This date-sweetened, gluten-free muffin recipe is easy to make and super healthy. It’s also incredibly delicious! I serve it to the boys for breakfast with scrambled eggs, or as an after school snack. I love gluten-free baked goods made with healthy flours such as almond, coconut, or flax meal. I’m especially fond of treats that are sweetened with fruit, rather than honey or maple syrup. The great thing about using fruit as a sweetener is that it comes with fiber, which slows down the absorption of sugars.
Enjoy these fruit sweetened muffins made from coconut flour!
- 3 large eggs
- ¼ cup coconut oil
- 2 medium bananas
- 3 dates (remove pits)
- 10 drops stevia
- ¼ cup coconut flour
- ¼ teaspoon celtic sea salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ cup walnuts, toasted and chopped
- Place eggs, oil, bananas, dates and stevia in a vitamix; blend on medium speed until combined
- Add in coconut flour, salt and baking soda and blend until smooth
- Fold in walnuts
- Scoop ¼ cup batter into a lined muffin pan
- Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes (my batch took exactly 23 minutes; all ovens are slightly different)
- Cool and serve
These muffins will come out just as well when made without the walnuts. Then, you’ve got a great gluten-free, nut-free breakfast recipe! Lately loads of readers have been letting me know that they have nut allergies. If you can’t eat nuts, check out my Nut-Free Recipes page!
Here are some other nut-free Paleo muffin recipes:
Zahia says
I made these muffins many times and they were always delicious. I used 2 big bananas and did not put dates and they still worked really well. Sometimes I add the stevia if I do them for kids or people who really like sweet but for myself they are perfectly sweet just with the bananas.
I do like to add some vanilla extract and sometimes a tiny amount of cinnamon. Once I added raisins because I had no walnuts and another time chocolate chips. As I said they turned great every time and they are so easy to do.
With other recipes, I did not have the same luck when I changed the recipe.
Thanks Elana, you inspire me with your great recipes.:-)
Elana says
You’re welcome Zahia!
Bettie says
Are the dates necessary for the sweetness or to glue things together? As a diabetic I stay away from all recipes that call for dates! I love Stevia though.
Elana says
Bettie, I don’t think this recipe will work without the dates. Here’s a link to my keto diet recipes for you:
https://elanaspantry.com/diets/keto/
Enjoy!
Elana
Sheena says
Oh my goodness! These are great! My Heilkunst Doctor has been trying to get me to eat according to my blood type for years and it only half works because I can’t find anything to curb those sweet cravings. She finally told me about your website as she has used it for her own family’s cooking. I was hesitant because I had never used many of these ingredients before, but after making a triple batch of these muffins I am a changed lady. I substituted blueberries for the walnuts and did some experimenting with different muffin pans, muffin cups and variations on the stevia/date ratio…but they were all fantastic. I can’t wait for our kids to wake up from nap so I can share these with them! And I am so grateful that I can provide myself and my family with nutritious food that tastes good! I used a NutriBullet blender and it only took about 4 minutes to measure ingredients and whip up a batch of these. Thanks again!
Elana says
Sheena, thanks for your wonderful comment and glad to hear these were fantastic!
April says
Delish! I made these this morning but substituted honey for the stevia. I also did not have any dates, but they turned out sweet enough since my bananas were very ripe! Thanks for sharing your recipes Elana!
Mira says
I made these yesterday. Left out stevia and used 4 dates and lot of cinnamon (my favourite spice which I add wherever I can :)). Also added 1 full tbs of almond butter and they were absolutely delicious and moist. Not too sweet and perfect for breakfast. Great recipe, thanks!
Elana says
Hi Mira, so glad you liked this recipe!
Terri P says
Just made these nummy muffins. Don’t like stevia so omitted and added extra dates. Also due to allergies changed the walnuts to pecans. Next time will try adding some seeds (pumpkin, sunflower) as I like a heartier muffin. Excellent recipe to work with!!
Mattie R. says
I made these tonight and I could not believe how moist and tasty they were. I used 4 dates and more drops of stevia than indicated. They were not as sweet to me, but I have only been GF and semi sugar free for 3 days. I am following the Wheat Belly eating lifestyle and I was in the mood for something good. I had 3 with a cup of tea and it gave me my dessert fix for the day. Will make these again. Thanks for sharing.
Mrs_CathyH says
I’ve just made these muffins but replaced the walnuts with pecans and I used 8 dates and no stevia. The outcome = absolutely delicious! I too will double the quantities next time as all 8 have been eaten within 10 mins (by my non-Paleo children who loved them).
Thank you!
KPS says
I have a batch of these in the oven now. I found your site/recipe by doing a search for GF muffins using bananas, as I had some I needed to use. I chose your recipe because the ingredients look great and I already had all of them in my kitchen — no need to make a run to the store. However, I had to post a comment to say what a let-down to discover this recipe only yields 8 (EIGHT) muffins. Not even a dozen. Not even 10 of them! Obviously, I followed the directions to the letter. I’ve just never, ever done a muffin recipe that yielded less than a dozen muffins. I hope these 8 muffins are delicious at least, because this was a lot of expensive ingredients for a low-yield recipe.
KPS says
Okay, so I just ate one. They are, indeed, very delicious. I’m still disappointed by the low yield, but these are a great breakfast muffin and a wonderful healthy snack for my toddler. I will make these again in the future — and double the recipe!
Stephanie says
this comment was written a while ago but with 4 kids just want to say I appreciate to know I need to double a recipe! I can’t stand food blogs comments about how good the recipes look and nothing about how they turn out. So not helpful.
Bonnie says
Hi, can I use whole wheat flour instead of coconut flour? Right now I only have whole wheat on hand.
Bonnie
Maureen says
Yum! Love these!
Leslie says
Just made these tonight. Accidentally used 2 eggs instead of three. Subbed 1/4 cup almond flour for the walnuts. Subbed 3 TSP palm sugar for the dates and agave. 22 mins @ 350F. Even though I was a little off (in several areas… ahem) they are still great. Yum!
Leslie says
Last night’s single batch was gone before bed. Got a double batch in the oven!
Michele says
These muffins are fantastic! We make 24 mini muffins. Love them!
claudia says
Just made these–my first coconut flour recipe. I made a lot of substitutions, but they look just fine, held together great. I’ll have to see if they pass the taste test in the morning. I’ve used almond flour for years, and love it, but my grandson’s ulcerative colitis doesn’t do too well with nuts. Something new to learn!
Tracy Nicks says
Made these today. My coconut flour muffins in the past have always turned out too eggy and certainly not yummy the next day. These are not. I really like the texture, and the taste is AMAZING! These are going into my breakfast rotation. I have 3 kids 8 to 2 and they loved them also. I doubled the recipe and it was fine. They did not rise, and I like a bigger muffin so next time I will quadruple the recipe to make 2 muffin pans worth.
Jane says
I wanted to make a chocolate banana bread and had fantastic results modifying this recipe. I reduced the coconut flour to 3 tablespoons and added a scant quarter cup of cocoa powder. I increased the sweeteners to 4 dates, 15 drops of stevia and about 2 tablespoons of honey. I also used some chopped dark chocolate and toasted pecans. A new favorite is born! Thanks Elana, as always :)
Kathleen says
We use parchment large baking cups made by PaperChef. They are now available in the Denver Metro area at King Soopers (Kroger). No sticking of ANY muffins with these!
Liliane says
My muffins were very tasty. The problem being is they stuck to the paper liners. Any suggestions anyone? Are we supposed to pack the coconut flour down in the measurement cups or use small eggs?
Lindsay says
Made these today. Doubled the recipe on accident, but I’m glad I did. I ended up making 12 muffins, as well, but doubling the recipe gave my muffins a muffin top, which I like. I halved the stevia as other have stated it was too sweet and so I added an extra date. I thought they were in the middle of sweet or not. Perfect. I baked mine for 26 minutes and they came out perfect. Well done, Elana. I love your work!
Lindsay says
And I used VERY ripe bananas that had been hanging out in my freezer for a couple weeks.
Erin says
I just made these muffins this evening and they are delicious. I’m new to eating Paleo and have really been enjoying your recipes. They are fast to put together and come out great every time. Can’t wait to try more of your yummy ideas. Thanks for sharing!
Kathleen says
We make this muffins frequently in our house with several changes- we don’t put in the coconut oil or the stevia, we use ripe bananas to sweeten them and we add some dark chocolate chips.
Shannon says
I’ve made these muffins several times now and they are some of my family’s favorites. My 3-year-old begs for them and can hardly wait for them to cool when they come out of the oven. I just wanted to note that if you don’t have/care for stevia or agave nectar, you can probably skip it. I use very ripe bananas and the muffins are sweet enough without the added sweeteners. I love your page, Elana! I thought I’d miss out on all kinds of sweets when we went Paleo, but as long as you’re blogging, we’ll be fine!
Heather says
These were delicious! I left out the nuts (personal preference) the 1st time and plan on adding some blueberries in the batch I’m making right now. Thanks for sharing this one!
Kimberley says
These…. Are DIVINE!
I was craving something cakey (doesn’t happen very often these days – gluten free for 2 years now) and what should pop up on my Facebook news feed but this recipe?
And lo and behold… I had all of the ingredients in (makes a change)! So I made them there and then and WOW! My kitchen will be seeing these bad boys again!
Gina says
These are in my oven cooking right now and they smell AMAZING! Can’t wait to try one. Thanks for the recipe!
Rowan Eden says
Just made these for the first time. Subbed raisins for dates since I didn’t have any and this was spur of the moment. Used 7 drops vanilla flavored stevia and 1/2 tsp of raw agave because the little agave seems to nullify the aftertaste of the stevia. (At least to me.) They are moist and delicious and may keep me sane as I transition out most carbs. Thanks for the great recipes.
Beth says
Just wondering about the ingredients. You didn’t give an amount of coconut flour unless it’s that 1/4 cup before the celtic sea salt. I’m assuming you didn’t use that much salt. There is no coconut flour mentioned on the Agave Nectar Debate recipe either.
Also, if I want to use Agave do I use the same amount as the Stevia?
Elana says
Technical difficulties have been resolved.
Apologies,
Elana
Jennifer Odegard says
I tried these this morning – they are delicious! Fabulous texture too. I was a bit worried about the thickness of the batter – was tempted to add some more liquid, but didn’t. I didn’t add the stevia, but used about a tablespoon of Agave. Plenty sweet. EASY and DELICIOUS! Thanks Elana!
Lily says
Made these today with a few changes:
– left out stevia
– used 5 dates soaked in some warm water (they were small ones tho)
– subbed flax seed for one of the eggs
– added vanilla, cinnamon, allspice
– added a bit of extra walnut
– added raisins to 3 of them
Needed to cook longer – hard to tell since I had a stop & start, but I’ll do ~30 minutes next time I make them.
I got 9 muffins, could have maybe squeezed out 10. And they are already gone :)
Very good and kids liked them a lot. I liked the ones with raisins. They were not very banana-flavored, next time I might fold in some pieces of banana as well.
Will definitely make again! Thank you for the recipe!
Pamela Finch says
These are delicious every time. Love them!
Pamela Finch says
Also, I let the ripe bananas be the only sweetener. They are plenty sweet in my opinion without adding anything else. Even my teenagers agree.
Pamela Finch says
Oh yeah, AND the dates :)
staci says
When you have coconut oil in a measure do you add it in its solid form and add it to the mixture or melt it then measure it and add it?
I am new to cooking with it expecially in baking.
maria says
At room temp (in my home)it is in a semi-liquid state. When dry-measured and added to the liquid the coolness of the eggs causes it to “harden-up” which when mixed and baked melts-in nicely. Hope this helps.
Dana Leo says
This recipe was great! I didn’t have dates so I used raisins…next time I will add vanilla and cinnamon too! Thanks Elena!
Laura says
can you add almond flour into this recipe? if so how much? thanks looking forward to making these! :)
Karyn says
These were fanfastic!!! I made one batch with 2 tablespoons of dark chocolate chips and one plain- both were excellent! I omitted stevia in both and added 1 tablespoon coconut sugar instead. Fabulous! Smelled awesome as kids came home from school :) they are a perfect moist texture.
Sunny says
I just made these for the first time. I followed the recipe exactly except added 1/2 tsp cinnamon. Delicious, perfect little muffins! I don’t have a Vitamix (too expensive in Norway) so I just used my hand blender. I used Amanprana organic gluten-free coconut flour. Thanks Elana!
Judith says
These are absolutely my new favorite thing. I added a splash of vanilla extract and I need to bake them longer in my oven to get the middles cooked. Delicious every time, and no health fallout! I put butter on mine. :-)
Karen says
Made these tonight without the stevia and used 4 dates which i soaked in a little bit of warm water. after soaking i added the date water as well. very good!!!!!! thanks for sharing!!!
Karen says
i made these tonight and didn’t use any stevia as some of the others mentioned. even without it, they were still very sweet. i used 4 dates which i soaked in a little warm water and used the date water as well. delicious except now i have to share with my husband. :) thanks so much for the recipe!
Monique says
Can we sub honey for stevia and will it require additional coconut flour ? Thx
Janet says
I’ve made these many times and they’re great! I’ve never used stevia (only because I’ve never had the liquid on hand) but I don’t think I’m missing anything. The bananas and dates sweeten the muffins just fine, IMHO. I do usually add an additional banana (mine always seem so small) and an extra date or two so that may account for not missing the stevia. And I’ve substituted pecans because that’s what I usually have in my pantry. Today I added some toasted coconut (as suggested by another commenter). Haven’t tried those yet but the idea seems delightful. Thanks for sharing so much of your knowledge, Elana! I really enjoy visiting your site. Oh, and I also wanted to add that since I don’t have a Vitamix (just a regular blender) I chop the dates up really fine before adding, otherwise they jam my blender. I’ve also accidentally overcooked the muffins and they were still delicious – all eaten before they could cool. : )
kat says
I just made these and followed the recipe exactly. It made 10 muffins for me and I baked for about 24 min. I watch my carbs/sugar so I just calculated the nutrition info on spark and it told me for a batch of 10 muffins, each muffin contains:
148.7 cal
11.4g fat
10.2g carb
2.4g fiber
3.5g protein
Wasn’t sure if it is helpful to post on here or not, but thought I’d share in case others are wondering.
thanks for all these healthy, low sugar, delicious options that are keeping me and my family as healthy as possible without feeling deprived!
Terisa says
Oh thanks for sharing. I’m diabetic and I was just wondering what the carbs were per muffin and I saw your post. and yeah only 10 per muffin which means I can have banana muffins again :)
Kerry Ann says
Elana, you’re heaven sent. Thank you! These are amazing.
Debbie Carr says
DH and I just ate these. Good flavor, light texture. Prefer making banana muffins w almond flour. Will make them again, may add vanilla. Love that they are sweetened w dates and stevia. They were plenty sweet. I followed the recipe. In Mass. I baked a dozen in silicone cups for 26 min.
Thanks Elana, yummy as usual.
A Schafer says
Can I substitute coconut flour for almond flour in muffin recipe?
Heather J says
I got 10 muffins from this recipe. I added cacao nibs, cinnamon and allspice too. They were very egg-y – Almost like French toast – even though I baked them for almost 30 mins. Still, I love the flavours. Thanks!
Heather says
I had given up hope that I would be able to eat baked goods again after starting the paleo(ish) diet. I’ve tried some recipes and they did not turn out well to say the least. I decided to try these out when looking for something other than egg cupcakes for my two-year-old to take for breakfast at daycare. These didn’t get a chance to cool and they didn’t make it into my child’s lunchbox; we devoured the entire batch! I am SO addicted to these–I even woke up last night craving one of them! I am now optimistic that yummy baked goods, in moderation, will make it back into our household! THANK YOU! You’ve also turned me on to the fabulous brown-sugar-like yumminess of the date! WOW! Can’t believe what I’ve been missing… :)
Arlyn says
Made these this morning ,but had to tweak the recipe since I didn’t have stevia or walnuts and used cocnut sugar and almonds instead and they cme out GREAT!!!
Ben says
Dear Elana,
I was home sick the past couple days so I finally got around to buying some new flours, oils, stevia, etc – and, 6 months into the GF diet, I am totally convinced by your angle on it. I just made these muffins today and the coconut almond bars yesterday. Both are delicious and loved equally by the gluten-eaters who tried them. The first word one of them used to describe them was actually “moist” – not exactly the typical comment when using rice flour/potato starch combinations. I also love the fact that there’s no cane sugar, and hardly any sweetening at all, in a lot of your recipes. You have one more follower!
Thanks,
Ben
Wendoger says
Wow! Just got done making a batch of these gems…yum!!! I just love’em!!!
Alta says
Elana, I might just HAVE to bake these! They sound so good.
Nancy says
Made these on Thursday morning – yes before school and (My 3 little boys gobbled them up and took a few in the car on the way to school) had to make them again Saturday morning! We had trouble waiting for them to cool they were so yummy! Thanks!!!
Laura C says
I just made your Almond Flour Banana – Blueberry muffins from the original cookbook but substituted walnuts for the blueberries. Fabulous! I always sub out the agave and use Stevia or Xylatol (i.e. Zero) and Coconut Palm Sugar (not quite as low glycemic as Stevia at none but pretty low). Add some applesauce if needed for liquid.
At this point there is no baking we don’t do that is not in one of your two cookbooks or blog! Couldn’t live without you – thanks!
OliviaScotland says
I made these recently and wow are they good! I missed out the stevia, but substituted a tspn of cinnamon into the recipe, and they were truly delicious and disappeared very rapidly with positive comments from everyone who had one – thank you so much!
Kelly says
I’m vegan, do you think this would work with flax instead of egg? Or perhaps applesauce?
Cheryl says
Can I substitute almond flour instead of the coconut flour? I am trying to only buy ingredients that I use on a regular basis to fit into our monthly budget. :) Thanks Elana, your recipes are SO delicious and easy!
Samara says
Coconut flour and almond flour are very different – coconut flour absorbs many times more liquid that almond flour. You could give it a try though!
Laura C says
Once the new cupcake cookbook came out I was thrilled b/c it is so much easier to get coconut than real almond flower. It also uses very little in each batch. I think you will find that it is a good investment.
Julie Paterson says
Elana,
I just had to tell you your website is amazing! I follow a grain-free, sugar-free, dairy-free diet to keep my colitis in control. Every recipe I have made from your website has turned out great and my husband can’t get enough of your recipes! The asparagus salad is my fav right now (asparagus is in season at the farm by my place here in Canada). Sooo yummy! I’ll definitely be ordering your cookbooks! Thanks for sharing all your amazing recipes!
Ruthie Selch says
Does someone know how many this makes??
Claudia says
I managed to squeeze out eight. Swapped the walnuts for an equal amount of grated coconut (lightly toasted). They’re cooling on the rack as we speak…
Carly R says
I got 10 small muffins out of it
marla says
Seriously when I visit your blog it is EXACTLY how I like to cook & bake. Wonderful to see someone who speaks the same language. These muffins look awesome.
Gonna go check out the agave debate now….
Moi says
Elana, your recipe for almond butter brownies is my family’s favorite!! I even let my kiddos eat some for breakfast!!!…. Shhhhh don’t tell anyone!!(;
Hope says
Thanks for reposting this! I did miss it, and I use Stevia all of the time.
I checked out the coconut waffle recipe. Looks so yummy, but I don’t have a waffle maker, bummer.
Ali says
Mmm! Those look delicious Elana! A perfect breakfast to go with a large cup of green smoothie. -Ali :)
Ragnhild says
mmhm, they look so good!! Im not sure where I stand with agave at the moment, and I try to stick to maple sirup for now.
Tracey says
Consider substituting coconut syrup for Agave (as I do). It is a very healthy, low glycemic index sweetener (35 on the scale). I use all of the coconut products for low carb cooking so I was very happy to find these recipes by Elana. You can get the syrup at iherb.com, where I get loads of healthy products for a lot cheaper than the local health food store or online (try Coconut Secrets brand raw syrup, they also have raw coconut flour and “sugar” crystals made of raw coconut, too). BTW – Nutiva has 3 lbs. coconut flour for about $11. I have a coupon to get $5 or $10 off your first order plus free shipping ($5 off a $20 order or $10 off a $40 order). Just type in RAC867 when you check out or use this link to the syrup and it will do it for you http://iherb.com/p/24095?rcode=rac867.
Isabelle says
Thank you Elana
off to check that waffle link
isa
Amy K says
Just made these, they’re in the oven now. The batter is delicious! Many thanks!
liz schau, holistic health counselor says
Sounds great, Elana! Will definitely link these to my clients with thyroid disease. Coconut flour is so wonderful. :)
C Cody says
I found these were so naturally sweet, I did not need the addition
of stevia or any other sweetner. Loved them <3
Johanna says
Thanks for posting this comment. I haven’t enjoyed the taste of stevia (and it may just be I need to find a better one like astraya) and was just wondering if I could leave it out. I think I’ll try it without!
Lindsay says
I agree. I did not care for the taste of stevia, until I completely went low carb (20g carbs/day) for a week and gradually added carbs back (including fruit). Now that I don’t eat sugar on a regular basis (including fruit), I like stevia. I also discovered that stevia sweetness is a VERY fine line between sweetness and bitter (IMO). My bottle says a serving is 3 or 4 drops, but I do not care for more than 2 in my coffee. Also, I love stevia with HEAVY cream in my coffee rather than half and half. I don’t know why but I feel like the added fat really helps the stevia flavor. Try the recipe with half the drops and start from there. Or you could try using a couple more dates? I’m making these right now with 5 drops plus an extra date, so I will let you know!
Carly R says
I wish I had left the stevia out too, because they were too sweet for me.
Lynne says
Thanks for posting this recipe. I have found that agave does not agree with me so I’m constantly looking at the recipes you post and trying other sweetners — Brown Rice Syrup, Coconut Syrup, Stevia. I will definitely give this one a go.
Melissa says
The issue is generally the coconut products that might cause issues with stomach upset as coconut has a natural mild laxitive effect.
Beth says
I have made this muffin recipe many times since you first posted it. The batch seems to mysteriously disappear within a short time – although no one wants to admit they ate the last one ;)
Danielle says
Hi, how many does it make?? Thanks!
Darcy says
Using 1/4 cup, I got 11 muffins.
Bailee says
Followed recipe exactly, except used 1 tbsp. of honey instead of stevia (I can’t stand the taste of stevia). Used regular sized muffin tin. I only got 8 muffins. Love this recipe!!
Lisa Stafford says
When you made this, did you use green bananas, ripe bananas, or very ripe bananas? I look forward to making it very soon. Thanks.