This gluten free banana oatmeal muffin recipe tastes like a dessert but is healthy enough for breakfast! These light and fluffy muffins are both dairy-free and gluten free. If you love bananas, these banana oat muffins are a must-make!
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I don't know what mornings are like in your house, but in our house, the boys love oatmeal for breakfast. They put the same toppings into their oatmeal every morning. Bananas, walnuts, and almond milk or yogurt.
There are so many gluten free banana recipes to try! Here are a few of my kids' favorite gluten free muffin recipes.
Grab some over-ripe bananas and a
Why We Love These Muffins:
- This gluten free banana oat muffin recipe is very easy to make.
- You can make them mini as I did, or make full-sized muffins.
- These are gluten and dairy-free. There is also an egg-free version. (See the Variations and Substitutions section for directions.)
- You can freeze these muffins, so you always have them on hand.
- These are great afternoon pick-me-ups. Pop them into a lunchbox!
If you need more tips, be sure to check out my Gluten Free Muffins Troubleshooting Guide. If you are looking for the right tools for making gluten free muffins, here are my favorite tools for making muffins.
THANK YOU! This is the first GF baked goods recipe that I’ve had success with. They were light and fluffy inside, but did take a full 18 minutes to bake. I used Divided Sunset gluten free all purpose flour and Bob’s Red Mill quick cooking rolled whole grain oats. I also subbed a tablespoon of chopped Craisins for half of a banana."
Lori W., Pinterest comment
How To Ripen Bananas:
If your bananas are not fully ripe, and you want to know how to ripen your bananas, here are a couple of ways to ripen your bananas quickly:
- Bake them for 20 minutes on low 200º F. This is the fastest way to ripen them.
- Toss them (skin on) on the grill for a few minutes.
- If you have time, put them in a paper bag and seal them shut for a day or two.
If you love bananas as much as we do, check out my delicious gluten free muffin recipes.
These gluten free banana muffins with oats make a delicious breakfast or a healthy snack! You will also want to try my Gluten Free Matcha Green Tea Banana Bread recipe.
There are a few brands of certified gluten free oats, and they are all good. I mostly buy this because you get four bags for a lower price.
Ingredient Notes:
- Gluten Free Oats - It is critical to use gluten free oats. There is a lot of controversy over regular oats. If you need to be gluten-free for medical reasons, ensuring your oats are certified gluten-free is important. Although oats don't naturally contain gluten, cross-contamination is very common.
- Gluten Free Flour Blend - Any brand should work, but ensure it has a binder like xanthan gum, guar gum, or psyllium husk. My DIY Gluten Free Flour Blend is a great flour to use in this recipe.
- Coconut Sugar - You can use this to use unrefined sugar or brown sugar.
- Baking Powder - Use aluminum-free if you can.
- Chia Seeds - These are optional, but add more protein to the muffins.
- Eggs - Use size large eggs.
- Oil - Use coconut oil or another light oil.
If you want to know which gluten free flour blend to use for gluten free muffins, I tested four easy-to-find gluten-free flour blends.
Variations and Substitutions:
- These are delicious gluten free banana bread muffins. You can also make a loaf of banana bread with the batter if you prefer gluten free banana bread.
- Add nuts like pecans or walnuts.
- Chocolate chips are fun to add...there is nothing better than banana and chocolate!
- Substitute the eggs for Bob's Red Mill Egg Replacer to make this egg-free. One of my readers, Meagan, had good luck using flax eggs in this recipe.
Recipe Step-By-Step Directions:
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350º F. Add all of the dry ingredients to a large
Step 2: In a medium-sized bowl, add the banana and use a fork to smash it into a mash. (Note: be sure to melt the coconut oil if it is solid.) Add the rest of the wet ingredients and whisk to blend.
Step 3: Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix gently.
*When mixing muffin batter, the secret to light and fluffy muffins is to "just" mix the batter. It keeps the batter full of air, making your muffins fluffier. Over-mixing deflates any air in the batter, and you can end up with heavy muffins.
I don't recommend a stand mixer because it can overmix your batter. Overmixed batter will make these gluten free banana oat muffins turn out denser.
Step 4: Add your batter to a lined muffin tin and bake at 350º F. For large muffins, bake for 25-30 minutes. Smaller mini muffins bake for about 15 minutes.
You may also love this Gluten Free Baked Oatmeal with Bananas or this Gluten Free Strawberry Banana Bread recipe.
Tips and Recipe FAQ:
To test for doneness, insert a toothpick into the center of the muffins. If the toothpick comes out clean, it is done baking. If you see batter or crumbs, the muffins must be baked longer.
You can use quick oats, but it will change the texture of these muffins slightly. Quick oats will absorb less liquid, so you may need to look at your batter to ensure their consistency is similar to my photo below.
These muffins will last up to 4 days in an airtight container or up to 4 months in the freezer.
These mini muffins are easy to freeze. Just place cooled muffins into a freezer-safe zip-style bag and seal.
Reader Adaptations:
Julie C-S said she used agave instead of sugar and added fresh blueberries. She said it turned out great.
"I would actually go as far as saying this is one of the best banana muffin recipes I have ever tried. They were super sweet, moist, and delicious. They definitely didn’t taste like a healthier alternative even though the ingredients used were “better for you” options like coconut oil and coconut sugar. I used 3 ripe bananas and swapped the chia seeds for flax since I was out. This recipe will definitely become a staple in my rotation!"
Diane R
Meagan made these changes: "Also added finely chopped walnuts and mini chocolate chips. Subbed flax egg and regular sugar for the coconut sugar(only used ¼ of a cup). Muffins took approx 17 minutes to bake fully. It is delicious and has a great texture! Will be making again."
Erin M made these changes: "These are great! I didn’t have chia seeds, so I used ground flax seeds instead. I don’t always love the flavor of coconut sugar, so I used ½ c. coconut sugar and ¼ c. maple syrup. Perfect!"
More Gluten Free Recipes With Oatmeal:
- Gluten Free Oatmeal Blueberry Muffins
- Homemade Cinnamon Granola
- Gluten Free Giant Oatmeal Pizookie Cookie
- Gluten Free Granola Bars
📖 Recipe
Gluten Free Banana Oat Mini Muffins
*As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases.
Ingredients
- 1 cup gluten free flour blend * see notes
- 1 cup gluten free oats * see notes
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder aluminum-free
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds
- 2 large bananas or 3 small
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- ⅔ cup coconut oil melted
- ¾ cup coconut sugar or brown sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. For best results, ensure the rack is positioned in the middle of the oven.
- In a large mixing bowl, add dry ingredients and whisk to blend.
- In a medium bowl, add the bananas and use a fork to mash the bananas into a paste.
- Add the rest of the wet ingredients to the banana mash and mix well.
- Pour wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix. Be very careful not to overmix the batter.
- Spray a muffin pan with coconut oil, or line with parchment paper muffin cup liners.
- Fill each muffin tin ¾ full.
- Bake for 10 minutes (mini muffins) or 18-20 minutes for large muffins.
- Remove the muffins and place them onto a cooling rack.
Notes
- Please make sure you use certified gluten free oats. This is critical if you have Celiac disease or are avoiding gluten for medical reasons.
- Any gluten free flour blend should work well in this recipe.
- I recommend using rolled oats. Quick oats can work, but the muffin texture will be different.
- The chia seeds are optional.
- Use Bob's Red Mill Egg Replacer or a flax egg if you are egg-free.
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Freeze in a large zipper-style freezer bag.
SPECIAL NOTE
Please know that every gluten free flour blend has a different starch to grain ratio. If you use a blend I didn't test, you may need to adjust your moisture levels in your baked goods.
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.
This post was updated from an old February 2018 post with more detailed directions.
Fearless Dining
Simplifying the art of baking and cooking gluten-free recipes.
Jere Cassidy
A good way to use ripe bananas. I love oatmeal muffins.
Sandi Gaertner
Thank you Jere 🙂
Dana
I love little muffins like these! And banana muffins are one of my faves. I actually have a ton of brown bananas in my freezer. I should get to work 🙂
Sandi Gaertner
I love your idea to freeze brown bananas!
Maggie @ Mama Maggie's Kitchen
I had no idea you could ripen bananas in the oven. I have to try it! Thanks for the recipe. Your muffins looks delicious.
Sandi Gaertner
Thank you so much Maggie. I learned that trick from my grandmother 🙂
Pam Greer
I didn't even think about oats getting gluten during cross contamination! That is so good to know and it's also good to know that you can get gluten free oats! Love these banana muffins!
Sandi Gaertner
Thank you so much Pam 🙂
Nikki
Can i use flax eggs?
Sandi Gaertner
Hi Nikki, I haven't tested with flax eggs. If you try it, can you please come back and let us know how it worked?
Ray
Just stumbled across this recipe and looks amazing, I have lots of almond and coconut flour I need to use. Would it be ok to substitute the Gluten Free Flour for Almond flour?
Ray
I do have xanthum gum too, so will be able to add a tsp if needs be.
Sandi Gaertner
Hi Ray, So a few things. Almond flour by itself won't work. It doesn't absorb liquid the same way. You can definitely do a combination of almond and gluten free flour, but just almond flour won't bake right. Are you trying to avoid gluten free flour? If you look at the paleo pear muffin recipe on my blog, that can give you an idea how to use coconut and almond flours.
Leah D.
These are the best! I always add three bananas instead of two. GF muffins can often be dry but this makes it super (sorry!) moist! Thanks for the recipe!
Sandi Gaertner
I am so glad you liked this recipe Leah. I will make mine with an extra banana next time. Have a great weekend and thank you for making my day 🙂
Lauren B.
Can I omit the chia seeds? And could I substitute regular sugar for the coconut sugar? Thanks!
Sandi Gaertner
Hi Lauren, You can definitely omit the chia seeds (maybe substitute them for flaxseed meal?) Also, regular sugar will be fine too. I wish you all the best, Sandi