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Learn to make high calorie muffins for weight gain! These are peanut butter chocolate muffins with banana and no sugar added. You’ll love these healthy air fryer protein muffins for breakfast, a post-workout snack, or when you’re on the go. And no worries if you’re on a special diet. These fluffy peanut butter muffins are gluten free, dairy free, and grain free!
Want the fabulous chocolate and peanut butter flavor of a Reese’s peanut butter cup in a treat that’s good for you? Then you need these breakfast muffins in your life, my friends.
These are flourless peanut butter chocolate muffins, though they do use peanut powder (sometimes known as peanut flour). Using some peanut powder in place of peanut butter gives us a lower calorie and lower fat muffin.
That said, there’s no wheat flour or white flour here. These banana peanut butter cocoa muffins are perfect for gluten free or grain free diets.
These are my copycat version of chocolate VitaTops. Instead of white sugar, I packed these treats with bananas and sweet potato. They’ll satisfy your sweet tooth (without maple syrup, honey, or brown sugar) while giving you a phytonutrient boost.
It’s true these aren’t a good fit for all special diets (more on this in the FAQs). However, these muffins are a good choice for general healthy eating plans. Packed with protein and an assortment of essential vitamins and minerals, they’ll help you get your morning off to a great start!
⭐ Air Fryer Protein Muffins Benefits
Why make air fryer chocolate peanut butter muffins? Here are some reasons to save this recipe:
- Fast: It takes 20-25 minutes to bake these muffins in a preheated oven. This cooking time is cut in half in the air fryer, and you don’t even need to preheat!
- Protein: Looking for high protein muffin recipes? Using peanut butter, peanut flour, and flax meal instead of wheat flour gives us a higher protein muffin.
- Special diets: As mentioned above, these are dairy free, gluten free, and grain free muffins.
- Fun afterschool snack: Packed with fruits, veggies, and with no added sugar, these muffins are a healthy snack for kids.
- Meal prepping: These muffins are freezer friendly, perfect for your next meal prep session.
- Delicious: Let’s not forget about taste! I think these peanut butter chocolate banana muffins are quite tasty, and I hope you do too.
🥘 High Calorie Muffins for Weight Gain Ingredients
Here’s what you need to make this muffin recipe:
- Sweet potato
- Mashed ripe banana
- Large egg
- Creamy peanut butter
- Peanut flour
- Cocoa powder
- Baking powder
- Ground flax
- Chopped peanuts (for topping)
- Cooking oil spray
As always, you can find the specific quantities of ingredients in the recipe card at the bottom of the post!
Peanut flour is a low-calorie, lower-fat way to enjoy the peanut flavor if you want a lighter option. It has more protein than wheat flour, which may provide additional staying power. This one and this one have no added sugar, though you can also use regular PB2 (in major U.S. grocery stores).
Some other things you need for this recipe include:
- Air fryer
- Food processor
- Muffin tin
- Muffin papers
Make sure the muffin tin you’re using fits your air fryer basket before you begin! I developed this recipe using a 10-Quart Kalorik Digital Air Fryer Oven. These muffin tins fit the air fryer perfectly.
The Ninja Foodi, Philips, Nuwave, Pampered Chef, Actifry, Instant Pot Vortex, Cosori, Breville, and other air fryers can air fry pb chocolate muffins. Just remember that cooking times vary between air fryer brands. Keep a close eye on the food the first time you try a new air fryer recipe in case you need to take the food out early.
🔪 How to Make High Calorie Muffins for Weight Gain
Peel and chop the sweet potato. Simmer it in a small pot of water on the stovetop until soft. It will take about 20 minutes.
Drain the sweet potato and mash it. (I used a hand potato masher, but you could use a food processor as well.)
You will need 2 tablespoons of mashed sweet potato for this recipe. Refrigerate the rest to use in other recipes.
Place the prepared sweet potato, mashed banana, peanut flour, peanut butter, cocoa powder, baking powder, and ground flax in a food processor. Blend it into a smooth batter. You may need to stop and scrape down the sides of the processor with a spatula several times if the ingredients are sticking to the sides.
Put muffin paper liners in 4 compartments of a muffin tray. Spray the papers with cooking oil. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared muffin papers. Top each with a sprinkle of chopped peanuts.
If you have an air fryer oven, place the muffin tray on a rack in the middle of the air fryer. Time to air fry!
️⏲️ Air Fryer Protein Muffins Cooking Time and Temperature
How long to cook chocolate peanut butter muffins in the air fryer? What temperature to air fry chocolate peanut butter muffins? Air fry peanut butter chocolate muffins for a total of 10-12 minutes at 325 degrees Fahrenheit (163C).
After air frying, let the muffins cool in the muffin tin for 30 minutes on the counter to firm up. Then move them to a baking rack for 30 minutes before moving to the fridge.
You want these to chill completely before eating. They are more tender and moist than your average muffin and need a little time to be their best!
To make oven baked chocolate peanut butter muffins, preheat the oven to 350F (177C). Bake for 20-25 minutes on a rack 1/3 down from the top of the oven. When finished baking, a toothpick inserted into a muffin should come out clean (or with small crumbs).
️🌡️ Leftover Air Fryer Muffins
You can keep leftover peanut butter chocolate muffins on a plate in the fridge for 3-4 days. I don’t even wrap them in plastic wrap like I would with regular muffins; they stay moist!
To freeze muffins, wrap them individually in plastic wrap and store in a sealed freezer bag in the freezer. Defrost the muffins in the fridge for 24-48 hours before enjoying.
In a rush? You can thaw a frozen unwrapped muffin for 45-50 seconds on high in the microwave. I thought they reheated reasonably well, though they were not quite as good as when they were fresh.
📋 Calories, Net Carbs, Protein
One air fryer chocolate peanut butter muffin has 151 calories, 11.1 grams net carbs, and 6.5 grams protein.
FAQs
How to make chocolate peanut butter muffins vegan?
Vegan chocolate peanut butter muffins must be eggless. Some popular substitutes for eggs in muffins include flax gel and chia gel. I have not tested either of these substitutes in this recipe, but it’s a worthy experiment.
How to make skinny chocolate peanut butter muffins?
To make skinny peanut butter chocolate muffins (i.e., lower calorie), skip the chopped peanut topping. You could also experiment with using reconstituted peanut flour in place of the peanut butter. The idea is to lower the energy-dense fats in the recipe.
What can you add to homemade muffins other than fruit?
Nuts, seeds, and veggies are some no fruit ideas for muffins to try. In these muffins, you might try mashed butternut squash instead of sweet potato. Instead of the peanuts, top with chocolate chips or with peanut butter on top.
How to make chocolate peanut butter muffins keto?
To make keto chocolate peanut butter muffins, you need to find a substitute for the sweet potato and banana. While a no sugar sweetener (like Swerve) can add sweetness, the texture and flavor of these muffins won’t be the same. Here’s a recipe for keto chocolate muffins to try instead.
Are these chocolate peanut butter muffins Paleo?
These are not Paleo chocolate peanut butter muffins, because peanuts are not generally compatible with Paleo diets. To make Paleo muffins, you can experiment with substituting the peanuts in this recipe with almond butter, almond flour, and chopped almonds.
👨🏾🍳 Other Muffin Recipes
Looking for more recipes for muffins? Here are some ideas:
- Air Fryer Banana Muffins
- Chocolate Banana Protein Muffins
- Kodiak Cake Banana Muffins
- Kodiak Blueberry Muffins
Watch How to Make It!
High Calorie Muffins for Weight Gain (Air Fryer Protein Muffins)
Ingredients
- 1 sweet potato
- 1 medium ripe banana, mashed (about 5-6 tablespoons)
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons peanut butter (32 grams)
- 2 tablespoons peanut flour (13 grams)
- ½ tablespoon cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoons ground flax
- 2 tablespoons chopped peanuts (skinless, salted is fine)
- cooking oil spray of choice
Instructions
- Peel and chop the sweet potato. Simmer it in a small pot of water on the stovetop until soft. It will take about 20 minutes.
- Drain the sweet potato and mash it. (I used a hand potato masher, but you could use a food processor as well.) You will need 2 tablespoons of mashed sweet potato for this recipe. Refrigerate the rest to use in other recipes.
- Place the prepared sweet potato, mashed banana, peanut flour, peanut butter, cocoa powder, baking powder, and ground flax in a food processor. Blend it into a smooth batter. You may need to stop and scrape down the sides of the processor with a spatula several times if the ingredients are sticking to the sides.
- Put muffin paper liners in 4 compartments of a muffin tray. Spray the papers with cooking oil. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared muffin papers. Top each with a sprinkle of chopped peanuts.
- To air fry: If you have an air fryer oven, place the muffin tray on a rack in the middle of the air fryer. Air fry for 10-12 minutes at 325°F (163°C). After air frying, let the muffins cool in the muffin tin for 30 minutes on the counter to firm up. Then move them to a baking rack for 30 minutes before moving to the fridge.
- To oven bake: Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Bake for 20-25 minutes on a rack ⅓ down from the top of the oven. When finished baking, a toothpick inserted into a muffin should come out clean (or with small crumbs).
- Important! To optimize your eating experience, let the muffins cool and chill completely before digging in. Enjoy!
Notes
💭 Expert Tips from Dietitian Summer Yule
This is a level 3 recipe (weight maintenance and active lifestyles). I know I’ve mentioned this before, but I am not a fan of “better-for-you” baked goods for losing weight. Though these muffins are only 150 calories each, it can be tough to stop at an appropriate portion size. That said, I did use small snacks as part of my meal plans during my 70-lb weight loss. I found it much easier to enjoy small portions of treats rather than give them up completely. Some fare better abstaining from treats rather than moderating, and that’s OK too! A positive is that these are small batch muffins. Even if you eat the whole batch in a sitting, it’s only four small muffins. Plus, they freeze well, so you don’t have to keep them in the fridge where they can tempt you. On the other hand, I think this recipe is an excellent choice for those with higher energy needs, such as growing children. Spread some creamy peanut butter on these muffins to increase the energy-density even more. (Yum!) You’ve got to love an afterschool snack that tastes like a treat but that’s packed with fruits and vegetables. If you’re looking for high calorie recipes for weight gain, why not make these healthy muffins? Nutrition information is for one muffin.
nutrition info disclaimer
All recipes on this website may or may not be appropriate for you, depending on your medical needs and personal preferences. Consult with a registered dietitian or your physician if you need help determining the dietary pattern that may be best for you.
The nutrition information is an estimate provided as a courtesy. It will differ depending on the specific brands and ingredients that you use. Calorie information on food labels may be inaccurate, so please don’t sweat the numbers too much.
“To taste” means to your preferences, which may have to be visual to follow food safety rules. Please don’t eat undercooked food x
Nutrition
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Hello! I’m Summer, a registered dietitian and home chef who loves to cook, eat, and create recipes for you! Every recipe on this site has been tested by me to help ensure your success in the kitchen. All eaters are welcome here 🙂
Peanut flour, eh? That’s a new one for me. I’ve used rice flour and almond flour before in recipes, and a gluten-free friend has told me of a few others, but this the first time I’ve come across this one.
Promising introduction, Summer! Chocolate-peanut butter is one of the all-time top combinations, and you’ve given it texture and dimension.
A bit of an indulgence, maybe, but you’ve shown, repeatedly, how to make the path to improvement an enjoyable one. Though approaches vary, as you mention, the secret is to moderate, not to eliminate, indulgences.
Thank you so much. When I see a sweet recipe with peanut butter I usually want to figure out a way to cram some chocolate in there. 🙂 It’s definitely a popular pairing!
It’s funny looking back on this, written before the schools closed. I guess I don’t have to worry anymore about the adults eating all of the after school snacks before the kiddo returns home from school, eh? Haha
These look DELICIOUS!!! Will def try this when i fix my oven hahah
Thank you so much! I hope that you are able to get your oven working again soon. 🙂