These gluten free banana blueberry muffins are quick and super easy to make in just a few simple steps. They are deliciously moist with a soft center. I can assure you that nobody will notice they are gluten free, vegan, paleo and AIP compliant.
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The idea to create this recipe came to me when I saw that someone in the AIP community was looking for a healthy banana blueberry muffin recipe without gelatin eggs. Blueberry season has started and gelatin egg free baking recipes are my specialty!
The thing is, banana blueberry muffins are absolutely not French. They are not a staple here in France. Thankfully, I have tasted some in the past, before creating this recipe. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that it is very intimidating for me to create recipes that I'm way less familiar with than most of my readers.
Again with culture differences! This is, at the same time very interesting and very challenging!
Well, enough talking. Without any further ado, here is a gluten free, vegan, paleo and AIP compliant version of an American treat created by a French girl. 😉
And if you like these muffins, you will love my Banana carrot muffins, my Apple cinnamon muffins (AIP, paleo, gluten free) and my Coconut flour banana bread muffins.
⭐ Why you'll love this recipe
- These Banana Blueberry Muffins are quick and easy to make.
- This recipe is super simple.
- These muffins are deliciously moist.
- They are gluten-free, grain-free, vegan, paleo and AIP compliant.
📖 Ingredient notes
- Arrowroot. It is a starch. See below for substitutions.
- Blueberries. For this recipe, you will need fresh blueberries.
- Bananas. In this recipe, you can use bananas at any stage of ripeness (from yellow to black). I mostly use ripe bananas with many black spots but I've also made these muffins with bananas that were just beginning to get spotty. Keep in mind that the more ripe the banana, the sweeter it is and the stronger taste it has.
- Tigernut flour (or almond flour for those who are not on AIP nor nut free). If you don't know what tigernut flour is and want to learn all about it, you can read my post What is tigernut flour.
If you are on AIP and still in the elimination phase, you have to use tigernut flour (because almond flour is not AIP compliant). Those who are not on AIP nor allergic to nuts can use almond flour instead of tigernut flour.
For the complete list of ingredients and quantities, please see the recipe below.
💭 Substitutions
- Arrowroot substitutions. If you are not cassava intolerant, you can substitute it with tapioca starch (also called tapioca flour). If you are not on AIP nor Paleo diets: you can use potato starch or corn starch instead of arrowroot.
🔪Step by step instructions
- Peel the bananas, put them in a large bowl and mash them with a fork. Add the maple syrup, oil and lemon juice (or ACV) and mix until well combined. You can also use a blender to make sure you get a very homogenous mix.
- In a separate bowl, combine all the dry ingredients (flour, arrow root and baking soda). Stir.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix with a spoon until well combined.
- Add the blueberries and stir again gently this time in order not to crush the blueberries.
- Line or lightly oil a muffin pan. Fill each muffin cup with batter, you should get about 6-8 muffins depending on your pan.
👩🏻🍳Top tips
- Tip #1. As you can see in the picture above, I fill my muffin tins all the way to the top. That's my secret to creating tall muffin tops.
- Tip #2. Never open the oven door before the end of the baking time (unless, of course, in case of a danger or problem with your oven). If you open the oven door during the baking time, just to "check how they look", they will fall down or won't rise.
💬 Recipe FAQs
Unfortunately there are no possible substitution for the tigernut flour if you are on AIP and still in the elimination phase. Why? Because all the other AIP compliant flours have very different texture and they all need their own amount of liquid. So it is not possible to replace the tigernut flour with another flour without altering the entire recipe.
Yes! Those banana blueberry muffins freeze extremely well. Which is so convenient!! So nice to have a delicious breakfast, snack or dessert that is ready to be eaten.
Good news if you have a nut allergy and need a nut-free version, you can make these muffins with tigernut flour. Because tigernut is not a nut!
Yes! If you want to make no sugar banana blueberry muffins, replace the maple syrup with same quantity of oil or coconut milk.
Also note that the riper the bananas, the sweeter they are. So if you need to watch your sugar intake, even when the sugar comes from fruits, you should use bananas that are not overripe.
🍪Other treat recipes you might like
Did you like this recipe? Please leave a 5-star rating 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 on the recipe card and leave a nice review below! Tag @gohealthywithbea on Instagram and hashtag #gohealthywithbea! Also, let's stay connected on social media and continue to cook together! You can find me on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest.
📋 Recipe / Recette
Gluten Free Banana Blueberry Muffins (vegan, paleo, AIP)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 240 grams (1 cup) mashed ripe banana (weight after being peeled which makes about 2 large bananas)
- 180 grams (1 cup + ¼ cup) fresh blueberries
- 150 grams (1 cup + ⅓ cup) tigernut flour (if you are not on AIP you can use almond flour instead of tigernut flour)
- 50 grams (¼ cup + 1 Tbsp) arrowroot or tapioca starch (see notes below for other substitution options)
- 2 Tablespoons maple syrup (see notes below about reducing quantity)
- 60 ml (¼ cup) extra virgin olive oil (or coconut oil)
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice (or apple cider vinegar)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 360° F (180° C)
- Peel the bananas, put them in a large bowl and mash them with a fork. Add the maple syrup, oil and lemon juice (or ACV) and mix until well combined. (You can use a blender for this step if you want).
- In a separate bowl, combine all the dry ingredients (flour, arrow root and baking soda). Stir.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix with a spoon until well combined. Add the blueberries and stir again gently this time in order not to crush the blueberries.
- Line or lightly oil a muffin pan. Fill each muffin cup with batter, you should get about 6-8 muffins depending on your pan.
- Bake for about 20 minutes. To make sure that they are cooked, insert a thin bladed knife into the centre of the banana bread, the knife should come out clean. And voilà!Bon appétit !
Notes
- Although I spend quite a lot of time converting all my recipes to cups (yes, manually, in my kitchen!) I highly recommend using a scale and measuring for weight rather than using cups. The reason for this is, apart from the whole debate on accuracy, the density of certain gluten free flours and starches differ a lot from one brand to another. Also keep in mind that all cups are not the same size all around the world which makes another good reason to use a scale so you won’t get this issue.
- If you are not on AIP nor Paleo diets you can use potato starch or corn starch instead of arrowroot.
- If you want to omit the maple syrup you can replace it with the same amount of oil or coconut milk.
- Please keep in mind that the nutritional information is calculated using a nutrition facts calculator. It is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.
Lyn
Can cassava be used instead of tigernut?
Bea C.
Bonjour Lyn. Unfortunately no, cassava flour can't be used in this recipe instead of tigernut flour because they have extremely different textures.
Amy
Yum! I use frozen blueberries (tossed in arrowroot) and bake in an 8x8 glass dish for about 50 minutes. It’s delicious!
Question - would you store on the countertop or in the fridge?
Debbie Blades
These are the omg good kind of muffins in our opinion...my husband and I. The only substitution I made was lime juice in place of lemon just because I was out of lemon juice. I did bake them 27 minutes in my oven at the 360 temp to get them all the way done and I made it 10 muffins. Thank-you for the most excellent recipe!
Debbie Blades
I forgot to add...I did sift my dry ingredients together.
Bea C.
Bonjour Debbie. Your comment is the omg nice kind of comments! ❤️❤️❤️ Thank you so much for taking the time to write it, I'm thrilled to hear that both you and your husband love these muffins!
Diane
I love your recipes. Blueberry banana muffins were oh so easy and delicious!!
Ann
I just made these, and they are so tasty! I used frozen wild blueberries because I didn't have any fresh ones on hand, and the muffins turned out fine. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Bea C.
Bonjour Ann. Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a nice comment! I'm thrilled that you love these Blueberry Muffins!! 🥰🥰🥰🥰
Karina
This looks amazing! Any recommendations on adding protein powder to it without altering the outcome?
Erin
Hi
These were delicious, but I also found them to be very crumbly. On the second go, I used half tigernut floor and half cassava. I also added a gelatin egg, with a little less banana. I was unsure about how to make sure the liquids remained about the same. They were less crumbly and also quite tasty. Do you use gelatin eggs? Do you have any suggestions for using it in your muffin recipes?
Mary
I found a simple way to eliminate the crumbliness (which I think must result from the brands of arrowroot and tigernut flour that I have): I increased the tigernut flour and reduced the arrowroot powder. I've had success with 175 grams tigernut and 25 grams arrowroot. This is all that I changed. Good luck!
Janis
Hi Bea. Would you recommend any changes to the recipe if I used frozen, wild/small blueberries? Thanks!
I LUV your carob zucchini muffins and the ability to reduce the sugar. It's still sweet to my taste buds.
Bea C.
Bonjour Janis. If you use frozen blueberries for this recipe you will need to reduce the liquid quantity (maybe less oil or less maple syrup). It's hard to say exactly how much from a distance. Try to compare your batter consistency with the batter picture. Also make sure to drain your blueberries as much as possible. Let me know how they turn out!
Cynthia Orlandi
I made your delicious blueberry muffins but use a few less blueberries next time as they were so filled with blueberries that they were falling apart as we tried to eat them. I had all the flours you called for. Now to try your other recipes.
Marlene
Hello would these work with coconut flor instead of tiger nut ? I’m dying to try this recipe
gohealthywithbea
Hello Marlene. Unfortunately no. Those 2 flours work very differently: they don't need the same amount of liquid. The only suggestion I have for you is to try my coconut flour banana bread muffins.
Britt
What could I replace bananas with? Maybe butternut squash? Due to histamine intolerance. Any substitute for the lemon/ vinegar? Could I use anything else to make them rise? Thank you!
Bea C.
Bonjour Britt. Yes you can absolutely use butternut squash purée instead of bananas. The lemon/vinegar is here for the acidity necessary for the baking soda to do its job of rising. So you can't just skip it. You could use cream of tartar (only 1 tsp) instead of lemon/vinegar. Though I don't know if cream of tartar is compatible with your histamine intolerance. You would also need to replace the tablespoon of liquid from lemon juice/vinegar. You could either use non dairy milk or oil or even water.