Who doesn’t love a delicious banana bread? What if it was in more bite size muffin form? YUM!! These banana muffins are so moist and so crazy good especially straight out of the oven, warm and cozy with a nice warm beverage to pair with it. You definitely want to make sure the bananas are turning brown with spots before using in a banana bread. The starch in the banana turns into a sweet sugar and is softer to handle when it is fully ripened, otherwise it’ll be tougher in texture and too starchy. The bread will not be sweet enough & may be too tough. I usually eat my bananas alone when they’re more unripe to get more of a resistant starch, but when baking with them, we want them to become more of a sugar, for their softness and sweetness. The baking spices in this recipe are so comforting and really bring this recipe to another level. I use sugar substitutes as I am not a fan of super sugary foods & am always watching my sugar intake. I never feel completely well when ingesting too much sugar. The nuts in this recipe are optional but definitely add a beautiful texture and flavor as well as added health benefits. Nuts are a wonderful source of antioxidants, can reduce inflammation, they’re high in beneficial fiber, healthy fats & a source of protein, as well as other benefits. For some, this could be a source of allergies, so please omit if you’re allergic. You can even add low sugar dark chocolate in chunks (90%) , or cacao chips with no sugar. I add chocolate on special occasions as caffeine is an issue for me, but I do love my chocolate!

Bananas are so versatile and can be used in recipes in place of eggs for sweet vegan recipes, and can even help bind ingredients in recipes like an egg would, but are delicious in smoothies, and to eat alone too. Yay bananas!!

Banana muffins recipe:

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups gluten free all purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

3 large bananas, mashed until mushy

6 Tbsps grass fed unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly

2/3 cup brown sugar substitute (I like Swerve)

1 large egg, room temperature

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

2 Tbsps almond, coconut or oat milk

1 cup chopped pecans, walnuts, or whatever nuts you desire (optional)

1/2 cup cacao chips (optional, see top suggestions in article for suggestions)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Spray nonstick muffins pan with coconut oil spray well.
2. Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon & nutmeg together. Set aside.
3. Mash bananas well with a potato masher or fork until mushy mimicking the appearance of baby food. Place mushy bananas in a large bowl & with a hand held mixer, blend together bananas with melted butter, brown sugar substitute, egg, vanilla extract & plant based milk of choice, on medium speed until blended together.
4. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and blend until just blended. Do not overmix.
5. If you’re adding in nuts and/or chocolate or cacao chips or chunks, add now & fold them in.
6. Using a ladle or small measuring cup, fill greased muffin cups to top . Bake for 5 minutes at 425 degrees. then lower temperature to 350 degrees F (while not removing the muffins from oven) & bake an additional 15 – 17 minutes at lower temperature. Check doneness by inserting a toothpick into a couple of muffins, and if it comes out clean and crumbly, it’s ready to be taken out. *If you decide to make mini muffins, bake at 12-14 minutes on 350 degrees F only.
7. Cool on cooling rack in pan for 5 minutes. Serve warm. Enjoy!!