Sugar Free Banana Muffins
This article will show you how to make Sugar Free Banana Muffins that are tasty and healthy! I make these muffins for my son every other week and he eats one every single day for breakfast. This sugar free banana muffin recipe is nutritious and delicious with no added sugar at all - not maple syrup, nor honey. They are so soft and moist and they suffer no loss of texture or taste as a result of the low sugar content.
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS
- Moist and tender muffins - this recipe makes muffins that are moist and soft even though they contain ZERO sugar.
- NO sugar added - these muffins are made with absolutely no sugar. The sweetness is coming solely from bananas, so make sure they are very spotty and ripe.
- Blueberry muffins - I often mix in blueberries, but you can also use cranberries, raspberries or even diced strawberries.
- Easy to make - all you need is a whisk, a bowl and a spatula to make this recipe. It is so super simple.
- Healthy muffins - this recipe is wholesome and nutritious. They're made with oat flour, almond flour, flax, whole eggs, olive oil and no sugar at all. They're full of protein, fiber and healthy fats. I think this is a great healthy snack for kids and adults too.
INGREDIENTS
This muffin recipe uses simple ingredients that are readily available. See the FAQ section below for possible substitutions.
- Olive Oil - I love using olive oil for its fruity flavor and healthy fat fractions. It adds extra flavor since these bananas have no sugar. You can certainly use any other cooking oil, such as sunflower or canola oil.
- Eggs - Two large eggs will add nice structure and help with the moist spongy texture.
- Pure vanilla extract - vanilla is definitely necessary to make these muffins tasty. I like this Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla extract.
- Milk - I use whole milk to make this recipe, but 2% or 1% milk will also work. You can also use any non-dairy milk.
- Vinegar - yes, vinegar! I like to use apple cider vinegar, but white vinegar will do. It is important to elevate the natural sweetness since there is no sugar in this recipe. It will also react with the baking soda so they rise nicely.
- Berries - You can use fresh or frozen in this recipe, but beware that frozen berries tend to bleed too much into the batter so be sure not to thaw them. Also, you will need to add a few minutes to the baking time since the frozen berries will cool down the batter. I like to use blueberries and I often make these with frozen cranberries. I just slice them in half before folding them into the batter.
- Ripe banana - bananas that you should use for making muffins should be really spotty and very ripe. That means they are at their sweetest and will make moist muffins. I know that many people like to make muffins with frozen bananas, but I do not recommend it. Frozen bananas lose a lot of moisture and their cell structure breaks down during the freezing process so that they can't lend as much structure to the batter. This can lead to a gummy layer forming in the muffins or loaf. I also find that the flavor changes during freezing.
- Spice - cinnamon and a pinch of nutmeg add some comforting aroma and extra flavour in combination with the banana! The aroma will make your house smell incredible as the muffins are baking.
- All purpose flour - regular unbleached all-purpose flour works great for open-textured muffins.
- Almond flour - use blanched ground almonds or fine almond flour.
- Oat flour - I often do not have oat flour handy, so I just grind oats in my food processor until they are very fine. This works perfectly for me!
- Flax seed - I like to add a bit of ground flax seed or flaxmeal for added nutrition, but it is optional. I have tested this recipe without it and it still turns out great.
STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS
- STEP 1). Combine wet ingredients. In a large bowl, mash the banana with a fork until very smooth. Whisk in olive oil and eggs. Add milk, vinegar and vanilla and whisk until blended.
- STEP 2). Add non-wheat dry ingredients. Add oat flour or ground oats, almond flour and ground flax seed and whisk it in until evenly combined. Don't worry about over-mixing at this point. Let batter stand for 5-10 minutes to allow the oat flour to hydrate.
- STEP 3). Combine flour and leaveners. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, ground cinnamon, nutmeg and salt until evenly blended.
- STEP 4). Add dry ingredients. Add flour mixture to the bowl with the rest of the ingredients and fold it in evenly. '
- STEP 5). Fold in berries. Add the fresh or frozen berries and fold them in gently.
- STEP 6). Rest the batter. Cover the bowl and let the batter rest for 20-30 minutes. This allows the oats to hydrate for softer, fluffier muffins.
- STEP 7). Bake. Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups, filling them quite full. Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown around the edges and firm to the touch. Transfer pan to a wire rack and let muffins cool for 5 minutes before transferring individually to the rack to finish cooling.
EXPERT BAKING TIPS FOR SUGAR FREE BANANA MUFFINS
- Do not over-mix the batter. Once the flour is mostly combined with a few streaks remaining, then fold in the blueberries. That last step will mix the batter enough to incorporate the rest of the flour.
- Use VERY ripe bananas. They should be full of black spots, but not bruised. These bananas will have the most sweetness as the carbohydrates have converted into simple sugars. This is the only source of sweetness in the recipe so it is important that they are soft and ripe.
- Mash the banana well. This will ensure that the natural sugars from the banana get evenly incorporated into the batter.
- Sift the flour. Sifting the flour will eliminate any lumps and separate all of the flour particles which means it will incorporated into the wet ingredients more easily and more quickly. This will minimize the amount of mixing required so that you ensure the muffins are soft.
- Let the batter rest. Some resting time allows the oats and the flour to hydrate which makes softer, fluffier and more moist muffins. Too much time will affect how they bake as the leavening gases release through the batter, but 30 minutes is just enough.
- Do not over-bake. Over-baking will definitely lead to dry muffins. Make sure you check with a skewer for doneness or press the tops - they should spring back.
RECIPE FAQ
Firstly - use a fresh oil! Do not use anything that's been opened for a long time and when you store oil, it should be in a cool dark place. Light and heat accelerate oxidation reactions that can make the flavor turn rancid. My oil of choice for baking is sunflower oil for its clean and neutral taste, but any other oil such as canola or safflower will do. I even love to use olive oil because it adds more flavor to this particular recipe.
You could use melted butter, but then the muffins will have a more dense and firmer texture. I really prefer oil for this recipe.
It's not more fat! Moisture comes from liquid, not fat. So you can add more oil, but it will really just make the muffins more oily and more tender by shortening the texture. To ensure these stay moist, measure the flour correctly and do not over-mix the batter. Also, be sure not to over-bake them.
If your muffins baked up flat, it may be that your raising agents are no longer active, so be sure to use fresh baking soda and fresh baking powder. If your oven is running cool, then the muffins will not get that initial jump to puff up as soon as they get in the oven before the batter starts to expand outwards.
You can replace the cow's milk with any type of non-dairy milk for this muffin recipe, such as almond milk or oat milk.
Flax seed is optional in this recipe and it still works without it.
You can use either fresh or frozen berries! Fresh blueberries are ideal because their cell walls are still intact and the juices are kept inside until they are penetrated by heat. They also won't bleed into your batter like frozen blueberries would.
Frozen blueberries still work. Just make sure that you do not defrost them because all of the juice will leach out. You may need to add a couple more minutes to the baking time since your batter will obviously be very cold. In these photos, I used frozen blueberries.
You certainly can. I often make these with frozen cranberries. I just slice them in half before folding them into the batter. Fresh or frozen raspberries would be great too!
When using frozen blueberries it is important not mix too much after adding adding them because the reaction of baking soda (which is alkaline) with the antioxidants (the color compounds responsible for that vibrant violet color of blueberries) will actually cause the color compounds to turn more blue and make the batter look grey since baking soda will increase the pH of the batter. To prevent this, just scatter the blueberries evenly over the surface of the batter and fold them in with just a few strokes.
STORAGE & FREEZING
Store these muffins in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days, or freeze them for storage up to 3 months.
Absolutely! I do this every week. Just place the muffins individually on a baking sheet and place the whole sheet in the freezer for 1-2 hours. Then, transfer them all to a resealable freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months.
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Sugar Free Banana Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 cup (237ml) mashed ripe banana (from about 2 large bananas)
- ¼ cup (60ml) olive oil
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- ½ cup (120ml) whole milk
- 1 teaspoon (5ml) distilled white or apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon (5ml) pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup (120g) oat flour or ground oats
- ¾ cup (75g) almond flour
- 2 teaspoon ground flaxseed optional
- ¾ cup (105g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- pinch of ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon salt (optional for babies 12+ months)
- 1 cup (120g) blueberries or raspberries or chopped fresh cranberries* (see note)
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mash the banana with a fork until very smooth. Whisk in olive oil and eggs. Add milk, vinegar and vanilla and whisk until blended. Add oat flour or ground oats, almond flour and ground flax seed and whisk it in until evenly combined. Don't worry about over-mixing at this point. Let batter stand for 5-10 minutes to allow the oat flour to hydrate.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, ground cinnamon, nutmeg and salt until evenly blended.
- Add the flour mixture and fold it in gently until mostly combined but a few streaks remain. Fold in blueberries. Do not over-mix.
- Cover the bowl and let the batter rest for 30 minutes.
- Preheat your oven to 350°F and line a standard 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners or grease well with softened butter or oil.
- Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups, filling almost full. Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown around the edges and firm to the touch. Transfer pan to a wire rack and let muffins cool for 5 minutes before transferring individually to the rack to finish cooling.
- *I often use chopped frozen or fresh cranberries in place of blueberries too. They are tart, but I like it. You can also sub fresh raspberries or blackberries.
Lovely texture. I doubled the spice and added 1 tsp almond essence with some slivered almonds sprinkled on top before baking. I made these with blueberries but will try with raspberries next time. So perfect for my diabetic daughter and yum for the whole family!
Thanks so much Catherine! I'm so glad your daughter can enjoy them.
Can I use all oats flour instead all purpose flour?
i dont know if it was just me but they didnt have much flavour and i think could be improved with some yohgurt and more banana in the recipe
Hi! I want to try this but I'm allergic to oats and almonds. I did a quick google search for alternatives and it seems like there are many. The ones that seem best to me are subbing flax meal for the almond flour and either buckwheat or cassava flour for the oat flour. Do you think this would work? Or do you have any other solutions? Thank you!
Hi Dan, I would suggest using another nut flour like hazelnuts for the almond flour and then increase the AP flour to account for the oats.
Instead of 2.5 cups flour total, I used 2 cups total. That was plenty. Mine were moist.
These are great in my opinion! I switched the AP flour to GF 1-1. My blueberries were rather tart but the sweetness of my ripe bananas took care of that. They also freeze really well I just put them in a zip freezer bag. I didn’t fret over the oatmeal not grinding to dust. I didn’t want to waste with sifting and it didn’t matter. I also figured my ingredients to be about 176 calories per muffin!
Hello!
How long are they good for once stored?
Hi! They will keep in the fridge for 3 or 4 days.
Hello! Thank you so much for the recipe. The only thing I noticed was that in step two it says to add all of the flours with the wet ingredients, but then step three goes on to say to add the dry ingredients in a separate bowl. I didn’t read ahead so I ended up combining the dry and the wet ingredients! Hopefully it doesn’t affect the end result, but just wanted to comment in case anyone else was not a reader aheader 😆 lol
Hi Jamie, if you read carefully it says to only add the almond flour and oat flours. You are to then mix the all-purpose flour and leaveners in a separate bowl. Don't worry though, it will still be ok as long as you did not over-mix.
Love these muffins so much! For being no added sugar they’re still perfectly sweet and the perfect pre-workout muffin!
Thanks Audrey! They're so great for snacking!
Very good! Satisfies my diabetic sweet tooth without the high sugar content!
I'm so glad! Thanks Dana.
Can flour be whole-wheat instead of almond?
Hi Jane, the muffins will be much drier if you make that replacement. Almond flour adds flavor and also keeps the texture more tender.
If there is a nut allergy, what can the almond flour subbed with, if you even can?
Hi Shayna, you can replace with more flour, however they will be less moist and slightly less sweet.
So happy with this recipe. It is now my “go to” recipe when I have too many ripe bananas. My search is over. Thank you.
I'm so glad. Thanks Myra!
I love this recipe! I’ve already been reducing sugar in the baking recipes. This one excludes refined sugar altogether and the muffins taste yummy! Thanks!
Thanks Suzanne!
Excellent recipe and delicious muffins!
I need nutritional info for my diet control, do you have available and would you add to each recipe? It sure would be helpful and most appreciated!
Just curious, why does your recipe ingredient list show 2 bananas and 2 eggs when your video of the muffins shows 4 bananas and 4 eggs?
Approximately how many calories per muffin.
I love this recipe. I’ve used it twice now and tried adding different fruits. It’s versatile and delicious.
I used walnuts, blueberries, raspberries, and dates.
Instead of milk I used kefir.
Delicious muffin without sugar just blew my mind! Lol
Thank you so much Cheryl! I love how many variations you have made 🙂
about how many calories in one muffin please?
I'm making them all the time, they don't last long in our house, I added coconut instead of oats in recipe.Taste great.
Love the addition of coconut. Thanks Denise!
These are delicious! Just what I was looking for! I had one ripe banana to use, so I made a half batch. Added 1/3 cup chocolate chips instead of blueberries.
Hi Rebecca, so glad you enjoyed them and good call on the chocolate chips 😉
Really enjoyed these. I’m on a quest to cut back on sugar, and these were terrific. I liked the traditional muffin texture and crumb, and I particularly appreciated that there was no added sweetener (either natural, like maple syrup, or artificial). I would recommend letting the batter rest as directed and keeping a close eye on the baking time, as under-resting or over-baking would likely result in a muffin of unappealing texture. I followed the recipe (made a double batch of these to share with our church) and they were widely well received.
Delicious! I made them for my baby 1st birthday - everyone enjoyed them a lot 🙂
Very nice! The texture really was very soft. I might just add a bit more vanilla or maybe orange rind for addl flavor. But my toddler son gobbled one up and Im excited to share them as lactation snacks for my sister!