Moist and fluffy pineapple banana muffins with a coconut pineapple drizzle that tastes like a pina colada! You won’t believe these tropical muffins are actually paleo, gluten-free, dairy-free and healthy!
We had one week awhile back when an entire bunch of bananas just sat, untouched, for days. Seriously, there are weeks that I buy 3 bunches of bananas and can’t keep up with everyone eating them, and others like that one.
I can’t even figure out what the cause of this is – maybe it depends on the other snacks/fruits we have? I’m starting to wonder if there’s a positive correlation between the weeks when I test a brownie recipe 3 times and the weeks when no bananas are eaten. I think I’m starting to catch on…
Regardless, after discovering all the uneaten bananas at the end of one of those weeks, I panic and decide I NEED to a.) bake at least 2 things involving bananas and b.) freeze the rest to make banana ice cream (otherwise known as nice cream.)
And what does any of this have to do with anything?! Well, I thought maybe you might need/want an explanation for why the next 3 recipes coming up are all banana-based. Apologies if you hate baking with bananas, and, I’ll see you in a week.
On the other hand, if you happen to find yourself overwhelmed by the uneaten bananas sitting on your countertop, you are most definitely in luck! First stop: these ridiculously addicting pineapple banana muffins. With coconut pineapple drizzle that you’ll want to eat with a spoon. Or perhaps freeze into mini pina colada cups 🙂
To make these the ultimate healthy, gluten free, dairy free, yada yada Paleo banana pineapple muffins, I used both crushed pineapple and a bit of the juice in the actual muffins, and the juice in the glaze as well. I used the Native Forest brand, but you can really use anything as long as it’s 100% pineapple with no sneaky added sweeteners.
The muffins themselves are incredibly moist yet still fluffy (not dense) with a combination of blanched almond, coconut and tapioca flours.
Yes, baking with 3 flours seems a little bit excessive, but once you get the hang of paleo baking, you’ll realize these 3 flours are each better when they hang with each other. I have to admit that my very favorite bread and muffin recipes ALWAYS contain a combination of flours, and never just one type of flour alone. I typically buy the Anthony’s Goods brand flours in bulk on Amazon so there’s always enough of each on hand!
Yup, they really do have the perfect texture! Now, onto the drizzle/glaze. Paleo glaze is tricky mainly because of the temperature that certain ingredients melt, in my opinion. I was definitely going for a full-on tropical vibe here, so I knew I wanted to combine coconut with pineapple for the glaze.
Much to my surprise, actually, coconut BUTTER melted so beautifully (yes, beautifully) with pineapple juice to create a drizzle-able mixture. Since coconut butter is so fussy about temperature, I HIGHLY recommend melting it in small 5-7 second increments in the microwave along with the pineapple juice, stirring after each one.
Add the maple syrup, and you have the perfect tropical paleo drizzle! Keep in mind though, that it won’t harden completely at room temperature (it will be sort of sticky), but once refrigerated it will mostly solidify. I think you’ve heard enough from me now! Let’s start baking!
Pineapple Banana Muffins with Coconut Drizzle {Paleo, GF, DF}
Pineapple Banana Muffins {Paleo, GF, DF}
Ingredients
For the Muffins:
- 2 med/large bananas overripe and mashed well
- 3 large eggs brought to room temperature
- 1/2 cup crushed pineapple drained and juice reserved, measured after squeezing gently
- 1 tbsp of the reserved pineapple juice room temperature
- 2 tbsp pure maple syrup
- 2 tbsp organic refined coconut oil melted and cooled to almost room temperature*
- 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 cups blanched almond flour
- 1/4 cup coconut flour sifted
- 1/4 cup tapioca flour
- 1/4 tsp fine grain sea salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp cinnamon
For the Drizzle:
- 3 tbsp coconut butter
- 2.5-3 tbsp reserved pineapple juice**
- 2 tsp pure maple syrup
Instructions
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Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line a 12 cup muffin pan with liners.
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In a medium bowl, combine the almond flour, coconut flour, tapioca flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon and set aside.
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In a separate large bowl, stir together the mashed banana, eggs, maple syrup, 1 tbsp pineapple juice, vanilla and lastly, the coconut oil
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After adding the coconut oil to the wet ingredients, immediately stir the dry mixture into the wet until just combined. Now, fold in the crushed pineapple to evenly distribute.
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Fill each muffin cup 3/4 of the way up until the batter is used up.
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Bake in the 350 oven for 20 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center of one comes out clean.
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Allow to cool in the pan 2 minutes and remove from pan to finish cooling on wire racks. Make the drizzle while the muffins cool.
For the drizzle:
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In a microwavable glass bowl, add the coconut butter and 2.5 tbsp of reserved pineapple juice. Assuming your coconut butter was solid to start, microwave this mixture in 5-7 second increments (no longer!), stirring to combine after each one. It took me 3 times to fully melt mine into a shiny mixture, but times will vary.
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Once the coconut butter and pineapple juice are smooth and combined, you may add the last 1/2 tbsp of juice if needed (or not). Lastly, stir in the maple syrup. You should have a smooth, shiny, drizzly mixture!***
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Drizzle this mixture over the muffins with a small spoon. It will completely harden in the refrigerator and will be sticky at room temperature as pictured.
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Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
*Having the ingredients brought to room temperature ensures the coconut oil won't immediately harden on contact with the other liquid ingredients
**You can add the last 1/2 tbsp after microwaving if it's not thin enough
***If you need to thin out the drizzle after adding the maple syrup, add a bit more pineapple juice BUT make sure it's not cold or the coconut butter will start to harden.
Nutrition
What I Used to Make My Pineapple Banana Muffins:
Want more paleo muffin and bread recipes? Try one of these!
Paleo Carrot Pineapple Bread {Nut Free}
Simple Paleo Blueberry Muffins
Orange Almond Poppy Seed Muffins
Cinnamon Raisin Sweet Potato Muffins
Tell Me!
Are you a coconut butter fan? Have you ever had problems melting it?
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Any chance any of you more experienced bakers know how to substitute the eggs in this recipe? We can do egg whites, but not yolk. Would “flax egg” work? Or more whites? I’m new to allergy baking, so appreciate any help.
Hi Holli! If you can use egg whites I’d recommend that over the flax eggs since I’ve only subbed for up to 2 eggs using flax and it wasn’t for muffins. My best guess would be 5 egg whites total or about 3/4 cup liquid egg whites from a container if you use those. I hope this helps! Let me know if it works out for you. Oh, and if you decide to go the flax egg route, I always use the formula 1 egg = 1 Tbsp flax seed + 2.5 tbsp water, allowed to sit/thicken for 15 minutes. Again, I haven’t tried that for muffins so I don’t know how the texture and rise would be affected.