Banana Autoimmune Paleo Muffins
Pumpkin, banana, cranberry, cinnamon, you name it: muffins are mainstream. We see them packaged up at convenience stores and coffee shops. We find many a muffin mix at the supermarket. We are likely offered muffins along with the usual cup o’ joe at those tedious early-morning work meetings.
And yet, in spite of their popularity, I haven’t nommed on a muffin in quite some time. Since starting paleo and then especially since committing to AIP, muffins have been nonexistent in my repertoire of things to eat.
And while I certainly don’t miss the icky, inflammatory ingredients of processed muffins, I do at times miss their snackability. So I got to thinking, why not an AIP-friendly muffin?
After many test kitchen trial runs, I’m pleased to share this wonderful recipe for banana muffins here on Empowered Sustenance!
Baking without eggs presents a challenge, to say the least, so I’m especially excited by the consistency of these muffins. They aren’t crumbly, which make them perfect for portable snacks. They freeze well, which I do since the consumption of too much coconut flour can be troublesome for even the most stalwart stomachs. And they are, simply put, delicious! Even the non-paleo peeps enjoy snacking on these muffins.
- ⅓ c coconut flour, available here
- ¼ c arrowroot flour, available here
- ½ tsp sea salt
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 3 bananas, mashed (Make sure they are yellow but slightly green; very ripe bananas do not work well)
- ⅓ c coconut or palm oil, melted
- ¼ c applesauce (pure, unsweetened)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ c water, plus 1 tbsp gelatin (a.k.a. gelatin “egg”) (recommended gelatin available here)
- Gently fold in 2-3 tbsp of fresh blueberries after mixing in the gelatin egg
- Or if you are not following AIP, you could add in the same amount of mini chocolate chips.
- Line muffin tin with parchment paper liners. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Mix the coconut flour, arrowroot flour, sea salt, cinnamon, and baking soda together in a small bowl. Set aside.
- In another bowl using an electric mixer, combine the mashed bananas, melted oil, applesauce, and vanilla. Mix well.
- In a small saucepan, add the ¼ c water and sprinkle the gelatin over the water. Allow this to sit for about two minutes.
- While the gelatin is “blooming,” add the dry ingredients to the banana mixture and beat until combined.
- Turning your attention back to the saucepan, turn the heat to medium-low to melt the gelatin. This takes about one minute. Then whisk until very frothy. Work quickly. Add this to the batter, and stir.
- Using heaping tablespoon measures to drop the batter into your prepared muffin tin.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes until lightly golden on top.
- This recipe makes 10-12 muffins. They are delicious served hot from the oven – no need to cool down as they hold together so well.

About Martine Partridge
I’m broken-hearted to update this post with the news that Martine passed away. I never knew Martine in person, but deeply admired her through our internet and social media connections. My heart goes out to her family at this time. Martine supported and encouraged many, many people through her website Eat, Heal, Thrive.
I’m grateful for experiencing Martine’s strong, kind spirit while she was on this earth. She is missed.
I made it in a loaf. Turned out great and tasty. Yes moist but held together well. I did use Great Lakes but the red can.
I made these just like the recipe and while they were baking I started reading the comments. So I cooked them for about 35 minutes, then lowered the rack to the bottom and cooked an additional 15 minutes. Then I let them sit for a bit and they were actually moist muffins.
Unfortunately this recipe didn’t work for me. Batter came together well and easily, smelled great while cooking, I even added cooking time after reading the comments, but end result was a rubbery skin over the top of an air pocket with about a TBSP of mushy banana goo at the bottom.
Unfortunately these didn’t work for me. They were a gooey mess, but were tasty! So I scraped them into bowls and am going to reheat them like oatmeal. I am new to this, and so far, nothing I have made has turned out, so I am sure it is me. I will try these again!
Could we substitute flax seed for egg? That’s the only egg substitute I’ve tried so far and with other allergies very difficult to find a substitute.
I love this recipe! It’s the best paleo diet treat. I was wondering what the best substitute for the eggs would be? Thank you!