This soft and fluffy banana bread mug cake is gluten-free, vegan, and requires only 5 minutes and 5 ingredients to make! A quick and healthy way to satisfy a banana bread craving.
I’m a huge fan of banana bread — huge fan — but there are a few instances where I’m not such a huge fan of making it. These instances include, but are not limited to:
a. when I’m extremely busy, and/or
b. when it’s hot as hell outside.
You can imagine, then, my displeasure when I found myself craving banana bread the other day with both of those nasty conditions looming over my head. Oh, and I should probably explain that my idea of “hot as hell” is anything above 20ºC (70ºF), which I know is laughable to some of you that live further south/east, but I’m from Alberta — I’m not made for the heat. And I know I spend a good amount of time complaining about the cold, but in all honesty… I’d take that over the heat since it basically renders me useless.
But I digress. The point is… I wanted banana bread, but I was too hot and bothered busy to make it. Enter a banana bread mug cake…
You guys… YOU GUYS. You’re gonna have to give me a moment here because I literally have no words for how much I love this little bowl mug of heaven. I mean, just look at how doughy, moist, and fluffy it is!
I credit the coconut flour for that one. It may be a little temperamental and difficult to work with, but it’s absolute perfection in mug cakes. In fact, I find it so above and beyond regular flour, that I’m going to go ahead and suggest that you go out and buy a bag just so you can personally experience the best mug cakes of your life. I’m serious. But back to this banana bread mug cake right here…
I wasn’t kidding when I said I’m kind of in love with it. It’s incredibly soft and fluffy, and literally tastes just like a piece of day old banana bread — you know, the best kind where the flavours have a chance to intensify a lot better? It also happens to be both gluten-free and vegan. I wanted to experiment to see if I could make an egg-less mug cake, and I actually think I prefer it to the ones I’ve made with eggs. Oh! And you only need 5 minutes and 5 ingredients to whip it up — technically 7, but baking powder and [optional] chocolate chips don’t count.
So yeah! If you ever find yourself craving banana bread without the time to make one or desire to turn your kitchen into an oven, then this mug cake is perfect for you. Or, if you just want a quick and easy delicious dessert, then this recipe fits the bill for that as well!
I’d love to know if you make this (or any!) recipe! Tag @runwithspoons on Instagram and Twitter, and be sure to subscribe to our mailing list to receive more healthy and delicious recipes straight to your inbox!
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Banana Bread Mug Cake
- Total Time: 7 mins
- Yield: 1 mug cake 1x
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp. coconut flour
- 1/4 tsp. baking powder
- 2 tsp. brown sugar
- 1/4 cup almond milk (any kind will do)
- 1/2 ripe banana, mashed
- 1 Tbsp. nut butter*
- sprinkle of chocolate chips (optional)
Instructions
- Add coconut flour and baking powder to a microwave-safe mug or bowl. Stir until well combined.
- Add in brown sugar and milk, stirring until no clumps remain. Add mashed banana and nut butter, mixing well to ensure that everything is fully incorporated. Sprinkle with chocolate chips, if desired.
- Microwave on high for 2 1/2 to 3 minutes, depending on microwave strength and thickness of mug.
- Remove from microwave, grab a spoon, and enjoy!
Notes
* I used almond, but any nut butter should do. And if you want to make this nut-free, sub in an equal amount of soy nut or sunflower seed butter.
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 2 mins
Looking for more gluten-free banana dessert recipes? Try one of these!
Banana Oat Greek Yogurt Muffins
Flourless Banana Bread Muffins
Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Energy Bites
Hi Amanda,
I found a number of coconut flour based mug cake recipes today that seem delicious and I’m really excited to try. I’ve heard that mug cake recipes can be really sensitive to microwave wattage, and the time to microwave heavily depends on that. Would you be able to share what was the strength of the microwave for your recipe? I’ll try adjust the time for my microwave accordingly!
I meant to say, I found a number of YOUR coconut flour mug cake recipes
Really tasty! The first two times I made it, I used 1/4 tsp of baking powder and it did nothing. The third time, I used a tablespoon of baking powder and it totally fixed it. Made it look just like your picture.
I’m so glad you like it Natasha!
This was okay, but not so good. I added some royal icing on top, however, which at least made it better. Improve please!
Hello Amanda I love your recipes especially your mug cakes. I was wondering how many calories this one is, I’m currently tracking.
Do you know how to make this is the oven?? This turned out AMAZING, but I’m a firm believer that microwaves are from the devil (:P), so I prefer to cook in the oven if possible! Have you tried?
I haven’t tried it personally, Lisa, but I’ve had some readers comment on other mug cake recipes that they made them in the oven and it turned out fine. You would bake it at 350F for about 15-20 minutes.
Made this tonight. I bought coconut flour a while ago and have been trying to incorporate it into different recipes. They have all turned out not so great and even after this mug cake, I’m still not a fan of the coconut flour, I diont know if its just too sweet or the texture i don’t like. I used regular old granulated sugar because we had no brown, peanut butter, and walnuts instead of chocolate.
This looks so good! Am I blind or did you not tell how many carbs?
I really have to be careful, unfortunately, I an trying THM and
desperate to lose weight….
I can have carbs but no fat, or a bit of fat, but low carbs….
Tried to make this today. I used Nuttelex nut butter. It exploded out of the top of the mug, and the more I tried to heat it to make it set, the more it turned into molten lava. In the end I gave up and tried to eat it as a semi-liquid, but the texture was weird and gritty, like a soft mousse. What did I do wrong?
this sounds soo yummyyyyy. 2 questions:
1) can i substitute the brown sugar w stevia? my dad is diabetic & i want to make this for him
2) how will the texture be affected if j leave out all nut/seed butters entirely?
thank you so muchhhhh ❤❤❤
You can definitely use stevia, Hannah, but I don’t think it would replace 1:1 since stevia is so much sweeter. I’d probably start with just a dash and then adjust to taste. And the texture shouldn’t be affected too much if you leave out the nut butter. If you find it coming out too dry, just add a spoonful of extra banana.