These Paleo Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins taste just like your mom’s homemade banana chocolate chip muffins, except with an creamy almond butter filling. They’re gluten-free, grain-free, and sugar-free – these muffins are sweetened with only bananas!
Settling in is an unusual feeling, don’t you think? A new apartment and a new city is finally starting to feel like home, but there is still a bit of nostalgia for the places you’ll never live again. My college house (and college, for that matter) has been left behind and now that summer is coming to a close, classes are starting again. The school year is beginning, and for the first time in my life that I can remember…I’m not starting classes too.
Instead, I’m sitting on my patio at home, sipping coffee and looking at our calming view of the Puget Sound, and enjoying my favorite spot in the house, writing a post to you. Let me just say: Our patio is seriously awesome. Super comfy futon, cute yellow trunk/coffee table, dining set, herb garden, twinkle lights, and flowers – what more could a girl want on her patio?
And the best part is that I can work from my patio, my kitchen, and my local coffee shop; on this Monday that’s the first day of school for so many, I’m instead on my own, teaching myself the things I need to move me forward, to my next step. I’m my own teacher and student, but also a peer of each and every person striving to do the same thing. School ends – but it doesn’t really. We graduate into the longterm education of life.
I’ve been trying to learn and grow and reach a lot recently, but it’s nice to still have the comforts of a good old banana chocolate chip muffin when you need something to bring you back to simplicity. This makes a solid batch of 12 muffins, and I bet they’ll disappear quick. I added a nice dose of almond butter in the middle to give a little gooey filling and it adds such a nice texture and flavor to the muffins.
Also – these have NO SUGAR. All the sweetness comes from the bananas, so make sure you use the super ripe ones. Check out the clearance section of your grocery store. A lot of times they’ll have already ripe bananas for way discounted prices. And for these muffins, you want the bananas almost black.
As always, I recommend chunks > chips. Chocolate chunks just melt so much better than chocolate chips and they stay melted and delicious way longer than chips. The chocolate can be skipped for strict Paleo, or just use a super dark variety.
So today, on the first day of school, I challenge you: teach yourself something today.
P.S. If you’ve never baked Paleo or made banana bread…I know of something you could totally teach yourself:
Save Print Prep time 15 mins Cook time 20 mins Total time 35 mins Author: Rachel Conners Serves: 12 muffins Ingredients - 3-4 medium bananas (1⅔ cups mashed or 380 grams)
- 3 eggs, room temperature
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup (100 grams) almond butter + ¼ cup almond butter, divided
- ⅓ cup (50 grams) coconut flour
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 4 oz. dark chocolate, chopped
- Line a 12 pan muffin tin with paper liners and preheat the oven to 350ºF.
- In a large bowl or mixer, combine the mashed bananas, eggs, coconut oil, vanilla extract and ⅓ cup almond butter until fully combined.
- Add the coconut flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt to the wet ingredients and mix well. Fold in the chocolate chunks.
- Add 1 tablespoon of batter to the bottom of each pan. Add a heaping teaspoon of almond butter to the center of each muffin. Divide the remaining batter evenly into the muffin cups, about another tablespoon of batter. Top with more chocolate chunks if desired.
- Bake in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the center should come out clean.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool on a wire rack for about ½ hour. Flip out onto a cooling rack to finish cooling.
Hungry for more? Check out some of my similar recipes!
Paleo Banana Blueberry Muffins
Paleo Chocolate Chunk Banana Bread
Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins (GF, Vegan)
Strawberry Banana Muffins
Banana Cocoa Cake with Almond Butter Swirl (Paleo)
Paleo Chocolate Chip Blondies
