These gluten free banana chocolate chip muffins are everything you love about banana bread. Light, fluffy, and super chocolatey - they are the best way to use up all those ripe bananas!
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Why this recipe is amazing
We are huge fans of gluten free banana bread in this house, so I’m a bit biased when I say this recipe is amazing! Although I love a good banana bread loaf, there’s just something so satisfying about snacking on a muffin.
Here are a few other reasons why gluten free banana chocolate chip muffins are the perfect snack…
- These muffins are freezer friendly. Want to use your ripe bananas but don’t want to eat 12 muffins right now? After cooling, pop the muffins into a freezer bag or airtight container. They freeze well for up to a month!
- These muffins are lunchbox friendly. No nuts in this recipe, so they are nut-allergy friendly! Bake as the recipe states and make 11-12 standard-sized muffins, or mix it up and make some mini muffins for little lunchboxes! (Just be sure to adjust the bake time if you make them smaller.)
- These muffins are quicker than making a loaf of banana bread. Sure, banana bread is delicious, but it can take up to an hour to bake fully. If you want a quick snack - or are just really impatient - whip up a batch of these muffins in about a half hour.
Ingredients
Want to make your own gluten free banana chocolate chip muffins? Here’s what you’ll need:
- Plain gluten free flour (without xanthan gum): I use my own blend of white rice flour, tapioca starch, and sorghum flour. You can substitute pre-made blends, but results may not be the same.
- Salt
- Baking powder: gives the gluten free batter a bit of a lift.
- Xanthan gum: a gluten free binder that helps hold the flours together and give the muffins a bit of elasticity
- Unsalted butter: melted.
- Sugar
- Ripe bananas: you know bananas are ripe and ready when they start to get a bit squishy and have black spots on them.
- Eggs: also a binder for this recipe.
- Vanilla extract: to add a bit of flavouring
Substitutions and how to change the recipe
Need to change the recipe for a specific reason? Here are some suggestions on how to do just that!
- To make the muffins dairy free: substitute the butter for non dairy buttery spread or coconut oil and use non dairy chocolate chips. (We love the Mega Chunks from Enjoy Life!)
- Make it a loaf instead: don’t want to make muffins? Just add the batter into a greased or parchment lined loaf pan and bake in the oven at 350°F for 45-55 minutes. Wait until the loaf has almost fully cooled before slicing.
- Go nuts for nuts: add in ¼-½ cup of your favourite chopped nuts into the batter, or sprinkle them on top. Mmmmm, so nutty!
What gluten free flour to use
This recipe calls for plain, all purpose gluten free flour - without xanthan gum. This recipe was tested with a homemade blend using white rice flour, tapioca starch, and sorghum flour. It’s an easy all-purpose gluten free flour to make and it’s given me amazing results.
I blend my own mixture because I haven’t had much success with pre-made brands in my area and a lot of others aren’t accessible (or just too expensive). If you want to give blending your own gluten free flour a whirl - check out the recipe: Gluten Free Flour Blend (All Purpose). There are LOTS of substitutions within the recipe if a particular flour/starch isn’t available where you live.
You can absolutely use any pre-made gluten free flour you have on hand, just know that results may not be exactly as expected since some blends are drastically different from others. If you end up using a blend that contains xanthan gum, just omit it from the recipe.
Make these muffins ahead of time
These gluten free banana chocolate chip muffins can be made ahead of time. Bake up a batch and let them cool fully, then transfer to an airtight container or freezer bag. Freeze the muffins for up to a month and defrost either overnight in the fridge or on the counter.
Making these muffins ahead of time makes for a delicious breakfast on the go, or a helpful lunchbox snack!
How to make the best gluten free muffins
Ready to make some amazing gluten free muffins?!
Start by mixing together the dry ingredients in a medium-sized bowl. In a separate bowl, mix together the unsalted butter, sugar, ripe bananas, eggs and vanilla extract. Combine the two mixtures into the bowl containing the flours and mix well until the batter is wet and no dry clumps remain.
Reserve a small amount of chocolate chips for topping the muffins and gently fold the remainder into the batter. Fill a prepared muffin tin up to the top of each well and bake in the oven at 375°F for 18-20 minutes. Allow the muffins to fully cool on a baking rack before eating.
A note about overripe bananas
When it comes to bananas, the best ones for muffins (or bread) are super ripe or overripe ones. A ripe banana turns a deep yellow and has black spots. It may even start to get mushy!
This is because the banana is starting to break down and is releasing sugars from the starch molecules. This is the tastiest stage for baking!
If I have a bunch of ripe bananas, but I’m not quite ready to use them, I just pop them in the freezer with the peels still on. When I’m ready to bake, I take them out of the freezer and let them sit on the counter for a few hours to defrost. It’s almost a guarantee I have a freezer drawer full of frozen bananas!
When making gluten free banana chocolate chip muffins, you can use ripe bananas right off the counter or ripe bananas that have been previously stored in the freezer.
Storage
Store cooled muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days.
For longer term storage, place muffins in an airtight container or freezer bag and freeze for up to a month. Defrost in the fridge overnight or on the counter at room temperature.
Recipe
Gluten Free Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 cups + 2 tablespoons (250g) gluten free flour (see note below)
- ½ teaspoon (4g) salt
- 2 teaspoons (10g) baking powder
- ½ teaspoon (2g) xanthan gum (if using a commercially available gluten free flour blend with xanthan gum, omit this from the recipe)
- ½ cup (115g) unsalted butter, softened
- ¾ cup (150g) sugar
- 3 ripe bananas
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¾ cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F and line a muffin tin with paper liners.
- In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the gluten free flour, salt, baking powder, and xanthan gum.
- In a separate bowl, mix together the unsalted butter and sugar until combined. Mash in the ripe bananas using a fork or potato masher. Beat in the eggs and add the vanilla extract.
- Pour the wet banana mixture into the bowl containing the flour mixture and mix well. The batter should be thoroughly wet and combined with no dry lumps remaining. (You will have lumps of banana and that’s ok!)
- Reserve a small handful of the chocolate chips (for topping the muffins). Gently fold the remaining chocolate chips into the muffin batter.
- Using a large ice cream scoop or spoon, fill each muffin tin to the top.
- Add a few chocolate chips on top of the batter and press down gently.
- Bake the muffins for 18-20 minutes, rotating once through the bake time. The muffins are done when the tops begin to turn a golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool on a baking rack before eating.
Notes
- Gluten free flour: I used a blend of 50% white rice flour, 30% tapioca starch, and 20% sorghum flour. You can blend your own by following this recipe: Gluten Free Flour Blend (All Purpose). Another blend can be used; however, results may not be the same.
- Storage: Fully cooled muffins can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days. For longer term storage, transfer muffins to a freezer bag or airtight container and freeze for up to one month.
- To make the muffins dairy free: substitute the butter for non dairy buttery spread or coconut oil and use non dairy chocolate chips.
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