Healthy Chickpea Flour Banana Muffins

I am a huge huge fan of chickpea flour but used to limit my use of the ingredient to thickening soups and making pizza crust or flatbread. I saw Ambitious Kitchen’s banana bread recipe and was inspired. After several tests on my own, I landed on these chickpea flour muffins!
While I loved the loaf, it was a little dense for me and, I love the grab and go nature of muffins for more of a weekly recipe. It also takes wayyy less time to get these out of the oven!
Topping & Filling Suggestions
There are plenty of topping/filling options with any muffin, but these are best with blueberries (I’ve done both fresh and frozen) or chocolate chips (duh). You can also try adding shredded coconut or chopped nuts in the batter, or a sprinkle of hemp seeds on top. To add a little extra protein, I like to smear some nut butter on them before I head out the door or have them with a side of yogurt. The great thing about these chickpea flour muffins is that by mixing and matching toppings you can make them a little bit different each time!
No Sugar Added Chickpea Flour Muffins
If you have little ones in the house, I highly recommend checking out my adapted version of this muffin recipe with no added sugar. The recipe makes the perfect amount of batter for a dozen “adult size” and a dozen mini baby-sized muffins. Check out the recipe here: No Sugar Added Chickpea Banana Muffins.

Chickpea Flour Banana Muffins
Ingredients
- 3 medium very ripe bananas, mashed
- 2 tbsp melted dairy-free butter or coconut oil
- 2 tbsp honey or pure maple syrup
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs (or 2 flax or chia eggs)
- 3-4 tbsp non-dairy milk
- 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1.5 cups chickpea flour (garbanzo bean flour)
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp salt
Optional Add-In Ideas
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
- 1 cup blueberries
- 1 cup shredded coconut
- sliced banana or hemp seeds to top with
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a muffin tin with olive oil cooking spray or grease lightly with coconut oil, grass-fed butter, or earth balance. Recipe makes 15 regular sized muffins or 12 regular and 6 mini muffins.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together chickpea flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine bananas, butter or oil, honey, vanilla extract, eggs, milk and apple cider vinegar; mix until well combined and creamy. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Fold in any of the optional add-ins: I recommend dark chocolate chips and blueberries.
- Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth top. Add one slice of banana to the top of each if you wish. Bake for 14-16 minutes or until tester inserted into center comes out clean. Do not over bake. Remove from oven and place on wire rack to cool for 10 minutes, then carefully invert, remove and place back on wire rack to cool completely.
- Enjoy as a pre-workout snack or have a couple with nut butter and extra berries for breakfast!
For more muffin inspiration, check out my roundup of 20+ muffin recipes from Registered Dietitians!
Can almond flour be used instead?
Hi Alicia! It may but I have not tried it myself. The two flours have a different texture and ability to hold the muffin together. I do have this almond flour pumpkin muffin recipe though and swapping over-ripe mashed banana for the pumpkin may work! https://eatreallivewell.com/2014/09/23/almond-meal-pumpkin-muffin-recipe/ Please let me know if you try and how it goes 🙂
Thank you so much for the quick response!! I will definitely try the other recipe =)
Can I use olive oil instead of coconut oil?
In most recipes I would say no since coconut oil is solid at room temp and a binder. It may be okay here though. If you have butter or earth balance try those instead!
Hi love the recipe but when I printed it out it printed the whole blog post (9 pages!) I was hoping there would be a shorter print version of just the recipe, bummer
Sorry, Kara! When I created this blog years ago, I had no knowledge of what I was doing tech wise 🙂 and realized after the fact that my platform doesn’t support recipe plug ins. With a busy schedule I have it in the plans for the fall to switch to another platform to make everything easier for you amazing readers! Hope you still enjoy the recipe!
Hi Kelly – I just made this and this was my first dish with chickpea flour. I really like this recipe because the muffins are not too sweet., just a hint of sweetness is there from the bananas and honey The fact that chickpea flour has more protein and fiber than white flour is a bonus. Thank you very much for sharing this recipe.
So glad you enjoyed it! I have a “cupcake” version too in case there was a situation where you wanted it sweeter for a celebration 🙂 It really helps manage intake feeling more full from the protein and fiber. Hope you keep making it and thanks for commenting! https://eatreallivewell.com/2017/05/17/garbanzo-berry-cupcakes/
Have you noticed that the add ins, no matter what they are, usually sink to the bottom of the muffin. This is picky I know . Wonder if there is an easy fix for this. Chocolate chips, nuts, raisins, whatever the add ins are they always end up on the bottom.
Do you mean when you make muffins in general? I haven’t had that problem with these and blueberries, but honestly haven’t tried chocolate chips. Maybe try frozen blueberries?
I just tried this and it really is awesome!!!! The muffins are sooooo yummy. Thank you for sharing the recipe!
So glad you like them! I made some this weekend too 🙂
Very good! Followed it as written (used egg whites and skim milk), and the muffins came out great. Very moist, and not too sweet. Many thanks for this recipe.
Wonderful! Glad you enjoyed them! Just keep them in a sealed container so they don’t dry out.
I thank you for providing just the recipe I was looking for, but I am concerned that after 19 min they are still not done.
Hi Michelle! I make these all of the time and 15 or so minutes is what works in my oven, but all ovens are different! You may also want to consider how you’re measuring the flour as well as the size of the bananas. I use a food scale for baking so it’s super accurate, but if you aren’t and are used to sifting flour for recipes, chickpea flour should typically be “packed” in the measuring cups to equal the weight. Hope that helps!
This recipe sounds great! I am making these muffins for the first time. They are actually in the oven now! I am wondering about nutritional value including calories per muffin? Can’t wait to taste them!! Thank you!
Hi Kathy,
While we don’t focus much on calories here since apps are so inaccurate at determining someone’s actual calorie needs, this recipe offers around 130 if you make 12 muffins – more importantly it’s delivering energy from carbohydrate and mono and polyunsaturated fats as well as 3 grams of fiber and 4 grams of protein with some iron and other vitamins and minerals 🙂