In my sophomore year of high school, I signed up for AP World History. The course sped through the material at a much faster rate than the regular or honors classes, starting with a ten-chapter summer reading assignment from the college-level textbook, along with a corresponding test on the first day of school, and culminating in a country-wide cumulative AP Exam in the middle of May.
Since the course essentially ended with that huge exam, yet our school year finished a month later in mid-June, our teacher came up with some low-key assignments for those last few weeks to appease the principal and school board. We watched a few historical movies in class, including “Schindler’s List” and “Forrest Gump,” while scribbling answers on accompanying worksheets, and our teacher also handed out a group project during that time.
For the assignment, each team “founded” their own country, complete with a flag, national anthem, and basic government legislation, that we then presented to the rest of the class. With only a few class periods to work on it, my friends and I completed most of the project one weekend at my house.
Since she knew we’d be working all day long, writing those legal-like papers and practicing our national anthem performance, one girl’s mom stopped by a little bakery before dropping off her daughter. She picked up a few dozen mini muffins for us to nibble on as we sorted through the details, and they came in white paper bags with classic flavors like lemon poppy seed, blueberry, and chocolate chip. Even with just five of us girls, we still managed to polish off every last crumb by the time we finished!
When I talked with one of my other friends last week, she mentioned that AP testing had started at the school where she worked, and that brought back those memories from my sophomore year. As a result, I started craving mini muffins all over again… But I skipped the store-bought ones and baked these Chocolate Chip Mini Muffins instead!
This healthy recipe begins with white whole wheat flour. White whole wheat flour is made by finely grinding a special type of white wheat, whereas regular whole wheat flour comes from a heartier variety of red wheat. This gives white whole wheat flour a lighter taste and texture, similar to that of all-purpose flour, but it still has the same health benefits as regular whole wheat flour.
Note: Whole wheat pastry flour would be a great substitute, and I’ve also included my preferred gluten-free option in the Notes section beneath the recipe.
While many traditional muffin recipes call for ½ cup of oil—or more!—this one is the exact opposite. Your skinny mini muffins get the majority of their tender texture from my favorite ingredient in healthier baking. Do you know what it is? That’s right—it’s Greek yogurt! Greek yogurt provides the same moisture as extra butter or oil for a fraction of the calories, and it gives your baked treats a protein boost, too!
To sweeten these little beauties, you’ll skip the refined sugar and mix in a combination of honey and vanilla crème stevia. Stevia is a plant-based, no-calorie sweetener that’s clean eating friendly, and it’s very concentrated. A little goes a long way! This is the kind that I buy because I love its warm vanilla flavor, and it has virtually no aftertaste. You can find it at many health-oriented grocery stores, as well as online. (And you’ll use it in all of these recipes of mine, too!)
And of course, the best part… The mini chocolate chips! (Yes, I’m a huge chocoholic—it’s why I wrote my Healthier Chocolate Treats cookbook!) These are one of my favorite brands of mini chips because they melt really well and they taste extra rich. Don’t forget to save a few to press into the tops of the batter for a pretty presentation!
A quick note about liners… Low-fat muffins (and cupcakes) stick to liners like superglue because they contain so little butter and oil, so I highly recommend skipping them for this recipe. If you do decide to bake your mini muffins in paper liners like I did in these photos, you must generously coat the liners with cooking spray. They’ll still stick a little if you don’t coat the liners completely, but this trick prevents the muffin sides from sticking quite so much.
Time for breakfast! And a snack… And dessert… Yes, I may have eaten more than my fair share of these—whoops! ? When you bake your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking. I’d love to see your mini muffins!
| Chocolate Chip Mini Muffins | | Print |
- 2 cups (240g) white whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 tbsp (15mL) vanilla extract
- ½ cup (120g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- 2 tbsp (30mL) honey
- ¾ tsp vanilla crème stevia
- ¾ cup (180mL) nonfat milk
- 5 tbsp (70g) miniature chocolate chips
- Preheat the oven to 350°F, and lightly coat 32 mini muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs and vanilla. Stir in the Greek yogurt, mixing until no large lumps remain. Mix in the honey and stevia. Alternate between adding the flour mixture and milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture, and stirring just until incorporated. (For best results, add the flour mixture in 4 equal parts.) Gently fold in ¼ cup of mini chocolate chips.
- Divide the batter between the prepared muffin cups, and gently press the remaining chocolate chips into the tops. Bake at 350°F for 11-14 minutes or until the tops are firm to the touch. Cool in the muffin cups for 5 minutes before carefully transferring to a wire rack.
Whole wheat pastry flour, regular whole wheat flour, or all-purpose flour may be substituted for the white whole wheat flour.
Agave or pure maple syrup may be substituted for the honey.
If you prefer, an additional 6 tablespoons of honey may be substituted for the vanilla crème stevia, and the milk should be reduced to 6 tablespoons to compensated for the added liquid.
Any milk may be substituted in place of the nonfat milk.
Be VERY careful if using liners! Generously coat the liners with nonstick cooking spray before adding the muffin batter. This batter will stick to liners like superglue if they aren’t coated with cooking spray.
If you prefer, this recipe will yield 12 standard sized muffins. The baking temperature remains the same. Begin checking on them after about 15 minutes. The muffins will be done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and the tops feel firm to the touch.
{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat, lower sugar, higher protein}
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Omgoodness!! I just had to share my success with these, because I am so impressed! I was originally just looking for a new muffin recipe that used nonfat plain yogurt, because I had some in the fridge that needed to be used. Stumbled upon these beauties on Pinterest, and figured I’d give them a shot with what I had/preferred… Used whole wheat pastry flour, 6Tbl raw organic cane sugar instead of extra honey (and accidentally whisked both with my eggs and vanilla), full-fat canned coconut milk (also needed to be used), and too many chocolate chips because I wanted to finish the partial bag I had ?
I didn’t even let them fully cool before tasting, and I silently scolded myself because I knew they’d be better once cooled. But it was still amazing!! I’m glad I still have more yogurt now, because I’ll definitely be making more of these soon!!
Oh, and my yogurt was just regular – not Greek, which also had me curious since that’s extra liquid. Currently eating muffin #3 ?
I’m so glad you enjoyed these mini muffins Alyssa!! That means the world to me that you’d like to make them again — and that you’ve already eaten three! That’s the best kind of compliment, so thank you! 😉 Thanks for including your recipe modifications too. I always love hearing what tweaks work! 🙂
its great!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed these muffins Marie! Thanks for taking the time to let me know! 🙂
Already eyeing for another recipe to make for the weekend. If I happen to not want to use stevia, is it possible to replace it with more natural honey?
Thank you!!
I really appreciate your interest in my recipes Char! I’ve actually included alternatives for the stevia in the Notes section of the recipe (located directly underneath the Instructions). I know it can be easy to miss that! 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think of these mini muffins if you try making them!
I just made this recipe this morning and I am so happy with it! I used honey instead of stevia, plain whole wheat flour, and fat free regular yogurt instead of Greek. I also made them standard size muffins. They were amazing fresh out of the oven! I’ve tried a lot of different “healthy” recipes but most of them have been bland and dry… this is the first one I’ve actually liked. Gave them to one other person who thought they were a bit rubbery but I’m guessing it was from the flour substitution or because he was hangry????. (He still ate the whole thing which is a success lol). Will be making again for breakfast or even dessert and I can’t wait to try more of these recipes! If you have doubts, definitely make these, they’re delicious and you won’t regret it!
I’m so glad you loved these muffins Emily! That truly means the world to me that you would consider making them again — and more of my recipes too! You just made my entire day. I’m so honored!! 🙂 That’s curious about the rubbery texture comment from your friend… What flour did you use? Did you happen to use an electric or stand mixer to make the batter, by any chance? I’d love to help solve that mystery! 😉
Thanks for reply! I used regular whole wheat flour because I didn’t have white whole wheat. I know that can be a little heavier and drier so not sure if that could be it? I didn’t use any kind of mixer- I whisked the wet ingredients and plain nonfat yogurt then used a wooden spoon to mix in the dry ingredients and milk. The first time alternating I didn’t add enough milk so had to go back and add more later and ended up starting with the dry and ending with the milk. Not sure if I overmixed or if that could be the problem… I also used 1/2 c honey in place of stevia as directed. To be honest they were a bit rubbery but not enough to stop me from eating them… they’re still delicious and a win for being healthy too!
It’s my pleasure Emily — I’m always happy to help! 🙂 Usually a rubbery texture is a sign of overmixing, which is why I asked about the mixer. It’s really easy to overmix with a mixer, especially when it comes to healthier recipes that don’t contain a lot of fat! 😉 To help prevent overmixing by hand, I actually recommend using a whisk where instructed and fork for everything else, instead of a wooden spoon! The tines of the fork allow the ingredients to pass through and combine together more evenly (compared to the flat side of a spoon, which doesn’t allow for any ingredients to pass through!). Does that make sense?
Finally, how did you measure the flour? Did you use measuring cups or a kitchen scale?
Thanks so much! I used measuring cups but did the fork method. Next time I’ll use that mixing trick! Also I just bought the white WW flour (yay) so I’ll be trying again with that! Thanks for all your help! Planning to try one of the granola bars next!
You’re welcome Emily! I’m always happy to help! 🙂 I can’t wait to hear how the white whole wheat flour version turns out — and what you think of the granola bars too!
Hi Amy. I was wondering if there something I can use in this recipe to give it a brown sugar flavor like toll house cookies. I’ve made these and while very good, I think some brown sugar flavor would make them rock.
I’m so glad you enjoyed these muffins Michele! If you’d like to use brown sugar in place of the stevia and honey, then use ½ cup of brown sugar, and reduce the milk to ½ cup + 2 tablespoons to compensate for the added volume. (If the batter seems thicker than with the stevia, then add 1 more tablespoon of milk!) 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think of that brown sugar version if you try it!
These are amazing! I made just as directed and they are very soft and fluffy.
I’m so glad you enjoyed these muffins, Jennifer! Thanks for taking the time to let me know. It means a lot!
If I am wanting a muffin that is not low fat should I use whole milk and full fat greek yogurt?
I have skinny little girls and a skinny dad that needs to put on a few pounds but I want it to be healthy as well!
Hey Amy,
Beauty of a recipe! Yum! People – make these!
Also: would you pretty please add a “jump to recipe” button? Often, my baking happens when the pantry is snackless and my kids are whining incessantly about it and I need to make something fast because the 6 year old gets HANGRY (like his mother). So often if a site doesn’t have the Jump-to button, I’m moving on quickly to the next site that does. Just a suggestion. Not all people are as pathologically impatient as me.
But great site, great recipes! Thanks! Heather
Hi Heather! We truly appreciate your interest in these recipes! We are actually working on adding a “Jump to Recipe” button to all of our recipes. It requires some coding and reconfiguring of all recipes individually, and with 1000+ recipes on Amy’s blog, it’s taking a bit of time to do. However, I promise adding that “Jump to Recipe” button to all recipes as quickly as possible is a top priority! Thanks so much for the feedback! 😉
Awesome! 🥰