Featured Comment
From Ann: “These turned out absolutely amazing. They look and taste like something professional! Meaningful Eats is my go to for all gluten free recipes. But this is just a super delicious recipe. You could never guess they are GF!”
From Jen: “These are the best banana muffins I have ever made in my life (and I am old…lol). Thank you!”
From Haley: “I love your recipes! Just made this one today and they look phenomenal! Never guess they’re gf thank you for your dedication to helping us make sweets at home!”
Recipe Overview
⏱️ Time to Taste: About 55 minutes (includes batter chill)
✨ Texture: Soft, fluffy, moist with tall bakery-style domes
🥣 Ease: Easy (Beginner-friendly with straightforward steps and reliable results)
🌾 Flour Used: Gluten-Free Measure-for-Measure Flour + Almond Flour
🧁 Equipment Needed: Standard 12-cup muffin pan, paper liners, mixing bowls
🎉 Best For: Breakfast, snacks, lunchboxes, meal prep, freezing
❤️ Why You’ll Love It: The combination of ripe bananas, sour cream, oil, and a short batter rest creates incredibly soft gluten-free banana muffins that stay moist for days.
I’ve tried dozens of gluten-free banana muffin recipes over the years and this is my family’s absolute favorite!
This recipe has been a total lifesaver on busy mornings. I can whip up delicious, kid-approved gluten-free banana muffins in just 30 minutes and even freeze the extras for quick breakfasts or snacks later on!
Ingredients You’ll Need
Here are a few notes on some of the key ingredients to make these gluten-free banana muffins. Jump to the recipe card below for the exact measurements.
- Gluten-free flour: I recommend using a high-quality gluten-free flour that contains xanthan gum. This is my favorite brand.
- Almond flour: Adding a little almond flour a go-to trick in many of my recipes, including my master gluten-free muffin recipe! It helps with texture and browning.
- Bananas: Overripe bananas with brown speckles work best! Just like with my gluten-free banana bread recipe, be sure to measure out the amount of mashed bananas exactly for best results!
- Sour cream/oil: I love using a combination of full-fat sour cream and a neutral oil for the most tender crumb! I often use this duo in my cake recipes, like this gluten-free banana cake.
How to Make Gluten-Free Banana Muffins
Here’s an overview of how to make this recipe. You can jump to the recipe for the full instructions!
Start separate: I whisk the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet ingredients in another to make sure everything is evenly distributed.
Build the Batter: I fold the wet and dry ingredients together until just combined, then add any mix-ins. Watch out for overmixing! It can lead to dense muffins.
Fill and Chill: I portion the batter into the muffin tin, filling the cups all the way up, then chill it for 20 minutes. This helps the gluten-free flour hydrate for the best texture. You don’t want to skip this step!
Bake and Cool: I use the high-low heat trick for the tallest muffin tops! The initial burst of heat helps the muffins rise quickly, then lowering the temperature allows the centers to finish baking evenly.
Make-Ahead/Storage/Freezing Instructions
To Make-Ahead: You can prepare the batter up to 1 day ahead. Just cover and refrigerate until you’re ready to bake!
To Store: Let the muffins cool, then store them in an airtight container. They’ll last 3 days at room temperature or 1 week in the fridge.
To Freeze: Place the cooled muffins in an airtight container or freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months. I typically thaw them for a few hours at room temperature , but you can also microwave individual muffins for 20-30 seconds for quicker thawing.
What Do Gluten-Free Banana Muffins Taste Like?
These gluten-free banana muffins are soft, fluffy, and incredibly moist with sweet banana flavor in every bite. They aren’t overly sweet, making them perfect for breakfast or snacks, and they have a tender crumb that’s nearly impossible to tell is gluten-free. I like to add chocolate chips or chopped nuts for even more flavor and texture.
How Ripe Should Bananas Be For Banana Muffins?
Very ripe bananas are best! The peels should be heavily speckled or mostly brown. The riper the bananas, the sweeter and more flavorful the muffins.
Can I Make Mini Banana Muffins?
Yes! You can make these as mini muffins, but they will require a shorter baking time than standard muffins. Because this recipe uses a high-low heat method, I recommend following the same temperatures, but begin checking them early. They are done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Gluten-Free Muffin Recipes
Gluten-Free Banana Muffins (Easy with 1:1 Baking Flour!)
Video
Ingredients
DRY INGREDIENTS:
- 1 2/3 cups (250g) gluten-free measure-for-measure flour
- 1/2 cup (50g) almond flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
WET INGREDIENTS:
- 1 1/2 cups (345g) mashed bananas, 3-4 bananas
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (100g) brown sugar
- 1/3 cup (75g) neutral oil, I use avocado or vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup (60g) sour cream
- 1 tablespoon milk of choice
- 2 large eggs
OPTIONAL:
- 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips or 1 cup larger mix-ins, like nuts
Instructions
- Line one 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners or lightly grease with cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. In another bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix with a rubber spatula until just combined and no dry streaks remain. If adding any chocolate chips or nuts, fold them in when the batter is just about mixed to avoid over-mixing.
- Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin tin. Fill the tins all the way up! Refrigerate the muffins for 20 minutes before baking.
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 350°F and bake for another 10-15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean and the muffins spring back when touched on top.
- Let cool for 3-5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
This post was originally published in May 2020. It was updated with new photos and instructions in July 2026.
I love your recipes! Just made this one today and they look phenomenal! Never guess they’re gf ❤️ thank you for your dedication to helping us make sweets at home!
Aww, thank you so much for this, Haley! We’re so pleased you loved this recipe. Happy baking!
They were delicious, but I don’t know what I did wrong because they were a little dry too.
Hi Isla! We’re so glad you enjoyed the flavor despite the dryness. Usually a little dryness is due to overbaking, but not using enough banana or using a different brand of GF flour can also impact the moisture. We hope these ideas help!
Do you use self raising flour or plain flour?
Hi Leah, we recommend using King Arthur GF Measure-for-Measure Flour which is a swap for plain all-purpose flour. We hope you enjoy the muffins!
Made these and they were delicious! My gluten eating kids said they couldn’t tell they were gf!
We love to hear this, Nicole! Thank you for the amazing feedback!
Can I bake this in a cake pan if I don’t have muffin pans?!
Hi Emily, yes you can definitely do that! We recommend a longer bake time for a cake pan, but it depends on the size. Would you be using a round cake pan? If so we recommend baking for about 30 minutes. A loaf pan or would be about 45-60 minutes.
So delicious! My kids loved them too!
Thank you for the positive feedback, Priscilla! We’re pleased to hear the muffins were a hit with everyone!
Hi,
You certainly know about gluten-free baking! After so many failed banana muffin attempts, your recipe is the best! Congrats and thanks for sharing! PS: I used unsweetened soy yogurt which works as well as sour cream.
Aww, thank you for the kind feedback, Michelle! We’re so happy to hear you enjoyed the muffins so much! It’s great to know the unsweetened soy yogurt worked well too. Happy baking!
I have made this recipe several times and it’s so yummy! My family and friends not only love them but are surprised they’re GF. Thank you for sharing it!
Hi Laura, we’re so pleased to hear how much everyone has enjoyed the muffin recipe! Thank you for sharing your kind feedback with us!
I want to make these as mini muffins for a buffet. By how much do I need to adjust cook time and temperature?
Hi Dixie, for mini muffins we would recommend 5 minutes on 425°F, then another 5-7 minutes on 350°F. Using a toothpick to check the centers will be the best way to judge their doneness. We hope you enjoy the recipe!
After having such a success with your chocolate chip muffins I decided to make these today, they turned out fantastic and huge, like actual muffins haha! I used all 1:1 flour, added 2 TBS ground flax and 1/4 natural peanut butter! Thank you for another great recipe!
Question – it says to rest the dough for 20 minutes in the refrigerator before baking. I was wondering if you could actually rest it overnight or is that too long? That way you can prep them at night and just throw them in the oven in the morning.
Hi Erica, yes refrigerating the batter overnight and baking the next morning should work! You may want to hold off on chocolate chips or any mix-ins until right before baking so that they don’t settle at the bottom. We hope you enjoy the muffins!
Delicious! I added chopped walnuts and some peanut butter baking chips (just a few) as am totally out of chocolate.
We’re so glad you enjoyed the recipe, Debra! Walnuts and peanut butter chips sound like a delicious swap for the chocolate. Thank you for sharing!
These were amazing and my boys devoured!!, but what could make them brown too quick?? Mine were really browned with 10 minutes left at 350.
Hi Lisa, we’re so happy to hear you both loved the recipe so much! Thank you for your kind feedback. The muffins may have browned fast due to a few factors, such as if your oven bakes a little hotter (it’s easy for home ovens to be a little inaccurate) or baking them too close to the heating element. As long as they’re baking through in those last 10 minutes without drying out/burning, the browning is okay. You could try covering them with foil in the last 10 minutes to protect the tops and retain moisture. We hope these ideas help!
I used just gf flour. Turned out fantastic! Thank you for the great recipe.
Thank you for sharing your experience, Martha! We’re so glad you enjoyed the muffins!
I was curious if you could fill the muffin tins and refrigerate them overnite and bake them off in the morning like your blueberry muffins
Hi there, yes that should work for this recipe as well! We hope you enjoy the banana muffins. Happy baking!