Date And Banana Muffins with Cacao Nibs (Refined Sugar-Free and Gluten-free)
I’ve partnered with Graze to bring y’all these refined sugar-free, gluten-free, dairy-free AND taste-full Date and Banana Muffins with Cacao Nibs. As always, all opinions are mine alone. Thanks so much for supporting the brands that keep this Srilankan Runnin!
#grazesnacks #Sponsored
Dates make this refined sugar free journey of mine so sweet! Just to clarify, I am talking about that super-wrinkly, superfood – the humble date fruit! My love affair with dates began when I was a teen living in Abu Dhabi where they were plentiful. Back then my parents would bring home fresh dates from the local “Souq” or open air market, and I used to eat them by the bowlful – much like I eat popcorn now! And yes – that was an example of my rebellious phase with bad portion control!
However, the passing years have (somewhat) taught me moderation and introduced me to the many forms of dates like date syrup, date puree and date sugar. And, during this second journey through refined-sugar-free-land, dates have been my saving grace. Straight up, or with a spoon of nut butter, dates have helped me quell my preposterous sweet tooth! And, add the right touch of sweet to baked treats like these Date And Banana Muffins!
I must admit, these Date And Banana Muffins with Cacao Nibs and a Date and Coconut Glaze made me proud as even my I-only-eat-bakery-muffins friend and my suga-is-ma-life daughter ate these without even questioning the lack of sugar in them! Other than dates and an extremely overripe banana, these muffins are completely refined sugar free. I also used buckwheat flour in these muffins which makes them gluten free and jacks up their fiber content as well. I topped these muffins with some Cacao nibs I received from Graze and smeared them with a glaze I made with homemade date syrup and coconut oil and voila – deliciousness delivered to ma taste-buds!
Graze cacao nibs come from Colombian cacao beans, which are dried out in the heat of the tropical sun before being cracked into chunky nibs. They have a rich chocolate taste, a smooth crunchy texture, are high in fiber and are an excellent source of iron which can help with tiredness and fatigue!
And – now, you can get a FREE box of Graze ~ check out @Grazeusa on Instagram for details on how!
[Tweet “Date And Banana Muffins with Cacao Nibs @grazeusa #glutenfree #sugarfree”]
Oh – guess what? I whipped these muffins up in a blender! One blender, one muffin pan and one oven – talk about easy prep eh?
If you are looking to cut down your sugar intake, I so hope you give these muffins a try.
Ingredients
For the muffins
- 3 eggs
- 1 banana
- 10 dates
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon cardamom
- 2/3 cup buckwheat flour
- 3 tablespoons Graze Cacao Nibs
For the Glaze (optional)
- 2 tablespoons date syrup
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil melted
Instructions
For the muffins
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Add eggs, banana, dates, coconut oil, baking powder, vanilla, cinnamon, cardamom and buckwheat flour to a blender and pulse till dates are brown up and all ingredients are well blended.
- Spoon into lined muffin cups, top with cacao nibs and bake for 15-18 minutes.
- Take out of the oven and let cool.
For the glaze (optional)
- Mix the coconut oil and date syrup well and smear onto cooled muffins
I’d love to know if you happen to make this recipe (or any other on here) so pretty please tag me @RunninSrilankan and #RunninSrilankan on Instagram, Twitter &/or Facebook. And, if you haven’t yet, then please make sure to subscribe to my email list to have all sorts of eats and treats delivered to your inbox and check me out on Pinterest!
These look so good! Hubby would absolutely love them!
These muffins look like they are right out of a gourmet bakery. Love dates and I just don’t bake with them enough. The addition of the cocoa nibs just lifts it to a new level.
What a wonderful idea, to add the nibs to the sweet fruit. I’ll bet they are a wonderful combination!!! I will try your recipe. Nice job.
Those are just full of hearty goodness!
I’ve never used dates in baking before — except for granola — I love how you’ve made them so healthy!
Dates are great, aren’t they? Wonderful in baked goods! You’ve outdone yourself with these — SO good looking. Bet they taste even better. 🙂 Thanks!
Love the coconut glaze! These look great!
Ooooh cacao nibs! I’ve been going crazy over these! Nice job adding them to banana muffins! Now I’ll love them twice over!
These look so delicious! I’d love to wake up to these for breakfast!
This look delicious and super moist! Love the glaze on top! Huge fan of coconut. I must admit I got a little chuckle with ‘ I-only-eat-bakery-muffins friend and my suga-is-ma-life daughter’ . Good one 😉
Wish I could grab one for my breakfast! They look delicious and good for you too.
LOVE that you had a “rebellious phase” of portion control with dates. Haha. Now, I’m talking about the wrinkly treats, not ya know… date night. 😉 Oh yes on dates with nut butter. <–Such a tasty treat. Does it simpler and tastier than that? Well, for sure it does with these muffins! Between the dates, bananas and cacao nibs, I don't think I need anything else in my life. Well, maybe your company and an afternoon of lazy chatting and hiking? Oh wow, that sounds like tons of fun! Alright, I may or may not have just guzzled like ALL of the coffee. Ahem. 😉 Hand me one or three of these muffins to offset my caffeine jitters? 😉 Love this Shashi! <3
Dates are freggin’ awesome, right?! I’m jealous you had them when you were younger.. I don’t know why but my parents never used or ate them. So I didn’t get introduced to the awesomeness that is all things date until culinary school. Trust me I eat them now like I am making up for lost time, because I am! 😉 LOVE these muffins, mi-dear!!! Date and nanners?!? ummmm YESSSSS! I could eat about a dozen of these for breakfast.. and then as a snack.. and then for dessert! LOVE these, Shashi! Cheers, lovely! xo
Dear Shashi, You had me at cacao nibs! These muffins sounds marvelous…I love a treat that is healthy too! These look wonderful. Wishing I had one for breakfast tomorrow! xo, Catherine
You’ve got this thing in the bag–dates are such a great sub for sugar-free lifestyles, and I seriously can’t believe that my date cravings haven’t been revived…until now! I’m bookmarking this one for my next muffin day, thank you for sharing!
Now these are some real hearty muffins with buckwheat flour and sweet dates. Now this is the kind of grab and go breakfast we all need to get us through the week.
These are some of the prettiest muffins EVER, Shashi. Hard to believe they are refined sugar free. I’ve never used buckwheat in a muffin, only pancakes. The cocoa nibs are perfect on top – what a treat! I will def. be making these my friend because I must have these for breakfast and soon! Have a beautiful day and cheers to the weekend ahead! XO
Say what!? Muffins in a blender? Now I’ve heard it all! Haha. Seriously, though, these muffins look amazing. Heck, I bet you could have just told Lil Shashi that you picked these up at the bakery and she’d have believed you. You could’ve fooled me! And I do love me some dates, too. Maybe not quite as much as you…haha! But I love baking with dates. Now I’m craving banana bread. Funny how that works, huh? 🙂
Ah! You’re killin’ me with that glaze, Shashi! It looks so delicious on those gorgeous muffins! I LOVE using bananas and dates instead of refined sugars in baking so these are absolutely perfect. Also, I love Graze! We have a subscription and those portions are so perfect for evening TV viewing. Just saying 😉 Have a great week, Shashi! Pinned!
These look perfect! I’ve only used dates in muffins once and loved the taste! Pinning to try them!
I have recently developed a newfound love for dates so this recipe couldn’t have come at a better time!Love the idea of adding in cardamom too- such an underrated spice if you ask me!
What a coincidence-I just ate some dates just then! These look really nice and I like the addition of cacao nibs too!
Sounds perfect!!! Very love them!!!
I’m in love with these muffins!!! I can tell they make the best breakfast – I’m sure I won’t miss the refined sugar 😉
I love banana nut muffins and with your smart idea of adding dates and cacao nibs to it I’m sure I will love it more I have to try making it soon.
Oh man, ever since I went to Morocco, I’ve been addicted to dates. I always have a packet on hand! I would love to whip these bad boys up right now… if only I had an oven haha
Yum! I just made a batch of these and they’re fab! I used all purpose flour as it’s all I had. They sank when I took them out of the oven…..would that because of using all purpose flour? Despite sinking we all loved them! I added a squeeze of agave syrup and a handful of raisins and shredded coconut instead of cacao nibs (again didn’t have any!) We will definitely make these again! Thank you
Enjoyed this and glad they weren’t too sweet. Cacao nibs were a lovely crunch
Yum! I just made a batch of these and they’re fab! I used all purpose flour as it’s all I had. They sank when I took them out of the oven…..would that because of using all purpose flour? Despite sinking we all loved them! I added a squeeze of agave syrup and a handful of raisins and shredded coconut instead of cacao nibs (again didn’t have any!) We will definitely make these again! Thank you
Enjoyed this and glad they weren’t too sweet. Cacao nibs were a lovely crunch