Healthy Banana Coconut Chocolate Chunk Muffins {GF, refined sugar free, dairy-free option}
These moist and tender muffins are naturally sweetened with nothing but roasted banana purée and coconut flakes, and a hefty helping of dark chocolate chunks adds something luscious to every bite. If you're looking for something to beat those chocolate cravings that's also healthy, gluten-free, added-sugar-free, and dairy-free, these muffins are calling your name!
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 12 muffins 1x
Ingredients
- 6 3/8 ounces (2 cups) oat flour*
- 6 ounces (2 cups) small unsweetened coconut flakes**
- 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 whole egg plus 1 egg white
- 2 ounces (1/4 cup) coconut oil, melted
- 2 cups (17 ounces) roasted banana purée***
- 4 ounces (1/2 cup) greek yogurt (plain, vanilla, or coconut, unsweetened for sugar-free) (or sub regular canned coconut milk for a dairy-free version)****
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 6 ounces coarsely chopped bittersweet chocolate, plus extra for sprinkling on muffin tops***** (for dairy-free and sugar-free, I recommend Lily’s Sweets baking bar)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375ºF. Grease a standard 12-cup muffin tin with nonstick spray.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the oat flour, coconut flakes, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
- In a separate bowl beat the eggs until foamy. Slowly stream in melted coconut oil, while whisking, until smoothly combined. Add banana purée, yogurt, and vanilla and mix in until smooth.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet and fold together until partially combined. Add the chopped chocolate and continue to fold batter just until everything is evenly incorporated.
- Scoop batter into prepared muffin cups, dividing evenly between each. Press a few pieces of extra chopped chocolate into the top of each muffin.
- Bake muffins at 375ºF for 5 minutes, and then reduce heat to 350ºF and bake for an additional 13-18 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the muffins comes out free of batter. Cool for about 10 minutes, and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Muffins should be kept in an airtight container and are best stored at room temperature. For longer shelf life (more than about 4-5 days), they should be refrigerated and brought back to room temperature before eating.
Notes
*You can use store-bought oat flour, or make your own (instructions here). If using a food-processor to grind your oats, I recommend sifting the oat flour to remove any coarse bits before using.
**To make small coconut flakes, pulse regular coconut flakes in a food processor until pieces are pea-size.
***To make roasted banana purée, place unpeeled bananas on a foil-lined baking sheet and bake in a 350ºF oven for about 20 minutes, until skins are very dark brown and bananas are fragrant. Allow to cool for 10-15 minutes, and then remove skins and purée bananas and juices using an immersion or regular blender. (Start with about 5-6 bananas, depending on size, but be sure to measure puree before adding to batter).
****If using canned coconut milk, whisk until smooth before measuring and adding to batter.
*****When you chop chocolate, you tend to wind up with a lot of fine flakes in addition to larger pieces. For these muffins, I highly recommend that you use only the large pieces and save the fine bits for the tops of the muffins or another use. This way, you'll end up with nice big chunks of chocolate in your muffins.
This recipe is gluten-free if made with certified gluten-free oats/oat flour and dairy-free if made with coconut milk and dairy-free chocolate.