Healthy Chocolate Muffins

Remember our Healthy Breakfast Muffins? Well, what if we told you we've created an equally ooey, gooey chocolate version? These melt-in-your-mouth Healthy Chocolate Muffins are completely gluten-freedairy-free and have no added sugar! You can now indulge in your childhood fantasy of having chocolate for breakfast without any guilt or hesitation.

What stands out

Not only are these muffins extremely simple to make and can be prepped in just 10 minutes but also you’ll wonder how something so moist, fluffy, and can possibly be good for you! Biting into these muffins will feel like biting into a rich, warm chocolate cake without any of the calories, sugars, or internal dialogue telling you to PUT THAT CAKE DOWN!

Most importantly, these Healthy Chocolate Muffins are versatile and customizable! You can add any fillings you like such as nuts, berries, or chocolate chips to make them extra chocolatey. We love enjoying them with some extra hazelnut butter on top while they are warm, but you can top them off with anything you’d like. Feel free to double or triple the recipe as this recipe only makes four medium-sized muffins.

How to Prepare

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Mash a ripe banana in a bowl and stir in an egg, lastly, mix in the pure vanilla extract and hazelnut butter until well mixed.

Add oat flour, cacao, and baking powder to the mixture and combine thoroughly.

Scoop the batter into a lined muffin tin (using parchment paper liners).

Bake at 350°F for 17-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Now you can enjoy plain or with any toppings!

Kitchen tip

Enjoy the muffins with toppings like butter, additional hazelnut butter Homemade Healthier Nutella or whatever you like!

Swaps

Remember to adjust quantities accordingly based on the substitutions you make for these Healthy Chocolate Muffins, and feel free to customize the recipe to suit your taste preferences!

1. Instead of oat flour, you can try using whole wheat flour, almond flour, or coconut flour. However, you will have to experiment and adjust the quantities.
2. Feel free to get creative with toppings such as a dollop of yogurt, fresh fruit slices, any nut or seed butter like more hazelnut butter, Nutella or try some of our Homemade Healthier Nutella.
3. For a vegan option, substitute the egg with a flax or chia egg (mixing ground flaxseeds or chia seeds with water until it forms a gel-like consistency). We have not tried this, so if you do, let us know how it goes in the comments!
4. Enhance the flavor of your Healthy Chocolate Muffins with spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, or a pinch of sea salt.
5. For sweeter muffins, you could add some honey, maple syrup, or stevia.

Serve it with

• Coffee or tea
• Brunch alongside an egg dish like our Zucchini Egg Bake

Questions

What if the muffins come out too dense?

Always check the baking powder! If the muffins come out too dense and not fluffy and moist, your baking powder is likely out of date.

How can we check if our baking powder is still good?

You can test if your baking powder has expired by adding ½ teaspoon baking powder to ¼ cup hot water. If the water bubbles up, it’s not expired; if it does not bubble, it’s expired and should be tossed. When using baking powder, always check the expiration date. Expired baking powder will not help your recipe rise in the oven, and you’ll have a sad, deflated muffin.

How can we make these Muffins gluten-free?

Ensure that all of your ingredients are gluten-free if you are baking for yourself or someone with a gluten allergy.

What can we use if we Don’t have oat flour?

You can certainly use quick cooking rolled oats but the texture won’t be the same. Alternatively, you can blend oats to make oat flour! Feel free to use all-purpose flour as well if that’s all you have on hand.

Why are the metric weights of your ingredients different than the results of Google and our kitchen scale?

While 1 cup of flour weighs 160g in our kitchen, it might weigh anywhere from 120 to 180g in your kitchen and there’s a few reasons for that. The weight of ingredients may vary due to the brand of ingredients, the brand and style (wet vs dry) of measuring cups and spoons, and the technique for measuring into cups: scooping and leveling versus spooning the ingredients into the cup measure. For best results, go by the weight listed in the recipe.

Ingredients

Makes 4 muffins

• 1 mashed banana, the riper the sweeter
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ⅓ cup hazelnut butter, any nut or seed butter will work
• ⅓ cup oat flour
• 1 tablespoon unsweetened cacao powder
• ½ teaspoon baking powder

Equipment

• Muffin Pan
• Cupcake Liners
• Mixing Bowls
• Measuring Cups + Spoons

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350F (180C).
2. In a bowl, mash the ripe banana with a fork. Add the egg and stir. Add the pure vanilla extract and hazelnut butter and mix until fully incorporated.
3. Add the oat flour, cacao, and baking powder to the mixture and combine everything well.
4. Scoop the mixture into a lined muffin tin lined with parchment paper cupcake liners.
5. Bake at 350F for 17-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
6. Enjoy with any toppings you like, such as butter, or additional hazelnut butter! You can even use Nutella if you feel like indulging. Enjoy!