Moist, wholesome, and protein-packed—these banana chickpea muffins are a deliciously healthy twist on a classic favourite. Perfect for breakfast, snacks, or lunchboxes, they’re gluten-free, kid-friendly, and irresistibly good!
Whether you’re trying to sneak more nutrition into your kid’s snack time or fuel your busy mornings, these muffins are a tasty, guilt-free treat you’ll make again and again.
They’re perfect any time of year, as long as you have some overripe bananas on hand.
Plus, they’re school-safe, dairy-free, egg-free, and allergen-friendly.
My popular chickpea cookies inspire these delicious chickpea muffins. I highly recommend giving both a try!
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Ingredients + Substitutions
Here’s everything you’ll need to make these tasty banana chickpea muffins.
- Bananas: Use overripe bananas with brown spots on their skins. The riper your bananas, the greater the flavour, sweetness, and moisture.
- Chickpeas: Use canned or cooked chickpeas. Also known as garbanzo beans. Do not use chickpea or garbanzo bean flour.
- Oats: Use certified gluten-free oats if needed.
- Tahini: Use drippy tahini for optimal texture. If your tahini is very thick, you may need to add a couple of drops of water or milk to thin it out.
- Sugar: I like coconut sugar as it’s an unrefined sweetener, but you may use brown sugar in its place if you don’t have any on hand.
- Vanilla: Use pure vanilla extract and not artificially flavoured.
- Baking powder: Use baking powder that is fresh and ACTIVE. Baking powder that is open in the pantry for 6+ months may lose its effectiveness.
Instructions
(This is a summary with step by step photos, full recipe measurements and instructions are in the recipe card below.)
Add the dry ingredients and wet ingredients to your food processor bowl.
Blend until mostly smooth, but it doesn’t need to be perfect.
Divide and pour batter between your 12 muffin tins.
Optional: Top some or all of the muffins with your favourite toppings.
Bake the muffins until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out mostly clean and the edges are golden brown, approximately 20-22 minutes.
Allow your banana chickpea muffins 10-15 minutes to cool before transferring them to a wire rack.
Variations
- I’m using tahini to keep these nut-free and school-safe. However, these banana chickpea muffins also taste great with peanut butter, almond butter, or another nut or seed butter. Use a drippy nut or seed butter for best results.
- Make it a spiced muffin by adding 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon of nutmeg and ¼ teaspoon of ground ginger. Or try 1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice.
- No chickpeas on hand? Try these lentil muffins instead.
- Making these for little hands? Make mini muffins and shorten the bake time to 8-12 minutes.
Want to use chickpea flour? Try my banana carrot chickpea flour muffins.
Equipment
I use my Cusinart food processor to make these banana chickpea muffins.
You MAY use a high-speed blender if you don’t have a food processor. However, it’s easier to transfer the mixture from a food processor.
Storage
Store your muffins at room temperature for 2 days in an airtight container or tightly wrapped in plastic wrap to keep them moist.
Refrigerate them for up to 5 days or freeze them in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months.
Expert Tips
- Use overripe bananas. The riper your bananas, the greater flavour, sweetness, and moisture they will add to your banana chickpea muffins. Bananas with brown skin work best.
- Use baking powder that is fresh and ACTIVE. Baking powder that is open in the pantry for 6+ months may lose its effectiveness.
- Measure your mashed banana to ensure you’re using one cup. Bananas vary greatly in size. Two large bananas or three medium bananas work for me.
- Let your muffins cool for 10-15 minutes before removing them from the muffin pan to help them set and prevent them from breaking.
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Buon appetito
Rosa
📖 Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups (18 ounce) can chickpeas drained + rinsed
- 3 medium bananas 1 cup mashed
- ½ cup tahini or almond butter
- ¼ cup unrefined coconut sugar
- 1.5 cups rolled oats gluten-free if preferred
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
Optional toppings
- banana slices, chocolate chips, blueberries, nuts
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350℉/176℃ and use a greased muffin tin or line a muffin pan with muffin liners.
- Mash your banana to ensure you have 1 cup worth of mashed banana. Then add all the ingredients except for any optional toppings to your food processor. Process the mixture until mostly smooth.
- Divide the batter between your 12 muffin cups and top some or all of the muffins with toppings if you'd like.
- Bake the chickpea muffins for 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of a muffin comes out mostly clean. Then remove them from the oven and let them cool for 10-15 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.
Notes
- Use overripe bananas. The riper your bananas, the greater flavour, sweetness, and moisture they will add to your banana chickpea muffins. Bananas with brown skin work best.
- Use baking powder that is fresh and ACTIVE. Baking powder that is open in the pantry for 6+ months may lose its effectiveness.
- Measure your mashed banana to ensure you’re using one cup. Bananas vary greatly in size. Two large bananas or three medium bananas work for me.
- Let your muffins cool for 10-15 minutes before removing them from the muffin pan to help them set and prevent them from breaking.
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