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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Best Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies — These cookies are full of bold, robust peanut butter flavor, chewy around the edges, and perfectly soft and tender in the middle.
Flourless Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Blender Cake — The cake is soft, extremely moist, dense but not heavy, and has bold peanut butter flavor that’s complemented by chocolate.
Flourless Peanut Butter and Chocolate Brownies — These are the fudgiest brownies I’ve ever made, and that’s what happens when there’s no flour.
thank you so much for this recipe! I have borderline gestational diabetes and have to be really careful about added sugars for the next couple months. After my daughters birthday party this weekend, I was desperate for something that resembled a muffin or cookie! I left out the honey, and these were AMAZING!!! Thank you so so much, you have no idea how grateful I am for this recipe.
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you and that it was enough to satisfy your cravings and fitting enough to be okay for your borderline G.D.
I made these yesterday and am THRILLED to finally find a recipe that I love and within my restrictions. No dairy, flour,white sugar, even very little chocolate makes it very difficult to find something to satisfy my cravings. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for these muffins. Also, I can’t have peanut butter so I substituted it for almond butter and they did turn out. I had to stir it up really well but it worked!! So happy! Next I’m looking at the cookie recipes to see what I can come up with. Thanks again!
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you and that these do the trick to satisfy your cravings! Glad to hear almond butter worked for you. I’ve had other people say it does who’ve made them but I’ve never actually tried it – good to know!
Just curious to know if the is a substitute for the banana. I just really really don’t like them. Have tried many recipes and still there is a hint of banana flavor. Thanks
Please read over the Baking and Recipe FAQs https://https://www.averiecooks.com/faq/ for answers to the most common questions.
Additionally, please read the comments because in this case about bananas (if memory serves), I believe others have chimed in what they’ve done.
I substituted 1/2 cup pumpkin for the banana and they turned out great!
Thanks for the info and glad they turned out great for you with pumpkin rather than banana!
Soooo…what do you think will happen if one forgot the baking soda? :) I was so so excited about these, until I came back to read through the comments after I took them out of the oven to cool and saw someone asking about baking soda…. Bummer! I lifted one out of the pan and it tastes yummy (definitely taste the banana in mine, but that’s okay with me!)…just wonder if it will effect the overall outcome in some way?? I’m not a chemist.. :)
Soooo…what do you think will happen if one forgot the baking soda? :) <---- They will be flatter, denser, not rise, possibly sink/fall upon cooling but the taste will be fine, although the texture will be anything but 'light and airy'. But they'll be fine as long as you think of them more like a peanut butter bar, not a light and wispy muffin :)
Thanks for the quick response. What is the temperature they need to be baked at? Also how much baking soda is necessary??
I’ve made these twice now. Once with natural store bought peanut butter and once with homemade almond butter. Both turned out fantastic! Thanks for this awesome recipe!!
so excited to make these mini muffins. Just wondering how long and at what temperature do u need to bake them?
Mini muffins bake so fast. Anywhere from 6-10 minutes in my oven for most recipes. You’ll have to experiment in your oven with this recipe what will work.
Tell Aimee (comment #116) that the recipe called for baking soda, not baking powder. That is likely why it didn’t turn out for her. I made them and they are delish!
Thank you for the catch and I just comment replied to her!
So glad you enjoyed these and they turned out delish for you!
Awesome recipe! I used natural ground peanut butter too (from the grinder at Whole Foods, so it can be a little chunky even) and they came out great! Great for breakfast or an anytime pick me up snack. I think in terms of how many the recipe will make, it might depend on the individual’s mini muffin pan size. I was able to get 20 out of my batch, but like someone else had mentioned, I also filled a few of them a little generously ;) Thanks for sharing this one!
Thanks for trying the recipe and provide the specifics on what you did and what you used and glad they came out great!
Made these today but sub out the PB for almond butter and added a Tbl of cocoa powder – turned out wonderful! Also, if you’re looking for dairy free and soy free chocolate chips – use Enjoy Life – available now at Target!
Glad your substitutions worked out great and that’s a good tip about the E.L. now being sold at Target. I hadn’t even noticed that!
I might be totally oblivious but I am trying to find a printable version of this so that I don’t have to keep looking back at my computer to follow your recipes. I can’t seem to find it anywhere!! dying to try both the peanut butter version and the chocolate version!!!!
I’m desperate for something sweet today!
There’s a print icon in the recipe card, upper right hand corner. Or just copy/paste the recipe to yourself in an email and print it out. Easy :)
I made these and the double chocolate version today and I can’t believe how fluffy and cakey they are without the flour! Thanks for the recipe – I am taking them to work tomorrow and I’m sure they will be a hit!
Thanks for trying both these and the chocolate version and glad they delivered great results for you!
These muffins totally delivered on your promise! Huge hit with my fam this morning!! I did use natural peanut butter (trader joes) and it worked fine. The only bananas I had were frozen, and those didn’t cause a problem either! I made them as full size muffins (doubled recipe = 12 full size muffins) and that change was fine, too. Excited to have this in the recipe book and to explore more of your recipes! Thank you!
Glad they totally delivered and that the TJs natural PB worked fine as well as frozen bananas AND that you doubled it – awesome to hear everything worked out so well!
I really didn’t believe it. Not at all! I was even telling my girls as we were making it that I really didn’t think it was going to turn out. I am so unbelievably surprised that they turned out just like your pics. I made some medium sized and the rest mini-sized. I have never commented on a pin before, but I had to because I figured there must be others doubting and I wanted to put those doubts to rest! This is a dessert that I do not mind saying yes to when asked! So quick, so easy, so awesome! Thank you!
Everyone thinks these won’t work, and then…they do! Glad you’re a believer now and thanks for commenting!
These are delicious! I bake them standard size though. My boys and Husband love them as well. I even used the recipe to make my Husband’s Birthday cake tonight and it turned out great. I doubled the batch, then baked each half batch in 6″ round cake pans, once cooled, I sliced bananas and laid between the layers. We had some cool whip with the slices for “frosting”. Yum yum yum.
I LOVE your creativity!!!! I wish everyone was so creative and take-the-ball-and-run-with-it!!! What a wonderful idea. The layer cake, the bananas, the cool whip center….mmm, I wish this was my bday cake :)
Averie is it 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract or 1 teaspoon? I had seen a similar recipe and the vanilla was quite a bit less. let me know and thanks
I use 1 tbsp but if you want to reduce to 1 tsp, go for it. I cannot even taste 1 tsp so don’t bother b/c I am so in love with vanilla!