When he was small, my youngest son had a habit of filling his pockets with treasures he encountered in his daily adventures. I didn't always understand the value he saw in his chosen objects -- really, how many rocks and sticks could one boy keep? In his eyes, though, each one was beautiful and important. Life is just like that on a larger scale, isn't it? We gather up the precious bits of our experiences and save them all to learn from and enjoy later. Perhaps you'll find a little something here that you'd like to keep in your own pockets. Thanks for visiting.

Tuesday, July 7, 2015

Banana Split Muffins (gluten-free, vegan)

About a year and a half ago, I was invited to participate in a March Muffin Madness event hosted by my blogger friend Shirley of gfe. When I asked the boys to help me brainstorm ideas for a new muffin recipe to share with her readers, they offered their usual suggestion of "Make something with chocolate!". I decided to indulge them by creating a banana split muffin recipe that was both decadent and healthy. The muffins were a huge hit at our house, and I received many enthusiastic comments about them from readers who were eager to try them out. Shirley recently suggested to me that I give my banana split muffin recipe a home on my own site now as well, so today I'm sharing it in full here. If you missed trying these muffins the first time around, now is the perfect opportunity, since fresh, sweet strawberries and cherries are both in season!

Banana Split Muffins





  • 2½ cups blanched almond flour
  • ½ cup certified pure gluten-free oats, ground
  • ¼ tsp sea salt
  • ¼ tsp baking soda
  • ¼ cup melted coconut oil
  • 2 tbsp pure maple syrup
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 tbsp ground chia seeds mixed with 3 tbsp water (stir and let stand for a minute to form a gel)
  • 2 mashed ripe bananas
  • ½ cup chopped fresh strawberries
  • ½ cup chopped sweet dark cherries
  • ¼ cup chopped walnuts
  • ¼ cup chopped dark chocolate (at least 70% cocoa)
  • 12 fresh banana slices, plus some extra chopped walnuts and dark chocolate for sprinkling on top of the muffins
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 F, and fill a 12-cup muffin tin with paper baking liners. In a large mixing bowl, combine the almond flour, ground oats, sea salt, and baking soda.
  2. Whisk together the melted coconut oil, maple syrup, and vanilla in a smaller bowl, and then add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Stir well to combine. (The mixture will be somewhat dry and crumbly.)
  3. Add the mashed bananas and the chia seed gel to the mixture and stir until a thick, uniform batter forms. Fold in the strawberries, cherries, walnuts, and dark chocolate.
  4. Divide the batter evenly between the 12 lined muffin cups. Place a banana slice on the top of each muffin and sprinkle some additional chopped walnuts and dark chocolate on top. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Cool and serve.


Baking muffins is a great way to pass time with the kids on a rainy summer day. (That's exactly what we've been up to this afternoon at our house!) These banana split muffins make a delicious breakfast treat to share with family and friends on happy summer mornings.

4 comments:

  1. So glad you brought this fantastic recipe home to your blog, Lisa! I was honored to have it featured exclusively on gfe for so long, but it belongs here. Just featured it on All Gluten-Free Desserts. Hope even more folks find it now! :-)

    Shirley

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    1. Thank you, Shirley! I really appreciate you encouraging me to repost my recipe here, and your very generous sharing of it on your sites. :) I hope you're having a wonderful summer, as we are!

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  2. Can I substitute a whole egg for the chia seed slurry?

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    Replies
    1. Yes, I believe an egg would work just fine. Please let me know how it turns out if you try it -- I hope you enjoy the muffins! :)

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