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Gluten-Free Chunky Monkey Muffins

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For our kickoff recipe for March Muffin Madness, we have my friends Stacy and Matt from Real Everything sharing their gluten-free Chunky Monkey Muffins! (Note: You may remember them from their “former selves” as Paleo Parents.)

What a great recipe to launch the series! I mean who can resist any recipe that has Chunky Monkey in its name?

These gluten-free Chunky Monkey Muffins from Real Everything (formerly Paleo Parents) are

First, A Word about Stacy and Matt of Real Everything and Their Paleo Kids

Paleo Parents Family Picture

Stacy, Matt, Cole, Finian, and Wesley are well known for their award-winning recipes and their successes with the paleo diet. They have been featured in national publications, live speaking events, on radio shows, podcasts, videos, and news programs.

Matt and Stacy are the authors of several paleo cookbooks—Eat Like a Dinosaur: Recipe & Guidebook for Gluten-Free Kids, Beyond Bacon: Paleo Recipes That Respect the Whole Hog, and Real Life Paleo: 175 Gluten-Free Recipes, Meal Ideas, and an Easy 3-Phased Approach to Lose Weight & Gain Health.

Through all that, though, they say they are just a suburban family:  a working mom and stay-at-home dad who raise three active young boys the paleo way. Changing their own health and wellness and that of their boys (behavioral and physical) after adopting a paleo diet, the Paleo Parents focus on a family-friendly approach to an ancestral lifestyle. They make it work for them, and they show you how you can too! Read more on their journey to health here.

Now Back to Their Recipe for Gluten-Free Chunky Monkey Muffins

Stacy and Matt let you “choose your own adventure” with their gluten-free Chunky Monkey muffins. That means you can make either a vanilla version or a chocolate version. They say that both versions disappear quickly, so “let your bananas get mushy and get your baking on!”

gfe-march-muffin-madness-225They also share that “these muffins are vegan AND paleo with an option for tree-nut free too!  Well, we’re not even sure they’re muffins. I mean, it’s fruit-sweetened without frosting so it’s not a cupcake. And it’s got the texture of a brownie. But it’s healthy enough from being sweetened only with fruit to be snuck for breakfast. Pay no attention to the aptness of this sweet treat’s name… focus on the simplicity and how delicious it is!”

A muffin with the texture of a brownie? What could be better than that? And because these muffins are vegan and paleo, that means they’re also gluten free, grain free, dairy free, egg free, refined sugar free, and as already mentioned, there’s an easy substitution that can be made if you need a nut-free version.

How and why did Stacy and Matt create such a recipe? They explain: “Somehow we were magically able to recreate a brownie texture without any eggs.  We’re not what I’d call skilled at vegan baking, in fact we rather love baking with eggs.  But, we know that quite a few children have an intolerance to them – so we wanted to offer a recipe that’d work without needing any substitutions.”

Well, their questionable muffins sure look like muffins to me and I’m happy that these Chunky Monkey Muffins are part of our MMM recipe roundup! What do you think? Check out the complete muffin recipe roundup here.

Gluten-Free Chunky Monkey Muffins Recipe

These gluten-free Chunky Monkey Muffins from Real Everything (formerly Paleo Parents) are

Yield:

Gluten-Free Chunky Monkey Muffins

Gluten-Free Chunky Monkey Muffins. Choose your own adventure! Either way, these taste more like a brownie than a muffin. Nice! [featured on GlutenFreeEasily.com]

Almost everyone loves the Chunky Monkey combination that Ben and Jerry made famous in the ice cream world! Why not transfer that deliciousness to the muffin world, right? Bonus ... you get to choose your own flavor adventure--vanilla or more chocolate.

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 16 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes

Ingredients

Here's where you choose your own adventure, for the last ingredient you must decide the flavor you'd like! To the mixture add ONE of the following:

Topping (Optional):

Instructions

  1. In a food processor, puree together the dates and bananas until smooth.
  2. Add remaining ingredients to food processor and pulse until a thick batter forms (scrape sides to fully incorporate but do not over blend).
  3. ♥Spoon into lined muffin tin, filling cups 2/3 full.
  4. ♥Toss topping ingredients together in small bowl, sprinkle on top of each muffin and press gently to get them to "stick."
  5. Bake at 350F degrees for 16 - 18 minutes.

Notes

*We prefer fresh Medjool dates (usually found in the refrigerated produce section of the grocery store). We pit them ourselves and use them directly. If you are unable to find them (or find the cost too prohibitive) you can acquire a similar texture by re-hydrating dehydrated dates. Simply cover with boiling water for ten minutes, drain and use as instructed.

Don’t forget to let your kids help with the easy steps (noted by a ♥). Sometimes cooking with kids can be a challenge. Finian poured in an entire ramekin of salt to our original batch (on accident) and although incredibly frustrating, it was a great learning lesson for us all. There are always teaching moments in the kitchen!

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Pinterest

© Stacy Toth
Cuisine: American / Category: Breakfast, Dessert

Originally published March 2, 2014; updated January 26, 2023.

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Comments

  7. Sheila S. says

    These sound delicious! I have everything on hand except for the palm shortening. Could I just use more coconut oil?

    Reply

    • Paleo Parents says

      It might not work, but you could try it. Too much coconut oil can change the consistency in some baked goods. It also might make the muffins taste more of coconut, depending on what kind of coconut oil you use. Let us know if you try it and it works out fine!

      Reply

      • Sheila S says

        I ended up using melted butter in place of the palm shortening. The muffins were AMAZING! I am making them again tomorrow. Whole family (who are not GF) gobbled them up. Thanks for sharing such a great recipe.

        Reply

  8. Melissa says

    I love using mejool dates as a sweetener. I put 6 to 8 pitted dates in a bowl, cover them with 1/2 cup of filtered water, let them soak and then blend the mixture into a paste. Perfect for muffins or quick breads. I’m curious about your dark chocolate chips — what brand is sugar free? Love the chocolate, but I’m avoiding sugar and would love to have a bag of SF dark chocolate chips!
    Thanks! Great post and these muffins look delightful!
    Melissa

    Reply

  9. Debra says

    I am making these today! And I didn’t even know they make cast iron muffin pans! I threw my nonstick one away because I made egg muffins and the silver from the pan came off on the bottoms! Ick! Great giveaway!

    Reply

  10. Charlotte Moore says

    Wow!!! I have never seen coconut flour used without lots of eggs. Just doesn’t seem like enough liquid for all the flour.

    Reply

    • Paleo Parents says

      These muffins are more dense like brownies. When baking, bananas also mimic some of the quality of eggs that you see in coconut flour baked products. We promise that if you try it out, you will find them delicious 🙂

      Reply

  14. Janelle says

    These look like good muffins with not too many ingredients & easy instructions. Can’t wait to try them!

    Reply

  21. Terisa says

    Omg these look good. I can have egg but a couple of my friends can’t so a good recipe to have for girl’s night.

    Reply

  25. Karen says

    These look great! Can’t wait to make them for my grandson. Thanks so much for all of the great recipes and giveaways – love it!

    Reply

    • Paleo Parents says

      We answered that question above, but the answer is that it might now work well because the two fats behave a little differently when baking. It also might make the product taste more coconuty depending on the coconut oil you use. But if you try it and it works out, let us know!

      Reply

  39. Karen says

    I need to get wiser about using dates in cooking. They are such nutritional powerhouses. Thanks for what looks like a great recipe. Might need to make treats for work………

    Reply

  40. Linda S says

    Dates have become my new sweetener. These look yummy. And what a beautiful family, Paleo Parents! 🙂

    Reply

  48. Laura O| Petite Allergy Treats says

    These look pretty darn good! I love the “chose you own ending”, it’s like the books. Did you ever read those as a kid? Those were my favorite books because they let you be creative. My son is allergic to all treenuts (including coconut) and sunflower, so these will most definitely be choose your own ending. Excited to read all about your family’s sucess with the change in diet. Thanks for sharing!

    Laura O|Petite Allergy Treats

    Reply

  49. Heather says

    This looks so much like a very-dangerous-and-gluteny recipe that my mother used to make. I may have to give this a try as well!

    Reply

  54. dawn says

    Thanks! We made these tonight and like them. Made them with 1/2 cup coconut oil (no shortening) and used peanut butter in place of almond butter. We also mixed the nuts and choco chips into the batter. No food processor but mixed as much as we could in the Vitamix and then stirred it by hand. They were very moist.

    Reply

  55. Laurel says

    Now that’s the muffin I’ve been looking for – coconut flour without eggs (genius) nor a ton of sugar. Will I have to share do you think?

    Reply

  56. Daisy says

    Can’t wait to try these! We are just embarking on a paleo diet for our entire family after taking our gluten free daughter off dairy as well. Thanks for the fun recipe to help get everyone on board!

    Reply

  65. Katie says

    Love Paleo Parents, and now I love them even more that they are offering vegan muffins! This has given me hope 🙂

    Reply

  66. Lisa Rago says

    I love the variations option. I have some really ripe bananas and was looking to something yummy to make with them.

    Reply

  82. Lana says

    I can’t wait to try these! I like all of these ingredients and don’t usually go for “muffins” but these are a great alternative.

    Reply

  84. Lewann Rice says

    My husband loves bananas and I am always looking for new recipes that I can try to make for him. The dates will be interesting for us since we don’t use them enough. Thanks for this recipe.

    Reply

  85. Tracy Mann says

    Yum!! Now to find a substitute for palm shortening… I officially can’t keep avoiding recipes bc I don’t have it and don’t know where to get it! This looks so good!

    Reply

  91. Darlene says

    Wow – I made these today and they are delicious! Just beginning my grain/dairy/sugar free journey. I’m 7 weeks in and was craving some sort of treat – these are perfect! Hoping they freeze well. I need to freeze some before I’m tempted to eat them all!

    Reply

    • Shirley says

      Hi Darlene–Welcome to gfe! 🙂 Thanks so much for sharing your review and congrats on what sounds like a very successful beginning to your new health journey!

      Shirley

      Reply

  92. Laura says

    I made these muffins this morning, Loved them they came out great. I did however substitute Peanut butter for the almond butter.

    Reply

    • Shirley says

      Hi Laura–Yay! Thanks for taking the time to share your review with all of us! 🙂 While peanut butter is not allowed on a paleo diet (so Paleo Parents wouldn’t include it in their recipes), it’s perfectly fine for the rest of us. 😉 YUM!

      And a belated welcome to gfe! I know you first commented a good while ago and I’m happy to have you as a reader. 🙂
      Shirley

      Reply

  93. Alexandra Spagna says

    Can I substitute figs for dates? I am about to get a ton of figs. I have never cooked with dates so not sure if the texture is different.

    Reply

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