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This banana bread mug cake is a healthy way to satisfy your banana bread cravings, minus the oven! Ready in just one minute, it’s a single serving dessert made with no eggs or milk!
Whenever I find myself with overripe bananas on hand, I love whipping up banana bread, banana muffins, or a healthy banana mug cake.
I’m not going to lie. I love ALL kinds of banana bread. Banana bread with blueberries, a cinnamon swirl through it, or even loaded with double the chocolate– I play no favorites!
However, I needed something a little healthier, and something that would NOT be polished off within 2 days….an issue I do have with a good sweet bread recipe. Enter- a banana bread for ONE.
This healthy banana bread mug cake is a delicious single-serve sweet treat that takes just a minute in the microwave or 10 minutes in the oven! It’s incredibly moist and gooey on the inside while being tender on the outside!
It’s also suitable for many dietary lifestyles out there- It’s paleo, vegan, and gluten free!
How do you make a banana mug cake?
The Ingredients
- Banana– Mashed, overripe bananas are best, as they add extra sweetness.
- Almond butter– I used almond butter, you can use any nut or seed butter of choice. Be sure that it is smooth and creamy, not crunchy!
- Coconut flour– Holds the batter together, and gives the mug cake the fluffy and cake-like texture. Do not substitute or omit this for something else.
- Milk of choice– I used unsweetened almond milk, but you can use any plant based/non dairy milk.
The Instructions
Start by greasing a large mug or cereal bowl. In a small mixing bowl, add all your ingredients and mix well, until a thick batter remains. If the batter is too thick, add extra milk. Transfer to the greased mug and microwave for 1 minute, before removing and letting sit for a minute, before enjoying.
Can I make this in the oven?
Yes, if you don’t own a microwave, you can make this in the oven instead.
Simply grease an oven safe ramekin or 8-inch baking dish and bake the mug cake at 180C/350F for 10 minutes.
Tips to make the best banana bread in a mug
- Coconut flour brands differ, and some are thicker than others. If your batter is more on the crumbly side, add more milk to compensate.
- Microwave wattage differs, and you may need to cook your mug cake longer than a minute. Remove after a minute and if it isn’t cooked well enough, continue microwaving in 30-second spurts.
- This mug cake isn’t overly sweet and relies on the banana for sweetness. If you’d like a sweeter mug cake, add a tablespoon of maple syrup or agave nectar.
- Feel free to add some mix-ins to change up the flavor. Chopped walnuts, raisins, and chocolate chips are all fantastic options.
Storing and Freezing Tips
- To store: If you’d like to enjoy the mug cake at a later time, you can let it cool completely, before covering and refrigerating it, for up to 3 days.
- To freeze: Freeze the mug cake by placing it in a ziplock bag and store in the freezer for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
More delicious mug cake recipes to try
- 100 calorie chocolate mug cake
- Almond flour chocolate mug cake
- Blueberry mug cake
- Cinnamon Roll Mug Cake
- Coffee Cake Mug Cake
Watch how to make it
Banana Mug Cake
Ingredients
- 1/2 medium banana mashed very well
- 1 tablespoon coconut flour
- 1 tablespoon almond butter or any nut or seed butter
- 2-3 tablespoon milk of choice * See notes
- 1 tablespoon chocolate chips optional
Instructions
- Grease a microwave safe bowl or mug.
- In a small mixing bowl, combine your mashed banana and coconut flour and mix very well. Add your nut butter of choice and mix into it- It should be a VERY thick batter.
- Using a tablespoon at a time, add milk of choice until you reach a thick batter. Stir through the chocolate chips is desired.
- Microwave for 1 minute, or until cooked through.
Oven instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F and coat an oven safe ramekin with oil and set aside.
- Prepare the mug cake batter, before transferring it into the oven safe ramekin. Bake for 10 minutes.
Easy and delish!
Thanks, Ally!
Hi Arman,
I hope you are doing fine …
Arman, have you used mandioca flour (or casava or Yuca) in any of your recipies?
I hope you never stop doing what you’re doing. This was amazingly delicious
I used to follow for your keto recipes and now I’m calorie counting. I know I can rely on you for delicious quick recipes! Thank you
This is delicious
Hi!
I was wondering, can you make this without the peanut butter?
Thanks!
You can use another nut or seed butter
Really nice and easy. Enjoy it after my workout today <3
Thanks for sharing!
That sounds perfect 🙂
Thank you 🙂
Hi Arman 🙂
Could you please confirm : “T” (“1 T coconut flour”) means “Tablespoon” ?
Agnès, France.
Hi it sure is! 🙂
can you double the coconut flour and instead of half banana use a whole one?
I haven’t tried that, feel free to experiment and see!
This recipe is so delicious, I’ve made it a few times already; just wondering, how to you get it so that it doesn’t sink and/or explode in the microwave? Mine only exploded once (lol) but it never looks like it does in your picture )^o^(
Hi Sam! I cook on low heat to avoid it 🙂 Or like pictured, the oven! 🙂
I have one more question (sorry omg), I tried baking it in the oven and it didn’t get done at all (I more than doubled the time in the instruction and it was still raw)… I’m wondering if I’m doing something wrong… How many tablespoons of almond milk do you put in exactly? It’s just that this recipe is so delicious but I have trouble getting it to bake perfectly
Found this recipe yesterday, made it and had another one today! Used blueberries instead of choc chips- it’s delicious and even healthier ?
Thanks for a great recipe!
This recipe would be ideal for Banana Flour (flour made from green bananas, full of fibre and nutrients)
Hope you enjoy it with it 🙂
Love love love the banana bread! It adds the fun back into eating again…guilt free and happy tummy because it’s grain free!thanks for sharing!
🙂 You are so welcome, Angela!
I tried it this morning and it didn’t work out for me. It’s just mush. I did mix the banana, flour, and peanut butter the night before, could this have been the reason it didn’t work. I wanted to have it for breakfast at work.
Hi Alisa- It is very moist, but it is still tender on the outside- I’ve never tried prepping it the night before. I have made it the night before then reheated the next morning 🙂
Similar to Alisa’s experience, mine came out very mushy as well. I only used 2 T unsweetened Almond/Coconut milk and I did not leave overnight. Maybe I should try adding a bit more coconut flour and cooking longer??
Hi Andrea! It sounds like you may have used too much banana- Definitely increase the coconut flour 🙂
Arman…..oh my stars,this was delicious……I’m having it for breakfast……yeah me!!!! I used sunflower butter…I think that is mild also…and Enjoy Life mini chocolate chips…..they are gluten, dairy, nut and soy free…..this is going to be a go to recipe for me. Thank you Arman…You are the MAN….!!!!!!!!
Can I use wheat flour, instead of coconut flour? Thanks
Hi there, I wouldn’t recommend it- Coconut flour absorbs liquids/other ingredients much differently to coconut flour 🙂 You could try, but you’d need to add 2-3 times the amount of flour.
Hi! Thanks for share. I don’t have nut butter. It’s difficult to find in my country. Can I replace it for any other thing?
Hi there! 🙂 Do you have peanut butter or tahini at all? You could also use coconut oil or canola oil, but I’d add a dash of sweetener 🙂
we have trademarks that are full of sugar and I do not like peanut butter, almond only, but I can hardly get it. Thanks, I’m going to try with coconut oil and a bit of sugar. Thanks!
Would it be ok to use cow’s milk?
Hi DeAnna! 🙂 Of course! 🙂
I was skeptical but this was very good. Easy and satisfies a sweet craving or snack need. I used sunflower seed butter. I will now have to try a few of your other one minute deals! Thanks for sharing! Where would I be without bloggers like yourself who share these types of recipes? Id be eating rice cakes like an 80’s dieter and craving banana bread!! This beats rice cakes!!!
oh yay- Thanks so much for the amazing feedback, Lisa! Um….let’s burn rice cakes, unless they have peanut butter on them!
It’s like banana bread pudding, only a heck of a lot easier to eat. Thanks, Arman!
😀 You are so welcome, Linda! 🙂
Fav for any bananas, ripe or not ripe is ICE CREAM! Oh yeah! Creamy, and can do that with fruit, nut butter, cocoa, maple syrup and almonds and probably lots of other things for variety in flavour!
YESSSS! I think you’ll enjoy tomorrow’s recipe!
Egg or no, I would have tasted the batter ahead of time anyway. 🙂
That’s what I like to hear!
Hahaha, the rock! It so reminds me of the times when we used to start making protein powder mug cakes. Remember? We could have killed someone with those.
I love Single serve. Literally. Cackle.
No seriously, it looks delicious and pretty and I love that it is so easy. Maybe I attack my AirBnb hosts kitchen here in Bondi. She’ll love me.
omg. Seriously, they produced actual rocks!
Banana, banana… I am so curious how this tastes. After what happened to my egg-free version 😛
Hahahaha YES!
Dear Arman, what a treat! This sounds like a perfect quick fix for those busy weekday afternoons or mornings! I have not see you around but I hope the New Year is going splendidly well for you my friend. Take care..all the best, Catherine
🙂 Hi Catherine! Hope you’ve been well- I’ve been slightly MIA but back to blogging and seeing my favorites 🙂
You should rename your blog The Baking Magician because I swear, your recipes are some kind of sorcery. This looks amazing, per usual. Keep up the great work! 🙂
Hahahaa thanks so much, Sarah! 🙂
Okay, HOLD UP. I was just reading Alison’s blog and YOU SENT HER A DESSERT SAMPLER? I didn’t even finish reading her post, and high tailed it over here to leave you an angry note.
WTF? What am I to you? Send me one please. Canada and Canadians in general are super poor right now so please send food.
Haha no! You’ll be fine, the recipes are on here and you just did a grocery run!
Why are you listing chocolate chips as optional? I’m so confused. 😉
Hahaha my bad!
oh.em.gee I have everything on hand to make this! Must happen in my kitchen soon!
Please do, it’s SO good!
Hi Arman! These single serving recipes are so cute! Do you have any idea if this (or any of the other mug cakes) would work in the toaster oven? I don’t have a microwave and am just wondering if there’s another alternative to heaving the oven up! 🙂 Thanks!
Hi Anna! They sure do- You just need to keep an eye on it as they cook slightly quicker than a standard oven! 🙂
Loving all of your recent recipes! I have this and the brownies on my to make list this week.
Thanks, P- I’m sure you’ll love them! There’s an even better one tomorrow!
Why is it that everybody hates the word moist? Because moist is where it’s at for banana bread. Like you described, that kind of baked good keeps you going for hours while fluffy ones disappear into thin air. Long story short: this is my kind of banana bread and yes to single-serving [let’s make that a verb] ALL the baked goods and desserts!
Exactly- It needs to be common place! 😀
I currently have about 12 bananas just rotting on the counter so I need to make use of them asap!! I need to freeze some and the rest I could make this little delicious cake! everytime I see one of your banana bread recipes I immediately get excited and start doing flips around the house!
That is not excited enough. You should have done a double Arabian AND did a punch front out of it!
Why not both textures? So as long as it’s cake!
Anyways, I’m so excited for more reader-request recipes! There’s so many cool ideas that you never hear about!
Right? Thanks so much, Cassie!
I kid you not – I think Im going to have an Arman’s 1 minute party and just make ALL of your super quick brownies, cakes, breads, cookies, etc so that I can eat them all at once. There’s nothing wrong with that – right? I mean seriously, how on earth do you freaking expect me to choose?!
You seriously need to- All of them combined would totally equate a meal haha!
Oh my Gawd I am eating this right now…but I didn’t microwave it and added protien powder. I call it my banana mash lol. Yours looks prettier and now it’s official, my random throw together so are a recipe. Happy MLK day Arman!
Haha, I’ve been making this for ages so glad I can share it with my readers.
You are the king of 1 minute healthy treats! Nothing like fresh banana bread in seconds! 🙂
Thanks Kaila.
Oooh the gooey cakes are always so good. I usually just end up freezing the ripe bananas to use for smoothies. That’s usually because I notice at the last minute that they’re on their last leg and am too lazy to quickly come up with a use for them.
Dude. You will love tomorrow’s recipe.
I will be buying some coconut flour today. But the chocolate chips in it don’t appeal to me. I’ve lost 40 pounds over the last 3 years without trying to! Stressful, long hours job, and not enuf food or sleep. So I’m looking for things like this to make quickly and easily to get some more nutrition and calories.
Hi Betty! No worries at all- They still taste great without them 🙂 Congrats on the weight loss, that is a fantastic achievement! 🙂
This DOES look dense and delicious!! Double D’s!!! ….lol.
😀 LOL. Dirty Birdie!
This sounds absolutely delicious, and the chocolate chips are definitely not optional. A must! 🙂
Right? Thanks so much, Blair!
Yum I make something like this often – it’s so good and easy too! Loving coconut flour lately!
This is so good- I’ve been making it for so long and was wondering why I’d never shared it! I seriously need stocks in coconut flour!
That texture! I’ll be sure to set aside an extra banana to try this one! Looks like the perfect little bedtime snack for me 🙂
You so need to- It’s so good!