a low carb chocolate banana muffin cut in half and a knife

Keto Banana Muffins are one of our favourite treats. There's only one banana in the entire batch of muffins. That's how we can keep the carb content low but still enjoy the sweet, intense banana taste! It's a super easy recipe that gets the thumbs up by kids and adults alike.

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Low Carb Keto Banana Muffins

Name: Low Carb Keto Banana Muffins
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 35 min
Ingredients: 200 g / 2 cups almond flour (or ground almonds ); 30 g / 1/4 cup flaxseed (ground ); 1 banana (very ripe); 2 eggs (large); 120 ml / 4 ounces almond milk; 60 ml / 2 ounces coconut oil; 3-4 tbsp granulated sweetener (So Nourished) (depending on your sweet tooth); 1 tbsp baking powder; 40 g cacao nibs (or chopped dark chocolate, 85-90% (1/3 cup)); 1 tsp vanilla paste or extract; 1 tsp cinnamon; optional: 1 tsp mixed spice

Published August 13, 2016. Last modified August 12, 2020 By Katrin Nürnberger 57 Comments

A fabulously healthy treat: These delicious Keto Banana Muffins are grain free, sugar free and seriously nutrient-dense. No fake banana extracts here - my low carb banana muffins contain a real banana! This is feel-good snacking taken to the next level, without the sugar rush.

We've just returned from our summer holidays. Back at home in London, without sun, pool and the general feel-good-factor, I knew I had to bring the big guns in. You want peaceful silence and smiley faces all round? Plus that fab feeling when you've served up a bunch of healthy ingredients and everyone thinks it's a real treat?

Make these Low Carb Banana Muffins. They are true sugar free baking magic.

Because this recipe uses almond flour and ground flax seed, the texture is a bit coarser than that of a wheat muffin. My keto banana muffins are a brilliant nutrient-dense treat that won't make you feel bloated the way a wheat muffin does.

Hang on though - banana? Can I eat banana on a low carb diet?

Bananas contain the largest amount of carbs among fruits. In fact, they are made up almost completely out of water and carbs. One medium banana (7-8 inches long) contains about 10 calories, 25g of total carbs and 3 grams of fibre. Here's an interesting infographic showing the carb content of fruits from low to high.

If you are on a moderate low carb diet you'll aim to stay between 20-50 net carbs per day (you subtract the fibre content from the total carbs to calculate the net carbs. The fibre is non-digestible). This means banana is one of the fruits we generally avoid on a low carb diet.

How come these sugar free banana muffins are low carb?

Easy: There is only one banana in the entire recipe! As we distribute it here among 8 or 9 muffins, the carbohydrate content of each muffin is quite low. The banana flavor is so strong you can taste it with every bite - just like in my super moist sugar free banana bread or these Healthy Banana Cookies (Sugar Free, Keto)!

Top tip: Make sure the banana you use is VERY RIPE. The browner the peel the better! Ripe bananas have WAY more flavour than the ones with yellow or - God forbid - green peel.

How to make Keto banana muffins - step by step:

It's really simple!

1.) Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit / 180 Celsius.

2.) Mix the wet ingredients - banana, eggs, almond milk, vanilla and oil in a food processor or with a blender using a large bowl. Take your time with this. About 2 minutes is perfect - by then you have plenty of air bubbles in the mix which makes the muffins lighter.

Tip: If you are using extra-fine almond flour, I recommend that you reduce the amount to 1 ¾ cups or 175 grams. Super-fine almond flour is more absorbent than regular almond flour or the ground almonds you can buy here in the UK.

3.) Add the dry ingredients: the ground almonds or almond flour, ground flaxseed, erythritol, baking powder and spices. Blend until you have a smooth batter.

4.) Lastly, stir in the cacao nibs. Of course, the cacao nibs are optional. You can totally leave them out! As an alternative, dark chocolate would work well. I would choose a variety that contains 85% or 90% cocoa solids. Lindt is one of my favourites, as is Montezuma's. Or go for sugar free chocolate chips such as by Lily's.

5.) Fill into a muffin tin lined with paper cups. If you don't have any muffin cups to hand, make sure the tin is really well greased. You don't want them to stick! My mix made 8 muffins, but I did "try" the dough quite a few times. Yours might yield 9!

6.) Bake for about 25-30 minutes or until browned on top. You can also test with a toothpick. If there's no dough sticking to it, the muffins are done.

Substitutions for almond flour banana muffins

It's always possible to tweak recipes to make them suit your taste and the ingredients you've got in your larder.

First of all, you can replace the coconut oil with butter if you like. I wanted to keep my muffins dairy free, but butter would taste great here, too!

Also, any type of milk works. I prefer nut milks such as almond milk or hazelnut milk because they are lower in carbs than dairy milk. Coconut milk would be a good option, too.

The flaxseed gives the recipe a rustic flavour. It is possible to use more almond flour instead. In this case though I recommend that you add another egg to the recipe. Flax helps to bind baked goods and without it your low carb banana muffins would be too brittle.

I don't recommend that you replace the almond flour with coconut flour. Coconut flour is a very different beast from any other grain free flours. You would have to use a lot less of it (I normally substitute with ⅓ - ½ the amount because it's much more absorbent). It is also more brittle and you would definitely more eggs.

If you don't want to add chocolate nibs or chocolate, consider stirring in a handful of chopped walnuts or pecans.

How to store keto banana muffins

I always store my muffins in a cake tin on the kitchen counter for a couple of days. Normally they are all gone by then, but they would be absolutely fine in the fridge for about 5-6 days.

These muffins also freeze well, for up to 3 months. So, make a double batch and simply defrost one in the microwave (30 seconds is perfect in mine) when you feel like a treat!

Try my other low carb muffin recipes:

Healthy Pumpkin Muffins with Hazelnuts
Grab & Go Low Carb Muffins
Low Carb Zucchini Muffins
Low Carb Keto Blueberry Muffins

Tried this recipe? Give it a star rating below!

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