These fudgy paleo chocolate banana muffins are super rich and decadent! They’re also naturally sweetened with honey and are grain-free, gluten-free and dairy-free.
When I make muffins, I’m usually able to eat at least three or four before I feel even the slightest bit full (I have to admit that I’m kind of a piggie). But these chocolate banana muffins are so rich and filling I could hardly do one and a half.
I suppose that’s not too surprising considering all the almond flour and chocolate in there!
These gluten-free muffins have a really nice texture! They’re not quite fudgy, but definitely headed that way, which is probably another reason why I couldn’t handle eating several of these at once.
So they’re dense, but a nice dense, and have a really nice crumb. And they definitely don’t have that typical paleo muffin texture! I don’t know about you, but I’ve had way too many bad grain-free muffins.
They’re often weirdly spongy and just don’t taste very good. My taste testers thought that these were made with all-purpose flour. To be honest now, my taste testers don’t know a thing about baking, let alone grain-free baking, but I was happy. :D
For another paleo muffin recipe with an awesome texture, you have to try my paleo blueberry muffins! They’re magical. They’re almost like angel food-like in texture.
These paleo apple muffins are also amazingly delicious! They have grated and chopped apples and loads of cinnamon for a lovely explosion of fall flavor.
But back to today’s recipe! The banana taste is also pretty strong in these banana muffins so I wouldn’t recommend making these unless the idea of chocolate and banana appeals to you!
I was kind of hoping to use up my bananas in these muffins and not have them taste like banana at all, but I’m still really pleased with how they came out.
I haven’t tried subbing the banana with something else so I have no idea how that’d work. If you try using something else, let us know in the comments how it worked out!
If you’d rather have something more traditional, try these guilt-free chocolate banana muffins from Noble Pig. These double chocolate banana quinoa muffins from A Dash of Sanity also sound delicious and interesting!
Paleo Chocolate Banana Muffins (grain-free, gluten-free, dairy-free)
- Prep Time:
- Cook Time:
- Ready in:
- Yield: 12 muffins
Ingredients
- 2 medium super ripe bananas (each banana was 185 grams with the peel and 143 grams without)
- 1/3 cup (106 grams) honey
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup (56 grams) refined coconut oil, melted1
- 200 grams (~2 cups but please weigh!) blanched almond flour
- 3 tablespoons (27 grams) coconut flour
- 1/3 cup (42 grams) Dutch process cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (180 grams) semi-sweet chocolate chips (use dairy-free / paleo chocolate chips, if necessary)
- additional mini chocolate chips for sprinkling, if desired
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and line a muffin tin with 12 muffin liners.
- In a large bowl, mash the bananas with the bottom of a glass. They should almost be like a puree.
- Add the honey and vanilla and stir.
- Add in the eggs and oil and stir until well combined.
- In a medium bowl, mix together the almond flour, coconut flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.
- Stir just until combined and then stir in the chocolate chips.
- Spoon the batter into the muffin liners and sprinkle on additional chocolate chips, if desired.
- Bake for 18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Be careful not to confuse a melted chocolate chip with the batter.
- Let the muffins cool for 5 minutes in the pan and then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- Place in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Notes
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314 comments on “Paleo Chocolate Banana Muffins (grain-free, gluten-free, dairy-free)” — Add one!
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Hello Erin! I’ve just made your recipe (baking now!) and the batter came out really really thick – like dough. Is that the texture (consistency?) of the batter when you make this? Should it be thick like cookie dough? Thin, like pancake or other batter? Something in between? I appreciate your advice (and all of your wonderful recipe wizardry :-) )
These have been a staple in our home for more than 5 years! I’m writing a comment because I dropped by to send the recipe to another friend.
I add flax for added nutrition and organic dried coffee for a “mocha” muffin.
Thanks!
I’m dying to make these but bananas are a no in our home. What could be used in place? Thank you!
I’m sorry but I don’t know of a good sub for bananas in this recipe. :( 2 bananas is a lot to sub. One commenter below used pumpkin but I tried it and didn’t like them at all. I’d have to recommend finding a non-banana muffin recipe.
These are FABULOUS!!! This recipe is a keeper. I love the moist, fudgy texture. Thank you so much!
You’re welcome! I’m so glad that you enjoy them and that you want to make them again. :) Thanks for your comment!
Having eaten 4 over the last several days, (couldn’t help myself) I can honestly say this is my favourite grain-free recipe to date. And I’ve made lots! So decadent! And as someone trying to cut down on refined sugar, I love that these are made with honey. Ripe bananas may never make it into my fruit smoothies ever again. Mmmm.
4 over the last several days in an amazing achievement. 😂 I wish I had that kind of self-control! I’m so happy that you have a new use for ripe bananas. Thanks again for your feedback. :)
Great tasting muffins. By any chance do you have the Macro breakdown for these muffins?
I’m glad you liked them! I don’t have that info but you could use this recipe analyzer for the nutritional profile. :)
Hello, Could I do all almond flour since I don’t have coconut flour?
There’s unfortunately no sub for coconut flour so you really need it for this recipe. :( Sorry about that!
These look delicious but I have one question. Is the quarter cup of coconut oil, a quarter cup before or after melting?
I’m so sorry for just now seeing your question! Things have been chaotic here. It’s the same whether you measure before or after melting. I’ve experimented. :) Sorry again for my slow reply!
You’ve done it again Erin..These are fantastic! My daughter and I just made them with some overripe bananas we needed to use up. I normally do not like a strong banana flavor in anything but the cocoa powder tames that just enough in these delicious muffins. This is my go to banana muffin recipe from now on. Yummmm!
Oh, yay! I’m glad to hear that you both enjoyed them. I actually made some other chocolate banana treats today and I did not like the strong banana flavor. I mean, my taste is totally off so it could be that it was a good recipe, but all I tasted was banana. Haha. Thanks as always for your feedback! I really appreciate each and every comment. :)
What a fantastic recipe, thank you! I used only almond and coconut flour.
I kept them in for an extra 2 mins as they seemed to be gooey at 18 mins.
So moist and delicious !
I’m really happy you liked them! Thanks for your feedback. :)
Hi! These sound delicious. Any thoughts on subbing almond flour for finely ground pecans? Or using make syrup in place of honey to make them vegan? Thank you in advance
I haven’t tried it but if your ground pecans are as fine as almond flour (which I’m not so sure it would be), then it’d work. Maple works but the problem is the eggs. I believe I’ve used egg subs in these and they didn’t work out. :/
Amazing! So much softer, more moist and tastier than any other grain free cake I’ve made.
I swapped out about two thirds of the almond flour for cashew flour because that’s all I had but it worked just fine.
Texan Erin for the win – again!
Aww, thanks! I’m glad that you like the recipes. :D It’s great to know that cashew flour works well. Thanks for the tip!
is there a way that i could make this without using nuts, i want to use this recipe for a school project and it cant have nuts in it
No, sorry. :( Almond flour can only be subbed with other nut flours.
These are my and my adults daughter’s firm favourite now. They freeze well, too. I use only half of the choc bits.
I’m glad that you both like them! And great to know that they freeze well. :) Thanks for your comment!
Hi Erin,
I substituted ground flax for the coconut flour (I don’t like the flavor of coconut flour) and the muffins came out super moist and delicious!
Do you have any idea what the calorie count is on these?
Hi! I’m sorry for just now seeing your question. I’m glad the sub worked out well! That’s the first I’ve heard of it. Have you used that sub in other recipes? I don’t have the calories but you could use this recipe analyzer for the nutritional profile. :)
Hi, I want to try this recipe but I don’t have any coconut flour with me can I use it flour instead of the coconut flour? Please let me know:)
There’s unfortunately no sub for coconut flour so you really need it for this recipe. :( Sorry about that!
I used bobs red mill gluten free all purpose blend in place of coconut flour since I didn’t have any on hand and they turned out amazing! My husband said they were the best muffins he’s had in a long time :)
Oh, wow. That’s a surprise. Those two aren’t at all interchangeable so it’s awesome that it worked in this recipe. Thanks a ton for your feedback! :)
This was amazing.. since going paleo I needed some form of chocolate fix.
I made per the recipe but reduced honey to 1/4 cup and reduced choc chips by half. Still turned out sweet and chocolatey as ever!
These would also be great with an almond butter cup in the center!
It’s great to know that it works well with less honey! And I love your almond butter cup idea. :) I’ll have to try that. Thanks for your feedback!
Muffins turned out delicious. This will be a keeper for us, thank you!
I’m so glad that you enjoyed them! Thanks for your feedback and sorry for my slow reply. :)