Gluten Free Banana Muffins

These Gluten Free Banana Muffins are simple to make, moist, tender, and filled with pure banana flavor. The muffins are a great grab-and-go breakfast or snack. If you like banana bread, you’ll love these tasty gluten free muffins!

Our house consumes a lot of bananas. We enjoy them sliced on cereal, added to smoothies, and even as easy snacks. But I still end up with bananas that are too ripe for eating.

Often, I’ll turn to my tried-and-true banana bread recipe to use up the ripe bananas. However, many times we prefer the easy portability of a muffin.

This recipe for banana muffins is a great way to use up those ripe bananas. These muffins are tender, not too sweet, and loaded with banana flavor.

Unlike my recipe for Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins, these muffins are just about the bananas. They’re simple, unadorned, and delicious.

Are your bananas ripe enough to make these muffins?

These muffins turn out the best, moist and filled with banana flavor, when you use ripe bananas.

If the peels are pale yellow and the fruit is firm, the bananas are under ripe. You could use bananas that are under ripe (not green), but they won’t be as sweet, and you’ll need to increase the amount of sugar you use.

If the peels are brown and the fruit is mushy, the bananas are overripe. You can use bananas that are overripe, but the fruit may be overly sweet, and you’ll want to reduce the amount of sugar you use.

If the peels are yellow with brown spots and the fruit is soft, the bananas are just right for making these muffins.

Why this Recipe Works

• Using ripe bananas adds extra moisture and flavor to the muffins.
• The combination of baking powder and baking soda gives lift to the muffins and also adds a nicely browned color.
• Using oil adds moisture without competing with the flavor of the bananas.

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Ingredient You’ll Need:

• Bananas - Mashed ripe bananas.
• Sugar - White granulated sugar
• Egg - Use a room temperature egg.  Room temperature ingredients mix together more easily than ingredients straight from the refrigerator.
• Oil - I use vegetable oil, but canola oil will also work.
• Gluten free flour blend - I use a 1 to 1 gluten free baking flour in my baking.
• Baking powder and baking soda - The baking powder and baking soda gives lift to the muffins.
• Salt - Table salt.

How to Make Gluten Free Banana Muffins

1. In a mixing bowl, mash the bananas then add the sugar, egg, and oil and stir to combine.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.
3. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until combined.
4. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and bake.

Step by Step Instructions

(For ingredient amounts see the recipe card at the bottom of the post.)

Line or grease a 12-cup muffin pan. I prefer to use muffin cup liners to make the muffins more portable, but you can easily spray the pan with nonstick cooking spray instead.

In a large mixing bowl, mash the bananas with a fork until there aren’t any large chunks (photo 1).

Add the sugar, egg, and oil and stir together with a wooden spoon until completely combined (photo 2).

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the gluten free flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt (photo 3).

Gently stir the dry ingredients into the banana mixture with a wooden spoon (photo 4). Make sure the dry ingredients are completely incorporated but be careful not to overmix the batter.

Divide the batter among the prepared baking cups.

Bake for 22 to 24 minutes, or until the muffins are golden brown and a pick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool the muffins in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

If you enjoy muffins as much as we do, check out my other gluten free muffin recipes.

Tips for Making the Best Banana Muffins

• Check the ingredients of your gluten free flour for xanthan gum. If your flour mix doesn’t contain it, try adding ½ teaspoon to the recipe. I use Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1 to 1 Baking Flour which contains xanthan gum.
• Be sure to use ripe bananas to get the best results. Under ripe bananas don’t add enough sweetness and overripe bananas can make the muffins gooey.
• When adding the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, be careful to not overmix the batter. Overmixing can lead to muffins that are tough.
• Use a large scoop to fill the muffin cups with batter.  This will keep the muffins similar in size and ensure even baking time.
• Remove the muffins from the pan to finish cooling on a wire rack.  If you leave the muffins in the pan to cool, the bottoms of the muffins may become soggy.

What Type of Gluten Free Flour Should I Use?

Always use a good quality all-purpose gluten free flour blend when making these muffins.  I use Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1 to 1 Baking Flour which contains xanthan gum.  If your gluten free flour blend doesn’t contain xanthan gum, try adding ¾ teaspoon to the recipe.

Xanthan gum helps to hold the muffins together.  In traditional baking, gluten in all-purpose flour acts as the binding agent for the baked good.  Gluten free baking requires a substitute for the binding agent and that’s where xanthan gum comes in.

Your results may vary depending on the gluten free flour you use.  I haven’t tried almond flour or coconut flour with this banana muffin recipe.

Remember to use the “spoon and level” method when measuring your gluten free flour.  Use a spoon to scoop the flour into the measuring cup and use the back of a table knife to level off the top.  Using a measuring cup to scoop the flour out of the canister or bag can result in more flour than needed in the recipe.

Recipe FAQs

We really enjoy these delicious banana muffins. They’re perfect as a quick breakfast before heading off to work, or as a grab-and-go snack any time of the day.

If you’re looking for a simple muffin recipe and enjoy the flavor of bananas, give these banana muffins a try. I know you’ll be baking them again and again!

More Gluten Free Muffin Recipes You’ll Love

• Almond Butter Oatmeal Muffins
• Gluten Free Cinnamon Banana Muffins
• Easy Sweet Cornbread Muffins (Gluten Free)
• Gluten Free Double Chocolate Muffins
• Easy Gluten Free Blueberry Muffins
• Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Muffins
• Gluten Free Banana Oatmeal Muffins
• Easy Gluten Free Strawberry Muffins

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Recipe adapted from The Busy Baker.

This post was originally published in 2019.  It was republished in 2022 with updated images and additional text and tips.