Satisfy your banana bread cravings in less than 5 minutes with this healthy blueberry banana bread mug cake! Light and fluffy, this mug cake is made without butter or oil and is 100% grain-free. It’s quick, easy, single-serve, and makes a healthy and delicious snack!
It’s kind of crazy to think about how much baking has changed since I first started dabbling in it around 18 years ago. And holy snap did I ever just age myself. But I digress.
The point is, baking is a lot different today than it was when I was learning the ropes as a kid. Back in my day (har har), you followed a pretty basic formula involving flour, butter, sugar, and eggs; and while that’s obviously still around today, more and more people are turning to alternative ingredients like almond flour, coconut palm sugar, flax eggs, fairy dust, etc. to get the job done.
Or maybe it just seems that way to me because of the healthy living blogger bubble I live in? The one where using coconut flour in things like this blueberry banana bread mug cake is pretty commonplace?
Either way! I’m pretty sure everyone’s seen at least a handful of recipes involving flour/butter/sugar/egg alternatives; and I know you’ve seen way more than that if you’re a regular Spoons reader since those things are kind of the [flourless] bread and [dairy-free] butter around these parts. See what I did just there? 😉 Smooth.
In all seriousness, though, I love using the alternatives in my recipes. Partially because they generally tend to be a little bit healthier than their classic counterparts, and partially because they’re just plain fun to experiment with (hashtag geek). Things like gluten-free, grain-free, paleo, and/or vegan baking weren’t really a thing when I was growing up, and being part of the influx of those kind of recipes in the last handful of years has been pretty neat.
At least when they turn out. Ask me again how I feel about grain-free vegan baking when I’ve got 5 failed flourless eggless muffin recipes under my belt and I might be singing a different tune. A colourful one that’d probably make sailors blush.
But the failures just make the successes that much sweeter, and when you strike gold, you strike freaking gold.
Take today’s light and fluffy blueberry banana bread mug cake, for example. Would you believe me if I told you that it’s made with NO flour, butter, or oil, but soooooo incredibly soft and fluffy that you’d never know unless someone actually told you?
Believe me; I’ve tested that theory on my poor, unsuspecting taste-testers. And before you go feeling sorry for them, remember that the job comes with heaps of free food and not that many flops. They’re a happy, well-fed bunch. And this is a ridiculously doughy grain-free mug cake…
You know those alternative ingredients I was talking about? It’s recipes like this where they really shine.
One of the most common questions I get about my mug cakes is whether or not the coconut flour can be subbed out with regular flour, and the answer is no… at least not without making a lot of other adjustments. Coconut flour is really unique in how it absorbs liquids, and it’s what lets these mug cakes stay nice and moist without any additional oil. It also makes them super fluffy and cake-like, despite the fact that they’re grain-free.
I normally try to provide more common substitutions, but this is one of those occasions where I’m going to tell you that you need to go out and pick up a bag of coconut flour, if only to use it in mug cakes. It will change.your.LIFE.
Happy eating!
I’d love to know if you make this recipe! Leave a comment and rating down below to let me know what you think, and subscribe to our mailing list to receive new recipes in your inbox!
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Blueberry Banana Bread Mug Cake
- Total Time: 7 mins
- Yield: 1 serving 1x
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp (14 g) coconut flour
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp (4 g) coconut palm sugar*
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 3 Tbsp (45 ml) unsweetened almond milk**
- 1/2 medium, ripe banana (50 g or 1/4 cup mashed)
- 1 large egg white
- scant 1/4 cup (25–30 g) blueberries, fresh or frozen
Instructions
- Add coconut flour, baking powder, sugar, and cinnamon to a microwave-safe mug or bowl, mixing until well combined.
- Add milk and mashed banana, stirring until no clumps remain before adding in your egg. Use a fork to gently beat the egg into the batter, making sure that it gets fully incorporated. Gently fold in blueberries.
- Microwave on high for 2½ to 3 minutes, depending on microwave strength and size of mug.***
- Remove from microwave, grab a spoon, and enjoy!
Notes
* you can easily sub this with brown sugar or even granulated sugar. If you want to keep this refined sugar free, sub with maple syrup or honey. ** you can easily sub this with your favourite milk. Use dairy or soy to make this nut-free. *** you can also make this the oven by preheating your oven to 350F (176C) and baking for 15-20 minutes, until desired consistency is reached.
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 2 mins
Looking for more healthy mug cake recipes? Try one of these!
Oatmeal Cookie Dough Mug Cake
Healthy Two Minute Brownies
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cake
Fudgy Double Chocolate Mug Cake
Chocolate Banana Minute Muffin
I still get SO excited to go back home to my stash of coconut flour for the SOLE purpose of making your banana bread mug cake from a while ago. Still one of my favorite recipes ever. But now there are blueberries involved, which makes me even more excited!!
Back in my day I would pride myself in being able to whip up some killer combos like… a bowl of banana slices with milk. Like, pour the milk on the banana slices and eat like cereal. idk.
Those tiny blueberries look perfect for a yummy mini cake. Mmm! I wish I had time (okay… and patience) for mug cakes these days. I was totally in the mood for one yesterday!
Haha! Girlfriend – you are way way too young to be saying “Back in my day..”…now me on the other hand, I can easily say…back in my day I had no clue that treats could be so healthy…today – in YOUR day! xx
Another fantastic mug cake creation, Amanda!
this looks delicious. i actually bought coconut flour for the first time last night and used it in a pumpkin almond butter concoction and it came out SO good. i’m a believer!
YUM! I’ve never had any luck with mug cakes before, but I’m totally willing to try again. Because, these. look. amazing.
I love mug cakes because they’re perfect for those random moments when a craving strikes and you don’t have any ready-made sweets on hand. I love that you can just throw it in a microwave and have a “baked” good right away! This one sounds delicious!
you made this grain free! so so perfect! and i am now remembering why i need to get back into mug cakes —> SIMPLE and HEALTHY! Love it. Can i borrow your mug? LOL!
Yesssss. But it’s actually just a mini ramekin 😆
I have been playing around with mug cakes again after taking a break for a year or two. I love how easy and convenient they are but they were getting me in trouble at 10pm every night lol!! I do love that this is blueberry banana bread – perfect for the morning when i want something warm but I don’t want to bake!!
Mmm(h)ugcakes! This one looks amazing and why did I never think to add fruit – applesauce aside – to mine? If this one’s just as good as your original banana bread one it’s a winner.
Back in my day we weren’t that upset by being without internet for a few hours or even a day. Ooops …
Back in my day we didn’t even have a computer. Or cell phones! Sometimes I miss those days…
Oh goodness Amanda I just had the coconut flour conversation with good friend who tried my microwave banana bread but used all coconut flour (even though in the directions it says DO NOT USE ALL COCONUT FLOUR). It’s too overpowering and a mix of flours makes the bread better and less dense.
Back in my day we walked to school both ways! Uphill!
Lol, I want to know how one applies for that taste-testing job! 😜 Oh, right, one probably has to live in the area…then in my mind I start thinking about how awesome that would be if you lived nearby, and I sing in my mind 🎶”Won’t you be my neighbor?”🎶 <- haha, this time I probably just dated myself!! But seriously, I am so jealous for those taste testers of yours…they are quite lucky! I am in love with coconut flour myself, and was just thinking the other day how grateful I was the first time I was inspired to work with it.
I remember Mister Rogers and all his sweaters! Mr. Dressup, too 😉 I’m totally blaming you if I end up having the neighbour song running through my head all day 😛
Today I could definitely use some comfort food. This mug cake looks excellent, thanks for sharing.
Waaa! We have coconut flour on hand, but I can’t stand the texture. It’s way too grainy for me! I was going to ask you if it could be subbed with anything, but I guess you already answered that. I’ll stick with your breakfast bakes and smoothies – hard life, I know. 😜 They are literally my life right now. Like, at least 50% of my meals are recipes of yours, and you don’t want to know how many of your recipes I have memorized. 😄
Awwww that just totally made my morning! Thank you, Abbie! xox
That’s so funny, I totally discussed the same thing on my recipe on Saturday- Coconut flour is amazing and so underestimated- I think it’s my most used ingredient ha!
Mug cakes NEED coconut flour, and I’m pretty sure I’ve tried to convince people to buy it in every mug cake I’ve ever posted 😆 It’s the fairy dust!
Fairy dust, haha! Yes, I also enjoy using alternatives when they turn out. But when they don’t, I want to say F it all and go buy a pound of butter and white flour. Like yesterday, I had to make a muffin recipe 3 times before it turned out. It KILLED ME. But I wasn’t about to give up. 🙂
Coconut flour is one of the alternatives that I usually avoid because of how finicky it is. But I know it makes a damn good mug cake because so many on here that look amazing!
I’m a little hesitant to use coconut flour in baking because of how temperamental it is, but I really do love it in no-baking and microwaving!
Coconut flour IS like fairy dust! Okay, maybe not, but it is magical.
Back in my day, we paid less than a dollar for gas. Now THAT makes me feel old.
I remember gas being crazy cheap! But the price of ours is actually dropping a -tonne- so who knows if we’re not going back there!
I like fun ingredients for the nerdy reason, too! It’s a fun little challenge to make tasty things out of tricky ingredients – and bonus that they’re healthier! I just restocked my coconut flour, so I think this needs to happen soon!
Yum! Coconut flour is the best!
DROOLING. Amanda this looks so good. I’m pinning it so I can make it when I’m back home from college!
This looks amazing. I’m pretty sure I have coconut flour somewhere in my pantry, but I don’t actually know. I don’t bake very often if you can’t tell haha. I would love to have this magically appear at my desk right now, though!
I absolutely love your recipes!! Thank you 🙂
Thanks so much, Heidi!!
It is NOT easy to make mug cakes look this pretty and what a great simple recipe! I’m so excited for blueberries to no longer cost an entire arm and a leg!
Me toooooo! Especially fresh ones. I was kind of over the moon when I saw that frozen ones were on sale. Happy dances may have been busted out.
I have been loving baking with coconut flour! Mug cakes have been my baking of choice, with bananas and pumpkin! This one sounds fabulous
I have so much to say about back in the day! I remember as a teenager being so freaked out about fat. I used to eat truckloads of low fat cookies, thinking that they were healthy. Or I’d eat tonnes of candy because they were labeled “fat free.” I’m so glad I’m not like that anymore!
Or the 100-calorie snack packs that tasted like cardboard and made you more hungry than anything else?!? Yeeeep.
I actually make a mug cake like this with chocolate chips instead of blueberries (because I only ever buy them fresh, in summer and eat them out of the carton before I can ever bake with them. Why I don’t get frozen ones is beyond me but it never happens). And it’s funny, I grew up making cookies with my dad’s mom, but otherwise never really cooked until I was diagnosed with Celiacs so all my baking adventures have been “out of the ordinary”. I don’t mind being gluten and now practically grain free, but it would have been hard before all the interesting flours started being a lot more commonplace. Not just for HLBs, but you can find them in mainstream grocery stores where there are entire aisles devoted to Bob’s Red Mill!
Allergy-friendly baking has definitely come a long way, and I’m actually curious to see what changes another 20 years of baking will bring!
I legitimately think I may make this tonight since I have everything and I love blueberries so much. MMMM.
I haven’t made a mug cake in a long time. As always, this one looks yummy.
Why do I keep forgetting about mugcakes? Thanks for the reminder. And I agree – coconut flour is definitely unique and can not be subbed.
Back in the days I went to David Hasselhoff’s concert, first row. We’re still friends, right?
😆 Very dear friends <3
It took me a really, really long time to get my first mug cake right. I ended up using oat flour! Maybe avoiding regular flours is the trick 🙂 you may have convinced me to get some coconut flour too!!
It’s such an amazing ingredient! It’s so unlike other flours and you really end up with unique results.
Hi! Is there a good substitute for the coconut flour? I’m limited on supplies…maybe oat or whole wheat?
Unfortunately not 😕 Coconut flour is unique in how it absorbs liquid so the texture would be completely different if you used something else.
Gosh you just keep nailing these recipes! How do you do it!! I struggle to think of a breakfast everyday and here you are making new recipes all the time, haha. And delicious ones at that 😉 Quick note.. the first paragraph at the top has admin at the beginning. My guess is it’s not supposed to be there. Just wanted to let you know!
Gah! I can think up new recipes but can’t catch those spelling errors. Spellcheck! You failed me!
Somehow these mug cakes have slipped past me until now…just pinned them all and can’t wait to try them out. 🙂 Thanks for including oven directions for us non-microvave users!
Yaas! Brilliant! I am delighted to say I finally joined the “mug cake recipe appreciation society” on Sunday after successfully doing MY FIRST mug cake. A rather indulgent Black Forest cake! Now, I’m looking for healthy alternatives and this is just what I’m looking for.
Thanks Amanda! 🙂
Ohhhh Black Forest has the key to my heart! So many memories from my childhood – that was the cake my mom always made for special occasions!
love this combo – I usually make it in pancake form and was thinking to do so this morning right before seeing your post. yumm
Wait…where’s the banana in the recipe?
😯 It was late to the party. It’s there now though!
This looks amazing, Amanda!! I have coconut flour in the pantry so I’m definitely going to give this a try for dessert tonight 🙂 Can you tell me how much banana to use? Thanks!! 🙂
Eep sorry! It’s half a medium sized banana – about 50g.
I’m a fan of anything which involves bananas and blueberries, regardless of its flour counterpart. 🙂
This is another successful looking mug cake. Well played. 🙂
I have never tried a mug recipe yet…these looks AMAZING! Yum. Definitely going to save this.
Oh girl you definitely need to give them a shot! Such a great way to get a muffin/cake fix fast, with no pesky leftovers lying around.
Paleo baking amazes me every time! And by the way there actually is fairy dust in my recipe today, along with berries and almond flour 🙂 Back in my day I thought baking was limited to a box mix and water, that was a big deal in my family!