I hope you don’t mind that I’m still in back-to-school mode over here.
A friend of mine recently gave me the idea of making peanut butter & jelly muffins, and I thought it would be a great way to make packing lunches easier than ever! Instead of making a sandwich each day, you make just one batch of these muffins over the weekend and pop one or two into your child’s lunchbox for a fun alternative all week long.
Of course, these aren’t just any muffins– they’re made with sprouted buckwheat flour. Contrary to its name, buckwheat is not at all related to wheat and is actually a fruit seed more closely related rhubarb. So, this flour is not only gluten-free, but it’s also easier to digest and its nutrients are easier to absorb, thanks to the sprouting process. I found this particular flour at Whole Foods and I love the taste of it compared to Bob’s Red Mill, which is darker in color and more bitter in flavor. Texture-wise, the resulting muffins are similar, but the muffins made with the sprouted flour taste so much better! If you can’t easily find sprouted buckwheat flour, try grinding your own raw buckwheat groats for a similar taste and texture. (You can use a Vitamix or more affordable coffee grinder to do this.)
Naturally, I used peanut butter to give these muffins an authentic PB&J taste, but if you’d prefer to keep them peanut-free you could also use almond butter, or even sunflower seed butter for a nut-free alternative. I also kept these muffins egg-free and vegan by using ripe bananas as the binder. The bananas lend a natural sweetness to the mix, so that you only need a small amount of pure maple syrup to sweetened the entire batch.
With fresh raspberries folded in, these muffins really do have a peanut butter and jelly taste without using any refined sugar. I hope you’ll enjoy them!
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Peanut Butter & Jelly Muffins (Gluten-free)
Makes 12 muffins
Ingredients:
3 very ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 cup mashed)
3/4 cup natural peanut butter, or nut butter of choice
3/4 cup sprouted buckwheat flour
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon raw apple cider vinegar
1 cup fresh raspberries
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350F and line a standard muffin tin with 12 baking cups. (I use these reusable silicone cups.) In a large mixing bowl use a fork to mash the ripe bananas until they have a puree-like consistency– it’s okay if there are a few lumps. Add in the peanut butter, buckwheat flour, maple syrup, salt, and baking soda and mix well until a sticky batter is created, then stir in the vinegar last. Fold in the fresh raspberries and divide the batter between the 12 muffin cups.
Bake until the centers are firm and the tops begin to crack, about 20 minutes. Cool completely in the pan before serving, and store the muffins in a sealed container in the fridge for up to a week.
Peanut Butter & Jelly Muffins (Gluten-free)
Ingredients
- 3 very ripe bananas , mashed (about 1 cup mashed)
- 3/4 cup natural peanut butter , or nut butter of choice
- 3/4 cup sprouted buckwheat flour
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon raw apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup fresh raspberries
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F and line a standard muffin tin with 12 baking cups. (I use these reusable silicone cups.) In a large mixing bowl use a fork to mash the ripe bananas until they have a puree-like consistency-- it's okay if there are a few lumps. Add in the peanut butter, buckwheat flour, maple syrup, salt, and baking soda and mix well until a sticky batter is created, then stir in the vinegar last. Fold in the fresh raspberries and divide the batter between the 12 muffin cups.
- Bake until the centers are firm and the tops begin to crack, about 20 minutes. Cool completely in the pan before serving, and store the muffins in a sealed container in the fridge for up to a week.
Nutrition
Per Serving: Calories: 180, Fat: 9g, Carbohydrates: 21g, Fiber: 3g, Protein: 5g
Note: I have a feeling any fresh fruit would work in these muffins, but the raspberries were the clear winner among my taste testers when compared to a version I made with fresh strawberries. If you’re not vegan, feel free to use honey as a sweetener if you prefer, too.
Well, I had no idea that buckwheat was a fruit seed related to rhubarb, I have some crazy relations myself (mostly on my husbands side!!, ha) but that relationship really surprised. I LOVE rhubarb and the taste of it and am so curious as to this sprouted buckwheat flour. Will have to get some. No Whole Foods anywhere close to where I live. Road trip perhaps or maybe buy online? Thanks for a great recipe to pop in my daughters school lunch in 2 weeks. Starting school for the first time, so excited and happy for her =)
Hey !
Thanks for the recipe, that looks so good !
DO you think I can use almond butter instead of peanut butter ?
What is maple syrup for ? I mean, do you use it for the taste or fo something else ?
Have a great day
This looks so amazing! Love the ingredients!
I love the combination of bananas and raspberries!
These look delicious! I love buckwheat, but have never baked with buckwheat flour before. I may have to try it!
Thanks! These look perfect for my preschooler’s lunchbox! Could I replace the maple syrup with applesauce, do you think? And I have a ton of gluten-free flours on hand, but no sprouted buckwheat. What others might you recommend? I have regular buckwheat, millet, chana besan, sweet sorghum, almond and coconut. I use your recipes all the time — thank you so much for your balanced approach.
I’m not sure about the applesauce replacement. Texture-wise it will probably work, but I’m not sure if it will make them sweet enough. Originally, I made these with no added sweetener (just the mashed banana) and my family didn’t like them, so that’s why I added the small amount of maple syrup. I haven’t used most of those flours, but the regular buckwheat will work– it will just be more bitter, so you’d need to compensate with the sweetener even more.
Thank you so much for your help! Can’t wait to try them. 🙂
I wanted to let you know that I made these, and my 3-year-old daughter has been loving them in her lunchbox all week! Thank you so much! Since I didn’t have sprouted buckwheat flour, I used 1/2 cup regular buckwheat flour and 1/4 cup millet flour. I also used almond butter in place of peanut butter, and strawberries in place of raspberries (just because that’s what’s available around here). They are perfect, and I have been snacking on them, too. Thanks again!
Sounds great and I bake the buckwheat pumpkin bread recipe I got from your site every week. My husband eats it for breakfast.
I wonder if I could switch blueberries for the raspberries. I like the taste of raspberries but I don’t care for the seeds that they have.
These look amazing!! Will be testing these out soon….
Where did you get those cool reusable muffin liners from??
SUCH a good idea – I have yet to bake with buck wheat flour but want to give it a bash. I tend to eat grain free but this makes me think buckwheat is not a grain after all?? always thought it was! Thanks Megan
Would white whole wheat flour work? I don’t have any buckwheat and wanted to make these tonight.
Did you try it with the white whole wheat? If so, how did it turn out?
These look delicious! I’ve never used sprouted buckwheat flour before but I’ll be looking for it the next time I’m at Whole Foods!
So Goooood! My son and I both burned our mouths trying to eat them out of the oven. DELICIOUS!! But be patient, wait for them to cool. ?
I just made these. YUM!! I did make my own buckwheat flour by grounding the groats. It turned out great. I’m so glad I left some bananas unfrozen because I will be making this again real soon. These are not going to last long in my house.
Any idea if these freeze well?
They freeze really well! I freeze them and then stick them in my children’s lunch boxes and they are perfect!
The link you posted to the sprouted buckwheat flour at Whole Foods is not working. Can you say what brand it is that you like better than Bob’s? Thanks!
Oh, wait! I can see it in the photo. Thanks!
I made these with blueberries and honey… Delicious!
These look and sound amazing!! If I wasn’t going to make them vegan, how many eggs should I use–1 or 2? I don’t have fresh bananas on hand but do have eggs.
I can only imagine how delicious these will be 😀
Yum. I made these with regular buckwheat flour, which worked beautifully. Because I didn’t have fresh raspberries at hand, I used raspberry chia jam. After spooning some of the batter into the muffin cups, I inserted a dollop of jam, then more batter to cover. Sort of like a jelly-filled donut, but oh so much healthier.
I made these this morning and they are very tasty. The texture is particularly good. The brand of sprouted buckwheat is no longer available according to their website so I used Arrowhead Mills organic flour. Since you said it may be more bitter, I doubled the maple syrup and the sweetness was about right for us. Thanks!
Hi
Fab recipe, I’ll try this one! I did wonder what you would use for the jelly, raspberries make perfect sense, like raspberry jam. I thought buckwheat was a grain like quinoa, but quinoa is actually a seed also.
Naturalbornfoodie.com
Thanks! I made these tonight and they are very good. I can’t pack them in my son’s lunch because the school does not allow peanut butter or any nut/seed butters.
Wow, really? I’m surprised they don’t allow sunflower seed butter! I hope he can enjoy them as an after-school snack instead. 😉
I don’t tolerate bananas, is there a substitute?
I have used applesauce as an alternative when I didn’t have bananas. Another substitute I have used with some other recipes is Organic Mamma Chia Squeeze that I bought at Costco.
Hi Megan…I just love your recipe, they are so simple and easy to make and taste so good. I did not have buckwheat flour, but had picked up some of Trader Joe’s Super Seed & Ancient Grain Blend and put in my grinder and made a flour out of it. They were a hit with my friends. I also used a berry mix jelly as I did not have raspberries, but not a whole cup.
Wanted to give this a rating as I missed it the first time!…
Can I use a sub for the buckwheat flour (I don’t require it to be gluten free) as I don’t have buckwheat flour and haven’t spotted any as of yet at my grocery store? Thanks!
For anyone like me who can’t find buckwheat flour – here is an alternative :D. I used one cup of almond flour and added 2 eggs. These are a huge hit between my husband and I! *note* I tried a batch with no eggs and a batch with just one egg and the muffins were too mushy and fell apart.
I was wondering Shay if you still used the bananas as well as eggs? I want to try this but we have no Whole Foods and our smaller health foods don’t have the buckwheat flowur mentioned. Almond flour is something I do have.
Thanks
Thank you for the tips for those of us who can’t find buckwheat flour!
This is exactly the help I needed, thank you! I used almond flour as well and they tasted delicious but were mushy and fell flat.
Hi. How can bananas and the berries be mixed with nut butter and flour in this recipe? Isnt that bad for proper food combining? I just purchased your book and am excited to read more receipes. I’ve followed your blog for a while. But i’m very confused about some of the recipes that dont seem to follow the food combining ground rules.
This recipe isn’t properly combined. Sometimes I share whole food recipes my family enjoys, too, and they don’t all follow food combining rules. You can find properly combined recipes by checking out the categories in my recipe index: https://detoxinista.com/recipes-2/
Probably my fav muffin recipe now, it is so yummy, hard not to eat the whole batch!!
I love that it’s vegan, GF and doesn’t use oats. I have buckwheat groats/cereal and used a ninja to grind it and it worked perfect. Def make this, so yummy!!
These are delicious!!
I tried these with almond flour and when I pulled them out of the oven they all fell flat. They smell wonderful and I’d like to try them again — any suggestions — or do I just need to switch to the sprouted buckwheat flour? Or bake longer? Not sure what I did wrong?
Wow, these look so good. I will bake them! I have all the ingredients. However, what I have is normal buckwheat flour (Bob’s Red Mill). I like it though. Do you think the recipe shoul work fine if using normal buchwheat flour?
Thank you!
Another great recipe! Seriously don’t know what I would do without your site. I have enjoyed everything I’ve made from the site and your books. My family and our extensive food allergies are forever grateful for your hard work.
Can I r place the bananas with pumpkin, applesauce or eggs. I cannot stand bananas. I want to make these!
These look great. However, I really wanted to make your Flourless Banana Peanut Butter Muffins, but the link does not work. It says “FATAL ERROR: out of memory …”
Do you plan on putting that recipe back up? Please do!!
Thank you!!!!
Thanks for letting me know; it should be back up now: https://detoxinista.com/2012/08/flourless-peanut-butter-banana-muffins/
What other kind of flour can be substituted for the buckwheat flour?
We can’t ACV (or other vinegars). Do you know what I could sub with?
Hi Megan!! I just love your blog, I have made many of your recipes and have enjoyed them all very much!! I have a quick question about this recipe… I have some frozen cherries and I have been contemplating what to do with them. Do you think I could substitute cherries instead of raspberries in this recipe or would that be too weird…? Or maybe you have a better idea of what I could do with the frozen cherries 🙂 I look forward to hearing your thoughts! Thank you!!
I bet that could be good! I haven’t tried frozen cherries in these, so let me know if you do. I also have recipes for a cherry chocolate avocado pudding that uses frozen cherries, and it’s SO GOOD. I don’t like the flavor of avocado, so the cherries help hide that in the pudding. Or the cherry chocolate smoothie recipe here on the blog, too!
Would this work with regular buckwheat flour? Thanks
Hi i love your recipes I’ve seen a few people ask what flour to use instead of buckwheat what would you suggest pleasewanted to make these today for my little ones;0)
I enjoyed these muffins. Buckwheat flour is very different, but I wanted to try something healthy, so I tried this. Next time I will double the amount of raspberries. Thank you!