Banana Walnut Muffins are a delicious breakfast or snack. This healthy recipe uses brown rice flour and is sweetened with honey for a nutritious and delicious muffin!
I made this recipe for the first time for Mother’s Day in 2013. Not only was it a hit with my mom, but my whole family enjoyed these healthy muffins. They were gone in a flash!
Made with wholesome ingredients like ripe bananas, brown rice flour, and lightly sweetened with honey, this easy muffin recipe is nutritious and lower in sugar and fat than regular muffins.
Easy to make and easy to customize, these gluten free banana walnut muffins are one of those feel good baked goods you’ll want to keep on constant rotation!
Let’s discuss the basic ingredients for this healthy banana muffin recipe.
Ingredients for Gluten Free Banana Walnut Muffins:
Brown Rice Flour: Taking the place of regular all-purpose flour, I used brown rice flour in the original recipe. Since then, I have made this recipe several times using other kinds of flour (see options below).
While I enjoy the brown rice flour version, the muffins turn out a little dense. If you are alright with this, stick with the original recipe. If not, choose from one of the flour options below.
Large Ripe Bananas: We need three overripe bananas to bring moisture, volume, and sweetness to these delicious banana nut bread muffins! Be sure to choose bananas that have plenty of brown spots. If your bananas are fairly small, use four instead of three.
Eggs: We need a couple of large eggs to help the muffin batter rise. One person reported back that she made the muffins using flax eggs with success. Feel free to go with flax eggs for an egg-free version.
Honey or Pure Maple Syrup: While the ripe bananas bring a great deal of natural sweetness to the muffins, adding a little honey or pure maple syrup makes them perfectly sweet.
Avocado Oil: We need a little fat for moisture, and I love using avocado oil for this job. Melted coconut oil or butter works too.
Baking Powder: The leavening agent. We need baking powder to help the banana muffin batter rise.
Ground Cinnamon: Banana bread and banana muffins aren’t the same without cinnamon! I add a lot to my banana baked goods.
Raw Walnuts: The nut in our banana nut muffins! Use chopped pecans instead or stick with walnuts.
You can also add 1/2 cup of chocolate chips for an extra delicious treat.
Looking to use a different flour? Here are some options.
Flour Alternatives:
- 1 1/2 cups oat flour.
- 2 cups almond flour + 1/2 cup tapioca flour.
- 1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour or gluten-free all-purpose flour.
Now that we’re familiar with the simple ingredients, let’s bake a batch of muffins!
How to Make Banana Walnut Muffins:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and lightly oil a muffin pan or line with paper liners.
- In a mixing bowl, mash the bananas. Whisk in the eggs, oil and honey.
- In a separate mixing bowl, combine the brown rice flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and walnuts (dry ingredients)
- Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture and mix until completely combined.
- Fill the muffin holes three-quarters of the way up with batter.
- Bake in for 30 minutes or until muffins test clean.
- Serve with butter and honey!
I have found that taking the internal temperature of baked goods is the best way to check for doneness.
To do so, insert a digital thermometer into the center of one of the gluten free banana nut muffins. They are fully cooked once they reach 190 degrees Fahrenheit.
And that’s it! The next time you have a craving for banana nut muffins, whip up this easy recipe!
If you love making homemade muffins, also try these reader favorites.
More Muffin Recipes:
- Cranberry Orange Muffins
- Healthy Oatmeal Double Chocolate Muffins
- Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins
- Blueberry Protein Muffins
Gluten free banana nut bread muffins on repeat!
Gluten Free Banana Walnut Muffins Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 large ripe bananas mashed
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ cup avocado oil*
- 2 Tbsp honey or pure maple syrup
- 1 1/3 cup brown rice flour or all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp salt
- ¾ cup walnuts chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and lightly oil a muffin pan
- In a mixing bowl, mash the bananas and whisk in the eggs, oil and honey.
- In a separate mixing bowl, combine the brown rice flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and walnuts.
- Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture and mix until completely combined.
- Fill the muffin holes three-quarters of the way up with batter.
- Bake in for 30 minutes or until muffins test clean.
- Serve with butter and honey!
Notes
Nutrition
I originally shared this recipe on May 12, 2013. I have since updated it to include more information and ingredient substitutions to provide more options
Thank you thank you thank you for this recipe! I have tried so many gluten free muffin recipes and so few of them have worked out. Until today – this recipe was perfect! My son just told me they are the best muffins I ever made. Thank you!
Yaaaaaaay! I’m so happy to hear it, Daniele! It’s one of my favorite muffin recipes I’ve made. So easy and always so satisfying! Thanks so much for your kind words and Happy Holidays!
Can I use vegetable oil?
Hi Ozzy, Yes, you absolutely can use vegetable oil instead of walnut oil 🙂
Great recipe! I used coconut oil and added dark choc chips and they were so yummy!
Oh great!! I’m so glad you made and enjoyed the muffins. I’ve been meaning to make another batch and add dark chocolate – my mouth is watering just thinking about it. Thanks for your feedback, Katie, and have a great week!
I tried this recipe yesterday, and substituted the olive oil for the walnut oil. Other than that, I followed the recipe. When we tasted them, there was an extremely bitter taste, which was so bad we threw out the muffins. Could I have done something wrong?
Oh no! I’m so sorry to hear the recipe didn’t work for you, Sandy! What type of brown rice flour did you use? My only guess would be the flour had a bitter taste to it. Also, were you sure to use baking powder instead of baking soda? I find a lot of people try to substitute one for the other, but too much baking soda leads to an awful bitter taste. Let me know, and so sorry again the muffins didn’t work out!
Thanks for the reply, Julia. My husband’s nutritionist suggested he try going GFCF to see if it helps some of his heath issues. This was the first try at baking something for him. Maybe I’ll try it again and see how it comes out. I’ll let you know.
made your muffins…really enjoyed them first time doing gluten free something ( bought some rice flour but didn’t know what to do with it and now i have a great recipe)
It looks lovely but I cant even try them as they have honey and honey causes more pain than regular flour does. Pity
Ruh roh, sorry to hear that! Try replacing the honey with pure maple syrup 🙂
You recalled me of my late mom. This post is a real tribute to your Mom. Thanks for sharing your feelings. Nobody can take the place of a mother. Keep her preserved.
Thank you, my talented daughter, for your loving and kind words. You are the best gift a mother could have.
Love you, mom!!
This post totally has me tearing up. Damn you Julia!
Absolutely lovely tribute to your mom. The older I get the more and more I love and appreciate my mom. My world would be a scary place without her!
I was balling while writing it…I agree, great moms are so important and we’re so lucky to have them!
Beautiful post and muffins! 🙂
This is such a beautiful post. Your mamma sounds like a wonderful person, and these muffins are perfection.
That was such a lovely tribute to your Mom. I bet she is proud of you! Words are never enough to share what Mother’s do for us whether they are near or far away. My Mom is miles away and I so miss her. The banana walnut muffins look out of the world. With half a stick of butter and a drizzle of honey, I would be in Heaven. Oh and the flower is so beautiful just like your post!
Listening to country music and reading your post = BAWLING!
Ohhhhh nooooooo! I should have put a disclaimer at the beginning: Do not listen to country music while reading this post. It will cause tears. I feel like country plus anything emotional is a recipe for cry face. Hope you’re having a great weekend, lady!
I can’t wait for that rap next year.
(That was just lovely, darlin’. And I’ll take some of those muffins!)
Waaaahoo!! Hope you and your mom are having a wonderful day together!!
What a beautiful tribute to your dear Mother! Sounds like she deserves a lot of love ! Happy Mother’s Day!
Thanks Kari! She’s an incredible woman and I feel so lucky to have her as a mom! Happy Mother’s Day to you too!!
It’s much easier to understand when you put it that way!
I don’t even know what to say, this made things so much easier!
It’s always a relief when someone with obvious expertise answers. Thanks!
Alright alright alright that’s exactly what I needed!
So sweet! My post today was all about my mom! Mos are the best!
So are these muffins!! Holy yum!!
Thanks Tieghan! I’m gonna go read your post now…mom’s definitely are the best!