Quinoa Banana Muffins

Quinoa banana muffins are the perfect filling breakfast or healthy snack. Easy to make and so filling, these gluten free vegan muffins are made with quinoa for extra protein and fiber! Great for meal prep too!

Quinoa banana muffins cooling on a wire cooling rack.
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Why you will love this recipe

  • Quinoa banana muffins are incredibly filling and delicious! Sweetened with bananas and a bit of coconut sugar, these muffins are perfect for breakfast with a cup of coffee or hot tea. Kids will love them too!
  • These simple banana quinoa muffins are a great way to use up extra quinoa. If you make a large batch of quinoa and are looking for a way to use leftover quinoa, this is it!
  • Perfect for meal prep, these quinoa muffins are freezer friendly and keep well in the fridge too!
  • Great for snacking or breakfast on the go! These muffins are egg free, vegan, gluten free and can be made nut free and peanut free as well!
Ingredients to make quinoa banana muffins.

Ingredients

  • Bananas – bananas are the base of this recipe. Be sure to use extra ripe bananas for the sweetest muffins. You want 3 medium sized bananas. If you have large bananas, you may want to scale it back to 2.5 bananas.
  • Ground flax + water – the ground flax + water replaces the egg in this recipe.
  • Almond flour – almond flour is incredibly filling and helps make these muffins perfect for breakfast on the go thanks to the healthy fats, fiber and protein! You could also use ground sunflower seeds in place of almond flour to keep these nut free!
  • Oat flour – you can buy store bought or make your own oat flour with a high speed blender. Oat flour helps to make the muffins more filling. You could also use gluten free all purpose flour.
  • Cooked quinoa – you want cooked and cooled quinoa for this recipe. This is a great use for leftover quinoa (unflavored, unsalted).
  • Coconut sugar – coconut sugar helps to add sweetness to the muffins without any additional liquid. You could also use maple sugar or if you need to use maple syrup, reduce the water in the recipe by 1 tbsp.
  • Baking powder – baking powder helps the muffins rise.
  • Peanut butter (or almond butter or sunflower seed butter) – These muffins benefit from having added fat to the batter or the recipe is dry and crumbly. Use whatever your favorite seed or nut butter is in this recipe. Peanut butter, almond butter, tahini, cashew butter, sunflower seed butter all work great.
  • Dairy free chocolate chips (optional) – I love 70% dark chocolate in this recipe, but use whatever you have on hand. Trader Joe’s now has a vegan, soy free dark chocolate chip that is affordable and tastes great! You could also use Pascha or Enjoy Life brand.  
  • Coconut flakes (optional) – the coconut flakes add texture to the muffins as well as to the top of the muffins. You can use shredded coconut flakes or large coconut flakes, depending on the texture you want.

Instructions

  1. Mash the bananas in a large bowl.
  2. Add the ground flax and water to the bananas and stir immediately.
  3. Add the almond flour, oat flour, coconut sugar and baking powder to the banana flax mixture and stir well.
  4. Add the cooked quinoa to the batter and stir well to fully incorporate.
  5. Add the chocolate chips and 3 tbsp. coconut flakes (reserve 1 tbsp. for topping). Stir well.
  6. Add parchment paper liners or use silicone liners to the muffin tin.
  7. Use a ¼ cup measuring cup to scoop the batter into the muffin liners. Divide any excess batter evenly around the muffins.
  8. Sprinkle the top of the muffins with the remaining coconut flakes.
  9. Bake in 375F oven for 30 minutes.
  10. Allow the muffins to cool fully before enjoying.
Instructions on how to make quinoa banana muffins.

Top tips

  • These quinoa banana muffins are dense! They are not big and fluffy like the muffins you might get at the local bakery. They are slightly sweet from the bananas and coconut sugar and very filling thanks to the quinoa.
  • Allow to cool completely before enjoying! Since these muffins don’t have a binder like eggs, they are fragile when still hot. Allow the muffins to fully cool before eating or transferring them to a storage container to be stored in the fridge.
  • Store these quinoa muffins in the fridge. These banana quinoa muffins are actually best right out of the fridge a bit cold. I like to slather them with peanut butter (nut butter of choice) and enjoy with a hot cup of coffee.
  • Mix things up with the seasonings! You could add things like cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla extract or almond extract to change the flavor. You could also omit the chocolate chips and add a few blueberries or raspberries in place of the chocolate chips.
  • Be sure the quinoa you are using is at room temperature or cold. Don’t add hot quinoa to the mixture or the baking time may be off a bit from temperature of the batter being hotter.
Quinoa banana muffins in a muffin tin after baking.

Other flavor options:

Spices: Add 1-2 tsp. ground cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice when mixing in the coconut sugar and flours. You could also try adding ½ -1 tsp. ground ginger for a spicy sweet kick.

Fruit: Instead of chocolate chips, you could add fresh or defrosted blueberries or raspberries. Be sure to add 1 tbsp. extra oat flour to help compensate for the extra moisture from the berries. You could also use dried cranberries, dried apricots (chopped), dried cherries or dried blueberries in place of the chocolate chips.

Almond extract or vanilla extract: add 1 tsp. of either of these to change the flavor a bit.

Chopped nuts: make these more like banana bread by adding chopped pecans or walnuts.

Common questions

What is quinoa

Quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wah) is actually a seed, not a grain and is naturally gluten free. You can find quinoa in most stores now. It comes in a variety of colors – white, red and black. I typically recommend using the white/tan color quinoa in this recipe as it blends well into the batter.

It’s very important that you rinse your quinoa before cooking. Quinoa has a very sour/soapy coating on the seed to help keep birds/animals from eating the seeds in the wild. To get rid of that flavor, it’s important that you rinse the quinoa 3-4 times in fresh water in a fine mesh strainer before cooking. I recommend rinsing the quinoa even if the packaging says “pre-washed or pre-rinsed”.

Quinoa can be cooked on the stove or in the instant pot. I prefer instant pot quinoa because it creates perfectly cooked quinoa every time without worrying about the quinoa boiling over or burning on the stove.

If you are going to cook quinoa on the stove, ignore the directions on the bag. Instead use a ratio of 1 to 1.5 quinoa to liquid (1 cup quinoa to 1.5 cups liquid). Bring to a boil, reduce to low and simmer, covered for 15 minutes. Turn off heat, fluff with fork.

Quinoa banana muffins on a white serving tray.

How to make oat flour at home

Add gluten free rolled oats to a high speed blender and blend on high until it resembles flour. You may need to stop and shake the mixture around a few times to ensure everything is finely ground. Store leftovers in a well-sealed container.

Storage

  • Fridge: Store banana quinoa muffins in the fridge for up to 5 days in an airtight container.
  • Freezer: Allow muffins to cool completely in the fridge overnight. Once cool, flash freeze muffins on a wax paper or parchment paper lined baking sheet. Once frozen, transfer to a freezer safe bag or container and keep frozen up to 3 months.
    • Muffins will thaw out quickly on the counter or in the fridge. You can also defrost them in the microwave for quick breakfast on the go.

Substitutions

  • Banana: You can try to substitute the banana with apple sauce or pumpkin puree but you will need to add more coconut sugar to help the muffins taste sweet enough without the natural sweetness from the banana.
  • Ground flax + water: You could also use ground chia seeds + water or if you are not vegan, 1 egg.
  • Almond flour: Almond flour is used to help with the texture of these muffins as well as help the muffins be more satisfying thanks to the healthy fats, protein and fiber. Because of it’s unique texture, it’s tough to substitute almond flour with regular flour. If you cannot have almonds, grind roasted sunflower seeds into a fine powder in the food processor. You can also buy sunflower seed flour online!
  • Oat flour: Oat flour is easy to find or make at home and helps bind these muffins and absorb any extra liquid. Almond flour is not great at absorbing liquids, so having a gluten free flour in the muffins is important for the texture. You could also use all purpose gluten free flour or cassava flour in place of the oat flour.
  • Coconut sugar: Coconut sugar is used to sweeten the muffins naturally. I didn’t want to use a liquid sweetener as these muffins can get gummy on the inside with too much liquid in the batter. You could use maple sugar or date sugar in place of coconut sugar or even light brown sugar. If you must use maple syrup, reduce the water in this recipe to 3 tbsp.
  • Cooked quinoa: Quinoa provides protein, fiber and texture to these muffins. You could try cooked and cooled millet in place of cooked quinoa for a similar texture. If you don’t have quinoa or these other grains, try my almond flour banana muffins instead!
  • Peanut butter (almond butter, sunflower seed butter): The peanut butter helps the texture of the muffins from crumbling. I would recommend that you use whatever your favorite nut or seed butter is in this recipe. Tahini, cashew butter, almond butter, sunflower seed butter would all work great as well.
  • Chocolate chips and coconut flakes: These are optional. See the ideas above for other ingredients you could add. Chopped nuts, fruits or spices can take the place of these ingredients if needed.
Banana quinoa muffin cut in half and drizzled with peanut butter.

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Quinoa banana muffins in a silver serving dish.

Quinoa Banana Muffins

$4.15 Recipe/$0.35 Serving
Quinoa banana muffins are the perfect breakfast or healthy snack. Easy to make and a great use for leftover quinoa! Gluten free, vegan, dairy free and simple!
5 from 6 votes
Print Pin Save Rate
Course: Breakfast, Snack
Cuisine: American
Keyword: banana quinoa muffins, quinoa banana muffins, vegan quinoa muffins
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Servings: 12 servings

Guided Recipe Video

Ingredients

Instructions

  • If needed, cook and cool the quinoa. See below for instructions.
  • Preheat the oven to 375. Line a muffin tin with 12 silicone muffin liners (or use the parchment paper liners)
  • Mash the banana with a fork.
  • Add the ground flax and water to the mashed bananas and stir well.
  • Add the almond flour, oat flour, coconut sugar and baking powder to the banana mixture and stir well.
  • Add the cooked, cooled quinoa to the bowl and stir well to incorporate.
  • Add the peanut butter to the batter and stir well, making sure it's fully incorporated and mixed in.
  • Add 3 tbsp. of the shredded coconut and all of the chocolate chips to the batter and stir to distribute.
  • Use a 1/4 cup measuring cup to divide the batter into the muffin liners. If you have leftover batter, try to divide it evenly among the muffins.
  • Top the muffins with a sprinkle of shredded coconut.
  • Bake at 375F for 30 minutes.
  • Take out and allow to cool completely. Remove from liners and enjoy!

Notes

How to cook quinoa: 
  • Stove: Use a ratio of 1 to 1.5 quinoa to liquid (1 cup quinoa to 1.5 cups liquid). Bring to a boil, reduce to low and simmer, covered for 15 minutes. Turn off heat, fluff with fork.
  • Instant pot: See tips and directions in this instant pot quinoa post! 
Storage:
  • Fridge: Store banana quinoa muffins in the fridge for up to 5 days in an airtight container.
  • Freezer: Allow muffins to cool completely in the fridge overnight. Once cool, flash freeze muffins on a wax paper or parchment paper lined baking sheet. Once frozen, transfer to a freezer safe bag or container and keep frozen up to 3 months.
    • Muffins will thaw out quickly on the counter or in the fridge. You can also defrost them in the microwave for quick breakfast on the go.
Other flavors to try: 
  • Spices: Add 1-2 tsp. ground cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice when mixing in the coconut sugar and flours. You could also try adding ½ -1 tsp. ground ginger for a kick to the muffins.
  • Fruit: Instead of chocolate chips, you could add fresh or defrosted blueberries or raspberries. Be sure to add 1 tbsp. extra oat flour to help compensate for the extra moisture from the berries. You could also use dried fruit like dried cranberries, blueberries, cherries or apricots (chopped) in place of the chocolate chips. 
  • Almond extract or vanilla extract: add 1 tsp. of either of these to change the flavor a bit.
  • Chopped nuts: make these more like banana bread by adding chopped pecans or walnuts.

Nutrition Information

Nutrition Facts
Amount per Serving
Calories
198
Fat
 
10
g
Carbohydrates
 
24
g
Fiber
 
4
g
Sugar
 
9
g
Protein
 
5
g
Where does nutrition info come from? Nutrition facts are provided as a courtesy, sourced from the USDA Food Database.
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36 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    I’m not sure what happened to my prior comment, but I’m coming back to say that these muffins were a fantastic hit with my family! I made a batch with flax, and a batch with egg since we have family members who can’t tolerate one or the other. I used all purpose GF flour instead of oat flour, and also added 1 Tbsp cinnamon, 1 tsp vanilla extract, and ¼ tsp salt. The first batch was gone in less than 24 hours (three adults, two kids eating them).

    I am still confused as to why some of the comments mentioned protein powder and other things that aren’t in the recipe, but am guessing those were referring to a prior version that has since been updated. All I can say is that these are a fantastic way to feed your family some GF treats that are much healthier than anything you can buy at the store.

    1. Thank you for coming by and leaving such a wonderful review! And you are right, the previous version of this had protein powder but I have since updated the post to make it more versatile (I know not everyone likes to work with protein powder). So glad your entire family enjoyed these muffins so much! I’ll be trying your version with the cinnamon, vanilla and salt soon.

  2. 5 stars
    Omgosh!!! These are so good!!. I made some for my 4 & 3 yr old grandsons because they have a lot of food restrictions, one being oats. They ( and me/grandma plant based) loved them. I am now making double batches. Taking some to the 3rd old birthday party for us gluten free folks cake alternative. 😍
    YUMMIE 🤗

  3. Can i use quinoa flour, or i have to use the cooked quinoa. i have the flour in my cupboard right now but out of the cookable quinoa. with thanks,

  4. I’ve had this recipe pinned for a while, just went to make them today and realized there’s no measurement given for the protein powder. Could someone help me out? My bananas are at the prime ripeness so time is of the essence :) Thanks in advance!

      1. Thanks so much for your quick response! Made these last week and they came out delicious, and so filling! Great recipe

  5. Hey i made these w/o the protein powder and they were super crumbely. Is there anything i could use instead of protein powder?

    1. You could try gluten free flour or almond meal depending on you dietary preferences but you will probably do better with a recipe written without protein powder, as substitutions are tough in baking!

  6. Coconut milk from a can, or coconut milk from as carton similar to almond or soy milk? Just wanted to clarify since there are two types of coconut milk out there! Also, does the chia operate as an egg substitute? Could I use flax meal instead?

    1. Hi Haley!

      Coconut from a carton! Yes, the chia seeds act as the egg substitute and flax meal should work perfect at the same ratio.

  7. Are these supposed to be super gooey or did I not bake them long enough? I had rather large bananas which may have added liquid. The flavor however is amazing! And the texture is great with the seeds and coconut. I would definitely make these again, would just like to know what the finished texture should be like?? Thank you for the tasty recipe!

    1. Hi Deb! I’m guessing you used a whey based protein powder in your recipe. I’d try adding a bit more flour to offset this.

  8. 5 stars
    I’ve made three batches so far. Love they are so full of good things! I had craisins on hand so subbed those instead of cocoa nibs. Equally delicious. Also, I found the riper the banana the sweeter the muffin. And one last mention, they are super as mini-muffins…just cook less time. Thank you Sam!

  9. LOL about Dave being brutally honest about the recipes :) Ray is like that too. It’s either “mm this is good!” or “….it’s…okay…” or even “I don’t like this”. Your photos have been looking ON POINT lately – they look brighter/more light! XOXO

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