Banana Mug Cake Recipe (Gluten-free)
on Feb 07, 2021, Updated Aug 02, 2024
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Need a sweet hit and need it now? Make yourself and a friend or loved one a microwave banana mug cake with a saucy white chocolate surprise inside! Ready in only 5 minutes, and it just happens to be gluten-free.
When you need a little treat, and you need it now, there’s nothing that hits the spot better than a mug cake.
This 2-minute peanut butter mug cake (that happens to be pretty healthy) is already quite popular around here. So I thought it was time to add another quick and easy mug cake – this time a very yummy gluten-free banana mug cake made from simple (and healthy) ingredients.
What’s so great about it
- Got 5 minutes and a microwave? You need just a few minutes to make the batter right in the mug and around 2 minutes to cook in the microwave.
- It’s dessert for two! Grab two spoons and dive in. Alternatively, eat half and save the rest for later.
- It tastes like a slightly nuttier version of a classic banana bread. But a classic banana cake takes around an hour to make…
- It’s made with almond flour, making it gluten free.
- It tastes very yummy eaten on its own straight out of the mug (while curled up on the sofa with a good movie, of course). The melted white chocolate tastes almost like a sweet, creamy sauce. Add a scoop of ice cream and you’ll be in quick and easy banana bread heaven!
- It’s pretty healthy, really. Apart from a little bit of brown sugar and white chocolate, it’s made with pretty good stuff!
What you need
You’re only 1 small banana and 6 pantry ingredients away from a very yummy (almost instant) microwave banana cake for two!
You need just half a small banana, as well as:
- a small egg
- a bit of brown sugar
- almond butter (peanut butter works too, of course)
- almond flour mixed with a tiny bit of baking soda
No oil or butter is necessary as there’s enough fat in the almond butter already.
How to make it
The great thing about this mug cake is that you mix up the ingredients directly in the mug.
Step 1: Grab a mug – the largest one you have. Or a very small baking dish – let’s say 5 to 6 square inches.
Step 2: Mash up half a banana with a fork. Make it a small one, and the riper the better.
Step 3: Whisk in a small egg, followed by sugar, almond butter, milk, and almond flour mixed with a little baking soda.
Step 4: Stir in a handful or two of white chocolate chips. I like to be quite generous with myself and save a few to sprinkle on the top!
Step 5: Microwave for 2 minutes. Let cool a little and enjoy!
Pro tip 1: It’s fun to watch the mug cake rise up outside of the mug at an alarming rate! Don’t panic! It actually doesn’t usually overflow, but put a small plate under the mug just in case.
Pro tip 2: The cake is VERY hot when it comes out of the microwave. I’ve burnt my tongue a couple of times! I know it’s hard, but wait a few minutes before you tuck in.
FAQs
Yes, absolutely! Brown sugar gives the cake a slight caramel-y taste, but ordinary sugar is fine.
Yes again. With the addition of the white chocolate 1.5 tablespoons is about right for me, but make it 2 tablespoons if you have a sweeter tooth.
The cake will taste almost the same if you use a different nut butter such as peanut butter. If you like, you can even make a nut free mug cake by replacing the 2 tablespoons of almond butter with 2 tablespoons of oil.
If you like you can replace the almond flour with plain flour – gluten free or ordinary. Other types of flour should work too. You can even use coconut flour, but use 1.5 tablespoons only.
Yes, they’re virtually interchangeable. The only difference is that almond flour is a bit finer. In theory this makes it a better substitute for regular flour, but almond meal works in this recipe too.
Yes, you can! Try a 5 inch by 5 inch baking dish or similar.
How to serve it
You might think this is a silly question. It’s a microwave mug cake, right? Don’t you just make it in a sweet snack attack emergency? Then you grab a spoon and eat it all to yourself on the couch.
You can do that if you like. The melted white chocolate makes it almost like a self-saucing pudding!
But this banana mug cake is a bit of a monster. Feel free to grab 2 spoons, add a scoop of ice cream and share with a loved one. If you prefer, empty the cake out onto two plates. It won’t be the prettiest dessert you’ve ever seen, but hey, it’s a dessert emergency. Do you care? 😉
I’ve also been known to put plastic wrap over the top of the mug and save half until the next day. It still tastes pretty good!
Need another gluten-free idea? You have to try these gluten-free brownies. Fudgy, cakey AND chewy, and made all in one bowl.
More ridiculously quick and easy desserts
- 5-minute chocolate banana ice cream (healthy nice cream!)
- 6-ingredient gooey Swedish chocolate cake (you’ve got to try this!)
- Easy magic lemon pudding (the most controversial recipe on my blog!)
- No bowl chocolate pecan bars (magic bars!)
- 5-minute chocolate pots (only 4 ingredients!)
Looking for more healthy snack ideas? Check out this list of 50+ healthy sweet snacks that don’t taste boring.
Banana Mug Cake Recipe (Gluten-free)
Ingredients
- ½ small banana, (ripe is best)
- 1 small egg
- 1½ tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons almond butter
- 2 tablespoons milk, (any kind including non dairy)
- ⅓ cup almond flour, (or almond meal/ground almonds)
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1½ tablespoons white chocolate chips, (or to taste!)
Instructions
- Mash the banana in a very large mug or small baking dish with a fork. Whisk in the egg.
- Stir in the sugar, almond butter, and milk.
- Stir in the almond flour/meal, the baking soda, and most of the chocolate chips. Sprinkle the remainder of the chocolate chips on the top.
- Microwave on full power for 2 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes, then enjoy either plain or with a scoop of ice cream.
Notes
Nutrition
Note: I first published this recipe in 2014 as an individual banana and peanut butter pudding. I updated it in February 2021 as a gluten free banana mug cake however as I felt that the original recipe was a bit hit and miss (sometimes it worked and other times it was a disaster!). If you happen to have been a fan of that original recipe, however, I have a fairly similar one on the blog which I call a peanut butter healthy mug cake. There’s no banana, but strangely it tastes pretty similar to the original recipe I published here!
Another hit, Helen! I’ve tried a few other mug cakes from various sources which were all gummy. So I quit trying…..until I came across your peanut butter and chocolate quick mug cake. Mm good! I do like this one too. I used gluten-free flour, natural honey instead of sugar, skipped the filling but added cinnamon and ginger and honey to glaze when it was done. Delicious! Thank you. God bless you. 😘
Aww so good to hear this, Sandy! I’m very happy this one was the winner and hope it becomes a favourite. Thank you so much for trying the recipe and letting me know how it went. Happy New Year!
Is it possible to post a photo of mine?
Hi Tamara! I’m so sorry, there isn’t a way to do that here but if you’d like to email it to me I’d love to see it 🙂
Oh my gosh, this looks YUMMY! Pinning! Hahaha I looveeee hearing about peoples’ weird food loves! Just quickly; I totally understand the greek yogurt + toast thing! I work in a restaurant that serves brunch, so naturally our staff food involves lots of eggs, yogurt, porridge..etc. I am the only one who ever tries this combo – I don’t see what’s weird? It’s like pancakes and yogurt but without the oil, which is surely less weird?! And I’m totally defending your old flat mate…In England baked beans are a HUGE deal. Pasta and baked beans is one of my fav meals hehe! My bro’s throw it together with Ramen all of the time too 😉 Another amazing thing is mayonnaise with fries and ketchup with mac and cheese! Or eggs with brown sauce and fried toast…Talk about delicious dinner hacks 😀
All of the best things start out weird! The guy who invented cheese fries + cheesy nachos for example are just lucky that everyone happens to love cheese, right?!
Great post!
Hahahaha … you’ve just cheered me up on a slightly stressful evening, Tash! OK, so I think I have to admit that I might have been wrong about my husband’s Greek yoghurt and banana and my flatmate’s ramen and beans. I don’t fancy it myself, but I accept that it might taste OK if I gave it a chance. I have to agree wholeheartedly though that mayo with fries and ketchup with mac and cheese is good. In fact, I dumped a big squirt of ketchup on the leftover pasta bake I had for lunch today, which is a similar idea. 🙂
Great comment – thanks!!
For the longest time I resisted peanut butter and banana together until had the pleasure to taste a pb + banana bread. Your banana, peanut butter sounds just as flavorful of a combo nothing bizarre at all. Mr.Scrummy’s breakfast ideas on the other hand are extremely inventive and well there are many who would find it even tempting… I guess 🙂
Hi Judit! I only tried this combo of flavours recently, too, but now I’m hooked! I just loved that this little pudding satisfies a sweet craving almost instantly … but without being too unhealthy.
It’s eggs for breakfast for me, and this pudding for lunch for sure!
lol … happy to have inspired you, Tandy!
Ok .so…your croissant and egg and your hubs’ toast and greek yogurt/nana combos – both sound great to me!! And bananas and pb are a winning combo – this pudding is making my stomach rumble!
True story – my roommates and I in college would have Ramen noodle cooking contests – and try to doctor up ramen noodles in the most creative way!!
Ha … lol! My friend who ate the ramen and beans would have loved you!!
haha my husband constantly tells me that my smoothie creations are weird. Whatevs .. I think they are delicious! And 5 minutes to this goodness? Sign me up!
Now, smoothies is something I’ve never got into, but I think I need to change that. Just think of all the weirdness possibilities!
I guess we’re all guilty of weird food pairings sometimes 😀 this looks absolutely wonderful and not weird at all though!
Hi, Nora … nice to ‘meet’ you! Phew, so glad I’m not the only one. 😉
Thanks for liking this and not thinking it’s weird … lol!
Ahah definitely there are things that should not go on our blog… I totally agree. We all need a little dirty secret 🙂
This looks wonderful and I am thinking this is totally a treat I could make at the office… Ohlala Helen, tu me donnes des mauvaises idées!
Ah, mais c’est pas aussi mauvaise que tu penses … il y a juste deux petites cuilleres de sucre dedans 😉
Yum! I love peanut butter + banana together 🙂
Yay! Me too!
5 minutes?!! SOLD!! Love this
Hi Kathy … thanks so much for saying so!
But you know what… a lot of times, the weirdest combos really do taste the best! And that’s how new flav combos are totally invented.. but people like you guys messing around with weird breakfasts 🙂 So keep it going and discover the next trend for us, won’t you?! Hahaha
Hahahaha … I like your reasoning here! At the moment I’m fairly skeptical of yoghurt and banana on toast becoming ‘a thing’, but you never know!! 🙂
Do you know what my food weirdness is? Condensed milk poured on top of salty popcorn. I only eat when no one is in. This banana peanuty thing though does NOT look bizarre!
Hahahaha … I love that, Mariana! Yup, very weird, if you don’t mind me saying (I love that you eat it when no one is in … lol!) 🙂
Oooh, does this sound amazing! And in 5 minutes??? What a terrific recipe!
Thanks, Liz!
Looks delicious! I love that it’s individual, and how quickly it comes together. My kind of dessert 🙂
Hi, Rachel. I love this for quite a few reasons, and so glad you do, too! 🙂
These puddings look super delish, Helen! Love pb so much, so I’d love these!
Thanks, Jess! I really hope you try this some time!
You had me at five minute pudding, Helen! I love finding desserts like this! Peanut butter and banana sounds like the best combination. Pinning to try out!
Thanks so much for the pin, Gayle … I can pretty much guarantee that you’ll enjoy this if you try it!
Ok … so I’d honestly give either of your “weird” breakfasts a try. But, hands-down, yours is way, way less weird (sorry, Mr. Scrummy!). It actually sounds more or less like my fave breakfasts – savory, with an egg for protein and loads of antioxidant-rich salsa, and whatever else happens to be hanging out in the fridge that looks good! So, anyway … I’m thoroughly excited about this recipe! I mean, really – I look at A LOT of recipes most days, and this is one of the most exciting recipes I’ve seen in a while. It’s got everything going for it – healthy, easy, super-fast, and perfect for a nosh. Oh – and it has white chocolate chips … ’nuff said. I can’t wait to pin this … and then eat it … often! 😀
Thanks so much for your enthusiasm, Shelley! I have to say that this is one of my favourite recipes so far … but also one of the easiest. I’ve had a serious craving for it all week long … but don’t have any bananas right now ….aaargh, disaster!
I am feeling rather smug right now too that most readers have gone with my weird breakfast as being the least weird … hahaha! 🙂