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About This Recipe
One of my all-time flavor combinations is banana, peanut butter and chocolate. If you’ve tried my Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Bars, you know how amazing the sweetness of the banana pairs with the salty nut flavor and rich chocolate chips. I knew the flavor combination would make such a good muffin recipe and man was I right!
These healthy muffins use oat flour like my Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins so they’re gluten-free and are naturally sweetened thanks to the mashed banana and pure maple syrup.
These muffins are nutritious enough to be enjoyed for breakfast but also sweet enough for a healthy treat or dessert! I promise, the whole family will love these! Plus, they’re super easy to make and ready in just 30 minutes. I swear you’ll want to make a double batch of these muffins every week!
Enjoy these muffins with a side of greek yogurt for extra protein or your favorite breakfast meat like bacon or sausage!
If you are looking for more healthy delicious muffins, try my Skinny Blueberry Muffins or my Low Carb Lemon Poppy Seed Protein Muffins!
Why You’ll Love These Peanut Butter Banana Muffins
- Naturally sweetened with bananas & pure maple syrup for the perfect healthy breakfast!
- A cross between breakfast and dessert! These muffins are sweet, nutty, and packed with gooey chocolate!
- Made with whole grains, no added sugar, gluten-free and dairy-free!
- A great grab-and-go breakfast for busy mornings! Or a perfect healthy snack in the afternoon!
- This delicious recipe is made with simple ingredients and so easy to make! Ready to eat in just 30 minutes.
- Bananas – make sure to use overripe bananas that have lots of brown spots. This will help sweeten the muffins. The riper the banana = the sweeter the muffins! You can ripen your bananas in the oven if they aren’t quite ripe enough yet.
- Applesauce – I used unsweetened applesauce but you can also sub for pumpkin like in my pumpkin chocolate chip oat muffins.
- Pure maple syrup – can also use honey or substitute for sugar-free pancake syrup if you want less sugar!
- Peanut butter – since peanut butter is one of the the main ingredients in this recipe, you want to make sure to use a peanut butter you love the taste of! I love using natural, drippy creamy peanut butter for this recipe. You could also easily sub for almond butter, cashew butter or sunflower seed butter. Just know that they will change the overall flavor some too.
- Egg
- Coconut oil
- Oat flour – just be sure your flour is certified gluten-free if needed!
- Baking essentials: vanilla extract, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt
- Chocolate chips – my favorite chocolate chips are Enjoy Life!
- Fresh fruit! Swap the chocolate chips for a few fresh blueberries or your favorite fruit.
- Crunchy peanut butter! While I enjoy the consistency of smooth peanut butter for these muffins, if you like a little crunch, feel free to use your favorite crunchy peanut butter or almond butter.
- Peanut butter chips! Want 2x the peanut butter flavor? Swap the chocolate chips for peanut butter chips.
How To Make
The full printable recipe is below, but let me walk you through the process so you know what to expect when you’re making it!
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare a muffin pan with cooking spray or muffin liners. Add the bananas to a large mixing bowl and mash with a fork.
2. Then add the applesauce, peanut butter, syrup, egg, oil and vanilla and mix until well combined.
3. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
4. Mix in the dry ingredients until they are incorporated. Then fold in the chocolate chips.
5. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin pan. Sprinkle with more chocolate chips if desired so they look pretty!
6. Bake muffins for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few wet crumbs. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for a few minutes before transferring the muffins to a wire rack to cool completely. Drizzle with drippy peanut butter if desired and enjoy!
Store leftover muffins in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.
To freeze, allow muffins to cool completely then wrap muffins tightly in a freezer-safe bag and freeze for up to 3 months.
Peanut Butter Banana Oat Flour Muffins!
- Do NOT over mix! Over mixing the batter can cause denser, gummy muffins instead of light and fluffy muffins like we all love! For the best results, be sure to mix the wet and dry ingredients until just combined and them softly fold in the dark chocolate chips.
- Let your eggs come to room temperature! Let your eggs sit our roughly 30 minutes before baking or place them in a bowl of warm water for 3-5 minutes before you using them.
- Use fresh baking soda and baking powder! Be sure to use baking powder that hasn’t been open for more than 3 months. I like to write the date on top of the can whenever I open a new one to ensure I know when to start fresh!
- Use brown bananas! You want your bananas to be covered in brown spots. The brown spots bring out the banana flavor and make them sweeter which will help sweetened the muffins since we’re only using maple syrup as our other sweetening agent.
- Don’t overfill muffin tin! Be sure to only fill muffin tin about 3/4 full or muffins will rise too much and fall to the sides!
Can I use regular flour instead of oat flour?
I really prefer the taste of oat flour in these muffins but if necessary you can sub the oat flour for all-purpose flour, white whole wheat flour, or 1:1 gluten-free flour like Bob’s Red Mill or King Arthur. I also highly recommend just making your own oat flour by blending rolled oats or quick oats in a blender or food processor until they’re a fine flour-like consistency!
How do I make my muffins light and fluffy?
Do not over-beat the batter. Just mix well. This is why I recommend using a whisk to combine the ingredients and not a hand mixer. Over-mixing will create dry muffins. Let the batter to sit for 10 minutes if you can before baking for a fluffier texture. The extra time allows the ingredients to come together more effectively.
How ripe do my bananas need to be for these healthy peanut butter banana muffins?
You want to use bananas that are covered in dark spots to help ensure the right amount of sweetness for these muffins. The riper the banana, the sweeter your muffins will be. Since we’re only using pure maple syrup as the other natural sweetener in this recipe, we rely on the sweetener from the right bananas to help get the taste we’re looking for! If you need to ripen your bananas quickly, pop them in the oven for 20 minutes.
Did you make this? If you snap a photo, please be sure leave a review, tag me on Instagram or TikTok at @LaurenFitFoodie or hashtag #LaurenFitFoodie so I can see your creations!
Healthy Peanut Butter Banana Oat Flour Muffins (Gluten-Free)
Ingredients
- 3 medium ripe bananas (320g) ~1.25 cup mashed
- 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce (120g)
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup (120g)
- 1/3 cup creamy peanut butter (80g)
- 1 large egg
- 2 Tbsp coconut oil (30g) melted & cooled
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1.25 cups oat flour (150g)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips (90g)
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Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare a muffin pan with cooking spray or muffin liners.
- Add the bananas to a large mixing bowl and mash with a fork. Then add the applesauce, peanut butter, syrup, egg, oil and vanilla and mix until well combined.
- Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
- Mix in the dry ingredients until they are incorporated. Then fold in the chocolate chips.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin pan. Sprinkle with more chocolate chips if desired so they look pretty!
- Bake muffins for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few wet crumbs.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for a few minutes before transferring the muffins to a wire rack to cool completely. Drizzle with drippy peanut butter if desired and enjoy!
Notes
- Do NOT over mix! Over mixing the batter can cause denser, gummy muffins instead of light and fluffy muffins like we all love! For the best results, be sure to mix the wet and dry ingredients until just combined and them softly fold in the dark chocolate chips.
- Let your eggs come to room temperature! Let your eggs sit our roughly 30 minutes before baking or place them in a bowl of warm water for 3-5 minutes before you using them.
- Use fresh baking soda and baking powder! Be sure to use baking powder that hasn’t been open for more than 3 months. I like to write the date on top of the can whenever I open a new one to ensure I know when to start fresh!
- Use brown bananas! You want your bananas to be covered in brown spots. The brown spots bring out the banana flavor and make them sweeter which will help sweetened the muffins since we’re only using maple syrup as our other sweetening agent. You can ripen your bananas quickly in the oven if you need to.
- Don’t overfill muffin tin! Be sure to only fill muffin tin about 3/4 full or muffins will rise too much and fall to the sides!
Nutrition Information
Nutrition is hand-calculated and accurate. No autocalulations! However, note that values can vary based on the brands you use and if you substitute ingredients.