
I’m kinda really excited about this one….
These mini banana muffins are not only vegan, but gluten free, oil free, and refined sugar free too. I’m not typically a gluten free baker, so these muffins are a bit out of my normal spectrum of baking, but I’m very happy with the result. When I started thinking about these muffins I really wanted to make it as simple as possible since I don’t have much experience baking gluten free. I’m not all that familiar with the different kinds of flour, how to combine them, and gums needed to be successful so I went with what I do know. When I made these black bean cookies I figured out almond meal works really well in baked goods and oats make a great substitute for traditional flours plus they are always plentiful in our house.
Another goal I had for these little muffins was to make them oil free because I know quite a few of you prefer to limit or avoid oil all together. And I eliminated the need for refined sugar by opting to use my favorite natural sweetener maple syrup.
Now, I love chocolate so I’d be perfectly happy to have a whole batch of chocolaty goodness, but one of the little ones prefers the non chocolate option. So I simply divided the batter and added cacao powder to one half and kept the other half plain. You can add additional vanilla extract for a more intense flavor in the non chocolate batter. One batter, two flavor options.
And if you do try these muffins I'd love to know what you think! Leave a comment below or snap a pic and tag @weelittlevegans on Instagram.
Recipe
Gluten Free Oil Free Mini Banana Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 very ripe bananas
- 1 cup gluten free oats
- ½ cup almond meal
- 2 flax or chia eggs 2 tablespoon ground flax + 4 tablespoon water OR 2 tablespoon ground chia + 3 tablespoon water
- 2 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon cacao nibs or mini chocolate chips optional
- 2 tablespoon cocoa powder optional
- 2 tablespoon maple syrup if using cocoa powder
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Lightly oil mini muffin pan if using metal or use a silicone pan.
- Prepare flax or chia eggs by whisking flax or chia seeds and water. Set aside to thicken.
- Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until a batter forms. To make a half batch of each don't add cacao powder and maple syrup to the first blending. Instead spoon half of the batter into pan. Then add 1 tablespoon cacao powder and 1-2 tablespoon maple depending on desired sweetness to remaining batter and blend to incorporate. Spoon chocolate batter in muffin wells and bake.
- Spoon batter into wells of muffins pan and smooth tops.
- Top with cacao nibs or chocolate chips and lightly press them in, if using.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Allow to cool for 10-15 minutes before removing from pan to finish cooling on wire rack.
Jinger says
This is the first recipe I have tried from this site and it did not disappoint! I followed the recipe exactly and made all the muffins with cocoa powder. I was able to get 24 mini muffins. All 4 of kids loved them! I love that these were not overly sweet. Thanks for a great recipe!