If you've got a few brown bananas sitting on the counter, bakery-style gluten free banana muffins are exactly what you should make today.
No mixer needed, no complicated steps - just a simple batter, a quick rest, and a two-temperature baking trick that gives you those gorgeous domed tops every time.
Quick Look: Gluten Free Banana Muffins
⏲️Ready In: 1 Hour, 10 Minutes (includes 30 minutes rest time)
🍽Servings: 12
🥗Nutrition: 266 Calories
🥘Main Ingredients: Gluten free flour, bananas, yogurt, brown sugar, cinnamon, cardamom
📋Dietary Notes: Gluten free, Nut free
⭐Why You'll Love It: Bakery-style domed tops, tender crumb, and plenty of warm banana flavor all from a simple, hand-mixed batter!
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I love a good recipe that helps me use up past-their-prime bananas (see Gluten Free Banana Waffles and Gluten Free Zucchini Banana Bread for a couple more favorites)!
These gluten free banana muffins make fluffy, lightly-sweetened muffins that use a lot of the same tricks I utilize for my much-loved Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Muffins! This banana version makes a fantastic breakfast treat (paired with coffee, of course) or, as Tjay likes to eat them, as an after-dinner dessert.
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Key Ingredients
Gluten free 1:1 flour: Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1:1 Baking Flour is my go-to here and for many of my gluten free baking recipes, like Gluten Free Pumpkin Scones with Maple Icing. Make sure to spoon and level it when measuring - scooping straight from the bag can pack in too much flour and make your muffins dense.
Brown bananas: Overripe bananas are sweeter and easier to mash, which means more banana flavor in every muffin. Aim for about 1 heaping cup (300g) of mashed banana, and measure it - too much or too little can throw off the texture.
Yogurt or sour cream: This adds moisture and acidity, which helps the muffins rise. Low-fat plain yogurt works great, and so does full-fat sour cream. Make sure it's at room temperature so it blends smoothly into the batter.
Cardamom: Cinnamon is expected. Cardamom is the surprise that makes these banana muffins special. It's a small addition that adds the perfect amount of depth.
Turbinado sugar: Totally optional, but a light sprinkle before baking gives the tops a little crunch and a nice sparkle. Worth it! Also called demerara sugar.
Lemon juice: This one might surprise you, but adding lemon juice right before baking activates the baking soda and helps the muffins rise. Don't skip it!
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to Make Gluten Free Banana Muffins
Step 1: Mix your dry ingredients in a medium bowl - flour, both sugars, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cardamom, and salt. Stir until fully combined and set aside.
Step 2: In a larger bowl, mash your bananas with a fork. A few lumps are totally fine. Measure or weigh to make sure you don't have too much or too little. Add the melted and cooled butter, yogurt, milk, eggs, and vanilla extract. Whisk until smooth.
Step 3: Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir gently by hand just until no dry flour remains. Don't overmix! Cover the bowl and let the batter rest for at least 30 minutes (up to an hour). Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F and move a rack to the middle position. Stir the lemon juice into the rested batter.
Step 4: Line a 12-count muffin tin with just 6 liners, spaced apart. Fill each liner with about ½ cup of batter - it should sit just above the liner. Sprinkle with turbinado sugar.
Step 5: Bake at 425 degrees F for 7 minutes. Without opening the oven door, reduce the temperature to 350 degrees F and bake for another 12-15 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for a few minutes in the pan, then transfer to a wire rack. Repeat with the remaining batter.
Top Tips from Chelsea
Let the batter rest. The 30-minute rest gives the gluten free flour time to hydrate fully and the leaveners time to activate. I know it feels like extra time, but it makes a real difference in the final texture.
Add lemon juice right before baking. The acidity in the lemon juice activates the baking soda for extra rise, so I like to stir this in just before dividing between liners. It's not ahuge deal if you forget, but having tested both ways it does make a small difference!
Use only 6 liners at a time. I'm normally all about efficiency, but for bakery-style muffins with big tops, you need to give the tops space to expand. If you have two muffin pans, you can bake both batches at once - but don't crowd them into one pan.
Measure your banana. Bananas vary a lot in size, and too much or too little will affect the batter consistency. A kitchen scale is the most accurate, but measuring cups work too. You want about 1 heaping cup.
Don't overmix. This goes for most muffin recipes, but especially gluten free ones. Mix by hand just until no dry flour remains, and then stop. Overmixing can lead to tough instead of tender muffins. My Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Muffins follow the same rule - it's one of the best habits to get into for gluten free baking.
Add a slice of banana. If you want to really show that these are banana muffins, you can slice coins from another banana and press it into the batter before baking. You'll notice in my photos that the banana slices are off-center - that's because of the lift these muffins get while baking, so it's expected!
Gluten Free Banana Muffins FAQs
You can try swapping the yogurt for a dairy free plain yogurt (like coconut or almond-based), the milk for a non-dairy milk, and the butter for melted coconut oil or dairy free butter. I haven't personally tested this version, but those swaps should work in theory.
Absolutely! Chocolate chips are a classic addition. Chopped walnuts or pecans work great too, and I love adding them to other banana recipes like Banana Bread Baked Oatmeal! Stir them in just before filling the muffin liners. Start with about ½ cup of whatever you add.
I tested this recipe with Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1:1 Baking Flour. Other 1:1 blends may work, but the results can vary. If you use a blend without xanthan gum, you may need to add about ½ teaspoon.
A few possible causes: your baking soda or baking powder are old and no longer active, the oven temperature was off, or the muffins were underbaked. These muffins rely on leavening thanks to both baking soda and powder, so if one is too old and no longer has leavening power, the muffins won't rise.
Likewise, another trick I employ for this recipe is baking at a higher heat to get the leavening reaction off to a good start, then reducing the oven heat to avoid over-baking. It's an important step, so if you skipped it or tried to bake only at 350 degrees F, you probably didn't get the right amount of lift.
Storage
These gluten free banana muffins keep well in a sealed container at room temperature for up to 3 days. For longer storage, you can refrigerate them in a sealed container for up to 10 days.
To freeze these muffins, let them cool completely, then freeze in a single layer before transferring to a freezer-safe bag. They keep well for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature or warm in the microwave for about 30 seconds.
More Gluten Free Muffin Recipes
Did you try this gluten free banana muffin recipe? I'd love to hear what you think! Please leave a comment and rating or tag me on Instagram - I appreciate your feedback.
📖 Recipe
Bakery-Style Gluten Free Banana Muffins
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Rest Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 23 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 8 minutes
- Yield: 12 muffins 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Gluten-Free
Description
Gluten free banana muffins with bakery-style domed tops, a tender crumb, and warm banana flavor. These never last long in our house!
Multiple leaveners and a two-temperature baking trick helps create the lift for these muffins.
Ingredients
- 3 cups Bob's Red Mill gluten free 1:1 flour, spooned and leveled (425g)
- ¼ cup granulated sugar (50g)
- ½ cup packed brown sugar (100g)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder (10g)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda (5g)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 4 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
- 2-3 brown-spotted bananas, mashed (about 1 heaping cup, 300g)
- ⅓ cup plain low-fat yogurt or sour cream, room temperature (85g)
- ⅓ cup milk (85g)
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ tablespoons lemon juice
- 2-3 tablespoons demerara or turbinado sugar, for topping
Instructions
- Mix dry ingredients. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cardamom, and salt. Stir with a spoon or whisk to fully incorporate ingredients and set aside.
- Mix wet ingredients. In a larger mixing bowl, mash the bananas with a fork (it's okay if there are a few lumps). Add the melted and cooled butter, yogurt, milk, eggs, and vanilla extract. Whisk until smooth.
- Combine wet and dry ingredients. Gradually mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until a batter is formed - don't overmix, or you'll end up with chewy muffins. Cover the bowl with a tea towel, lid, or wrap and let rest for at least 30 minutes and up to an hour.
- Preheat oven and add lemon juice. Meanwhile, move one oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Pour lemon juice into the batter and stir just to combine.
- Prepare and fill muffin tins. For bakery-style muffins, line a 12-count muffin pan with 6 muffin liners (this leaves room for those extra-big domed tops - meaning you'll have to bake in 2 batches). Fill the liners with about ½ cup of batter, so the batter rests just above the liner. Sprinkle each muffin with turbinado sugar, if desired.
- Bake muffins. Place one pan in the center of the oven and bake for 7 minutes at 425 degrees F, then (without opening the oven door) decrease the temperature to 350 degrees F and bake for an additional 12-15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow the muffins to cool for a couple minutes before removing to a wire rack. Repeat with the remaining batter, starting with the oven at 425 degrees F. Cool completely before serving. Leftovers will keep in a sealed container on the counter for up to a week.
Notes
Don't overmix the batter. I don't recommend using an electric mixer for this recipe, since over-beating can lead to tough muffins. Mix by hand just until no dry flour remains.
Why only half of the muffin tin? This gives the muffins room to expand and create fluffy, domed tops without running into each other. It's worth it to do 2 batches (or, if you have 2 muffin tins, you can pop both in the oven at once)!
Measure the banana. To prevent the muffins from being too wet or too dry, make sure you measure the mashed banana - using a kitchen scale is most accurate but measuring cups work too!
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