I waver between being stuck in my ways (why risk trying a new muffin recipe when my current favorite muffin recipe is already perfectly yummy?) and the desire to try something new (but could this new muffin recipe open me to a whole new world of muffin deliciousness that I didn’t know existed?). Coconut Flour Muffins are here to give us the best of both worlds!
The recipe is sponsored by Bob’s Red Mill.
Moist and springy, with a tender crumb and subtle sweetness, these marvelous muffins have the classic hallmarks of any muffin recipe worthy of a spot on your plate. They’re wholesome and sweetened naturally with banana. You’ll feel excellent starting your day with one, superb starting it with two.
What makes these muffins unique and worthy of trying, even if you’ve already settled on your favorite healthy blueberry muffins, is the coconut flour itself. It makes these muffins especially moist. Because coconut flour is in high protein and fiber, they are extra filling too.
The other key to these fluffy coconut muffins’ marvelous texture and homey flavor is mashed banana. Think of this recipe as a fresh take on blueberry banana muffins that might not be your grandma’s recipe, but that she’d enjoy very much.
Why You Should Add Coconut Flour to Your Pantry
If you’ve never bought it before, coconut flour might feel like an usual ingredient to add to your pantry or even a splurge, but it’s worth it. These days, coconut flour is fairly mainstream, so you can find it at most grocery stores (and online).
My favorite brand of coconut flour is Bob’s Red Mill. Different brands of coconut flour can vary in consistency and performance, but Bob’s never ever fails me. It performs the same from recipe to recipe and bag to bag. Bob’s puts intense care into sourcing its ingredients, which results in a higher quality (and often more nutritionally dense) product.
Coconut flour is healthy too!
- It offers a wide array of nutrients, including iron.
- It contains more fiber than most other gluten free flours.
- It has more protein than typical flour.
- Coconut flour is naturally gluten free and grain free, making it especially popular in gluten free baking, another reason I like Bob’s. While I’m not gluten free myself, I have a number of friends who are, and Bob’s is one of the safest gluten free brands to buy because they have a dedicated GF section of their facility (I actually visited a few years ago!).
- It’s low carb (and keto-friendly).
No matter your dietary needs, picking up a bag of coconut flour will open you up to a new world of healthy baked goods you haven’t tried before. Best of all, it makes for some seriously tasty muffins (and seriously tasty Coconut Flour Pancakes and seriously tasty Coconut Flour Cake…).
Since I never want you to buy a brand new bag of flour for just one recipe, no matter how awesome that recipe is (and yes, these coconut flour muffins are pretty awesome), you can use the rest of your bag to try out any of these healthy coconut flour recipes.
Plus, since most recipes only call for a small amount of coconut flour (this is because coconut flour is very dry, so a little goes a long way), you’ll earn some mileage from your purchase.
Speaking of how special coconut flour is and why you’ll want to use it…
Substituting Coconut Flour
Coconut flour is an unusual flour with its own unique properties, like weight, protein content, and how much moisture it absorbs (a lot of moisture). This means that it reacts differently in baking than other flours.
I don’t recommend a coconut flour substitute. If you want to bake with coconut flour, it is best to seek out recipes that already call for it, and vice versa. Just like you can’t throw coconut flour into a different recipe and expect good results, you also can’t use a different flour in place of coconut flour; the recipe would likely fall apart, because coconut flour is so dry.
The good news: there are many DELISH things you can make with coconut flour, especially coconut flour muffins!
How to Make Coconut Flour Muffins
If you start reading coconut flour recipes, you’ll notice that most call for a large number of eggs (this top-rated Paleo Zucchini Bread, for example, calls for six). This is because you need a large amount of eggs to offset the dryness of the coconut flour, as well as to help the recipe rise.
Because of this, a downfall of some coconut flour recipes is that they taste “eggy.” My solution for these muffins: to replace a portion of the eggs with a different moist ingredient, mashed ripe banana.
The banana gives the muffins a wonderful, fruity flavor, helps to sweeten them naturally, and ensures the muffins are fluffy and moist, not dry.
For those looking to make vegan recipes with coconut flour: I have not yet succeeding at making coconut flour muffins without eggs. While I did successfully swap a number of the eggs for banana, I haven’t yet found a way to make these muffins with no eggs at all. If you do find a way, please leave a comment and let me (and others!) know.
Once you have the coconut flour and a ripe banana, everything else you need to make these muffins is an easy pantry staple.
The Ingredients
- Coconut Oil. These muffins are dairy free! Coconut oil makes the muffins moist and promotes a satisfying texture.
- Baking Powder. Helps our muffins rise and makes them fluffy.
- Honey. To keep these muffins free of refined sugar, I opted to use honey as the natural sweetener. Maple syrup would also work here.
- Vanilla + Almond Extract. This recipe really benefits from both extracts. The almond flavor makes them extra special.
- Blueberries. Delicious with the banana! You also can swap these out with another favorite mix-in. (Chocolate chip coconut flour muffins anyone?)
The Directions
- Spray 10 wells of a muffin pan with nonstick spray. Melt the coconut oil, then let cool to room temperature. Stir the dry ingredients together in a mixing bowl.
- In another mixing bowl, add the banana and whisk in the wet ingredients. Add the cooled coconut oil.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, whisking until smooth. It will be lumpy at first, but just keep whisking. Fold in the blueberries or your mix-in of choice.
- Scoop the batter into the muffin cups (about 3/4 of the way to the top). Bake for 16 to 18 minutes at 400 degrees F. Once a toothpick comes out clean, let them cool in the pan. Then, let cool completely on a wire rack. ENJOY!
Make Ahead and Storage Tips
- To Make Ahead and Freeze. Prepare the muffins as directed, and let them cool completely. Wrap each muffin individually in plastic wrap, and store them in an airtight freezer-safe storage container for up to 3 months. Remove muffins as desired for healthy snacks and breakfasts.
- To Store. Place muffins in an airtight storage container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
- Storing Coconut Flour. The freezer or refrigerator is the best place to store your coconut flour to keep it from going bad. Store it in the package or in an airtight container.
More Gluten Free Muffin Recipes
- Banana Oatmeal Muffins
- Gluten Free Muffins
- Almond Flour Pumpkin Muffins
- Applesauce Muffins
- Or try one of these other healthy muffin recipes using a GF 1:1 baking flour like this one.
Do you bake with coconut flour? I’m loving baking with it, and I think you will too. And if you try this blueberry banana coconut flour muffins recipe, please leave a comment to let me know how they turned out!
Coconut Flour Muffins
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Ingredients
- ¼ cup coconut oil
- ½ cup Bob's Red Mill Coconut Flour sifted if lumpy
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup mashed ripe banana about 2 small/medium or 1 extra large
- 4 large eggs
- 6 tablespoons honey or pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
- ⅔ cup blueberries chocolate chips, or mix-ins of choice (if using fruit, after rinsing be sure you pat it very dry)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly coat 10 wells of a standard 12-cup muffin pan with nonstick spray, or line them with paper liners and coat the liners with nonstick spray.
- Place the coconut oil in a small, microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds. Continue to heat in 15-second bursts, just until melted. Alternatively, you can melt the coconut oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
- In a medium bowl, stir together the coconut flour, baking powder, and salt.
- In a separate, large mixing bowl, add the mashed banana (make sure you have the ½ cup called for in the recipe). Whisk in the eggs, honey, vanilla extract, and almond extract until combined. Whisk in the melted, cooled coconut oil.
- Add the dry ingredients to the bowl with the wet ingredients. Whisk until smooth and very few lumps remain (you may have some small ones from the banana but get the batter as smooth as it can be). Gently fold in the blueberries.
- Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling the cups about 3/4 of the way to the top.
- Bake the muffins for 16 to 18 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and the tops spring back lightly when touched. Place the pan on a wire cooling rack. Let the muffins cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then gently remove them to the wire rack to finish cooling completely.
Nutrition
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Sign Me UpI am sharing this post in partnership with Bob’s Red Mill. As always, all opinions are my own. Thanks for supporting the brands and companies that make it possible for me to continue to create quality content for you! For more recipe ideas and inspiration, visit bobsredmill.com.
I followed this recipe exactly and they turned out perfect! My muffin tins are on the small side so this recipe made 15 muffins for me, which I baked for 14 minutes (since they were on the smaller side). These muffins keep well too, I ate them all week! Thank you for providing this delicious recipe!!
Hi Christina! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
Hi, can I substitute apple sauce for mashed banana?
Hi Eydie! I haven’t tried it myself but other readers have used applesauce in place of the banana with great success. If you decide to experiment, I’d love to know how it goes!
Can I use frozen blueberries or do I need to thaw in fridge overnight or let sit out on counter for a couple hours ? I use the small frozen wild blueberries.
Hi Holly, while I haven’t used frozen blueberries, other readers have with success. They suggested adding a few additional minutes to the baking time. Also the package you are using should have the directions on how to thaw those specific blueberries that you are using. Enjoy!
Can I use frozen blueberries ?
Hi Holly, while I haven’t used frozen blueberries, other readers have with success. They suggested adding a few additional minutes to the baking time. ENJOY!
Can I omit the bananas? I can’t use fruit nor sugar at this time. Wondering if anyone has tried it.
Hi Lisy, you would need something to replace the banana. Maybe try yogurt? If you decide to experiment, I’d love to know how it goes!
This is a great recipe. I have had trouble with the consistency of coconut flour bakes in the past but this is perfect. I subbed the liquid sweetener for Greek yoghurt, butter for the coconut oil and used frozen blueberries just adding a couple of minutes to the bake time and they are fantastic. Thank you for the recipe!
Glad it worked out for you, Jodie! Thank you!
This recipe makes for a nice little treat or a quick and easy breakfast. I replace the banana with an equal amount of applesauce and the muffins still bake up well. I’ve tried them with frozen blueberries, as well as frozen cherries and chocolate chips. The frozen fruit works but it definitely makes for a wetter muffin. This is a great recipe for people, like me, that want to eat more eggs but do not like eggs. It’s become something we usually have on hand in the house. Thanks for the yummy recipe!
Glad it worked out for you, Amanda! Thank you!
This is my first time baking with coconut flour and I love this recipe! Used a 12 count muffin pan so some were a bit on the small side but turned out great. Appreciate that it calls for ingredients that I have on hand and doesn’t call for any refined cane sugar. I omitted the almond extract and mixed some melted Guittard dark chocolate chips (made with coconut sugar) into the batter and sprinkled some purely Elizabeth granola on top for a bit of crunch. Despite the added ingredients baking time remained the same. I’m always on the lookout for gluten free recipes as someone with eczema flare ups caused by gluten and dairy sensitivity and simply because I enjoy making clean foods for myself and family to enjoy :)
So glad to hear you enjoyed it, Sara!
To begin, I love coconut, love coconut flour and am always looking for options on using these ingredients. One of my big coconut loves currently is coconut butter. I use it like butter or peanut butter. It’s much more solid at room temp than coconut oil so I often mix the two.
In this recipe I did modify based on that and what I happened to have on hand. I used blueberry greek yogurt instead of banana, half coconut oil and coconut butter and I added more flour as the batter seemed very runny after allowing it to rest for a while. I also baked these at 375 based on reading several reviews.
The flavor – the bomb! My first real bite and I think I moaned out loud.
The consistency – I love coconut flour consistency and this was moist as well.
The only issue I had, which is certainly due to my customization, is that they are quite soft. Normally a good thing, but the first one I tried to take out of the muffin pan totally crumbled in the cupcake liner. The remainder, though, were much better and held better so I’m not sure about that. Anyway, I do wonder if it was from the yogurt which I probably had a bit more than the 1/2 cup of banana called for.
I’ll try again and perhaps with the banana as written to see how they behave. Thanks for the inspiration!
So glad it worked out for you, Jean! Thanks for the feedback!
I substituted flax eggs for all the eggs and the recipe, and it didn’t set. I figured this experiment might not work, so it’s perfectly fine with me. The flavors are great, just had the consistency of bread pudding. I’ll keep experimenting with non-egg versions… Maybe try some gelatin or agar agar to set it.
Thanks for the feedback, Amieo!
Coconut flour needs eggs to set!!! Unless you’re simply using it as a thickner, like 1 TB or tsp in another kind of recipe…..
I replaced the sweetener with 1/4 cup Trim Healthy Mama sweetening blend, and substituted a few walnuts (less than 1/2 cup) for the blueberries, which I didn’t have. They came together quickly using ingredients on hand. The muffins turned out great and had just the right amount of sweetness. Also, I really enjoyed how the coconut and banana combination gave the muffins a bit of tropical flair. We will definitely be having these again.
Glad it worked! Thank you Lynn!
Delicious! FOR ME, I changed the baking time and compared batch number one, baked at 400F and batch two, baked at 350F. 350 was the lighter — raised better, winner, for me. ALL oven differ. My old oven 400 might have been fine. SO – I had to lengthen the baking time about 10 minutes or more (I forgo to keep track. I set the timer 10 minutes longer, but then added a bit more as I eyeballed and tested the muffin.) Thank you for sharing with us!! SOOO yummy! I used Frozen Wild Blueberries, Uff-da!! SOOO delish! Attachment has muffin baked at 400f on the left, and the muffin baked at 350f with added time, on the right.
Looks great Valerie, thank you!