking forward to trying these again with maybe increasing the salt a tad and adding some almond extract. I know I will be making these often! Thanks so much for the recipe! Just what I was hunting for.

    Reply
  21. Michelle says

    January 14, 2024 at 2:35 pm

    Have you ever tried using Dutch processed cocoa powder?

    Reply
  22. Joanne says

    February 6, 2024 at 7:33 am

    5 stars
    These were delicious! I made one addition: 1/2 tsp of cinnamon and I think it really works so well with the chocolate, I highly recommend this addition. Used what I had on hand, regular hershey’s coco, not dark, milk choc chips as I didn’t have semi-sweet, and quickly thawed some bananas I had in the freezer. Fabulous! Love giving my kids healthy muffins with some protein in them and not pure sugar. So good. I will try them again with the dark coco. I will also try with plain greek yogurt as one reviewer did as I’m looking to UP protein, generally.

    Reply
  23. Sarah says

    March 10, 2025 at 4:44 am

    Made this today but i did 3 bananas and left out the honey. Left out the milk as well (by accident) but they came out beautifully!

    Reply

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Hi, I’m Liv! I originally started blogging to share easy meals I made in my college dorm kitchen. Years later, as an attorney now, my goal is still to share delicious, approachable recipes with simple ingredients. You can most often find me running, eating ice cream, and making a mess in my kitchen. More...

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