Banana Bread Muffins with Amaranth (an Ancient Grain) – Gluten-free

I LOVE warm, sweet, soft banana bread, don’t you?! It’s a childhood favorite and reminds me of being at my grandmother’s house.

My gluten-free banana bread recipe incorporates amaranth, an ancient grain that offers protein, healthy carbs, fiber and lots of micronutrients.

Popped amaranth blended with oats to make a gluten-free flour.

Amaranth is kind of a toothsome grain, reminding me of farro or wheat berry. You don’t use the whole seed grain in this gluten free banana muffin recipe, but instead amaranth flour. I like to make my own amaranth flour in my blender using popped amaranth – it’s ready to make into a light, versatile, gluten-free flour right out of the bag. It’s also tasty for snacking right out of the bag or sprinkling on salads or yogurt for extra nutrition.

Check out the video for some tips!

Pro Tips:

  1. Ripe bananas make the tastiest, sweetest, moistest banana bread muffins. I keep my peeled ripe bananas in the freezer, ready to defrost for quick bread recipe like this banana amaranth flour recipe.
  2. Some products may be swapped. For example, use the milk of your choice whether that be dairy, almond, oat or whatever. Also, the sugar can be swapped out for a cup-to-cup equivalent. For example, 1 cup of coconut sugar, 1 cup of brown sugar, or 1 cup of stevia baking blend, etc.  Don’t use liquid sweetener drops or products with very little volume as it will through the proportions of your recipe off and it will be too wet.
  3. While making this easy muffin recipe, make extra amaranth-oat flour and set aside for use in your next batch OR to use as a gluten-free flour substitute for pancakes, waffles and other baked goods.
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Amaranth Banana Bread Muffins are so delicious – tender, moist and sweet! Before baking I love to top mine with extra goodies like dried fruit, nuts and seeds  — shredded coconut and chocolate chips would be yummy too!

Recipe adapted from Amaranthy.com  (you can save 20% there with my code FITFORK20 )

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. I earn a small commission from sales that are used to help offset operating costs for The Fit Fork.

5 from 5 votes
Gluten-free Banana Bread with Amaranth
Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
30 mins
Total Time
40 mins
 

Looking for an easy quick bread muffin that’s gluten-freeand packs extra fiber and protein? Check out these Banana Bread Muffins madewith “flour” that’s created simply by pulsing popped amaranth and rolled oats inthe blender! Also, use an alternative sweetener to moderate the carbs – still sosweet, tender and delicious! A favorite for breakfast – even serve warm withice cream for dessert!

Servings: 6 servings
Ingredients
  • 2 cups popped amaranth from Amaranthy or amaranth flour
  • 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
  • 1/2 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/4 tablespoon baking soda
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened to room temperature
  • 3 medium ripe bananas
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/3 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 tablespoon milk of choice
  • 1 cup sugar of choice or 1 cup-for-cup equivalent sweetener
  • 1/4 cup dried fruit of choice optional
  • 1/4 cup unsalted nuts and/or seeds of choice optional
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350F. Prepare a standard loaf pan or jumbo 6-count muffin tin.
  2. Add popped amaranth and rolled oats to blender, blend on high for 1 to 2 minutes until a medium-fine flour forms. Pulse in baking soda and baking powder. Set aside.
  3. In large bowl, mash together bananas, eggs, butter, milk, vanilla and sugar.
  4. Empty banana mixture into the blender filled with dry ingredients. Incorporate dry and wet slightly with spatula then pulse, scraping down sides as needed, until thick batter has formed. *Mixture should be thick, but if not blending well add a 1-2 tbsp. more milk.
  5. Divide in muffin tins. Top with nuts, seeds and dried fruit.
  6. Bake approx. 45 minutes in loaf pan and 30 minutes in jumbo muffin tins. Test for doneness by inserting toothpick into center and it pulls clean. Remove from oven, cool in pan for 15 minutes. Store leftovers in fridge.
Recipe Notes

Bunch of Healthy Recipes for Banana Lover’s Day

Happy Banana Lover’s Day!  I really NEED to celebrate this “a-peeling” food holiday – my potassium levels need a boost thanks (or no thanks) to all this hot weather running. In addition to keeping muscle cramps away, I think bananas are just a great all-around fruit. Not only are they cheap and tasty, but bananas are filled with fiber, antioxidents and other nutrients needed for optimal health.  Bananas are also a great source of tryptophan which the body converts into serotonin to get you in a good mood!

So, let’s peel a banana and get happy! Here are some of my favorite ways to enjoy bananas:

banana milk and cereal

Eat a banana on or with your cereal. Better yet, pour banana-flavored Core Power over healthy cereal for an extra punch of protein.

banana peach smoothie with cinnamon

Cinnamon Banana Peach Protein SmoothieAdd ½ frozen banana ,frozen peach slices and a sprinkling of cinnamon to your choice of milk (almond, soy, Core Power) and blend with ice until smooth.  It’s the cinnamon and natural sugars that help with alertness and brain function.

jennifer fisher - grilled bananas - main photo option1

Grilled Chocolate Raspberry Banana Boats  – Say goodbye to the end of summer grilling with these warm and gooey sweet treats – kinda like s’mores, but so much better!

banana protein balls

Baked Banana Protein Donut Holes – Take one step out of the morning rush by baking a batch of these mini-bites the night before – just grab a coffee along and you’ve got a decent breakfast to eat on the go.jennifer fisher -thefitfork.com - multigrain pb banana muffins

Multi-Grain Peanut Butter Banana Muffins The kids love to discover these moist muffins in their lunch boxes and often request them as an afternoon snack –I like to eat mine as a refueling reward after a workout. So delicious and they freeze well, too!

honey granola with chocolate, almonds and banana protein

Not So Chunky Monkey Granola This healthy granola recipe uses mashed banana as the binder and is speckled with freeze-dried banana chunks and chocolate chips – yum!

banana foster parfait

Bananas Foster Parfait  Check out this scrumptious yet sensible treat from CookingLight.com made with Greek yogurt, pecans and bananas — I won’t even tell if you use rum! If you don’t have enough BANANA INSPIRATION yet, check out this collection of 75 Banana Recipes!

Wrap crown of banana bunch with plastic wrap to delay over-ripening.

Wrap crown of banana bunch with plastic wrap to delay over-ripening.

Did you know if you put plastic wrap around the crown of bananas, the bunch will keep for 3 – 5 days longer. I learned that fruit-lovers fact, along with some other really freakin’ awesome ways to keep produce fresher longer, from fellow Fitfluential Ambassador Jill Conyers.   Also keep in mind that bananas produce more ethelyne gas than any other fruit; so, you’ll want to keep them alone in their own area on the counter to maximize freshness – not in a mixed fruit bowl!

So, how many bananas do you eat a week? What is your favorite banana recipe?