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These Chunky Monkey Muffins are Vegan, Gluten, and Refined Sugar Free and are perfect for a quick breakfast, afternoon snack, or evening treat.
Chocolate + Nuts + Banana Bread, all in one muffin? That sure sounds like a good time to me.
Personally, I’m all about convenience foods. Not so much the ones you buy pre-packaged from the store that leave you feeling kind of funky inside, but the ones you can make ahead of time yourself (think: meal prep) that will save you time in the long run. Plus, I definitely think homemade food just…tastes better, too. Maybe it’s all the love and positive energy that goes into it 🙂
So when so many of you gave raving reviews about my Fluffy Gluten Free Banana Bread, I wanted to try to put a spin on it that makes it even more convenient. That’s when I thought of muffins!
But let’s be honest – it would be kind of lame to make a post of the exact same recipe, just in muffin form. Therefore I decided to give these babies a flavor upgrade. I tossed in some extra chocolate, walnuts, and banana chunks – and thus, these delicious Chunky Monkey Muffins were created.
While there is a time and place to eat more indulgent foods, I love how good these muffins are for you too. They’re free of gluten, oil, and refined sugar. And that really just means you can eat them whenever you dang please. Grab a couple for breakfast, an afternoon snack, or evening treat! They’re great on their own, but I also love heating them up a bit and slathering them with some nut butter.
A Few Final Thoughts:
- To keep these muffins refined-sugar free I opted to use cacao nibs, but if you like your chocolate to be sweeter, you can totally use chocolate chips! I would recommend mini ones so they distribute more throughout the muffins. Alternatively, you can use these chips sweetened only with stevia as well.
- If you don’t think you’re going to eat all of these muffins at once, they freeze well too! Just put them in an airtight container and let them sit on the counter for a few minutes once you are ready to eat them. You can even heat them up in the oven or toaster oven for a special treat 🙂
- The traditional “Chunky Monkey” flavor is a combination of Walnuts, Fudge, and Banana. I added peanut butter to my muffins because I thought it would add a nice flavor too. However, feel free to use whatever nut or nut butter you have on hand!
Finally, if you recreate this recipe, be sure to tag me on Instagram @frommybowl + #frommybowl so I can see your mouth-watering work! It makes me so happy to see you all enjoy these recipes just as much as I do 🙂
PrintVegan & Gluten Free Chunky Monkey Muffins
These Chunky Monkey Muffins are Vegan, Gluten, and Refined Sugar Free and are perfect for a quick breakfast, afternoon snack, or evening treat.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 12 Muffins 1x
Ingredients
- 4 Medium Ripe Bananas, divided (make sure they are brown and spotty!)
- 2 1/2 cup Rolled Oats, divided
- 1/2 cup Coconut Sugar
- 1/4 cup Creamy Natural Peanut Butter (should only be peanuts + salt)
- 1/4 cup Walnuts, chopped into small pieces
- 1/4 cup Cacao Nibs or Chocolate Chips
- 2 tbsp Ground Flax OR Ground Chia Seeds + 6 tbsp Water
- 1 tbsp Baking Powder
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1/2 tsp Salt
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350F.
- In a small bowl, combine the Ground Flax OR Ground Chia seeds with 6 tbsp water to form an “egg.” Stir and set aside for 5-10 minutes.
- Add 2 cups of the Rolled Oats into a blender or food processor and blend until they form a fine flour, about 45-60 seconds.
- Place the Oat Flour into a medium sized bowl and add the Coconut Sugar, Baking Powder, remaining 1/2 cup of Rolled Oats, and Salt. Mix well and set aside.
- Add 3 of your ripe Bananas to a separate, large bowl, and mash with a fork until they form an even, runny texture. Add the Peanut Butter, Apple Cider Vinegar, Vanilla Extract, and Flax or Chia Egg to the bowl. Mix well.
- Slowly incorporate the dry flour mixture into the wet Banana mixture, stirring well and until all clumps have disappeared.
- Chop the remaining banana into bite-sized chunks. Gently fold the banana chunks, cacao nibs, and chopped walnuts into the batter.
- Line or grease a muffin tin and divide the batter evenly into all 12 cups.
- Bake at 350F for 35-40 minutes, or until the top of the muffins are golden brown and a toothpick comes out cleanly or with minimal crumbs. Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then remove and enjoy warm, if desired.
- Store in a container at room temperature for up to one week. (Let the muffins cool completely before storing them in a container).
Notes
Coconut Sugar may be substituted with Brown Sugar or Cane Sugar, but keep in mind that this will no longer be refined sugar-free.
If you would like to use pre-made Oat Flour instead of making your own, simply use 2 cups of Oat Flour + 1/2 cup of Rolled Oats (unblended) for this recipe.
Peanut Butter can be substituted with another nut butter, but keep in mind that this will alter the taste. I would recommend either Tahini or Almond Butter.
Walnuts can be substituted with any other nut or seed of choice.
Want to save these Chunky Monkey Muffins for later? Pin them to your Pinterest using the image below!
could i replace the coconut sugar with maple syrup?
You might be able to get away with that. The biggest issue is that using liquid sweeteners instead of granulated sweeteners is it can negatively effect the texture. We haven’t tried it so I can’t say it’ll work perfectly but feel it should be OK.
forgot to rate it!
★★★★★
Appreciate it! Thank you!
I love these too! Thanks so much for the great recipe. I leave out the coco nibs and put in granny smith peeled apple bits – really nice. I might use blueberry next time as well. I also leave out the 4th banana – just as ‘chunky’ with my apples 🙂 I also use almond butter and put more on top of a warmed muffin and that’s all I need for a wonderful breakfast. So portable too for a car trip. The best muffins ever!
Thanks so much! Glad to hear you tweaked it a bit to your liking!
I made these and I loved them! They were sooooo good. It’s taking all my will power to not finish off the whole batch in like 2 days, haha. I love the chunks of banana, it really added something. I’m definitely going to be making them again!
★★★★★
Could I use steel cut oats?
★★★★★
No, you need to use Quick or Rolled!
I can’t eat oats. Would buckwheat or cassava flour work with these instead, do you think? I often use quinoa flakes in place of oats, so I’d use that for the final 1/2 cup of oats. Any one tried something similar?
Do you think this recipe would work with no nut butter at all??
Thanks
Hi Tamzin, I would not recommend leaving out the nut butter, as fat free baked goods are very mushy and chewy.
Thank you SO much for this recipe (and for all of your work — really inspiring). I’m writing this, eating one from the 55675th batch I’ve made in a month. I’ve just added some dessicated coconut and blueberries (and left the cacoa nibs out). and Oh My God, me and my partner are obsessed, they are such healthy and delicious snacks.
Thanks again.
★★★★★
Thanks for sharing, Julie! Coconut and blueberries sound like a delicious addition x
Do you think quick rolled oats could work for this recipe?
Yes, they would!
i LOVE these… have them in the freezer and bring them to college every days to snack on.. the BOMB..
I put sunflower and pumpkin seeds on top and it works so well
★★★★★
That sounds like a delicious addition, Emily!
Just made these tonight for breakfast tomorrow, couldn’t wait to try them so I snuck a taste. Sooooo bomb! Loving all your recipes and your videos ❤️
★★★★★
Yay! Hope you love them Amy 🙂
How many muffins would you recomend to eat for breakfast?
I encourage you to listen to your own personal hunger cues, but I would recommend between 2 and 3!
What brand of peanut butter do you use? I’ve been trying to find a peanut butter made just out of peanuts and can’t find any at my stores.
Ally, I usually purchase one by MaraNatha that contains only peanuts and salt.
I made these a couple nights ago to bring with me to work for the week, and they are incredible. Thank you so much for this recipe!
★★★★★
So glad you enjoyed them Angela!
Hi Caitlin, thank you so much for this recipe! I stumbled upon your youtube channel recently and watched one of your videos showing these muffins. I made these tonight and they are delicious!! I didn’t have apple cider vinegar so used white vinegar instead. Is the apple cider vinegar added for flavoring? If that makes a difference I have to make this again with apple cider vinegar! Again, thank you so much for the delicious recipe! I recently became vegan and I really appreciate your work.
★★★★★
Hi Sakura,
The apple cider vinegar actually helps to make the muffins rise more! I’m glad you enjoyed them though 🙂
I made these last week just as the recipe is listed and they are so good! I have been taking them to work as an afternoon snack before my run and as an after dinner healthy dessert. I love having something sweet that’s homemade and that I can feel good about the ingredients.
So glad you like them Amanda! They would definitely be a great pre-run snack 🙂
Hi!! Just made these tonight and loved them!! I changed the recipe a little…I used 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour and the 1/2 cup oats instead of all ground oats (the lid to my food processor is missing so I couldn’t grind the oats into flour). Then instead of adding the chopped banana at the end I added shredded zucchini. Also…I am fresh out of vanilla extract and someone online suggested using honey. So I did a TB of honey instead of the extract. Lastly I made mini muffins instead and baked them at 350 for 40 mins.
They are seriously delicious! I made them for my 2 year old but I think I’m going to eat half myself! 🙂
Will definitely be making again! Thanks for this.
★★★★★
You’re welcome Ali!
Why are they make-ahead? How long do they last? Can you refrigerate or freeze them?
I guess I’m really just asking whether you can refrigerate or freeze them and how long they would last then. I see that they last for a week in a container.
Hannah, they will last about 5-7 days on the counter or fridge, and up to one month in the freezer.
I absolutely adore how simple your recipes are! Definitely making these today to bring to class?
★★★★★
Thank you, Leilani!
Yum!! I love that this recipe has fairly simple ingredients and not an elaborate list of fancy flours, sweeteners, etc. I can’t wait to make these. 🙂
Hope you love them! 🙂