Flourless Peanut Butter Muffins — These gluten-free peanut butter muffins are made in a blender and come together in mere minutes. You’d never guess that these mini muffins are gluten-free, dairy-free, refined sugar-free, and oil-free!
Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Muffins
I put peanut butter, banana, and honey in the blender, and my daughter asked what kind of smoothie I was making. None, I said. I’m making muffins. What???
This goes down as the easiest and fastest batter I’ve ever made. Ready in about 17 seconds with the flip of a switch.
I’m a big fan of whisk-together batters, and nearly every blondie, brownie, bar, quick bread, muffin, and cake on my site is made with a whisk. I reserve my stand mixer for cookie dough, bread dough, and frosting.
But this peanut butter muffin batter is even easier than using a whisk. Just combine one egg, banana, peanut butter, honey, vanilla, and baking soda in a blender and blend, before stirring in chocolate chips.
Did you notice what’s missing in the ingredients list? Flour. Gluten. The muffins are gluten-free, grain-free, soy-free, dairy-free, oil-free, refined sugar-free, and they clock in at under 100 calories each based on SparkPeople’s calculator.
If you’re willing to give up the chocolate chips, you can shave off 35% of the calories. But I like chocolate.
I have a few recipes for flourless peanut butter cookies, as well as other peanut butter cookies that are gluten-free or that don’t use white sugar, brown sugar, butter, salt, or oil. But I had never tried to pull of a flourless muffin until now, and I’m sold because these are some of the softest, moistest, and best peanut butter muffins I’ve ever had.
For all the health claims that can be made about the muffins, the best part is that they taste every bit as good as muffins made with flour, gluten, and lots of added sugar.
Because there’s no flour, I was a bit worried that these blender muffins would turn out like peanut butter fudge, since there was no flour to fluff them up and provide the normal amount of cakiness found in a muffin, but I was wrong.
The egg, pinch of baking soda, and banana did the trick to give them the springiness and bounciness you want in a muffin. When I was stacking them, the muffins on the bottom were like little trampolines, ready to absorb the weight and bounced back.
Warm and fresh from the oven, these little guys were incredibly good. Soft and a little squishy, supremely moist, and tons of bold peanut butter flavor, complemented by melty chocolate chips.
You may want to just double the recipe and make a double batch from the get go. Muffins freeze beautifully and you can keep a stash in the freezer to toss into lunches or for an easy snack when your peanut butter and chocolate cravings hit.
At under 100 calories, have a few.
Peanut Butter Muffins Ingredients
For these peanut butter chocolate chip muffins, you’ll need:
- Banana
- Egg
- Creamy peanut butter
- Honey
- Vanilla extract
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Mini chocolate chips
Bananas are versatile workhorses in baking, and the banana here helps to add lightness, fluffiness, and natural sweetness since there’s only 3 tablespoons honey used to sweeten the entire recipe. And for those who don’t like bananas, you’re very safe here and you can hardly taste it.
My daughter did detect the banana, but I have a feeling that’s because she had a hawkeye on the ingredients as they went into the blender.
How to Make Peanut Butter Muffins in a Blender
To make this gluten-free mini muffin recipe, simply add everything but the chocolate chips into the blender and blend until smooth. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand, and then spoon the batter into greased mini muffin tins.
I baked the muffins in my mini muffin pans and they only took 8 1/2 minutes to bake. I made 17 mini muffins, and filled the cavities to a solid 3/4 full. Don’t be surprised if they’re nicely domed in the oven, but fall a bit as they cool.
Let these peanut butter muffins cool for about 10 minutes before trying to take them from the muffin tins. These mini muffins are best fresh, but will keep for up to 5 days at room temperature.
Can I Make These as Regular-Sized Muffins?
I haven’t tested the recipe as full size muffins. You’ll probably yield about 8 or 9 and I’d start watching the clock closely at about 13 minutes and go from there, but I haven’t tried, and am purely guessing. After all, part of the appeal of this recipe is the mini size. Mini food is just so pop-able.
Can I Use an Egg Substitute in This Recipe?
I haven’t tried that myself, so I can’t say for sure if you can replace the egg with anything. If you try an egg replacement and it works, please leave me a comment down below so I can try it out myself!
Is There a Banana Substitute I Can Use?
I’m not sure! I’ve only ever made these peanut butter muffins as listed in the recipe card below, so I don’t know if you can substitute the banana for anything. You really can’t taste it though!
Can I Use Another Type of Nut Butter?
Possibly, yes. I personally recommend using peanut butter from a brand like Jif or Skippy. But if you have a peanut allergy, you may be able to use sun butter or almond butter. Just note that both are much thinner and runnier than peanut butter, and I don’t know if either will work.
Can I Use Muffin Liners Instead of Greasing the Pan?
I personally skip muffin liners (I’m too lazy to line all those mini muffin tins!), but I don’t see why you couldn’t use them for this recipe.
Can I Freeze Muffins?
Yes, these gluten-free peanut butter muffins freeze like a dream. To freeze these, first let them come to room temperature, then seal them inside a freezer bag. When you’re ready to enjoy them, either reheat them in the oven (set to a very low temperature), or simply place on your counter to thaw.
Tips for the Best Peanut Butter Muffins
I used store-bought peanut butter and always recommend baking with something like Jif or Skippy because natural and homemade peanut butter tends to be thinner, runnier, and can separate. If you try natural PB, I don’t know what the results will be.
I used mini chocolate chips because the size is perfectly proportionate for the mini muffins. Make sure to stir in the chips by hand at the end, rather than add them with other ingredients. You don’t want pulverized chips.
One trick to make your muffins really shine is to sprinkle a few extra chips on the top of each muffin before baking for a nice visual pop.
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Flourless Mini Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 medium ripe banana, peeled
- 1 large egg
- heaping 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter, I recommend using classic storebought peanut butter, and not natural or homemade
- 3 tablespoons honey, agave or maple syrup may be substituted
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- pinch salt, optional and to taste
- heaping 1/2 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F. Prepare mini muffin pans by spraying very well with floured cooking spray, or grease and flour the pans; set aside. If keeping gluten-free for health reasons, simply use cooking spray or grease the pan.
- To the canister of a blender, add first 7 ingredients, through optional salt, and blend on high speed until smoothy and creamy, about 1 minute.
- Add chocolate chips and stir in by hand; don’t use the blender because it will pulverize them.
- Using a tablespoon or small cookie scoop that’s been sprayed with cooking spray (helps batter slide off spoon or scoop easily), form rounded 1 tablespoon mounds and place mounds into prepared pans. Each cavity should be filled to a solid 3/4 full.
- Bake for 8 to 9 minutes, or until the tops are set, domed, springy to the touch, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, or with a few moist crumbs, but no batter. Due to their small size and oven variance, make sure to watch your muffins closely, and bake until done. Allow muffins to cool in pans for about 10 minutes, or until they’ve firmed up and are cool enough to handle.
- Muffins are best fresh, but will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 4 months.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I made them yesterday because I have so much peanut butter – homemade. So I made them with homemade pb, only 1,5 tablespoons of honey (don’t like the taste in baked goods) and, the best decision: butterscotch chips. Oh my, they turned out perfect.
And they even taste sooo much better the next day. My new go-to-recipe when I crave muffins :)!
Great to hear they worked for you with homemade Pb, less honey, and butterscotch chips <---one of my faves, too!
In fact I am so in love with this recipe, I made them again today and blogged about it here: https://foodlovin.wordpress.com/2014/01/27/versus-dir-den-montag-mit-mini-muffins
It’s in german, but you find a”read in english” option on the right.
I’m so glad you’re a fan and have made them a few times. Thanks for LMK! And thanks for reading all the way from Germany!
For all the people who love peanut butter and bananas :)
Let me just start off with my mom and I have been so sick this week and we’ve hardly eaten anything. I just made these and my mom and I can’t stay away from them. They’re delicious!! I doubled the recipe and used pure dark amber maple syrup instead. I forgot the chocolate chips by accident but I don’t think they’re really that necessary (and I’m a huge chocoholic). The doubled recipe made 12 standard size muffins, filled 3/4’s of the way and I used paper liners. I messed up the temperature and timing a bit. I cooked them at 350* for 15 minutes, then at 400* for 10 minutes. They came out perfectly though :)
Glad to hear they worked great for you and that a double batch made 12 regular muffins for you. Feel better soon!
These were delicious but I definitely would not make them in the blender again. I found it difficult to incorporate the chips well and there was so much of the batter that was stuck at the bottom (at least another muffins worth, maybe 2!). Maybe the food processor would work better?
I guess it depends what kind of blender you have and yes, you will have to finesse out the batter with a spoon/spatula in ANY kind of blender; some are just a little more finesse than others. Glad you loved the muffins!
Blending muffin batter seems to go against everything we’ve ever heard about not over-mixing, but these don’t have gluten in them that would toughen the batter, so why not? ;)
Of course, with my limited dorm-room appliances, I ended up mixing in a bowl rather than blender anyway. It’s okay; though my fork wasn’t able to completely pulverize the banana, the little banana specks weren’t very noticeable in the final product.
I halved the recipe and used 2.5 teaspoons dark brown sugar + 2 teaspoons water instead of the honey. They were just sweet enough to be nice and tasty without tasting like dessert. (I usually don’t like to think of muffins as dessert. Cupcakes are dessert. Muffins are meal-food!) I love the soft, bouncy texture!
Also, I used natural peanut butter, and I think they still came out good!
Sounds like even with natural PB and no blender, they still worked out just fine – great to hear! And you’re right, they’re not overly sweet (unless you use a really ripe banana, sometimes that will make them sweeter). Thanks for trying them!
I loved the concept of flourless and blender muffins. My whole family was able to taste the banana though. My family doesn’t care for banana, other than that the muffins worked just like you aid they would.
Sometimes if bananas are very ripe, they have more of a distinct taste. The greener they are, the less you will taste them. Maybe try a less ripe banana next time! Glad the recipe worked for you though!
Awesome recipe! The muffins were so moist and delicious! The time taken to bake these babies was so quick and fuss free! However Averie, the sides of my muffin were a little burnt :( I have already lowered my oven temp.. Was it because I buttered ( ran out of cooking spray) my muffin tray? Please help! Thanks!!
Opps! I thought my comment wasn’t posted! Sorry for the spam! Thanks Averie!
This is a super awesome and easy! Was searching for a healthier less-guilt muffin and this is superb! The muffins are so moist and fluffy! However, just a quick question for you Averie, the sides of my muffin were a little burnt. I had already lowered my oven temperature… Was it because I buttered the muffin tray instead of using a cooking spray? Please help! Thanks!
Was it because I buttered the muffin tray instead of using a cooking spray? <--- YES for sure, 100%. Butter makes things browned. Think about searing potatoes or meat in skillet with some butter. You add the butter to make it get a browned crust. Great for potatoes or meat, not for muffins. Use cooking spray for baking, never butter in a situation like this. Glad you love the muffins!
Just a precaution, unless soy free peanut butter, chocolate chips, and cooking spray are specifically used, this recipe will not be soy free. Most peanut butter (including Jiff) contains soy in the form of vegetable oils (rapeseed and soybean). Most chocolate chips contain Soy Lecithin, and cooking sprays (including Pam) contain either Soy Lecithin or soybean oil. I will try this recipe, but using my soy free ingredients (Peanut Butter & Company Bee’s Knees peanut butter, Enjoy Life mini chocolate chips, and Spectrum organic shortening, which is made with palm oil).
Do you think this would work with 2-3 egg whites instead of a whole egg? Just out of curiousity :)
Egg whites are very drying; yolks add moisture. Unless you have very good reason to skip the yolk, then I’d make the recipe as written and not tinker around with the eggs – it’s perfect as written :)
You definitely know how to make a girl drool, even after a filling breakfast! All these recipes look fantastic, and now I have to pic one. ;)
Love me some pb and banana.
Thanks for sharing.
My friend, who has Celic Disease, posted these on FB this morning and I couldn’t wait to try! I made these with my girls (4 and 2 1/2) and they were delicious! I couldn’t find my mini muffin tin and this made 7 generous full size muffins, you could probably spread it out and make 9. I used regular chocolate chips (because I didn’t have minis) and blended them a bit to spread the chocolatey goodness around. Also, I didn’t think my banana was large so I used 2 medium ones. Oh, these full-sized muffins took 15 minutes to cook. Thanks for a great recipe!
Thanks for trying them and glad that you made it work with a full size muffin pan for 15 mins and blended your chips up just a bit, and that you used 2 bananas. All good info for others. Thanks for the feedback and glad you loved them!
Awesome! Want to try today! Only ripe banana I have is frozen…but I’ve never baked with frozen bananas…only used for smoothies. Tips re thawing and any extra moisture? Thanks!
No special considerations in this situation. Just thaw, toss in blender, and you’re good to go! LMK how they turn out!
I’ve made these quite a few times now. Me, my son and husband loves these! They taste between a cookie and a muffin. So quick and easy. The last time I made them, I doubled the recipe but I forgot the honey. No one could even tell the difference! I didn’t even notice. I used a vegan chocolate bar that had bits of almonds in it for the choc. chips. I can’t use those mini choc chips you use. My family and I find they have too much sugar for us and we feel the buzz from it. The almonds from the chocolate bars was a great addition! I love the extra vanilla. I didn’t think it had a bitter after taste at all. The soda does the perfect rising so don’t need baking powder. Thank you so much for these! They are the easiest go to recipe. I’ve made them about 5 times so far!
I wish I could get a sugar buzz from a few mini chips…haha! :) But so glad you love the recipe and I dont find extra vanilla to be bitter-tasting either but some brands are probably more so just that way, and some people’s tastebuds, too. And some bananas are more bitter, too.
Interesting you forgot the honey and couldn’t tell! NICE! And yes, it’s baking soda, not powder (someone questioned that in a recent comment) but the soda and just a pinch is all I need as well. Thanks for the detailed comment! Love it!
I am not sure if the baking spray you use is GF?? Other than that I am in since I am allergic to wheat.
Thanks for all the great recipes. I thought I would be bummed without the desserts being GF.
Hi Averie!
I just subscribed to your blog because I LOVE your recipes and I LOVE to bake. I am going to try making your Flourless Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Mini Blender Muffins with almond butter. I just so happen to have a ripe banana on hand and some almond butter (Jif). I will let you know how it comes out.
Hi Mary glad to hear you’re a new subscriber and hopefully the AB works in these muffins! Thanks for trying the recipe!
Oh, this is wonderful :) I love the idea of batter in a blender, so simple! I bet they taste perfect