A few weeks ago, one of my new neighbors and I stopped to chat while her nearly three-year-old daughter peddled a tricycle on the sidewalk. “I’ve been meaning to ask you,” my neighbor mentioned. “Do you have any easy chocolate recipes?”
(As the author of this chocolate cookbook, my eyes always light up when somebody else starts a conversation with me about chocolate!)
My neighbor explained that her young daughter loved chocolate treats, especially sweet store-bought pudding cups and fudgsicles… But as a personal trainer, she didn’t like their ingredient lists and wanted healthier alternatives for her little girl!
I offered to text her links to my one-bowl brownie and flourless brownie recipes, and she looked relieved when I explained neither included any refined flour or sugar. After waving good-bye to her daughter, slowly riding past the houses on her tricycle, I headed inside to find my phone.
As I typed, a light bulb went off in my head… I still had an entire batch of these in my freezer! I quickly piled them onto a plate and brought them over to my neighbor. She sent me a cute picture two minutes later of her toddler halfway through eating one, the chocolate still lingering on her lips. Absolutely adorable!
So when I baked a batch of these Healthy Double Chocolate Bran Muffins, I immediately knew the girl I wanted to give them to! They’re supremely tender and moist, full of melty chocolate chips and rich chocolate flavor, but just 128 calories with no refined flour or sugar!
And yes… Judging by my sweet little neighbor girl’s reaction of, “Mmmm! I like it!” after her first bite, they’re totally kid-approved!
Like I mentioned, these healthy chocolate muffins are full of wholesome ingredients! The kind of stuff that makes your mind and body feel good… And somehow magically tastes incredible at the same time. My favorite kind of recipe—especially since two types of chocolate are involved!
The first is cocoa powder! Just the regular ol’ kind, like this. Because you’re adding more cocoa powder than whole wheat flour (or gluten-free flour, if you prefer!), these muffins already taste really rich and decadent and chocolaty without Dutched or special dark chocolate.
Remember to measure the cocoa powder correctly, with this method or a kitchen scale! Too much cocoa powder will make your muffins dry and slightly bitter. This is the kitchen scale I own and love. It only cost $20! I use it to make every recipe that I share with you here because it ensures my treats turn out with the perfect taste and texture every time.
You’ll skip the refined sugar and use a combination of molasses (like this!) and pure maple syrup (like this!) to sweeten your muffins instead. I highly recommend using the molasses! It’s what gives bran muffins their iconic deep, cozy flavor. Molasses is inexpensive, shelf-stable, and great for all kinds of treats! (And with the holidays quickly approaching, you’ll need it for all of my gingerbread recipes too!)
I have a special trick to making extra tender bran muffins… You mix the oat bran (like this!) with milk and Greek yogurt first! Letting the oat bran sit in that liquid mixture while preparing the other ingredients makes it soften (similar to the way my overnight oats recipes work!). This means your bran muffins turn out supremely tender without lots of butter or oil. Total win!
Psst… You just need ½ tablespoon of butter or coconut oil!
Of course, we can’t forget that second super important type of chocolate… The mini chocolate chips! I prefer using mini chocolate chips because their smaller size ensures that every bite contains rich melty chocolate. These are my current obsession because they taste decadent and melt so well!
How’s that look for a healthy breakfast muffin?? ♡ And when you make your own, 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 muffins!
| Healthy Double Chocolate Bran Muffins | | Print |
- 1 ½ cups (180g) oat bran (measured like this and gluten-free if necessary)
- ½ cup (120g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- ¾ cup (180mL) nonfat milk, divided
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- ¾ cup (60g) unsweetened cocoa powder (measured like this)
- ¼ cup (30g) whole wheat or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ tbsp (7g) coconut oil or unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
- 2 large egg whites, room temperature
- ¼ cup (60mL) molasses, room temperature
- ¼ cup (60mL) pure maple syrup, room temperature
- 3 tbsp (42g) miniature chocolate chips, divided
- Preheat the oven to 350°F, and lightly coat 12 muffin cups with nonstick spray.
- In a medium bowl, stir together the oat bran, Greek yogurt, ½ cup of milk, and vanilla extract. Let the mixture rest for at least 10 minutes while preparing the remaining ingredients.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. In a third bowl, whisk together the coconut oil and egg whites. Stir in the molasses and maple syrup. Add the oat bran mixture, stirring until fully incorporated. Alternate between adding the flour mixture and remaining ¼ cup of milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture, and stirring just until incorporated. (For best results, add the flour mixture in 3 equal parts.) Fold in 2 ½ tablespoons of miniature chocolate chips.
- Evenly divide the batter between the prepared muffin cups, and press the remaining miniature chocolate chips into the tops. Bake at 350°F for 16-19 minutes or until the tops feel firm to the touch. Cool in the muffin cups for 5 minutes before carefully transferring to a wire rack.
For the gluten-free flour, use the following blend: 2 tablespoons (15g) millet flour, 1 tablespoon (7g) tapioca flour, 1 tablespoon (7g) brown rice flour, and ⅛ teaspoon xanthan gum. Most store-bought blends (like this one!) should also work, as long as they are measured like this.
White whole wheat flour, whole wheat pastry flour, or all-purpose flour may be substituted for the whole wheat flour.
Remember to measure the oat bran, cocoa powder, and flour correctly with this method or a kitchen scale. (← That's the one I own and love!) Too much of any of these ingredients will make your muffins dry (especially the oat bran; it acts like a sponge and soaks up so much liquid!). Too much cocoa powder will also make your muffins taste bitter, rather than rich and chocolaty.
Any milk may be substituted for the nonfat milk.
Honey or agave may be substituted for the maple syrup. Do not substitute pancake syrup because it will not produce the same taste or texture.
I don’t recommend substituting anything for the molasses; it’s required to produce the iconic bran muffin flavor. (And you'll use it in all of these recipes of mine, too!)
{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat}
View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♡ The Ultimate Healthy Chocolate Mini Muffins
♡ Healthy Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
♡ Healthy Mocha Chocolate Chip Mini Muffins
♡ Healthy Chocolate Chip Banana Bran Muffins
♡ Healthy Morning Glory Bran Muffins
♡ Healthy Almond Joy Bran Muffins
♡ …and the rest of Amy’s healthy muffin recipes!
Love these muffins! I just made them for the second time and made a double batch to stock my freezer! I used old fashioned oats instead of oat bran (as this is what I had on hand), and full fat Greek yogurt. The substitutions worked out just fine!
I’m so glad you’re enjoying these muffins Whitney! That means so much to me — thanks for taking the time to let me know! 🙂 I really appreciate you including your modifications too. I always love hearing what recipe tweaks work!
Hi Amy. No offence intended but I just wanted to correct a common misconception that molasses and maple syrup are healthier than granulated sugar. They are not, as they are mostly sucrose. Your body treats them the same as granulated sugar: splitting the sucrose into glucose and fructose (note that honey is high in fructose). Glucose is the energy of life and our body handles it efficiently, but fructose has to be sent to the liver for processing. Thanks to the high doses of granulated sugar, sucrose, and high fructose corn syrup in our food supply, our liver is bombarded by more fructose than it can handle. This results in fatty liver and insulin resistance, which is the root of many of today’s chronic diseases. Look it up. A much better option in baking is corn sugar, which is powdered glucose; it is also called dextrose. I am hoping to get more bakers to publish dextrose-based recipes on the web as we need to drastically reduce our intake of fructose. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
Hi Amy, I am going to make these tomorrow. Can I use vanilla greek yogurt instead of plain? If so, would I cut back on the vanilla extract?
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Leslie! Yes, you can substitute vanilla Greek yogurt for the plain. Since the vanilla flavor in the Greek yogurt is so subtle compared to the strength of vanilla extract, you shouldn’t need to reduce the vanilla extract at all. 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of these muffins!
I made these and they tasted great! Thanks for sharing the recipe!
(I didn’t have oat bran on hand so I substituted it with mostly wheat bran and some rolled oats)
I’m so glad you enjoyed these muffins Stephanie! Thanks so much for taking the time to let me know — and for including your recipe modifications too! I always love to hear what tweaks work. 🙂
Hi Amy, I want to try your recipe but before I do I wanted to know why you use egg whites instead of the whole egg. I do a lot of research on health and I have read that the most nutritious part of the egg is the yolk and that the cholesterol scare was created by cereal companies that were trying to get people to eat more cereal for breakfast. Also, they are now finding that higher cholesterol has diets are not related to heart disease.
I really appreciate your interest in my recipes Wayne! My family’s doctors do not share the same views about high cholesterol being unrelated to heart disease, so I still prefer to minimize cholesterol wherever possible so that my family members with high cholesterol can enjoy my baked treats without worrying. If you prefer, two whole eggs may be used in this recipe. I’d love to hear what you think if you try these bran muffins!
Amazing_recipe!!
And_so_healthy!!_Noone_could_tell_of_the_bran_in_it.
Could_you_make_it_also_with_cheese_and_salty_ingredients?
As_a_salty_version?_I-want_to-try!
You_are_a_star_Amy!
I am vegan and don’t eat eggs. Will it work to substitute flax and water for the eggs? Thank you! I’m enjoying your recipes.
It means so much that you’re enjoying my recipes, Debi! I don’t have much experience with flax eggs (I’m not too fond of flax’s taste!), but I know Ener-G will work! My brother is actually allergic to eggs, and Ener-G is my favorite substitute. It’s is a shelf-stable powder that keeps for ages. It works perfectly as an egg replacer in nearly all of my recipes, including this one! For my recipes, use 1 ½ teaspoons Ener-G + 2 tablespoons warm water for each egg white (and you’ll need an additional ½ tablespoon of butter or coconut oil {or Earth Balance, if you’re vegan!} for each egg yolk, although that doesn’t apply to this particular recipe!).
I can’t wait to hear what you think of these muffins if you end up making them!
I made these muffins in a pan for six jumbos. I was a bit nervous but it was too late in the day to run out for a new tin. They came out fantastic!! It’s difficult to find recipes that aren’t filled with sugar, tons of flour, and gobs of oil. Great creation. Thank you!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed these muffins, Patti! That’s so great to know that this muffin batter worked in six jumbo-sized muffin cups too. I always love hearing what recipe tweaks work, so thank you for taking the time to share! 🙂
These were a nice treat as I was craving something chocolately and healthy. They were a little on the bitter side as bran muffins can be. I love how moist they got on the second day, and with so little oil. I made a couple of changes: used wheat bran instead, one whole egg instead, and added some concentrated coffee. Great success!
I’m so happy you enjoyed these muffins, Kelsey! Thank you for taking the time to let me know! I really appreciate you sharing your recipe modifications too. I always love to hear what tweaks work! 🙂
Ok. So I might be the rebel here but for what it’s worth I figured I would share….. I made the recipe and I was super lazy so made some last minute adjustments.
I wasn’t sure how it would turn out so I cut everything in half. (And regret it that’s why I had to come back to get the receipt again)
I used a whole egg, all purpose flour regular lactose free milk and no molasses or syrup but instead I used maybe 2 tablespoons or 2.5 regular white sugar (super lazy I know but I was tired and was over the day) oh and regular semi sweet chips in place of the minis
The recipe turned out great even with all those changes!
I might follow it correctly this next time but then again it was so good how I did it I might not!
I’m so happy you enjoyed these muffins, Ashley! I always love when last minute modifications work out well! Thanks so much for taking the time to let us know what changes you made and how it turned out. It means a lot! 🙂
Thanks for the recipe, my picky eater daughter loves them! I want to try this batter in a 24-cup mini muffin tin, have you done this before or recommend a specific baking time?
I’m so happy to hear your daughter enjoyed these muffins, Kelly! You’re such a sweet mom to bake them for her! You can easily use a mini muffin pan for these instead! You’ll probably get around 24-28 mini muffins. Start checking on them after about 10-12 minutes because they’ll finish baking sooner than regular-sized muffins! 🙂