Moist and fluffy paleo banana muffins made with almond flour and pure maple syrup. Topped with a dairy-free cashew based “cream cheese” frosting, these muffins are a true delight!
There’s something so comforting and nostalgic about banana muffins. The warm, sweet, cinnamony, banana bread aroma warms the soul! My mom would bake banana bread or banana muffins on repeat when I was a kid, so the treat holds a special place in my heart.
These grain-free banana muffins are just as soul-filling, belly-warming and comforting as a classic banana muffin. Made with 3 ripe bananas and almond flour as the primary ingredients, these healthy muffins have a nice nutrient profile.
These paleo banana muffins are a spin off my classic Paleo Banana Bread recipe, which I basically use on repeat as my base for so many treats.
Plus, they are refined sugar-free, dairy-free, oil-free and great for those who are in the habit of bringing healthy snacks on-the-go.
I thought I’d take these banana muffins a step further by making a vanilla bean “cream cheese” frosting for them. The “cream cheese” frosting is made using soaked raw cashews, pure maple syrup, lemon juice, almond milk and a vanilla bean. You’d never know this healthier frosting is completely dairy-free and refined sugar-free!
The vegan cream cheese frosting is a scaled down version of my No-Bake Vegan Cheesecake, so you know it’s gotta be good!
It’s easy to whip up and gives you the sense that you’re eating a sinful cupcake. If you don’t have a vanilla bean on hand, no sweat. You can replace vanilla beans easily with pure vanilla extract. I find 2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract yields a similar vanilla essence to 1 large vanilla bean.
Let’s hop to it!
How to Make Vanilla Bean “Cream Cheese Frosting”:
Start this recipe by first soaking the raw cashews. You can soak them for a minimum of 2 hours, but ideally overnight so they soften up quite a bit.
After the cashews are sufficiently soaked, drain them and add them to a high-powered blender with the pure maple syrup, lemon juice, almond milk, and the scrapings of a large vanilla bean. Blend until completely smooth!
Transfer the frosting to a sealable container and refrigerate until you’re ready to use it. The frosting will thicken as it sits in the refrigerator.
How to Make Banana Muffins:
Prepare the muffin batter by mashing 3 large ripe bananas in a mixing bowl. Whisk in the eggs, pure vanilla extract, and pure maple syrup.
In a separate bowl, stir together the almond flour, tapioca flours, baking powder, sea salt, cinnamon, and chocolate chips. Pour this flour mixture into the bowl with the wet mixture and stir well. Transfer the batter to a muffin tray and bake!
Once the muffins have cooled, remove them from the muffin tray and frost them with the vanilla bean cream cheese frosting. Share with loved ones and enjoy!
My cookbook, Paleo Power Bowls, is now available! CLICK HERE to check it out. Thank you for your all your support!
If you make these Paleo Banana Muffins, please feel free to share a photo and tag@The.Roasted.Root on Instagram!
Do it for the “cream cheese!”
Ingredients
"Cream Cheese" Frosting:
- 1 cup raw cashews
- 3 Tbsp pure maple syrup
- 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 1 1/2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 large vanilla bean, scraped
- 1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 pinch sea salt
Banana Muffins:
- 3 large ripe bananas
- 2 large eggs, see note*
- 2 Tbsp pure maple syrup
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups finely ground almond flour
- 5 Tbsp tapioca flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp sea salt
- 1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
Instructions
Make the "Cream Cheese" Frosting:
- Place cashews in a bowl and cover with 1 inch of water. Soak at least 2 hours, preferrably overnight. Drain the cashews and transfer them to a high-powered blender along with the remaining ingredients. Blend until completely smooth. Transfer frosting to a sealable container and refrigerate until ready to use.
Make Banana Muffins:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a muffin tray with 9 muffin papers.
- Mash the bananas in a mixing bowl, then mix in the eggs, pure maple syrup and vanilla extract.
- In a separate bowl, stir together the remaining dry ingredients. Transfer the flour mixture to the bowl with the banana mixture and stir well until combined.
- Pour muffin batter into the muffin tray, filling the holes 3/4 of the way up. Bake on the center rack of the preheated oven 18 to 25 minutes, or until muffins are golden-brown around the edges and feel firm when poked in the center.
- Allow muffins to cool at least 30 minutes before frosting and serving.
Janece Mather
Friday 22nd of March 2019
Is it possible to substitute coconut flour for tapioca flour. Thanks.
Julia
Wednesday 27th of March 2019
Hi Janece! You can replace the tapioca flour with more almond flour and the muffins will still turn out great! If you want to give coconut flour a whirl, add 1 tablespoon. I would simply go the almond flour route since you're already using it as an ingredient :D Hope you love the muffins! xoxo
Jennifer Hayes
Tuesday 26th of March 2019
Coconut flour absorbs liquid much more than other flours, so it wouldn't make a good substitute for tapioca flour. Arrowroot would probably work well.