Gluten-Free Banana Muffins

Moist, tender, and fluffy gluten-free banana muffins in the classic style, made with plenty of mashed ripe bananas and buttermilk for the perfect texture.

As long as you have basic gluten free ingredients in the cupboard, and a few ripe bananas, you'll only need one bowl and about 30 minutes to make a very easy gluten free muffin!

What makes these “the best” gluten-free banana muffins?

The versatility and ease of this recipe are two of the key elements that make it so good. Their soft, tender texture and beautiful banana flavor make these one of the best muffins you'll find.

And the recipe includes buttermilk, which tenderizes your gluten-free banana muffins. But don't get excited and try using buttermilk in my already-tender banana bread recipe – that much liquid would make the loaf cave in on itself during baking. For that recipe, stick with the sour cream.

Like our gluten-free morning glory muffins which are packed the moisture and sweetness of shredded carrots and apples, these banana muffins can handle the extra moisture.

This recipe is really versatile and forgiving. Sometimes when I bake banana muffins, I even place a thin slice of ripe banana right on the top of the batter in each well. Adding that banana slice does add some extra moisture, so plan to bake the muffins for another couple of minutes.

How to make gluten-free banana muffins

• Whisk together dry ingredients (gluten-free flour blend, cornstarch, baking powder and soda, salt and sugar);
• Add the wet ingredients to the center (butter, eggs, buttermilk, vanilla, mashed bananas) and mix to combine;
• Divide the wet banana muffin batter among the greased wells of a muffin tin;
• Bake at 350°F for about 20 minutes;
• Let cool for about 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack.

Tips for baking gluten free banana muffins

When I shared my recipe for easy mix-in gluten-free muffins, we talked about how that's the perfect “plain” muffin recipe. It can easily handle mix-ins that don't add extra moisture, like raisins and chocolate chips—or even a crumble topping (the best!).

Recipes like this for banana muffins, gluten-free blueberry muffins and gluten free strawberry muffins are different, and each need their own special recipe. Adding fruit with a lot of moisture like blueberries, strawberries and bananas changes the moisture in the muffin batter and it must be accounted for.

Follow the recipe!

This recipe is easily made in one bowl and doesn't call for beating the butter and sugar first. That's part of the reason that it specifies butter that's been melted and cooled, rather than at room temperature.

In this recipe, you make the banana muffin batter by whisking the dry ingredients then mixing in the individual wet ingredients to make a soft, thick banana muffin batter. Fill the wells of your prepared muffin tins all the way, and you're ready to bake them to perfection!

Use the right gluten free flour for banana muffins

For my recipe, it's Better Batter classic gluten-free flour blend (or my mock Better Batter recipe). I've made these gluten free banana muffins so many times using this blend, and they always come out perfectly!

Can I use a different gluten-free flour?

For the best results, I highly recommend sticking with Better Batter gluten-free flour classic blend, Cup4Cup, or one of my mock blends. Of course, if you like to experiment, give it a try! There are lots of gluten-free flours out there, but I can't promise results if you use an unbalanced blend and/or one with a gritty rice flour.

A word of caution: I don't recommend using straight coconut flour in this recipe as it absorbs tons of moisture; your muffins will turn out dense and crumbly. The same goes for straight almond flour, which requires a different recipe (and luckily we have a recipe for almond flour banana muffins!).

Aim for the same size muffins for an even bake

Making sure that your grain free banana muffins are each the same size is the best way to ensure even baking of all the muffins in the tin. Try to fill each well in your muffin pan to roughly the same level and they will bake evenly.

Use a greased or lined muffin tin

You can bake these muffins in a tin that is simply greased or also lined with paper muffin liners. I usually prefer to use muffin liners, as you get a slightly higher dome that way. Just be sure to let the muffins cool completely before you attempt to peel back the liner, or it will stick!

Baking with bananas

As long as you have a freezer, never worry about buying too many bananas. Like avocados, bananas ripen and demand to be eaten, or they'll go bad.

But unlike avocados, bananas can be peeled, sliced, frozen, and stored until you need them. I freeze chopped bananas in a single layer on a lined baking sheet, then pile them into a zip-top bag and return them to the freezer.

Frozen banana chunks are perfect for defrosting to make muffins like these and our cinnamon swirl banana bread. Defrost them on the counter, or in the microwave at 50% power. They'll seem to have a lot more liquid than fresh, mashed bananas, but don't drain them! Just bake with them as is.

Frozen banana chunks make lovely n'ice cream. If you don't have bananas on hand that are ripe enough for baking, you can try placing them in a paper bag with an apple to trap the ethylene gas that causes natural ripening.

“Ripening” bananas in the oven won't work. Unfortunately, although the skins of fully unripe bananas will brown in the oven, the bananas inside won't be nearly sweet enough for baking.

Use room temperature ingredients only

All the ingredients in this recipe need to be at room temperature to make sure they combine properly.

I’ve only specified the temperature of the wet ingredients like butter, eggs, and buttermilk since those are the ingredients that are stored in the refrigerator to prevent spoiling. The butter in this recipe is melted and then cooled to prevent its cooking the eggs.

If you’ve forgotten to leave your eggs out on the counter to warm to room temperature, just place them in a bowl of warm (not hot) water and allow them to sit for about 15 minutes.

If your buttermilk is cold, try microwaving it in 15-second intervals, stirring in between to prevent overheating. If you do overheat the buttermilk, just allow it to cool on the counter for a few minutes until it’s no longer hot to the touch.

Storage and refreshing instructions

You can store leftover banana muffins at room temperature in a sealed container for 3 to 5 days. To refresh a muffin that has started to dry out a bit, run it under cold water and then place in the toaster oven. Put the temperature to 300°F or lower, and let the muffin warm up. It will be close to good as new!

To store muffins, make sure they're completely cooled first. Baked goods that are still warm give off steam, and if you trap that steam in a sealed container, your muffins will turn soggy.

Freezing instructions

For longer storage, freeze your muffins for up to 2 months. Place them in a single layer on a small rimmed tray or baking sheet, and into the freezer. After a few hours, transfer them to an airtight container, such as a zip-top bag, and return them to the freezer.

Let frozen muffins thaw on the counter for a few hours, or microwave them for about 25 seconds. You can refresh them by moistening them and putting them in a 300°F toaster oven as described above.

Popular ingredient substitutions

Here are my notes and best guesses to help you bake along if you have these other dietary restrictions.

Dairy free

To make this recipe dairy-free, you have to replace both the butter and the buttermilk. For the butter, my favorite substitute in this recipe is virgin coconut oil, melted and cooled.

I like triple-filtered coconut oil (I buy mine at Trader Joe's) because it doesn't have any coconut flavor. I love coconut, but that's not the flavor we're going for in this recipe.

For the buttermilk, my favorite way to substitute it is by mixing 1/2 cup (about 130 grams) dairy-free plain yogurt with 1/2 cup (4 fluid ounces) nondairy milk. In fact, when I don't have buttermilk on hand, that's the dairy substitute I use, and it works great.

Egg free

Making this recipe egg-free is a tough one, as there are 3 whole eggs in the recipe. Once a recipe has more than 2 eggs in it, my confidence in the likely success of using an egg replacer decreases.

You can try using one “chia egg” (1 tablespoon ground chia seeds + 1 tablespoon lukewarm water, mixed and allowed to gel) in place of each egg. I'm honestly just not that optimistic that it will work that well.

Vegan

Follow the above suggestions for replacing the dairy and eggs, and you'll end up with vegan and gluten-free banana muffins. However, note that with so much substitution, I can't guarantee these will come out close to the way I make them.

You may need to experiment to suit your taste, and be sure that your sugar is made without bone char. Plus, if you're making vegan banana chocolate chip muffins, you'll need dairy-free chocolate chips, too.

Corn free

The cornstarch in this recipe is added because it adds tenderness and lightness to the recipe. It helps keep the muffins tender and not heavy, even though there are 4 mashed bananas in the batter.

You can easily replace the cornstarch with an equal amount of arrowroot. I've also made it with potato starch in place of cornstarch, in a pinch, and had no issues.

If you're using a higher starch flour blend like Cup4Cup, replace the cornstarch with more Cup4Cup. Just measure by weight.

Gluten-free banana muffin variations

As with my easy mix-in gluten-free muffins, these muffins can handle mix-ins with no problem, so long as they don't add extra moisture. Here are some of my favorite variations.

Banana chocolate chip muffins

Is there anything that chocolate chips can't make better? I'm sure there is, but let's not waste time on that. It's so simple to turn these into gluten-free banana chocolate chip muffins.

Add one half of a cup to the batter, but also save some chocolate chips to add to the top of each muffin before popping into the oven, like we did with our plain gluten-free chocolate chip muffins.

Banana nut muffins

You can also turn these very easily into gluten-free banana walnut muffins by adding 2 to 3 ounces of chopped, raw walnuts to the batter. Just fold them in right after you add the mashed bananas.

You can also make these with pecans if they're your nut of choice, or maybe raisins, or maybe something else — let me know if you experiment!

Toppings!

I love tons of banana flavor, but when I want classic gluten-free banana muffins with just a little something extra, I go for toppings. It's so easy to sprinkle on as much or as little as you'd like, and you can even make plain muffins and topped muffins for a mixed crowd or a little variation throughout the week.

As long as you choose a dry topping, the sky's the limit. Some ideas to consider are: coconut chips (interesting flavor combo with the bananas), chopped nuts (walnuts are my favorite), or coarse sugar (not too much).

Craving a gluten free banana cupcake and don't want to make our gluten-free banana cake? Okay, I'll admit these don't have the same consistency as a traditional cupcake, but add just a little bit of vanilla frosting on top, and you can trick yourself. :)

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