One of my favorite muffins of all time are these incredibly moist and tasty Cinnamon Swirl Banana Bread Muffins. They are such a treat to have when you are craving something sweet! My husband who is not a huge fan of all things cinnamon, RAVES about these to everyone who will listen lol!

Not only are these muffins insanely good, but they are also good for you! We made them using simple and clean ingredients and they are also paleo, gluten free, dairy free, refined sugar free and can be made vegan, as well!

For this recipe we made a few healthy swaps:

  • We used blanched almond flour instead of white/wheat flour. The almond flour adds a subtle nutty flavor, without compromising the texture. In fact, these muffins are extremely moist (the only texture a muffin SHOULD be, am I right?) .
  • We used coconut sugar, instead of traditional/refined white sugar. I love using coconut sugar, as a granulated sweetener. It is not only lower on the glycemic index, which is much better for your blood sugar, and it is also not inflammatory, like traditional sugar either.
  • We used coconut oil in place of butter, which makes this recipe dairy free (although I used grass-fed butter and coconut oil interchangeably for may recipes)!
  • We used pasture-raised eggs for this recipe, however you can easily make this vegan by replacing them with flax eggs (2 tbsp ground flax and 5 tbsp water). I prefer using pasture raised eggs because they contain more omega-3 fatty acids than other egg.

All of the ingredients you will need for this recipe are the following:

  • blanched almond flour
  • aluminum-free baking powder
  • coconut sugar 
  • sea salt
  • ripe bananas
  • 1/4 cup coconut oil melted
  • pasture raised eggs (or ground flax, vegan) 
  • vanilla extract
  • cinnamon 
  • unsweetened apple sauce 

Fun Fact: By simply swapping out some of the more inflammatory ingredients, these muffins become more nutritious than your standard muffin recipe! I used this method when I create new recipes and when I modify old ones!

I really hope you get a chance to make this recipe! When you do, be sure to share and tag me at #healthymommamanda or comment below!

Recipe:

Muffin Ingredients:

  • 2 cups blanched almond flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 2 tbsp coconut sugar 
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 2 large ripe bananas mashed
  • 1/4 cup coconut oil melted
  • 2 pasture raised eggs (or 2 flax eggs,vegan) 
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon 

Cinnamon Swirl Ingredients : (recipe for swirl is from @rachlmansfield )

  • 1/4 c coconut sugar 
  • 1/4 c unsweetened apple sauce 
  • 1 tbsp cinnamon 

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Line your muffin trays with liners or coconut oil. 
2. In a large bowl, combine your dry ingredients and mix well. 
3. In a separate bowl, add your mashed bananas, eggs, melted coconut oil, and vanilla extract and mix well. 
4. In a small bowl, prepare your cinnamon swirl mixture by combining the cinnamon, apple sauce and coconut sugar, set aside.
5. Combine your wet and dry ingredients and mix well. If the batter is too thick, add some milk
6. Transfer 1/3 of the batter to the lined muffin tins. Spoon 1/2 of the cinnamon swirl mixture. Fill with the remaining banana bread batter. Top with remaining cinnamon swirl mixture. Use a knife or toothpick to create swirl salon the top of the muffin. 
7. Bake for 20-25minutes or until toothpick comes out clean, remove from the oven.
8. Allow to cool for another 10 minutes, before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. 
9. Enjoy!

*Makes about 9 muffins *