Double Chocolate Banana Almond Butter Muffins – Gluten Free Vegan
One of the first things I do when I wake up is preparing my coffee before my dog walk and grabbing a small bite to eat like half of a granola bar or a homemade muffin in the refrigerator. I’m one of those people that always wake up super hungry! I like to have something small in my stomach before going out on my walk or drinking a cup of coffee. That is why I love keeping energy balls or homemade muffins accessible in my refrigerator. Yesterday afternoon, I made a batch of double chocolate banana & almond butter muffins to store in the fridge for my mornings. I was peeling the bananas to put in the freezer for smoothies, but decided to use three of them for this muffin recipe!
When I make muffins, I usually document them just in case they’re good enough to share. About 70% of the muffins I bake never make it to the blog. After taking a bite into these, I knew I had to share. I wanted to put this recipe out into the world as soon as possible!
One of my favorite parts about this recipe, beyond the taste, is the ingredients used. First off, you can make some easy swaps if you don’t have everything, but I love the simple ingredients! This muffin is made with coconut flour, almond butter, bananas, cocoa powder, sea salt, flax seeds, almond milk, baking soda, vanilla, and the chocolate chips and agave are totally optional! I may even leave the agave out next time because the bananas made the muffins naturally sweet on their own. I love a recipe with simple and whole ingredients. Plus, you probably already have most of these in your house!
These muffins pack a lot of energy and are the perfect pre or post-workout snack. They are also great for on-the-go breakfasts! If you’re a meal-prepper, I’d totally add this one to your list for the busy mornings. I think kids would also love this too! Chocolate for breakfast? Win! They won’t even know that it’s hiding almond butter, bananas, and flaxseeds behind all the chocolaty goodness.
Let’s talk swaps!
NUT BUTTER
*peanut butter, cashew butter, tahini, or any nut butter can be used!
FLOUR
*you can replace the coconut flour for any all-purpose flour (almond flour will not work 1:1 as a replacement)
SWEETENER
*the agave can be substituted for maple syrup, honey, or can be left out completely!
MILK
*almond milk can be replaced with any type of milk
COCOA POWDER
*even the cocoa powder is optional.
CHOCOLATE CHIPS
*don’t like chocolate chips? try adding in walnuts, white chocolate chips, or cranberries!
If you have any questions about replacements, let me know in the comments!
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I know it’s hard to wait, but allow these sweet muffins to cool before biting into one!
Double Chocolate Banana Almond Butter Muffins
Ingredients
- 3 Large Bananas extra-ripened
- 1/4 Cup Almond Butter or any nut butter
- 3 Tbsps Ground Flaxseeds
- 6 Tbsps Warm Water
- 1/4 Cup Agave (honey or syrup)
- 1 Tbsp Vanilla
- 1 Cup Unsweetened Almond Milk
- 1 Cup Coconut Flour
- 1/2 Tsp Baking Soda
- 1/2 Tsp Sea Salt
- 1/4 Cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- 1/2 Cup Chocolate Chips I used EnjoyLife brand.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees
- In a small mixing bowl, combine the warm water and flaxseeds. Set aside.
- Sift together the coconut flour, baking soda, and sea salt together. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, mash the bananas with a fork or potato masher until they are smooth. Mix in the almond butter, agave, vanilla, and flaxseeds. Gradually add in almond milk.
- Slowly add in the flour mixture and combine well. Mix the cocoa powder into the bowl.
- Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Fill a muffin pan with liners and add about 1/2 cup of batter to each slot.
- Bake 20-24 minutes (until toothpick comes out clean.)allow 20-minutes for cooling. Best stored in refrigerator!
Notes
This recipe makes 12 muffins!
Nutrition Per Muffin: 180 Calories, 27g Carbs, 8g Fat, 5g Protein, 9g Sugar, 5g Fiber
Allow the muffins to cool, and enjoy! I think I’ll try out this recipe again, but add in some coconut, or maybe even a coconut frosting on top for a decadent dessert.
In my opinion, these are best served with a hot coffee! ☕️ If you have an Easter brunch planned, these would be great for the dessert table!
Questions for you!
- Do you wake up hungry?
- Should I try these with a coconut frosting?
- Muffins with coffee or milk?
Jessica Schwartz says
These look epic!
Taralynn McNitt says
They’re pretty darn good 😊
Taralynn says
Oh My God!!!!! I have to try these…. They look Amazing 🙂
Taralynn McNitt says
Thank you! 😃
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog says
Delicious! Definitely going to try making these this weekend. Thanks for the recipe as always, Taralynn. 🙂 ✨
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog
http://charmainenyw.com
Taralynn McNitt says
Let me know what you think! 😊
Renada says
I don’t eat any form of nut butter. Do you have any other suggestions as a substitution?
Taralynn McNitt says
Do you not eat nut butter because of allergy? you could use sunflower or tahini.
I’m sure you could get away with leaving it out completely as well.
Renada says
I don’t eat nut butters as a personal preference, but I’ll definitely give these a try without any substitutions. They look delicious!
Taralynn McNitt says
Enjoy! 😊
Erica says
These look so yummy! I love your pictures, do you have any tips on editing pictures?
Taralynn McNitt says
Hi, Erica! Thank you 😊 I just create special presets for food in Lightroom and use those for editing. Find a style you like and create presets to make the editing easier! I like to add saturation, lighten the blues, brighten the whites, tone the reds, sharpen, and highlight!
Anonymous says
Thanks girl!
Julie says
These look amazing! You had me at double chocolate. I ALWAYS wake up hungry. My husband can’t understand how I can wake up and immediately eat. I can’t understand how he can wake up and not immediately eat. 🙂
Taralynn McNitt says
Thanks, Julie!
Hahahaha I don’t know how people are like that either! My boyfriend wakes up and downs a protein shake so he gets hungry too!
Derrick says
Making these tonight!
Taralynn McNitt says
Enjoy!!
Chelsea says
BRB, heading to the grocery store for these ingredients! These sound too good!! YUM! 🙂
Taralynn McNitt says
Hahaha! I don’t blame you 😂
Let me know how they turn out for you! xo
Brooklyn Murtaugh says
Oh yum! Chocolate and banana? The best combo I think.
I have a bunch of ripe bananas and have been browsing for recipes to try out, so you can bet these will be getting made by me this weekend!
http://www.justbeingbrooklyn.com
Taralynn McNitt says
Yay!! The best way to use up bananas! hope you enjoy 😃
Emily says
These look so good! My husband would love them. Thank you for listing out the swaps also! I have a coconut allergy so I’m happy to see I can use regular flour 🙂
Taralynn McNitt says
Thanks, Emily! Yes, they do work with regular flour!
Madison says
These looks sooo good! I think they would be great with a coconut frosting! Oh and DEFINITELY coffee.
Taralynn McNitt says
Yess!!!!! ♥️
Natalie says
These muffins look so delicious and perfect for weekend brunch ♥
Taralynn McNitt says
Yes! A great brunch muffin! 💜
Laflawn says
Can you substitute an egg for the flax egg or chia egg. I don’t have flax seed and won’t use often enough to buy.