A few days after Thanksgiving, my parents asked if I wanted to help make Grandma’s traditional fruitcake recipe. Since I bake for a living (Amy’s Healthy Baking is my full-time job!) and had just prepared our entire holiday feast with my dad, I politely declined. I was actually looking forward to a little time away from the kitchen!
When I passed through a few minutes later on my way to a short workout on Dad’s elliptical trainer, I greeted my parents, my brother, and his best friend and inquired how they were doing with the recipe. With ingredients scattered haphazardly across the countertops, my brother peering over the 1950s recipe, and Mom holding sticks of butter trying to figure out how to soften them…
I immediately abandoned my workout plans and planted myself in the kitchen to supervise. Over the next hour, I taught Mom how to lower the power level on our microwave to quickly soften butter, showed my brother how to bring cold eggs to room temperature in just 5 minutes, and demonstrated to Dad how to coat baking pans with cooking spray without getting any on his hands or forearm. (Maybe you saw all of that on my Snapchat or Instagram accounts?…)
When they eventually put the butter-laden batter in the oven to bake and set a timer, I headed out of the kitchen to squeeze in my workout. As I stretched to cool down a little while later, my brother popped his head in and showed me a toothpick. “How much more time does it need?” he asked, holding up the little stick with batter clinging to all sides.
I guess I finally figured out why my family keeps me around, especially during the holidays! ⛄️
Although my parents absolutely adore Grandma’s indulgent fruitcake and made that loaf disappear in less than a week, I prefer holiday treats with much less butter and sugar… Like this Healthy Chocolate Chip Gingerbread! It’s full of irresistible cozy spices and plenty of chocolate, but with no butter, refined flour or sugar and only 154 calories, I never feel guilty eating a slice!
Or two… Or three…
To make this healthy gingerbread loaf, you’ll start with whole wheat flour. (Or gluten-free, if you prefer! I included my favorite blend in the Notes section of the recipe.) Whole wheat flour has lots of health benefits, like extra fiber, and with how many spices you’ll add, they completely mask any “wheat-y” flavor!
Whereas traditional gingerbread recipes rely on lots of oil or butter, this recipe requires just 1 tablespoon! Instead, the rest of its tender texture comes from one of my favorite ingredients in healthier baking… Greek yogurt! Greek yogurt adds the same moisture as extra oil or butter for a fraction of the calories, and it gives your gingerbread a big protein boost, too!
To sweeten this loaf, you’ll use a combination of pure maple syrup and molasses. Skip the pancake syrups or sugar-free syrups; those contain refined sugar or corn syrup, which we’re avoiding in this healthier recipe. The only ingredient on the label should be “maple syrup,” and it generally comes in thin glass bottles or squat plastic jugs. You can also buy it online here for a slightly discounted price!
As for the molasses, it provides sweetness as well as the other half of the iconic gingerbread taste. That deep, rich, cozy, oh-so-irresistible flavor in gingerbread? It’s all from the molasses, so don’t skip it! Molasses is inexpensive, shelf-stable, and keeps for ages, and you’ll use it in all of these recipes of mine, too.
Now for my favorite part… The chocolate chips! (I’m a huge chocoholic, which is why I published my Healthier Chocolate Treats cookbook!) I absolutely love Ghirardelli’s mini chocolate chips because they taste very rich and melt really well. Plus their smaller size ensures that every bite of gingerbread contains chocolate!
Ready to bake your own? And when you do, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees I’ll see your picture! ?) I’d love to see your gingerbread and feature it in my Sunday Spotlight series!
| Healthy Chocolate Chip Gingerbread | | Print |
- 2 cups (240g) whole wheat or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 2 tbsp (11g) ground ginger*
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp (14g) unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted and cooled slightly
- 2 large egg whites, room temperature
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
- ¾ cup (180g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- ¼ cup (60mL) molasses
- ¼ cup (60mL) pure maple syrup
- 6 tbsp (90mL) nonfat milk
- ¼ cup (56g) miniature chocolate chips, divided
- Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line a 9x5” loaf pan with foil, and lightly coat with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour and next 7 ingredients (through salt). In a separate bowl, whisk together the butter, egg whites, and vanilla. Stir in the yogurt, mixing until no large lumps remain. Stir in the molasses and maple syrup. Alternate between adding the flour mixture and milk to the yogurt mixture, beginning and ending with the flour mixture, and stirring just until incorporated. (For best results, add the flour in 3 equal parts.) Fold in 3 ½ tablespoons of chocolate chips.
- Spread the batter into the prepared pan, and gently press the remaining chocolate chips into the top. Bake at 325°F for 45-55 minutes or until the top feels firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool the loaf in the pan for 10 minutes before lifting out by the foil and transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
For the gluten-free flour, I recommend the following blend: 1 cup (120g) millet flour, ½ cup (60g) tapioca flour, ½ cup (60g) brown rice flour, and 1 ½ teaspoons xanthan gum. Most store-bought gluten-free flour blends will work as well, if they’re measured like this.
Do not substitute anything for the molasses. It’s a dark, thick liquid with a consistency similar to honey, and it’s what gives gingerbread its iconic flavor and color. Molasses is inexpensive, shelf-stable and can be found on the baking aisle near the other liquid sweeteners. (You’ll use it in all of these recipes of mine, too!)
Honey or agave may be substituted for the pure maple syrup. Alternatively, ¼ cup (48g) of coconut sugar, brown sugar, or granulated sugar along with 2 tablespoons (30mL) additional milk may be substituted for the pure maple syrup.
Any milk may be substituted for the nonfat milk.
I highly recommend Ghirardelli’s mini chocolate chips! They taste so rich and melt really well.
{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat, low calorie}
View Nutrition Information
You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♥ Healthy Classic Gingerbread with Maple Glaze
♥ The Ultimate Healthy Gingerbread Cookies
♥ Chocolate Chip Gingerbread Oatmeal Cookies
♥ Single-Serving Chocolate Chip Gingerbread Mug Cake
♥ Gingerbread Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
♥ Chocolate Chip Gingerbread Scones
♥ Chocolate Chip Gingerbread Mini Muffins
The PERFECT recipe to feed my gingerbread addiction…you clearly know the way to my heart! 😉 Looks amazing Amy!! 🙂
Thanks Marina!! It’s easy enough when we’re twins and I can assume you’ll love basically everything I do! 😉
anyway to lower the carb content? 28+grams per slice is way too many for me. I am diabetic & trying to low carb my diet.
I appreciate your interest in my recipe! You can use ¾ teaspoon of this vanilla creme stevia + ¼ cup of milk to replace the pure maple syrup. You can also use ¼ cup of granulated Splenda + 2 tablespoons of milk for the pure maple syrup, if you aren’t a fan of stevia. (Don’t replace the molasses though — it’s necessary for the proper taste!) I’d love to hear what you think of the gingerbread if you try it!
I too spend a lot of time baking in the kitchen – of course I love it, but I agree that it’s nice to have a little break once in a while! As with your case, those breaks are often short-lived if family begin to get involved in the kitchen!☺ I had been planning to make some Lebkuchen biscuits on Wednesday, but I was ill on Wednesday evening. So my dad kindly stepped in and baked the biscuits for me! In fact, I think that was the first thing he’s baked for years, and they turned out really well! That’s what I love about baking – it brings people together?
Aww that’s so sweet of your father to jump in and help Katie! That’s so true about baking and bringing people together. Some of my favorite memories with my dad revolve around us making things together in the kitchen! 🙂 I hope you’re feeling much better and enjoying your Lebkuchen biscuits!
Absolutely? Also, I think part of the reason why I enjoy baking so much is because I have such fond memories of it (as well as the fact that you can eat the delicious treat afterwards, of course!!) I’m feeling a lot better, thank you Amy. And yes, the biscuits have nearly all gone – having shared them out☺ Having not done any baking for a few days, I just got the urge to get back in the kitchen and was thinking of what I could bake. Seeing this gingerbread, it’s absolutely perfect, and I’m about to go and make it now… I can’t wait!?
You’re such a sweetheart to pick my recipe as your first to make now that you’re back in the kitchen Katie!! Thank you! 🙂 I’m so glad you’re feeling better too!
Hello.could I use regular oil in this recipe?what about omitting the chocolate?
Thank you for your recipes.
Yes to both! 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of the gingerbread Vanessa!
I made these this morning ☺️ I followed the recipe exactly and made 12 muffins, baked at 350 for 20 minutes. They had a wonderful fluffy & moist texture! Definitely on the spicy gingerbread side 😉 but I LOVE the clean ingredients!!! I’m such a great fan of your blog 💜 Thank you Amy!! 👏
You’re so sweet, Brit! That means the world to me that you’re a fan — and I’m incredibly honored that you’d take the time to let me know! ♡ I’m glad you enjoyed this recipe, especially the texture! I’m a huge fan of extra spicy gingerbread… Perhaps you’ve noticed? 😉 Thanks for sharing your modification to make muffins too. I always love hearing what recipe tweaks work!!
Can I substitute a dairy free yogurt to the Greek yogurt? I can’t have dairy.
Yes! Non-dairy yogurts (ie soy-based, almond-based, etc!) may be substituted for the Greek yogurt in this recipe. I can’t wait to hear what you think of this gingerbread, Steph!
hi – can we use plain full fat yogurt instead of greek yogurt? thank you amy.
arti
Yes, plain full-fat yogurt should work! 🙂 I’m excited to hear what you think of this gingerbread, Arti!