The Ultimate Healthy Chocolate Muffins
These are my absolute favorite chocolate muffins! Just like bakery-style ones, these homemade breakfast muffins are incredibly soft and moist, with an almost fudgy brownie-like texture. Plenty of chocolate morsels are sprinkled throughout the batter, and every bite is filled with rich chocolate flavor (similar to 72-75% dark chocolate!). Leftover muffins will keep for at least five days if stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator, and they freeze really well too!
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups (100g) unsweetened cocoa powder (measured like this)
- 1 ¼ cups (150g) white whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ¾ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ tbsp (7g) unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted and cooled slightly
- 2 large egg whites, room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 ½ tsp liquid stevia (see Notes!)
- ½ cup (120g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- 1 cup + 2 tbsp (270mL) nonfat milk, divided
- ¼ cup (56g) miniature chocolate chips, divided
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F, and coat 12 muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray. (If using liners, then line 12 muffins cups with liners and generously coat them with cooking spray.)
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the coconut oil or butter, egg whites, vanilla extract, and liquid stevia. Add in the Greek yogurt, stirring until no large lumps remain. Stir in ½ cup + 2 tablespoons of milk. Alternate between adding the flour mixture and remaining milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture, and stirring just until incorporated. (For best results, add the flour mixture in 3 equal parts.) Set aside ½ tablespoon of miniature chocolate chips, and gently fold in the rest.
- Divide the batter between the prepared muffin cups, and gently press the reserved miniature chocolate chips on top. Bake at 350°F for 21-24 minutes or until the tops feel firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean (or with a few crumbs attached). Cool in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
IMPORTANT MEASURING NOTE – READ BEFORE BEGINNING: It’s really important to measure the flour and cocoa powder correctly, using this method or a kitchen scale. (← That’s the one I own!) Too much of either ingredient will make your muffins turn out crumbly or dry. Too much cocoa powder can also make them taste bitter, rather than rich and chocolaty.
IMPORTANT FLAVOR NOTE – READ BEFORE BEGINNING: These muffins taste similar to 72-75% dark chocolate. For sweeter muffins, add 2-4 tablespoons of granulated sucralose along with the liquid stevia. Alternatively, substitute 2-4 tablespoons of pure maple syrup, honey, or agave for an equal amount of milk (ie if you add 2 tablespoons (30mL) of pure maple syrup, reduce the milk to 1 cup (240mL) instead).
FLOUR ALTERNATIVES: Whole wheat pastry flour, regular whole wheat flour, or all-purpose flour may be substituted in place of the white whole wheat flour.
COCOA POWDER NOTE: I like using Hershey’s regular unsweetened cocoa powder because it’s affordable, easy to find (at least in the US!), and has a good chocolate flavor. I do not recommend substituting Dutched or special dark cocoa powder. Both Dutched and special dark cocoa powder have a different acidity level, which affects the taste and texture of your muffins.
EGG WHITES NOTE: These muffins require 2 full egg whites. The whites contain the majority of the protein in eggs, and that protein is required to ensure the muffins maintain their shape and texture while cooling. If you prefer to use whole eggs, use 2 large eggs AND reduce the milk by 1 tablespoon to compensate for the added liquid volume from the yolks.
STEVIA NOTES + ALTERNATIVES: Many stevia brands and products have different sweetness levels, so they’re not necessarily 1-for-1 substitutes for each other. For the best results, use the same liquid stevia that I do. I buy it online here (← that’s the best price I’ve found!), and you’ll use it in all of these recipes of mine too!
However, if you really prefer to omit the liquid stevia from the muffins, substitute ¾ cup (144g) granulated sugar, brown sugar, or coconut sugar AND reduce the milk to ¾ cup (180mL) to achieve a similar sweetness level. You may also substitute ¾ cup (180mL) pure maple syrup, honey, or agave AND reduce the milk to 6 tablespoons (90mL).
MILK ALTERNATIVES: Any milk may be substituted for the nonfat milk.
MINIATURE CHOCOLATE CHIPS NOTE: Ghirardelli’s mini chocolate chips are some of my favorites for both taste and texture, and Target’s own Good & Gather mini chocolate chips melt incredibly well too. (When I used those, the ones hidden inside of these muffins stayed a little gooey and melty, even once the muffins had fully cooled!)
For completely sugar-free muffins, use sugar-free miniature chocolate chips, such as my homemade miniature chocolate chips.
GLUTEN-FREE VERSION: For the gluten-free flour, use the following: ½ cup (60g) millet flour, ½ cup (60g) tapioca flour, ¼ cup (30g) brown rice flour, and ¾ teaspoon xanthan gum. Many store-bought gluten-free flour baking blends (I like this one from Bob's Red Mill) will work as well, if measured like this.
HOW TO STORE: Store the fully cooled muffins in an airtight container in the refrigerator. They should keep for at least 5 days, if not longer.
These muffins also freeze really well. Remove any paper or foil liners before freezing. (They tend to stick a lot more after thawing.) To thaw, I like to reheat individual muffins in the microwave on 30% power until warmed all the way through. (They almost taste freshly baked when thawed like this!)
{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat, low sugar}
DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?I'd love to hear what you think of it in a comment below! If you take a picture, tag @amys.healthy.baking on Instagram or use the hashtag #amyshealthybaking.