These vegan gluten-free banana mini muffins with chocolate chips taste just like banana bread! They’re moist, fun to squeeze, and have the perfect amount of mini chocolate chips. You’ll love them for snacking and sharing!

gluten-free mini banana muffins with chocolate chips

I first crafted this recipe back in 2020 when the world was in deep lockdown, and everyone was making banana bread. It was utterly comforting to fill my kitchen with that sweet, fresh from the oven, aroma. You know, the kind of smell that makes you hungry even though you just ate lunch? Total bliss! To this day, I light up when pulling the trays out of the oven. And I can promise you, they taste even better than they smell!

About this Gluten-Free Banana Mini Muffins with Chocolate Chips recipe-

These banana mini muffins taste just like banana bread, elevated to the next level, with chocolate chips! In fact, this recipe started out as banana bread but I found it has a better texture in mini form. Each muffin is bite-sized, squeezably moist, and studded with chocolate chips. But best of all, they’re adorable!

Why you should make this recipe

Because mini muffins are cute and just the right size for snacking and sharing.

Mini muffins with chocolate chips are just as friendly as chocolate chip cookies and a whole lot healthier. Have a few with your morning Peach Pie or Green Apple Smoothie. Pop a couple into your kid’s lunch for a healthy treat. Take a batch to your next potluck or gathering. Bring them to the office so everyone will love you!

Because they’re fun to make!

This is a fun recipe to try if you love making cookies or want to elevate your muffin game. It’s also strangely therapeutic to dispense the tiny baking cups into the pans and then fill each one to the brim with batter for extra high domes.

If you’re a fan of mini muffins and plan to make them often, it’s worth investing in a small cookie scoop. The 1½ tablespoon size is perfect for exactly filling 1 mini muffin cup. To use, scoop up a full scoopful of batter and level off the top. Then squeeze the handle to carefully plop the batter into the muffin cup. Click here to see the scoop I use.

Why this recipe works

You may have found that gluten-free vegan baking can be tricky. Overly wet batter leads to gummy muffins while batter that is too dry makes for an unpleasantly dense crumb. This recipe has just the right balance of wet to dry ingredients, so you’ll end up with a moist and tender crumb, every time.

How to get the perfect balance of wet to dry ingredients-

I highly recommend using a kitchen scale to measure your flour. This way you know you have the exact amount. If you don’t have a kitchen scale, trust your measuring cup, and spoon the flour into the cup. Then level it off with the flat end of a knife.

The same measuring principle goes for wet ingredients. This recipe calls for 1 cup of mashed ripe banana which is about 2 medium bananas. You may end up with a little extra banana pulp. So, save it for your morning smoothie instead of plopping it into the batter.

Mini muffins bake quickly and evenly-

Baking in small portions, like mini muffins, helps gluten-free vegan batter cook quickly and evenly. Larger bakery items like a loaf of bread, have a greater chance of becoming gummy inside. If you’ve ever sliced into a loaf expecting a light and tender crumb but ended up with a dense disappointment, you know what I’m talking about!

Tips for the best Gluten-Free Banana Mini Muffins

Use very ripe bananas for natural sweetness.
Fill the muffin cups to the top for high domes
Pluck the muffins out of the pan once you can handle them safely and let them finish cooling on a wire rack. This prevents steam from forming around the sides and bottom of the pan making them gummy.
Decorate the top with chocolate chips. They look super cute this way plus you get extra chocolate!
Use muffin liners. They are SO much easier than greasing 30 tiny little cups. This also gives you peace of mind that they will come out of the pan easily. Click here to see the brand of liners I use.

Here’s everything you need to make this recipe:

gluten-free mini banana muffin ingredients

Ingredients / Makes 28-30 mini muffins

Dry Ingredients

2 cups (200 g) of gluten-free oat flour OR regular rolled oats
2 teaspoons of baking powder
½ teaspoon of fine sea salt

Wet ingredients

1 cup (8 oz) of mashed very ripe banana (2 medium bananas)
1/3 cup (2.6 oz) of maple syrup
¼ cup (2 oz) of almond milk
¼ cup (2 oz) of tahini
2 teaspoons of fresh orange zest

Mix in

1/3 cup (57 g) of mini chocolate chips (plus more for decorating the tops)

How to make Gluten-Free Banana Mini Muffins with Chocolate Chips

Steps 2-3

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1. Pre-heat oven to 375° F / 190° C / gas mark 5. Line 2-3 mini muffin pans with muffin cups for 28-30 muffins.

2. Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium mixing bowl. If you are making homemade oat flour, blend 2 cups of regular rolled oats in a high-powered blender until it has a very fine texture which feels powdery and not sandy.

3. Use a fork to mash up the bananas until well blended, like baby food. Measure out 1 cup, saving any extra for another purpose.

4. Plop the banana pulp into a large mixing bowl and pour in the maple syrup, almond milk, and tahini, followed by the orange zest. Mix it all together.

5. Add the flour mixture to the banana mixture in three parts, stirring until smooth after each addition. The batter will be a little lumpy and that’s okay.

Step 6

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Step 9

6. Fold in the mini chocolate chips.

7. Use a 1½ tablespoon cookie scoop or a spoon to fill each mini muffin cup. You want to fill the cups to rim for nice high domes. If there are extra empty muffin cups without any batter, fill each one halfway with water before sliding the pan into the oven. This helps the muffins bake evenly without drying out.

8. Drop a few mini chocolate chips on the top of each cup for decoration.

9. Bake for 16 minutes. Once they are out of the oven, let them cool for 5 minutes and then pluck them out of the tin and place them on a wire rack to cool. If left to cool in the pan steam will form around the sides and bottom making them gummy.

Store in an air-tight container for up to 5 days.

Notes:

The mini muffins will be soft and extra moist when eaten warm and a bit firmer when cool.

I find the toothpick test doesn’t work well with mini muffins to test for doneness because the batter cooks quickly in the tiny cups and will come out clean even if slightly underdone. I recommend using an oven thermometer to be sure you’re baking at an accurate temperature.

FAQ

Can I use frozen banana pulp?

Yes! It’s great to be able to take advantage of ripe bananas when you have them. So, mash those babies up and freeze the pulp. Thaw frozen pulp in the microwave for 1 minute, then at 20-second intervals until you can stir it with a spoon but it’s not hot. It’s important to know that frozen pulp will thaw to a more liquid state than fresh pulp, making your batter looser and your domes less high.

Can I add more chocolate chips?

Sure! If you want to increase the amount of chips, use ½ cup (89 g) total. The muffins will be very chocolatey and will still hold together.

Can I make the batter in a blender?

I’m so glad you asked! Just like my pumpkin spice and gingerbread muffins, gluten-free vegan banana muffins can be made in a blender. Check out those blog posts for tips and tricks on blender muffin success!

Leave a Comment & Rating

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Yield: 30 mini muffins

Author: Carol Clayton