Soft, fluffy and tender, these Spelt Flour Peanut Butter Banana Muffins are made with whole grain spelt flour, mashed banana and natural peanut butter. They’re dairy-free and oil-free, made without butter or oil, and they’re naturally sweetened with maple syrup, so they’re refined sugar-free. You only need 10 ingredients and the recipe makes 12 muffins, which stay fresh for 3-4 days at room temperature and freeze well too. Enjoy them as a snack or as part of a wholesome breakfast!
Table of contents
An older recipe with a few tweaks
This is a recipe I published a number of years ago (in January 2021), and while it gets great reviews, I wanted to make a few tweaks. Mostly, I wanted to add weighted measurements to the recipe instead of just cup measurements, so readers could get more consistent results when baking them. Along the way, I also decided to make a few minor changes to the leavening and ratio of ingredients to make the muffins even better. If you prefer the older recipe, please reach out and I can send you a copy!
Ingredient notes and substitutions
Below are just a few of the key ingredients and my substitution suggestions. Scroll to the recipe card below for all of the ingredients and quantities used.
- Bananas – You’ll want to use 3-4 very ripe bananas with plenty of brown spots. They’re easy to mash and have a much sweeter taste.
- Spelt flour – This is an ancient whole grain with a similar light texture as wheat flour. You can usually find spelt flour in the organic section of the grocery store.
- Peanut butter – Natural peanut butter is best for this recipe and I prefer smooth over crunchy. Shelf stable peanut butter will not give you the same results. Natural peanut butter is just peanuts (and sometimes salt), whereas the shelf stable kind contains other ingredients including sugar.
- Maple syrup – Just a quarter of a cup helps to naturally sweeten these muffins. You can try honey or agave syrup as a substitute. I haven’t tested them in this recipe, but I’ve used them interchangeably in some other muffin recipes.
- Nut milk – You can use any type of nut milk you like, just make sure it’s unsweetened. I normally use almond or cashew milk. If you don’t need this recipe to be dairy-free, you can use cow’s milk.
How to make spelt flour banana muffins (step-by-step with photos)
These muffins are quick and easy to make!
Measuring ingredients
For convenience, US cup measurements are included in the recipe card for this recipe. To ensure greater accuracy, however, weight and volume measurements are also provided. So, if you see grams (g), you’ll want to use a kitchen scale to weigh your ingredients, and if you see milliliters (ml), you’ll want to use a liquid measuring cup. Smaller quantities of ingredients are provided in teaspoons and tablespoons.
Leanne’s tips for recipe success
- Softened peanut butter. You’ll want your peanut butter to be soft and even a little runny so it mixes easily with the other wet ingredients. If it has hardened in the fridge, just let it sit at room temperature or heat it in the microwave until it has a spreadable consistency.
- Start high and reduce temperature. For the first 5 minutes, bake these muffins at 425F to help them rise fast and get a nice muffin top. Then reduce to 350F so they can continue baking without browning too much.
- Light colored muffin pan. I like to use lighter colored muffin pans as they brown more slowly. Darker pans will brown the muffins quicker. If you’re user a darker pan, just keep an eye on the muffins so they don’t brown too much.
- Grease pan well. This helps the muffins easily release from the pan. You can also use parchment muffin liners, which are great for not sticking.
Recipe variations to make these muffins your way
- Add chopped walnuts or pecans to the muffin batter for extra texture.
- If you don’t need the recipe to be refined sugar-free or dairy-free, you can add chocolate chips. (I often make them with the addition of 1/2 cup of mini semi-sweet chocolate chips).
- Use natural almond butter instead of peanut butter. This results in a slight change in taste, but the texture of the muffins stay the same.
- Make the muffins vegan by substituting a flax egg for the egg. I tested this and it worked well.
Frequently asked questions
This recipe has only been tested with spelt flour. While whole wheat flour can usually be substituted for spelt flour, it does result in a slightly denser texture. If you’re looking for a banana muffin recipe made with whole wheat, white or gluten-free flour, these whole wheat banana nut muffins can be made with any of those flours.
In place of the almond milk, you can use dairy milk or oat milk. While I haven’t tested this recipe without nut butter, you can try using a seed butter such as sunflower seed butter as a replacement. Just note that sometimes seed butters react to baking soda to create a green color in baked goods. (Trust me, it’s happened to me and it isn’t pretty!)
I haven’t tested this recipe as a banana bread, but I do have a recipe for spelt flour banana bread with coconut and chocolate chips that I highly recommend!
These muffins should be stored in an airtight container at room temperature and will last for 3-4 days.
Absolutely! Just let the muffins cool completely on a wire rack and then place them in a single layer in an airtight container or in a resealable freezer bag. They can be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months and defrosted at room temperature or in the microwave for 45-60 seconds.
More banana muffin recipes
If you make this recipe, I’d love to hear what you think in the comments below!
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Description
Soft and fluffy, these Spelt Flour Banana Muffins are made with whole grain spelt flour, banana, peanut butter and naturally sweetened with maple syrup. They’re also dairy-free and oil-free.
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups (205g) whole grain spelt flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 3–4 medium-sized ripe bananas (1 1/2 cups or 375g mashed banana)
- 1/3 cup (90g) natural smooth peanut butter
- 1/4 cup (60ml) maple syrup
- 1/3 cup (80ml) unsweetened almond milk
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425F. Grease a standard size 12-cup muffin pan or line it with muffin liners.
- In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the spelt flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- In a large bowl, mash the bananas, then whisk in the peanut butter, maple syrup, milk, egg and vanilla.
- Add the flour mixture to the banana mixture and stir until combined. (Be careful not to over mix).
- Evenly divide the batter into the prepared muffin pan. Each cup should be almost filled to the top.
- Bake at 425F for 5 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350F and bake for another 8-10 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out with just a few crumbs on it.
- Let the muffins cool in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- You’ll want to use very ripe bananas with plenty of brown spots. They’re easy to mash and have a sweeter taste.
- Make sure your peanut butter is soft and even a little runny so it mixes easily into the other wet ingredients. If it has hardened in the fridge, just let it sit at room temperature or heat it in the microwave until it has a spreadable consistency.
- I like to use lighter colored muffin pans as they brown more slowly. Darker pans will brown the muffins quicker. If you’re user a darker pan, just keep an eye on the muffins so they don’t over brown.
I just made this recipe and It looks delicious 😋. I used almond butter, lemon instead of vanilla and added some ground flaxseed. I put walnuts in the batter with 100% unsweetened cacao chips. I put a walnut half on top of each muffin before baking them. I used pink Himalayan sea salt also, but did not use a full teaspoon. Thanks for sharing!
Amazing! I followed the recipe (expect for the maple syrup to make it baby friendly) and it turned out perfect. They are moist, evenly baked and have risen very well. Definetely will be making them again. Thank you.
Hi Martina! I’m so happy to hear that. Thanks for letting me know!
These muffins are fabulous. So moist and flavorful. I am on the Blood Type diet…awesome BTW….lost 10 pounds first 6 weeks….so these muffins checked all the boxes, but substituted the peanut butter with almond butter.
Thank you!
Kristy
Hi Kristy! So glad you’re enjoying the muffins. Thanks for letting me know!
Can I make this without peanut butter? Will it be As moist
Hi Joyce! I don’t recommend leaving out the peanut butter. Since the muffins don’t have any oil or butter in them, the peanut butter provides the necessary fat and adds moisture. If you don’t like or have peanut butter, you can make them with almond butter instead. Hope that helps. Thanks!
These are delicious, earthy yet fluffy and light. Just finished making my second batch and they came out as well as the first ones I made.
Thank you 🙂
Thank you Jo! I’m so glad you’re enjoying the recipe!
Good taste fairly healthy and good use for your overripe bananas.
Thanks Helena! I’m glad you like the recipe.
These muffins look so healthy and tasty! I haven’t tried spelt before, but you’ve convinced me!
Spelt flour is definitely worth a try! Thanks Michelle!
I love banana goods, but at the same time I’m not a huge fan of soggy, sticky banana “bread” dough texture (I guess since you bake banana goods often, you know what I mean!) These muffins look fabulous, with a perfectly baked yet moist enough texture. And the addition of peanut butter and maple syrup makes everything better!
Oh yes, I definitely know what you mean Ben! Thanks so much!