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.
These muffins are delicious and truly bakery style. I subbed oat flour for the almond flour (tree nut allergy) and added chocolate chips according to the recipe. I wasn’t sure if all that batter would fit in one muffin tray but I listened and filled each one to the top. The baking at high temp helped to puff them up. Brand new oven so they only took 16 mins to bake. This is my new and only banana muffin recipe forever. 🙂
We love this so much, Cristina! Thank you for coming back to share this wonderful feedback with us. We’re so glad you enjoyed the high temp trick for high domes. It’s great to hear the oat flour sub worked well for you too. Happy baking!
Thank you for helping me use up a bunch of bananas with this recipe. I used Cup4Cup gluten-free flour and added an extra banana to each batch. I added blueberries to one batch and diced strawberries, grapefruit zest (only a little bit; maybe 1/2 teaspoon, if that), and a half cup of oats to a second batch. To the third batch (I seriously had a lot of bananas to use up), I added another half cup of rolled oats and diced strawberries, and swapped out the sour cream (1:1) for tart cherry-flavored Noosa yogurt. All three turned out amazing, and now I only have four bananas left for smoothies, which is better than the twenty-two I started with.
Wow, 22 bananas is a lot to work with! We’re so glad you enjoyed the muffin recipe and had so much fun experimenting with all the different flavor variations. It’s great to hear those modifications worked well for you, Erin. Thanks for sharing!
These are the best banana muffins I have ever made in my life (and I am old…lol). Thank you!
Yay! We’re so happy to hear this, Jen! Thank you for the rave review!