

These flourless chocolate peanut butter muffins are unbelievably moist and tender and packed with chocolate and peanut butter flavor. You simply won't believe this gluten-free and even grain-free recipe, made without added butter or oil!
Why this flourless muffin recipe with peanut butter and chocolate works so well
When I first developed this recipe in 2016, I had been failing off and on for years. And then you loved it as much as I do, so I doubled down on flourless baking recipes.
At the start, I tried to make flourless chocolate peanut butter muffins without banana. But banana helps add moisture, plus lots of natural sweetness.
- The structure of the muffin comes from the smooth nut butter and eggs. Even the mashed banana helps.
- The moisture and sweetness from the honey and banana.
- The flavor comes from honey, cocoa powder, and peanut butter.
The result is these amazingly moist, tender and even light grain-free flourless peanut butter breakfast muffins.
They taste great, aren't very sweet, and are still super filling. A staple of the gluten free breakfast rotation in my house.
What makes this grain free chocolate peanut butter muffin recipe the best—even if you don't like banana
If you compare this flourless recipe to my recipe for flourless chocolate peanut butter breakfast cookies, you'll find that the real difference is the addition of mashed banana here.
If you really don't like the taste of bananas, you don't even taste them. I do like bananas, but I'm still sensitive to the taste because I only want things like our gluten free banana muffins to taste like them.
If you scroll down, though, I do have some suggestions for replacing the mashed banana. And you can always try our recipe for flourless Paleo muffins, which are much more neutral-tasting.
What makes these chocolate peanut butter muffins healthy?
Most grab-and-go breakfast foods aren't healthy at all. Even if they fill you up for the moment, you'll probably crash pretty soon after.
These chocolate peanut butter muffins are healthy because they're made with smooth peanut butter as a base, and much of the sweetness comes from mashed bananas. If you've ever been running low on energy and grabbed a spoonful of peanut butter as a snack, these muffins are a more satisfying alternative.
Ingredients and substitutions for chocolate peanut butter muffins
As long as you're using dairy-free miniature chocolate chips (or simply leaving them out of the recipe), these muffins are naturally dairy-free.
Here are some educated guesses about other allergenic ingredients you may have to eliminate. If none of them suits you, don't forget there are so many other gluten free breakfast ideas here on the blog.
Egg-free chocolate peanut butter muffins
There are 3 eggs in this recipe, as it's been scaled up to make more generous muffins, which is generally too many eggs to successfully replace in a recipe.
Before you try replacing each egg with a “chia egg” (1 tablespoon ground white chia seeds + 1 tablespoon lukewarm water, mixed and allowed to gel), I recommend scaling the recipe back down to call for only 2 eggs.
The other ingredients would be as follows:
- 1 cup (256 g) peanut butter
- 2 mashed bananas (200 g)
- 2 “chia eggs”
- 4 tablespoons (84 g) honey
- 1/2 cup (40 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 ounce miniature dark chocolate chips (optional)
Follow the remaining recipe instructions as written. The recipe should only make 8 chocolate peanut butter muffins.
No banana flourless muffins recipe suggestions
I love bananas, but I know not everyone shares my heart here. I really really believe that you cannot taste the bananas in this recipe.
One more pitch for including them: The banana flavor is completely overshadowed by the chocolate and peanut butter flavors.
But if you simply will not bake with mashed bananas, try replacing them with an equal amount, by weight, of unsweetened smooth (jarred) applesauce.
For a different, but similar recipe, try our flourless quinoa chocolate cupcakes recipe instead.
Making flourless muffins without honey
If you'd like to make vegan chocolate peanut butter flourless muffins, you'll need to make them egg-free (see above) and without honey.
I don't usually have success replacing honey in baking with pure maple syrup. Syrup is much thinner than honey.
To match honey's sweetness and viscosity, try Lyle's Golden Syrup instead. If you can't find Lyle's, I think light corn syrup (which is not at all the same as the dreaded high fructose corn syrup) should work, too.
Flourless Chocolate Peanut Butter Muffins | A Magical Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups (384 g) no-stir smooth peanut butter (or almond butter)
- 3 (300 g (weighed after peel is removed)) ripe bananas mashed
- 3 (150 g (weighed out of shell)) eggs at room temperature, beaten
- 6 tablespoons (126 g) honey
- ¾ cup (60 g) unsweetened cocoa powder natural or Dutch processed
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 ½ ounces miniature dark chocolate chips optional
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line the wells of a standard 12-cup muffin tin and set it aside.
- In a large bowl, place the peanut butter, bananas, eggs and honey, and beat with a handheld mixer until very well-combined. Add the cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt, and mix with a spatula until just combined.
- Beat the mixture again with a handheld mixer until very well-combined. The batter should be thick but soft and as smooth as possible.
- Divide the batter evenly among the prepared wells of the muffin tin, and shake the tin back and forth to distribute the batter in an even layer in each well. Sprinkle the optional miniature chocolate chips evenly on top of the batter in each well.
- Place the tin in the center of the preheated oven and bake until the tops of the muffins are puffed and spring back and feel relatively firm when pressed gently in the center (about 25 minutes).
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes in the tin before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. They freeze exceptionally well when placed in a well-sealed freezer-safe container. Defrost at room temperature or in the microwave.
Notes
Flourless Chocolate Peanut Butter Muffins | A Magical Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups (384 g) no-stir smooth peanut butter (or almond butter)
- 3 (300 g (weighed after peel is removed)) ripe bananas mashed
- 3 (150 g (weighed out of shell)) eggs at room temperature, beaten
- 6 tablespoons (126 g) honey
- ¾ cup (60 g) unsweetened cocoa powder natural or Dutch processed
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 ½ ounces miniature dark chocolate chips optional
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line the wells of a standard 12-cup muffin tin and set it aside.
- In a large bowl, place the peanut butter, bananas, eggs and honey, and beat with a handheld mixer until very well-combined. Add the cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt, and mix with a spatula until just combined.
- Beat the mixture again with a handheld mixer until very well-combined. The batter should be thick but soft and as smooth as possible.
- Divide the batter evenly among the prepared wells of the muffin tin, and shake the tin back and forth to distribute the batter in an even layer in each well. Sprinkle the optional miniature chocolate chips evenly on top of the batter in each well.
- Place the tin in the center of the preheated oven and bake until the tops of the muffins are puffed and spring back and feel relatively firm when pressed gently in the center (about 25 minutes).
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes in the tin before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. They freeze exceptionally well when placed in a well-sealed freezer-safe container. Defrost at room temperature or in the microwave.
Cynthia Cox says
Would flax eggs work?
Nicole Hunn says
To see my opinion on an egg-free version, please see the section titled “Egg-free chocolate peanut butter muffins”
Cynthia says
I used 2 flax eggs…2T. Flax + 5T. Water. 👌🏽👌🏽
Nicole Hunn says
Thank you so much for letting us know, Cynthia. So glad it worked out!
Barb Conway says
Easy, nutritious and delicious, these have a cake-like taste and texture. I also serve them for dessert. Could the batter be baked in a small cake pan instead of individual muffins?
Nicole Hunn says
Hi, Barb, so glad you loved them as much as we do. You described them perfectly! I’m afraid I don’t think this recipe has the proper support to be made as a cake, no. If you’re willing to experiment, it might be worth a try but I don’t expect that it would hold up.
Miriam says
Sounds absolutely delicious. I have some frozen bananas in the freezer I usually use for muffins, will these be alright to use or will they be too wet? I’m so glad I found your web page it’s made my life much easier baking for my husband. Thank you.
Erika says
Could I use milk chocolate chips instead of dark? My kids are not fan of dark chocolate . Thanks
Nicole Hunn says
Of course, Erika! If you can have dairy, you can always use milk chocolate chips—or any other chip you prefer.
Coco says
Amazing muffins! They taste much more rich than they are, I served them as dessert at my dinner party with vanilla ice cream and a dribble of chocolate liqueur, they were a huge hit. Thank you so much for sharing!
Nicole Hunn says
Oooh that sounds amazing, Coco!
marcie says
No scale, what 300g of banana would be as ? Cups of Applesauce please
Nicole Hunn says
The only reliable way to bake is by weight, Marcie, particularly when you’re making substitutions. 1 medium-sized banana weighed out of its peel usually weighs about 100 grams. I suggest using that as a guide, but I can’t promise results without a simple inexpensive digital scale.
Susan says
These muffins have an incredible cake-like texture. Hard to believe it, since they contain 1 1/2C peanut butter! What a yummy way to get protein at breakfast. They are satisfying and one muffin keeps me going all morning.
Nicole Hunn says
That’s awesome, Susan! They really are magic muffins.
Lisa says
Hi Nichole, I made these muffins last week and they are delicious! Followed the recipe just as it is written, and they came out perfect. Your recipes work and are delicious-especially for GLUTEN free! Thanks for another winner!
Nicole Hunn says
You’re so welcome, Lisa! Thanks for letting me know you loved them. Stock that freezer!
Cynthia says
This is a great chocolate muffin recipe! I had one ripe banana so I decided to try cutting all the ingredients to 1/3 of original, i.e. one banana, one egg, etc. and made six smallish muffins. That was perfect for my husband and me until our 16 year old grandson walked in! He loves chocolate and peanut butter as much as we do. Now that I know how wonderful the muffins are I will be making the full recipe! Glad to know they freeze well too! Thanks Nicole!
Nicole Hunn says
Hi, Cynthia, I’m so glad! And you can always reduce any recipe by a percentage across the board. That’s the beauty of baking by weight!