Flourless Banana Nut Muffins - Vegan, Paleo, No Added Sugar
Thursday, June 22, 2017
I first read about baking with ground psyllium husks about a year ago. Alissa over at the Whole Life Nutrition Kitchen made kneadable gluten-free bread dough and credited psyllium for making it possible. I was intrigued, but I hadn't tried baking with psyllium until I started formulating this recipe for flourless Banana Nut Muffins. The results amazed me!
In order for you to understand how amazing this recipe is, I need to stop here and talk a little bit about gluten-free and vegan baking. It's difficult - really difficult - to create baked goods with great taste and texture without the structure and elasticity provided by gluten and eggs. Gluten-free and vegan baked goods tend to either fall apart or end up gummy inside. When you are trying to avoid xanthan and guar gums, sugar and/or starchy flours, gluten-free and vegan baking becomes even more difficult.
That's why I was so impressed with these Banana Nut Muffins! They are flourless, which means they're grain-free and gluten-free. They're also dairy-free and egg-free (vegan), and free of sweeteners. That's right, all of the sweetness in these muffins comes solely from the bananas, allowing these Banana Nut Muffins to be Paleo! Yet these muffins could easily be mistaken for traditional muffins that contain gluten and eggs. Not only do they taste great, they're perfectly moist and tender!
Health Benefits & Nutrition Info
These Banana Nut Muffins are free of so many things (gluten, grains, flour, eggs, dairy, sweeteners, xanthan and guar gum), but they are made with nutritious ingredients that offer a lot of health benefits!
- Almonds: (almond butter and almond flour) Both the World's Healthiest Foods and Well-Being Secrets have thorough articles detailing the health benefits of almonds. The combination of fiber, nutrients, antioxidants and healthy fats in almonds help promote a healthy heart and healthy weight and may also help to prevent gallstones.
- Bananas: as I noted in my Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie post, bananas provide vitamin B6 and vitamin C as well as potassium, manganese, antioxidants and fiber. As a result, bananas are good for heart health and digestion (source), and may even help the body produce neurotransmitters (source).
- Walnuts: Walnuts are rich in omega 3 fats as well as copper and manganese and very unique antioxidants. The combination helps walnuts to fight heart disease, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, and cancer (source).
- Psyllium: Last but not least, psyllium husks are extremely high in fiber. As a result, psyllium husks are recognized for promoting bowel regularity and satiety as well as regulating blood sugar levels, which can aid in weight loss. Psyllium husks also help to regulate cholesterol levels, which may be good for heart health.
By combining all of these nutrient dense ingredients, I've created flourless, vegan and Paleo Banana Nut Muffins that are really good for you! Each muffin contains about 10 grams of protein and 24 grams of carbohydrate, 11 grams of which is fiber. Each muffins also packs a punch in terms of healthy fats, nutrients and antioxidants, so enjoy!
Tips & Tricks
Making these muffins is easy! Here are some tips that can help.
I've included Amazon links to products below for your convenience. Some of them are affiliate links, which means that I may receive a small commission if you purchase a product through one of my links. Thank you for supporting Taste Abounds!
- I use a Silicone Muffin pan. I bought it about a year ago and it has made baking any type of muffin sssooooo much easier! The muffins pop right out, making muffin cups obsolete and cleanup a breeze!
- Of course, I use my trusty Ninja Master Prep blender to mix the bananas with the liquid ingredients. If you read my blog, you know how much I love my Ninja Master Prep!
- Costco usually has the best price on almond flour and almond butter, but Natural Grocers is a close second.
- Turn the muffins out onto a plate or cooling rack after cooling in the pan for 20-30 minutes. Getting the muffins out of the moisture trapped in the muffin pan helps ensure that the amount of moisture in the muffins is just right.
Flourless Banana Nut Muffins
Gluten-free | Grain-free | Egg-free | Dairy-free | Vegan | Paleo | Primal | Whole30
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Makes 12 muffins
Ingredients
Wet:
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4 medium ripe bananas
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1 ½ cups almond butter
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¼ cup water
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1 tsp apple cider vinegar
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1 tsp vanilla
Dry:
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1 cup almond flour
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2 Tbsp psyllium husk powder
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3 Tbsp coconut flour
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1 tsp baking powder
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½ tsp baking soda
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¼ tsp salt
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½ cup walnut pieces
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a silicone muffin pan with
butter, palm oil or coconut oil (or line a regular muffin pan with muffin cups) and set aside.
Blend the wet ingredients (bananas, almond butter, water,
vinegar and vanilla) in a blender until smooth. In a large bowl, wisk together all of the dry ingredients except for the walnut pieces (almond flour, psyllium husk powder, coconut
flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt). Add the wet ingredients from the
blender to the dry ingredients and mix until smooth. Fold in the walnut pieces and spoon into muffin cups.
Bake at 350 degrees for about 30
minutes. After the muffins have cooled in the pan for 20-30 minutes, turn them out onto a plate or wire rack to finish cooling.
Disclosure: this post includes affiliate links for convenience. I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
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