A few times a year, my family drives over to the local country club for Sunday brunch. Held buffet-style in the fancy dining room, the kitchen sets out gourmet platters of nearly everything imaginable… Bagels, donuts, pastries, salads, shrimp, fruit, French toast, blintzes, bacon, sausage, hash browns, eggs Benedict—literally anything and everything you can think of.
Two smaller stations sit at the end of the long buffet table. One is a design-your-own omelette bar with a carving board topped with the heaviest ham I’ve ever seen. The other is the dessert table… And I bet you can guess what the #1 priority for my mom and me is!
Although the desserts rotate between various cakes and pies, we can usually count on a few smaller staples like tiny fruit tartlets, cream puffs, and chocolate-dipped strawberries. Everyone in my family always makes sure to save room for the sweets!
One time, my brother brought back a few pastries and strawberries on the same plate, including chocolate croissants and a muffin for the rest of us to sample. I think that combination of chocolate-dipped strawberries and muffins must have stuck in my mind…
Because I couldn’t stop thinking about these Whole Wheat Strawberry Chocolate Chip Muffins! These healthy beauties are as soft and tender as cupcakes with lots of juicy fruit and decadent little morsels throughout. They’re the perfect way to start a weekend—or Valentine’s Day!
Even better, these muffins are practically guilt-free because they’re made with purely healthy ingredients. You’d never guess that they’re 100% whole wheat! I used white whole wheat flour, which has a lighter color and texture than regular whole wheat. It doesn’t make the muffins as heavy or dense, and it really allows the fruit flavors to shine.
Note: White whole wheat flour is much closer to whole wheat pastry flour, which would make a great substitute!
Unlike typical muffin recipes, this one only contains 1 tablespoon of added fat. I used MELT® Organic, a creamy spread made of plant-based oils, and melted it to increase the muffins’ soft texture. The rest of the moisture in the recipe comes from Greek yogurt, which truly makes these muffins as tender as cupcakes. I’ve snuck quite a few of these after dinner instead of “real” desserts!
Because they’re much cheaper and readily available all year round, I diced frozen strawberries to add into the batter. No need to thaw them all the way! Let them sit out just long enough that you can slice through them with a sharp knife.
And don’t forget the mini chocolate chips! A bite with one of these decadent morsels combined with the sweet fruit… Pure bliss. I feel as if I’m eating chocolate-dipped strawberries on Valentine’s Day when I get a bite with both! I always save some chocolate chips to press into the tops of the muffins for a pretty presentation, although it makes them a little too tempting sometimes!
I planned on sharing some of these Strawberry Chocolate Chip Muffins with my neighbors—really, I did! But somehow, I accidentally hoarded them all to myself. They’re so easy to eat! One for breakfast, one for a mid-morning snack, another one or two as dessert…
And just like that, they’ve all disappeared!
| Whole Wheat Strawberry Chocolate Chip Muffins | | Print |
- 1 ¾ c (210g) white whole wheat flour (measured correctly)
- ¾ tsp (2g) baking powder
- ¾ tsp (2g) baking soda
- ¼ tsp (2g) salt
- 1 tbsp (14g) Rich & Creamy MELT® Organic, melted
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 ½ tsp (8mL) vanilla extract
- ½ c (120g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- ½ c (120mL) pure maple syrup
- ¼ c (60mL) nonfat milk
- 1 ½ c (210g) frozen unsweetened strawberries, thawed slightly and diced
- 2 tbsp (28g) miniature chocolate chips
- Preheat the oven to 350°F, and lightly coat 12 muffins cups with nonstick cooking spray.
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the MELT® Organic, egg, and vanilla. Stir in the yogurt until no large lumps remain. Stir in the maple syrup. Alternate between adding the flour mixture and the milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture, and stirring just until incorporated. (For best results, add the flour mixture in 3 equal parts.) Gently fold in the strawberries and 1 ½ tablespoons of chocolate chips.
- Divide the batter between the prepared muffin cups, and press the remaining chocolate chips into the tops. Bake at 350°F for 26-28 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes before carefully turning out onto a wire rack.
Fresh strawberries may be substituted in place of the frozen.
Coconut oil or unsalted butter may be substituted in place of the MELT® Organic.
{clean eating, low fat, low calorie}
To find MELT® Organic at a store near you, visit their store locator!
MELT® Organic is a line of luscious, organic spreads made from healthy oils for butter lovers seeking a much healthier alternative, available in Rich & Creamy (original), Honey, and NEW Chocolate.
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of MELT Organic. The opinions and text are all mine.
I’m sure it was the ham right?? 😉 I’m with you gals, dessert table all the way! I have such a soft spot for muffins and anything chocolate chip. Throw in some strawberries and I’m sold!
How’d you ever know it was the ham Mary Frances?? 😉 Come on over and I’ll bake a batch just for you — sans dairy!
Mmmm those look good! Such fluffy muffins 🙂
Thank you so much June!
Beautiful looking muffins. We love all your pictures and recipes and would love to have you share your pictures with us at foodieportal.com.
Thank you; I really appreciate it!
What a perfect flavour combination for Valentine’s Day!
Thanks Nicola!
This Whole Wheat Strawberry Banana Muffins are my father’s favorite! He always wants me to bake for him! I appreciate all the posts pictures! Thank you!
My pleasure Michelle! That’s really sweet of you to bake for your father. 🙂
thee would be perfect for us, Stella loves fruit muffins,and Charlie love chocolate chip muffins, you’ve got both!
If Stella liked these muffins, I’d be so happy! I know how refined her palate is these days! 🙂
Is it possible when you are doing the nutrition info to let us know what the weight of a serving or nutrional values per 100g is? I’m doing slimming world and am trying to work the “syn” value but need to know the weight of a serving or per 100g details to do it
At this point, I’m unable to provide the weight of individual servings, but if you have a kitchen scale (this is the one I use and is fairly inexpensive), that should help you track your foods Anna!
I made these yesterday and they turned out terrible. I used 1 Tbsp melted butter instead of the organic melt spread stuff but otherwise followed the recipe exactly and the batter ended up more like cookie dough. It was so thick I could hardly fold in the strawberries and choc chips. After baking, they ended up dry and flavorless. Needless to say, I will not be making these again.
I’m sorry the muffins didn’t turn out Erika; that must have been disappointing. If the batter was too thick, then there was most likely too much flour in it. How did you measure the flour? I’ve found that if I scoop it directly from the container with measuring cups instead of lightly spooning and leveling, I end up with 1.5 times as much flour. Perhaps that could be the culprit!