Perfectly soft and tender, these skinny banana chocolate chip muffins are naturally gluten-free and vegan, studded with dark chocolate chips and sweetened with banana!
You guys, these muffins. Oh my goodness they are good.
So good in fact that since coming up with the recipe this past weekend, I’ve already made them three times. And yes, they’re already gone. I need more.
But you have to come over and help me eat them this time, OK?
Not only are these muffins moist, tender and perfectly sweet, they’re studded with dark chocolate chips and are actually good for you. And hence the “skinny” part of the recipe name.
I mean really… chocolate + healthy = a win in my book. Always.
But chocolate + healthy + breakfast? Nothing beats it (<– hello, Chocolate Peanut Butter Breakfast Parfait!).
What makes a recipe “skinny” anyway? Honestly, I’m not in love the term, I think it tends to fuel the never-ending body image fire that many of us fight inside, but it works for this recipe. I could just call them healthy, but these babies go beyond just being healthy. They’re a guilt-free indulgence that you can have any time of day and they won’t make you blow up like a balloon like other muffins might.
Traditional Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins (like the kind you get at Starbucks or Costco) are over 400 calories, loaded with fat, sugar and refined flours. They’re completely void of all nutrition and have no place in a healthy diet.
Does that mean that those of us who do care about the foods we put in our body, we can’t enjoy these fabulous treats like the rest of the world? Absolutely not. Rather, we can enjoy something even tastier and know that we are still fueling our body with natural, whole-food ingredients that won’t leave us feeling sluggish and gross.
And so in a quest to create something banana and chocolatey and every bit as delicious as something you could buy at a mainstream bakery, I give you my skinny banana chocolate chip quinoa muffins. They're under 200 calories, have only 5 grams of fat AND have 3 grams of protein!
The base is a mixture of gluten-free oat flour and quinoa flour which keeps them ultra moist and surprisingly light. They’re sweetened only with a touch of maple syrup (or honey) and mashed banana. Have zero oil and are made with flax eggs.
These babies have it all. They are:
Light
Soft
Melty
Chocolatey
Not too sweet
Perfect with a cup of coffee (or tea!)
Use only one bowl
Gluten-Free
…and Vegan
They’re the whole package and I know you’re going to gobble them right up. Make sure to share yours with me on Instagram (it always makes my day – seriously though – when I see the recipes that you’ve created!).
Skinny Banana Chocolate Chip Quinoa Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 cup mashed banana about 2 small or 1 large
- 1 tablespoon flaxseed meal
- 2 tablespoons warm water
- 1/4 cup honey or maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 3 - 5 tablespoons almond milk separated
- 1 cup gluten-free oat flour
- 3/4 cup toasted quinoa flour
- 1/3 cup tapioca starch
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 12-cup muffin tin and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine mashed banana, flaxseed meal, water, honey, vanilla and 3 tablespoons almond milk. Beat until smooth. Set aside and let rest for 5 minutes.
- Once rested, add in flours, baking powder, salt and cinnamon to the bowl with the wet ingredients. Mix until just incorporated. If batter feels dry, add more almond milk 1 tablespoon at a time until the batter resembles a thick pancake batter. Fold in chocolate chips.
- Spoon muffin mixture into prepared pan, filling each cup 3/4 of the way full.
- Bake on center rack fro 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of one comes out clean.
- Let cool in the pan for 3 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.
- I enjoyed these muffins slightly warm, so reheat if desired, or enjoy them as is!
Video
Nutrition
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