Healthy toasted millet banana muffins made in one bowl! So delicious, they are vegan, gluten-free, and nut-free.
These crunch-wonderful banana muffins are made with a nutritious, inexpensive, gluten-free alternative to nuts: millet.
What Makes these Millet Muffins so Healthy?
As banana muffins go, these are already pretty wonderful. In taste, most definitely, but also because they are:
Vegan (no eggs, no dairy)
Gluten-free
Nut-free
Naturally sweetened (banana and a bit of maple syrup)
But the addition of toasted millet makes them extra-nutritious.
What is Millet?
Millet is naturally gluten-free, rich in B vitamins (especially niacin, B6, and folacin) and offers calcium, iron, potassium, magnesium, and zinc.
Here’s more good news: one half cup (cooked) serving has 11 grams of protein. Wowzers! You can buy it in bags, or in bulk at health food and natural grocery stores.
Use Millet as a Nut Substitute in Baked Goods
Millet can be used to make porridge and polenta, but I learned to love it most in graduate school, as a frugal alternative to nuts in some of my favorite baked goods. You can use it raw, but if you want the flavor to shine, give it a quick toasting in the oven. Case in point these muffins.
Spread the raw, dry millet out in an even layer on rimmed baking sheet. Bake it in a preheated 350F oven for 8 to 10 minutes, stopping every three or four minutes to give it a careful shake.
The millet is toasted when it has a fragrant toasty smell and has darkened to a light golden brown.
Give these homey muffins a try, they are a perfect introduction to the goodness of millet!
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 12 regular size muffin cups with paper or foil liners.
Spread the millet out on a cookie sheet and bake 8 to 10 minutes. Every three or four minutes, take the sheet out and give it a careful shake (not too hard, or you’ll have millet all over your oven and floor–yes, I’m speaking from experience); this will ensure that every kernel of millet gets toasted. Set aside to cool.
Add the maple syrup, oil, banana, and vanilla, stirring until combined. Stir in the millet.
Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes in pan on a wire rack; remove muffins from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.
Notes
Storage:Store the cooled muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for 1 day, the refrigerator for 5 days, or the freezer for up to 3 months.
Curried Millet with Raw Apple Relish {vegan. gluten-free} | power hungry
Friday 28th of August 2020
[…] Have you tried millet? It does not have the popularity of grains like quinoa or farro, but it should: it’s naturally gluten-free, high in protein, incredibly versatile, delicious, quick-to-prepare, and inexpensive (about 1/4 the price of quinoa). The cooked texture will remind you of couscous (the small round seeds are about the same size as couscous), but you can also toast it and use it in place of nuts in baked goods like cookies and muffins (like my Vegan Toasted Millet Banana Muffins). […]
Curried Millet with Raw Apple Relish | power hungry
Thursday 5th of December 2013
[...] Have you tried millet? It does not have the popularity of grains like quinoa or farro, but it should: it’s naturally gluten-free, high in protein, incredibly versatile, delicious, quick-to-prepare, and inexpensive (about 1/4 the price of quinoa). The cooked texture will remind you of couscous (the small round seeds are about the same size as couscous), but you can also toast it and use it in place of nuts in baked goods like cookies and muffins (like my Vegan Toasted Millet Banana Muffins). [...]
slowfoodmom
Monday 12th of April 2010
These are the perfect amount of sweetness. Thanks for using banana and real maple syrup for sweetening to help keep it natural. Thanks!
Anonymous
Sunday 24th of May 2009
These are great! They satisfy my urge for something crunchy in my muffins (which usually means nuts or chocolate). I just wanted to add that I tossed some butterscotch chips into several of my muffins, and they were delicious, as well.
Eva
Monday 27th of April 2009
This is a great recipe! I have to admit I make them with chocolate chips and no millet, it is such a good banana muffin recipe!
I’m Camilla, food writer, author, runner, and spin instructor. PowerHungry® is where I share my easy, minimalist, plant-based recipes, designed for living a healthy, delicious, empowered life.
Curried Millet with Raw Apple Relish {vegan. gluten-free} | power hungry
Friday 28th of August 2020
[…] Have you tried millet? It does not have the popularity of grains like quinoa or farro, but it should: it’s naturally gluten-free, high in protein, incredibly versatile, delicious, quick-to-prepare, and inexpensive (about 1/4 the price of quinoa). The cooked texture will remind you of couscous (the small round seeds are about the same size as couscous), but you can also toast it and use it in place of nuts in baked goods like cookies and muffins (like my Vegan Toasted Millet Banana Muffins). […]
Curried Millet with Raw Apple Relish | power hungry
Thursday 5th of December 2013
[...] Have you tried millet? It does not have the popularity of grains like quinoa or farro, but it should: it’s naturally gluten-free, high in protein, incredibly versatile, delicious, quick-to-prepare, and inexpensive (about 1/4 the price of quinoa). The cooked texture will remind you of couscous (the small round seeds are about the same size as couscous), but you can also toast it and use it in place of nuts in baked goods like cookies and muffins (like my Vegan Toasted Millet Banana Muffins). [...]
slowfoodmom
Monday 12th of April 2010
These are the perfect amount of sweetness. Thanks for using banana and real maple syrup for sweetening to help keep it natural. Thanks!
Anonymous
Sunday 24th of May 2009
These are great! They satisfy my urge for something crunchy in my muffins (which usually means nuts or chocolate). I just wanted to add that I tossed some butterscotch chips into several of my muffins, and they were delicious, as well.
Eva
Monday 27th of April 2009
This is a great recipe! I have to admit I make them with chocolate chips and no millet, it is such a good banana muffin recipe!