Almond Flour Muffins are naturally gluten-free, while being quick and easy to prepare. They’re perfect for breakfast or a snack on-the-go, with 7 grams of protein per muffin!
Ingredients You’ll Need
To make the best almond flour muffins, you’ll need just a few simple ingredients.
- Blanched almond flour. Use finely ground almond flour made from blanched almonds (so the brown skins have been removed). This will give you the best, fluffy results! Almond meal is made from whole almonds, so it has brown flecks throughout the flour, and will give you denser, more mushy muffins.
- Eggs. This is not the sort of recipe where you want to experiment with a flax egg substitute, since you’ll need 4 eggs to make 12 muffins. As a result, these muffins are higher in protein!
- Honey or maple syrup. I’ve tested this recipe with both of these natural sweeteners, and both work. The honey will make the muffins taste slightly sweeter, but the taste is more noticeable in my opinion. Maple syrup is more neutral in flavor, so that’s my go-to lately.
- Baking powder. I use baking powder to help get a double rise out of these muffins. If you would rather use baking soda, use only 1 teaspoon for the whole batch, plus 2 teaspoons of vinegar to help the baking soda bubble up.
- Banana. The banana adds natural sweetness, so you don’t need as much added sweetener, and it helps with binding. I have not tested these muffins without it, but you can reference my almond flour cake recipe if you’d like a banana-free option.
- Oil. I use olive oil in this recipe, because you can’t taste it and it doesn’t solidify when it touches cold eggs from the fridge. (Coconut oil or butter will make the batter much thicker, if your eggs are cold.) Any oil should work in this recipe, though.
How to Make the Best Almond Flour Muffins
To make this almond flour muffin recipe, start by mashing the banana. I like to use a plate, rather than a bowl, for mashing, so the fork has a flat surface to work with.
Add the mashed banana to a large bowl, then add in the rest of the muffin ingredients. (Everything but the optional add-ins, which you’ll stir in later.)
Mix until smooth. The batter will be thicker than traditional muffin batter, but that’s okay!
Note: I purposefully use olive oil in this recipe, because it doesn’t solidify when chilled. If you’d rather use coconut oil or melted butter, be sure to use eggs that are room temperature, otherwise the batter may thicken significantly and might be difficult to scoop.
Finally, you’ll stir in any add-ins you like. My kids prefer mini chocolate chips these days, but you can also use fresh berries, like blueberries or raspberries. (Frozen berries might add too much liquid to this recipe, FYI.)
My Raspberry Chocolate Chip Muffins have been a fan favorite for years, if you want to try that combination, too!
Bake until the muffins rise, and then let them cool completely before serving. I love the fluffy texture!
What’s the Difference Between Almond Flour and Almond Meal?
This recipe calls for almond flour, which is simply finely ground almonds that have been blanched first. Since the skins are removed in blanched almond flour, it usually looks pretty light in color. You can make your own almond flour, if you can’t find it at the store.
Almond meal is also made from finely ground almonds, but usually the skins have been left on, giving it a more dark and speckled look. Almond meal tends to create a denser, more cake-like texture in baked goods, while blanched almond flour usually creates a more fluffy result, but in my experience they can be used interchangeably if you keep those differences in mind.
Can I use Coconut Flour Instead of Almond Flour?
While almond meal and almond flour can be used interchangeably, that is NOT the case for coconut flour. Coconut flour is much more dry and dense when compared to almond flour, and as a result you don’t need to use much of it, but it does require an unusual amount of eggs for structure. (Usually 2-3 times more than traditional recipes.)
Instead of substituting coconut flour, I recommend starting with a recipe that already calls for it so you can modify from there, if needed. My Coconut Flour Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins, Coconut Flour Banana Bread, or Coconut Flour Orange Cranberry Muffins are a good place to start.
Substitutions
I don’t have an official egg-free version of this recipe yet, but I do have a Vegan Almond Flour Banana Bread that I think would make a great starting point! Just bake it in a muffin tin and add in blueberries, if you like.
Almond Flour Muffins
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 ripe bananas (184 grams; mashed)
- 2 1/2 cups blanched almond flour (287 grams)
- 4 large eggs (200 grams)
- 1/4 cup maple syrup (80 grams; or honey)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder (8 grams)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt (2 grams)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla (4 grams)
- 1/4 cup olive oil (57 grams; or other oil)
Optional Add-Ins
- 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips (93 grams)
- 1 cup fresh berries
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF and line a muffin tin with 12 liners. On a plate, use a fork to mash the bananas until smooth, then add them to a large bowl, along with the almond flour, eggs, maple syrup or honey, baking powder, salt, vanilla, and oil.
- Stir well, until the batter is smooth. It will be thicker than normal muffin batter. Fold in the chocolate chips, or berries, if using.
- Use a heaping 1/4 cup measure to scoop the batter into each muffin liner. Bake until the tops are lightly golden, about 25 minutes.
- Let the muffins cool completely, then serve. For best shelf life, store these in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Update note: This recipe was updated in May 2021 to make a full 12 muffins, because they go too fast in our house! The original recipe called for only 2 cups almond flour, 3 eggs, 3 tablespoons honey, 1 banana, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and 1 cup fresh berries, as the add-in. (This makes only 8 muffins, hence why I increased the recipe.)
If you try these Almond Flour Muffins, please leave a comment below letting me know how you like them. And if you make a substitution, please let me know how that works out, too. We can all benefit from your experience!
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Reader Feedback: What’s your favorite muffin flavor?
Excellent blueberry muffins. I used 1/3 cup homemade applesauce and frozen blueberries.
I used applesauce with cinnamon and baking soda because I didn’t have a banana or baking powder. It was delicious!!!
I used some left over Pumpkin, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, allspice & pecans to make these today & they were Great. Thanks for posting a recipe with lots of alternatives.
I tried these today but substituted 1/3 cup applesauce for banana and strawberries instead of blueberries. It taste delicious but they are a little to moist. Did i use too much applesauce?
Mine were a little moist as well and I made the recipe as written. I am going to make again and add 2 T of flax meal and see if that does anything.
Mine came out very moist, too. Almost like they’re not cooked completely, although I even put them back in the oven for another 10 minutes. This is my first time baking with almond flour so I’m sure there’s some kind of trick to it. Used unsweetened applesauce instead of banana, fresh mulberries instead of blues, and used silicone muffin pans. As someone else commented, they do stick to the paper liners. I’d really like to know why they are so moist.Tasty, though!
Delicious! I love that they’re high in protein ! Success! Thank you.
Has anyone made these with flax eggs instead?
I made these muffins for my mom, who was on the Daniel Fast (no dairy, wheat, meat or eggs, processed foods, sugars or sugar replacements). I used Bob’s egg replacement powderinstesd of the three eggs. I also added a few things to make it tastier, being that she couldn’t include the sweet honey either. I added diced red apples, pumpkin spice seasoning, coconut flakes, and1/2 of a large banana instead of the honey. SO TASTY! I topped it with Daisy dairy free cream cheese (coconut milk based). THANKS DETOXINISTA!!!
Just tried these, really great. Cooked them with my two year old son, so easy and fun to do with him. Left out salt and swapped honey for 1tbsp date syrup and 2tbsp maple syrup as feeding them to my 9month old too. They just wolfed them down!
I’m so glad to hear that! Thank you for letting me know. 🙂
How many net carbs
These are mu favourite muffins so far. Who knew almond flour recipes need no oil, and they yield fluffy muffins. Very delicious. I used spaghetti squash that I pureed myself, instead of bananas.
Megan, do you think these could be frozen? Trying to prep for baby #3’s arrival…
and do you think I could substitute sweet potato for the banana? I don’t love banana in my muffins (other than straight banana muffins!).
Yes, I think they could be frozen and sweet potato should be fine!
Wow! These turned out perfect! I would have never guess there was not any sugar added. Perfect amount of sweet and tart.
I make these often for my kids (and who am i kidding, myself!) subbing maple syrup for the honey, adding cinnamon, and a sprinkle of coconut sugar on top of each before baking.. they are a family favourite in our house! I love that I can make these with ingredients I always have around.
OMG! Looking so delicious!! I can’t handle greed to start my favorite blueberry muffins. I will start today. Thanks for excellent sharing
These are excellent. Please make a chocolate version! I’m thinking maybe some cacao powder and an additional banana?
I’ve made 3 batches of these muffins this week (and it’s just me and my husband)! They are delicious and perfect the way they are!
Excellent muffins. I did some minor substitutions and they still turned out great. I subbed oatmeal flour for the almond flour. Instead of adding blueberries and the banana, I subbed ground beef. Then I subbed worcestershire for the honey and mustard for the vanilla and doubled the salt. They made great little meatloaf muffins!
I just love when people say how great a recipe was and then make all sorts of substitution!
In all seriousness, I did sub chopped pear for the blueberries because I needed to use up the pear. I used about half the honey. I thought they tasted sweet enough with the amount of honey I used. Thanks for the recipe! 🙂
Ha ha! I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe, even with your substitutions. 🙂
Made these as mini-muffins for my toddler. They were quick, easy, and a BIG hit.
Cooked for 17 minutes and that seems like the perfect time.
Made two batches-great recipe! Thanks for making it easy to customize! What I did: swapped pumpkin for banana, fresh cranberries for blueberries, 1/4c maple syrup for honey, added 1.5 tsp pumpkin spice. Sprinkled a lit Raw sugar on top for crunch/looks. Kids and husband ate them up!
Made these and love them!
We just took the salt out and added flax seed as well. 👌
The easiest, tastiest, and healthiest muffins I’ve ever made!!!
Ciao! I’m Alessandra from Italy. Couldn’t find a muffin recipe with only almond flour in Italian! I tried yours… It’s perfect! I rather prefer almond muffins now! I baked them with almond meal and without honey. They needed a little more sweetness actually, so next time I’ll try with honey. THANK YOU SO MUCH!
I loved the recipe. I use my frozen bananas. Now Inwant to try it with mango.still have the blueberries. Wonder if the mango would be moist enough instead of the banana.
Blueberry muffins are delicious. I keep them in freezer and microwave for 30 secs, slather with clarified butter….yummy. BTW @ Trader Joe’s blanched almond flour costs $8 lb., and almond meal costs $5.
They are OK,not to sweet. They stick very bad on paper cups because have no any oil in, next time I will use some oil spray for paper muffins cups.
Excellent blueberry muffins! Be sure to sift the flour. I use cinnamon spiced apple sauce instead of banana and maple syrup instead of honey. Yummy!
I did not have blueberries but did have frozen rhubarb from our garden. I thawed the rhubarb in the microwave and snipped them into smaller piecen about the size of a blueberry. The tang of the rhubarb was a nice surprise and the muffins turned out delicious. I did not increase the honey. They were moist too.
I tried them with coconut sugar instead of honey, very yummy!
I just took mine out of the oven. I keep hoping for a less dry recipe for breads and muffins that are also gluten free. This recipe has great flavor but is unfortunately dry and crumbly. I might try again using another egg and applesauce. Thank you for your efforts! Salute!
Love this recipe! It’s very easy to change up for other options; I added lemon zest to my blueberry ones, used applesauce in place of banana, grated apple, nutmeg, cinnamon in a batch, avocado, banana, cocoa & chocolate chips in another. I’m going to try a carrot/sweet potato version next time too. I also only use egg whites as my husband and I don’t tolerate yolks well.
These were really tasty. I liked the texture the almond flour gave the muffins. Just the right amount of sweetness too.
Loved them!!! I added a little stevia for more sweetness
Delicious, thank you very much!
Made this for my 22 month old daughter, added some shredded carrot to help her eat veggies and it came out so good!!!!! Thank you for this easy yummy recipe!!!
How can I not make them taste like playdoh is it suppose to taste like that ? I used every ingredient.
I used agave syrup instead of honey, and chopped chocolate and strawberries instead of blueberries . Look great !
I forgot one of the eggs, and these muffins still turned out very nice; I subbed leftover pumpkin purée for the banana and added 1/2 teaspoon almond extract in addition to the vanilla. Next time I might add a bit of spice such as cinnamon to complement the blueberries. Thanks for the recipe : )
I tried it with maple syrup (it’s what I had) and they turned out wonderful! My 2 year old grandson keeps asking for more!
We make these weekly, they are very moist and a delicious breakfast or quick snack. My 2 year old helps and it’s super easy. We have substituted all different types of fruit, we’ve even done apple cinnamon with walnut. I just cut up a whole apple(no need to peel) and add some cinnamon and diced walnuts. We love your recipes Megan!
I haven’t made these but want to know if the banana will influence the flavor or texture of the muffin—can it be left out?
Thank you for all yummy recipes I really enjoyed baking and it was simple and easy to make
Is it possible to replace the banana with milk for the moisture?
I haven’t tested that, so I couldn’t say for sure. Usually a banana is more of an egg replacement, so my guess is that adding an extra egg would produce a more similar result. But let me know what you try!
I used Swerve instead of honey and applesauce instead of banana, and it still turned out great. Thank you for this recipe.
This recipe is so delicious. I make this multiple times with different types of berries. Also used apple sauce in place of bananas.
I made this today and followed the directions exactly. I sprayed my cupcake liners but it still did not come out as a whole cupcake. It was lacking flavor and that cakey texture. It was not sweet and the blueberries didn’t taste good with the almond flour.
Love the recipe to peaks and got more compliments thanks so much for the post.
Replaced honey with jaggery(indian store) tastes like sugar.LOVE IT want to try more of ur recipies.
Amazing recipe. I made them in mini muffins. I used a combo of honey and maple syrup.
I am TRULY , hands down, completely and utterly obsessed with these muffins! Your measurements are perfect and I am so thrilled to be able to incorporate these into my new way of life (gluten-free and dairy free). No tweaks. No changes. Muffin BLISSSS! My husband (sweet tooth, junk food lover galore) even praised these. One thing I will say is that it makes us both feel really good and stop reading hear for too much info, but another unexpected surprise bonus with these muffins is that they keep us regular (warned you) 🙂 Thank you ! I will be exploring more recipes here! Betty from Toronto ( baker in quarantine)
These are delicious, moist, light; the recipe is definitely keeper.
I needed to use 1/2 cup organic egg whites (whipped a little), substitute for 3 whole eggs.
My only mistake was taking them out of the pan before completely cooled, but they were delish anyway.
I really liked it. I make it all the time!
Such a great recipe! I did not have blueberries soI used Strawberries instead. What a hit! They are super moist and fluffy.
I made this but used baking soda and omitted the honey and used frozen blueberries. They turned out so good! I might add two bananas instead for added sweetness since I didn’t want to them too sweet.
Great recipe!