While you can certainly bake these muffins in a full-size muffin pan, the mini version will bake in half the time. The mini muffin pan creates perfectly portioned treats, too! Stirring in mini chocolate chips makes these muffins taste like dessert. But if you don’t have mini ones on hand, you can chop up a chocolate bar, instead!
Ingredients You’ll Need
This banana muffin recipe is naturally gluten-free when you use certified gluten-free oat flour. Oat flour is made by grinding oats in a dry blender until it resembles flour, so you most likely have everything you need in your pantry already. Paired with mashed banana and a touch of maple syrup, these muffins taste like lightly sweetened banana bread with the perfect amount of banana flavor. Using olive oil makes them dairy-free, and also gives these muffins a moist texture when they have cooled down. Melted butter or coconut oil is also an option, but the muffins won’t be quite as tender when they cool down with those swaps.
How to Make Mini Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins
Preheat your oven to 350ºF and grease a mini muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray or melted butter. Or use mini muffin liners, if you prefer. In a large mixing bowl, mash the banana with a fork until there are no big lumps. Then add in the oat flour, eggs, maple syrup, olive oil, baking powder, vanilla extract, and salt. There’s no need to mix dry ingredients separately from wet ingredients when working with gluten-free ingredients. Stir well until the muffin batter looks relatively smooth. (A few lumps of banana are okay, but make sure there are no pockets of flour that were missed.) Fold in the mini chocolate chips, then use a heaping tablespoon or cookie scoop to divide the batter in the greased mini muffin tin. There should be enough batter to fill each muffin cup nearly to the top. You should get 24 mini muffins from this batch. Sprinkle a few extra chocolate chips on top, if you’d like, then bake these at 350ºF for 12 to 14 minutes. The edges of the muffin where they touch the pan should start to look lightly golden and your kitchen should smell like banana bread when they are done. Test the center of the muffins by pressing on the top of one slightly. It should spring back up when they are done cooking. Or, you can insert a toothpick into the center of a muffin to make sure there’s no wet batter sticking to it when removed. Let the muffins cool in the pan for 30 minutes. Then twist them in the pan to help remove them. (Or run a knife around the edge of each muffin if they are sticking.) Leftover muffins can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Or store them in the freezer for up to 3 months. Let them thaw in the refrigerator overnight before serving again. Looking for more muffin recipes? Try Vegan Pumpkin Muffins, Spinach Muffins, or Chocolate Zucchini Muffins for more ideas. If you try these mini banana chocolate chip muffins, please leave a comment and star rating below letting me know how you like them.
