Almond Butter Banana Muffins

Published on by Alissa

I am a bit of a hoarder.  I’m definitely a food hoarder, but also a hoarder of things. My husband thinks it is junk.  Which it isn’t! But seriously, I keep things in boxes that I have never looked at for the past four years that we have lived here.  I find myself holding on to things because… “don’t you dare get rid of it because I am saving that chair just in case some day I want to paint it red and have a tea party”. Yes…that really came out of my mouth.

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He recently decided to have a garage sale…or an “Alissa’s Things Sale” as I refer to it. He doesn’t hold on to anything. When we got married, he moved into my house with a single box. I had a U-Haul trailer that could have fit a plane. So needless to say, purging is a hard thing for me. I remember every gift someone gave to me. I can’t seem to part with it even if that person totally does not remember giving it to me. They probably just picked it up randomly and thought “crap, it’s her birthday…uhm…ya, here’s a chicken tea pot…she eats chicken…she drinks tea…CHICKEN TEA POT!”.  And here I am 15 years later with the ugliest tea pot and refusing to get rid of it. Until one day I wake up and the love of my life is selling all of my precious belongings (crap) and other people are walking away with my chicken tea pot!  *sob*

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It was a similar feeling for me when I made the switch a year ago to give up gluten. Making the switch to being gluten free can be tough sometimes. It’s hard to not feel like an outsider when everyone is laughing and enjoying cake and big plates of lasagna. Family gatherings and cookouts and office parties offer a plethora of pasta salads and cupcakes and brownies and bread and crackers.  I would end up being the person in the corner snacking on carrots and a bag of nuts that I had stashed away in my purse like a squirrel.  BECAUSE I AM A HOARDER.

One day I decided to PURGE! I threw away everything that contained wheat or even traces of wheat.  It felt awesome.  I began researching and arming myself with easy recipes to bring to gatherings. So now I always offer to bring something that I know that I can eat and that will blow the socks off of others that have no idea how great gluten free food can be.

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This recipe uses nut butter in place of flour! No flour, no oil, no butter.  Basically it is just almond butter and bananas and honey and eggs. Those purged cabinets probably have these simple ingredients in them.  These muffins are rediculously good and rediculously easy!  I have made them with almond butter and also with peanut butter. Both are fabulous.  You can also add cocoa powder to the batter for chocolate cupcakes!

Almond Butter Banana Muffins

Ingredients

  • 1 cup almond butter* (see note below)
  • 2 ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 cup)
  • 2 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
  • 2 tablespoons cocoa powder (optional)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Prepare a 12 cup muffin tin with muffin liners. Set aside.
  2. In a medium bowl, combine the banana, eggs, and almond butter until well mixed. Add the remaining ingredients except the cocoa powder. With half of the batter, fill 6 muffin liners 3/4 full. I use a 1/4 cup to measure for each. With the remaining muffin batter, add the cocoa powder. Fill the remaining 6 muffin cups to 3/4 full with the chocolate batter.
  3. Bake for 15 minutes at 350F. Muffins will be firm a slightly golden, but fluffy. Allow to cool for 10 minutes then remove from the muffin pan to a wire rack.

*Notes

  1. I have also made these with peanut butter and they were great. I assume other nut butters would work too. If you have a nut allergy, sunbutter (sunflower seed butter) would be a good substitute.
  2. I recommend all natural and unsweetened nut butters. However, if you aren’t using all natural nut butters (that is, if they have added sweeteners) then lower the overall amount of added honey in the recipe.
  3. These are also delicious as cupcakes!

24 thoughts on “Almond Butter Banana Muffins”

  1. yummy! i just pulled these out of the oven and am enjoying one right now….sooo delicious!! and so light and fluffy too! btw, i just found your blog today and i’m excited to try more of your recipes!

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  2. Just made these and they were delish! I used my pecash (pecan/cashew) butter that I just made and a little peanut butter since I didn’t quite have enough. I think next time I’ll add some Enjoy Life chocolate chips to make it a tad sweeter. Thanks for the recipe 🙂

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  3. These are soo good! I substituted the cinnamon for allspice and added blueberries. Thinking about adding lemon zest the next time, the base of this recipe is so good and I think could be adapted for lots of other ingredients. So happy I found this, thank you!

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    1. I haven’t given that variation a try, but it may work. The problem is that applesauce is runnier than bananas. I have a pumpkin apple muffin recipe that is amazing that you should try.

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    1. Aneta – thank you for the lovely comment! These are one of my favorite paleo snacks. Hang in there on the Paleo track. There are plenty of wonderful food options and treats when you feel the need.

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  7. Just made these tonight. They are awesome! Thanks so much for a great muffin recipe that doesn’t involve the use of coconut flour!

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  8. Alissa,

    I make these ALL THE TIME now. I subbed in plain canned pumpkin for the bananas the other day and they worked perfectly, in fact they seemed a little fluffier even. I didn’t put in pumpkin pie spices the last time because I didn’t have any on hand, but I’m going to next time : )

    Your site is now a go-to for me for baking, etc…it’s wicked good!

    I’m planning to make your newest breakfast recipe this weekend when I’m housesitting at Lisa’s.

    Hope to see you sometime soon!

    Susan (your Maine walk/jog buddy)

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    1. Susan – So glad you loved those muffins! They are so easy and delicious. Thanks for the tip on the pumpkin…I’ll definitely have to try it! Hope to see you soon too.

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  9. Alissa, Thanks for the recipe. I will try it this week with my almost-five-year-old grandson who has deep-seated principles that do not allow him to eat anything healthy. Maybe I can outsmart him with this recipe.
    Speaking of hoarding, here’s a gentle reminder: IT MIGHT BE TIME TO PART WITH THAT MUFFIN TIN. if you charged every person one cent to view your recipes, in no time at all you’d have five dollars saved up. You could go to WalMart and spring for a new pan. Please don’t take offense–all in good fun. 😉

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    1. Haha! Thanks for the advice Cyndi. That muffin tin was my grandmother’s. She made so many tasty cornbread muffins and carrot cake muffins in it. I love cooking in it and thinking of her.

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  11. I have made these a few times and they are so moist and delicious. I didn’t put in the cinnamon, but used 3 tbls. of cocoa powder for a more chocolate taste. Also, I used Enjoy Life Dark Chocolate chips and oh boy, they taste soooo good. It’s very important not to overcook these muffins or they will be dry.

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  12. Pingback: Our First Month Low Carb | One Day At A Time

  15. OMG. These were so good! I’ve tried several recipes and none have tasted this great. Fluffy, rich, and just the right amount of sweetness. I added a quarter of a square of 85% dark chocolate in each muffin. Just took them out of the oven and wasn’t really expecting much since I’ve been disappointed many times…I wolfed it down and bit my tongue eating it so fast! This is going in the recipe binder! Thank you so much!

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