Gluten Free Blueberry Banana Muffins are one of my favourite healthy on the go breakfasts. The easy recipe makes light and airy muffins that are loaded with juicy blueberries.
Our quick & easy Gluten Free Blueberry Banana Muffins recipe features a moist batter made of a combination of coconut flour and almond flour rather than wheat.
This homemade Dairy Free Blueberry Muffins recipe is a combination of my family’s two favourite muffin flavours: Blueberry Muffins and Banana Muffins.
This healthy vegetarian muffin recipe features simple and wholesome ingredients like almond flour, coconut flour, baking powder, mashed ripe bananas, maple syrup, canola oil, fresh eggs, vanilla extract and fresh blueberries.
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What Are Gluten Free Blueberry Banana Muffins?
Gluten free muffins are a popular baked good treat for people with celiac disease, gluten intolerance or those looking to reduce the wheat in their diet.
Gluten-free flours are traditionally heavy, dense and have strong flavours, which can produce homemade baked goods that are heavy, dry and bland.
In order to perfect light and moist baked goods that taste delicious, other ingredients in gluten free baking recipes need to be increased.
Our Gluten Free Blueberry Banana Muffin recipe substitutes traditional whole wheat flour with a mixture of coconut flour and almond flour. The muffin batter is moistened with mashed ripe bananas, sweet maple syrup, canola oil and fresh eggs.
Other Gluten Free Recipes…
- Buckwheat Gluten Free Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Dairy & Gluten Free Vegetarian Peanut Butter Flapjacks
- Gluten Free Chickpea Flour Indian Pancakes
- Vegan Buckwheat Gluten Free Porridge
- Jordgubbstårta Gluten Free Swedish Strawberry Meringue Cake
- Gluten Free Pie Creamy Lemon Angel Pie Recipe
Join Dobbernationloves founder Andrew Dobson in the kitchen by signing up for a fun virtual cooking class! Classes begin with a cocktail that you can sip while preparing 2-3 recipes that are curated around a unique culinary theme. Check out our current Cooking Class Schedule!
Muffin History
A muffin is an individual-sized, baked product most commonly associated with morning mealtime. It’s one of the most popular on-the-go breakfasts that can easily be made ahead and stored in the freezer to enjoy later.
Muffins can refer to two distinct baked goods, a part-raised unsweetened flatbread that is baked and then cooked on a griddle, and a cupcake-like sweet or savoury quickbread that is leavened with baking powder and baked in a mold.
While the most common quickbread muffins are sweetened (such as lemon blueberry muffins, mincemeat muffins and morning glory muffins), there are also savoury varieties such as jalapeno cheddar cornbread muffins and cheddar apple muffins.
The flatbread “English Muffin” variety is of British origin, and dates from at least the early 18th century, while the quickbread originated in Canada and America during the 19th century.
One 19th century source suggests that muffins may be related to the Greek bread maphula, a cake baked on a hearth or griddle. Culinary historians also look to the Old French mou-pain, meaning soft bread, which may have been corrupted into “mouffin.”
The word is first found in print in 1703, spelled moofin; it is of uncertain origin but possibly derived from the Low German Muffen, the plural of Muffe meaning a small cake. The expression muffin-man, meaning a street seller of muffins, is attested in a 1754 poem, which includes the line: “Hark! the shrill Muffin-Man his Carol plies…”
One of Canada’s top selling cookbooks of the 1980s was Muffin Mania, which helped popularize muffin making from Newfoundland to British Columbia. Homemade muffins were originally prepared as a healthy breakfast option, high-fibre mid-afternoon snack or low calorie dessert.
In 1997, muffins were popularized once again in Seinfeld’s now famous “The Muffin Tops,” episode. Like many muffin lovers, Elaine shared her love for only eating muffin tops. She hilariously talks about the fact that muffin stumps are not worthy of consumption as they don’t have the desirable crunchy texture. She shares the idea of opening a store that sells just muffin tops with her ex-boss and is outraged when he steals her idea.
When he offers her 30% of the profits to help his struggling business, they initially give the unused stumps to a homeless shelter. But after they get complaints about the missing muffin tops by a charity worker, they have to get rid of them elsewhere. Newman eventually takes the muffin stumps off their hands, smiling with glee!
In the last decade gluten free baking has become a very popular trend in the food industry. There are now plenty of custom gluten free flour blends you can purchase to make cakes, cookies and pancakes.
Whether you live by a strict gluten free diet or are just looking to try a new recipe, we’re sure you’ll love these Dairy & Gluten Free Blueberry Banana Muffins!
Best Muffin Tools & Equipment
Before baking a batch of Gluten Free Blueberry Banana Muffins make sure your kitchen is outfitted with essential bakers tools.
- Mixing Bowl Set: It’s important to have a set of durable mixing bowls. We love stainless steel mixing bowls with a good grip. When making muffins you’ll typically need a large mixing bowl to sift your dry ingredients into, and a medium or small mixing bowl to beat your wet ingredients.
- Measuring Cups: Ensure you have a set of measuring cups with a flat top rather than a spout, so you can easily use a knife to level off your dry ingredients like flour and sugar.
- Measuring Spoons: We love these durable stainless steel measuring spoons that will help you accurately measure spices, baking soda and baking powder.
- Whisk: This stainless steel whisk has a great grip and is helpful when beating eggs into other wet ingredients.
- Sieve: It’s essential to have this tool in your kitchen so you can ensure all your dry ingredients are separated and don’t clump in the wet batter.
- Bakers Scale: Use this digital scale to weigh flour and other ingredients that require a weight measurement.
- Spatula: We love this rubber spatula as it also acts as a spoon so you can easily drop batter into each greased muffin cup.
- Muffin Tins: We only use silicone muffin tins as they allow you to easily remove baked muffins from the tin with minimal baking spray required.
- Baking Spray: Ensure your cupboards are stocked with baking spray so your muffins don’t get stubborn and refuse to slide out of the pan.
- Cooling Rack: A sturdy cooling rack is a must to ensure your muffins cool without falling apart or getting soggy. They need breathing space to let out the steam before storing.
- Storage Containers: We love doubling our muffin recipes so we have leftovers to store in the fridge or freezer to enjoy later.
My Family Loves Gluten Free Blueberry Banana Muffins
One of my fondest memories growing up as a kid was waking up in the morning at our family cottage in Muskoka and smelling freshly baked muffins.
My family’s two favourite recipes were Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins and Lemon Blueberry Muffins. In the summer we’d forage for wild blueberries and incorporate them into out favourite baked goods. My sister was the family blueberry fan while I was mostly obsessed with the marriage of banana and chocolate.
I created this wheat-free recipe when a friend with a gluten intolerance visited for a cottage weekend one summer. It combines my love for banana muffins and my sisters constant cravings for blueberry muffins.
I baked the muffins during peak Ontario berry season, as fresh is always best. Small and sweet blueberries are grown locally in Muskoka cottage country during the summer. They’re expensive as it is a labour intensive process to harvest them but worth the splurge once or twice a year.
NOTE: if you don’t have access to fresh blueberries frozen blueberries can be substituted. Add the frozen berries just after the batter has been combined and stir them in gently to avoid having their purple colour bleed into the batter.
Love baking? Check out the Best Healthy Muffins For Kids and Best Vegan & Vegetarian Muffins.
Buying VS Making Homemade Muffins
Today, muffins are often sold at grocery stores, McDonald’s cafes and coffee shops like Starbucks and Tim Horton’s. Unfortunately most commercially prepared muffins are simply cupcakes without the icing.
Even gluten free muffin products marketed as “healthy” may only include minimal fresh fruit, have an overdose of sugar and artificial flavourings.
Read the ingredients list and you’ll find store bought muffins are full of sugar, fat and “flavourings” rather than real fresh fruit and healthy fibre. The excessive sugar, salt, fat and additives in commercial muffin recipes allow the grocery stores and coffee shops to extend the shelf life so they don’t go stale as quickly as a homemade muffin would.
Can You Freeze & Reheat Gluten Free Muffins?
The best way to enjoy gluten free muffins is by preparing them at home, allowing you to control the proportion of ingredients.
We suggest eating muffins fresh the day they are prepared. If you have any leftovers muffins pack 3-4 in a ziplock bag in your fridge and simply warm them up the next day in the oven. You can use a microwave to reheat muffins but they won’t produce the desired crunchy texture.
Any remaining gluten free muffins should be stored in the freezer and can keep for 2-3 months.
We like to double our muffin recipes when we prepare them so we have a storage of yummy muffins in the freezer that we can easily enjoy several weeks later.
Gluten Free Muffin Health Benefits
Our Gluten Free Blueberry Banana Muffins recipe is packed full of healthy ingredients!
Containing more protein, fibre, vitamin E and calcium that other nuts, almonds may reduce the risk of heart disease, keep your bones healthy, and help your body absorb essential nutrients.
Coconut is rich in fibre and may also offer a number of benefits including improved heart healthy and digestion. It is high in calories and sautéed fat so be sure to eat in moderation.
Eggs contain two vital nutrients that are not present in many foods: iodine and vitamin D. Eggs are also rich in tissue-building protein and vitamin B12, which helps your body manufacture blood cells.
Containing starch and fibre, bananas are an excellent superfood for digestive health. They are a good source of heart-healthy potassium, as well as amino acids and vitamin B6, which help keep your brain healthy.
Blueberries are a the “king of antioxidant foods, and feature fibre, potassium, folate, vitamin C and vitamin B6.
Gluten Free Blueberry Banana Muffins Baking Tips
If you’re looking to prepare healthy Gluten Free Blueberry Banana Muffins on a whim and are missing a few ingredients at home don’t worry!
We always have frozen bananas in our freezer to make smoothies at breakfast. We let them ripen to the extreme to concentrate the flavour of the fruit. Be sure to use ripe banana (the skin should not be green) to ensure it’s sweet rather than starchy.
We’ve used a custom blend of almond flour and coconut flour but you could substitute for a store bought gluten free flour blend if you prefer.
If you don’t have access to fresh blueberries frozen blueberries can be substituted as a last resort. Add the frozen berries just after the batter has been combined and stir them in gently to avoid having their purple colour bleed into the batter.
The one tip I give all muffin making beginners is to avoid over-mixing the batter. If you whip muffin batter with a beater the final product will be as hard as a hockey puck.
For best results, form a well in the dry ingredients and pour your wet ingredients inside. Using a spatula or wooden spoon, gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. The finished batter should be fully incorporated, so be sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl so you don’t find unmixed gluten free flour. The most important rule to muffin making: when mixing, less is more!
You May Also Enjoy These Muffin Recipes…
- Buckwheat Gluten Free Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Christmas Cranberry and White Chocolate Muffins
- Savoury Cheddar Welsh Rarebit Muffins
- Blueberry Lemon Muffin Tops
- Moist Buttermilk Banana Muffins with Chocolate Chips
- Ginger Spiced Banana Pear Muffins
- Banana Pumpkin Muffins
- Fresh Strawberry Cream Cheese Muffins
- Healthy Homemade Sweet Potato Muffin
- Banana Rhubarb Muffins
- Savoury Cheese and Onion Muffins
- Banana Prune Muffins
- Healthy Kiwi Muffins
How To Make Gluten Free Blueberry Banana Muffins
Gluten Free Blueberry Banana Muffins
Equipment
- muffin tin
- Mixing bowls
- measuring cups
- measuring spoons
- whisk
- Spatula or Wooden Spoon
Ingredients
- 1 cup Almond Flour
- 1/2 cup Coconut Flour
- 2 tsp Baking Powder
- 1/4 tsp Kosher Salt
- 1 cup Mashed Ripe Bananas
- 1/4 cup Maple Syrup
- 3 tbsp Canola Oil
- 2 Eggs
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 1/2 cups Fresh Blueberries
Instructions
- Position a rack in the centre of the oven and preheat to 400 F. Coat a muffin tin with non stick cooking spray.
- Whisk both flours, the baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk the bananas, maple syrup, oil, eggs and vanilla in a medium bowl until smooth. Pour into the dry ingredients and stir until well mixed. Fold in the blueberries. Divide the batter amount the prepared muffin cups.
- Bake until the muffins are dark golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the centre of a muffin comes out clean, 15-20 minutes.
- Cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. Carefully slide in a small offset spatula or knife between each muffin and the pan to pop the muffins out.
Nutrition
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