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These Healthy Chocolate Muffins taste like a brownie, with a sneaky veggie hidden inside. There’s no flour or oil required, so they are naturally gluten-free, and kids love them!
This muffin recipe tastes like a cross between a chocolate cake and a brownie. You’d never know that there’s pumpkin puree hidden inside! (It’s for texture, not flavor.)
Instead of using dry ingredients, like white whole wheat flour or oat flour, this recipe is flourless, which means it’s also gluten-free. Almond butter and eggs work together to create a fluffy texture you’ll love, with no oil required.
These healthy muffins make a delicious breakfast or snack, when you need something quick to grab.
Ingredients You’ll Need
This pumpkin puree in this recipe adds extra nutrients and moisture, without adding a noticeable flavor. If you don’t have canned pumpkin on hand, you could swap it for mashed ripe banana or unsweetened applesauce, but keep in mind that both of those options will change the rich chocolate flavor.
You could also use Greek yogurt as a substitute if you don’t need a dairy-free recipe.
How to Make Healthy Chocolate Muffins
1. Mix the wet ingredients.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the almond butter, pumpkin puree, eggs, coconut sugar, maple syrup, cacao powder, vanilla extract, baking soda, and salt.
Mix well, until the batter looks smooth. Fold in the chocolate chips, if you want a double chocolate muffin.
2. Bake.
Line a muffin tin with 12 liners, then use a 1/4 cup measure to scoop the batter into each spot. You should get 12 muffins from this recipe.
Sprinkle a few extra chocolate chips on top, if you’d like.
Bake in the oven at 350ºF for 25 minutes, or until the tops of the muffins rise and look dry on top. If the center of the muffin sinks significantly, that means they probably didn’t cook quite long enough.
You can also test the center of the muffin with a toothpick, if you prefer.
3. Enjoy!
Let the muffins cool in the pan for 20 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to finish cooling completely.
Serve the muffins at room temperature, then store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can store the muffins in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months. To thaw, place them in the fridge for up to 48 hours so they can soften again.
You can replace the maple syrup with honey if you prefer, but the honey flavor will be slightly more noticeable. I don’t recommend replacing the granulated sugar with a liquid sweetener, or you might not achieve the same texture, but you can use another granulated sugar if you need to.
If you grease the pan with cooking spray or coconut oil, the muffins will not release quite as nicely. (The muffin liners guarantee they’ll come of out the pan easily.) Without the liners, you’ll probably need to run a knife around the edges to help them release from the pan.
You can swap the cacao powder for cocoa powder if that’s what you keep on hand, and you can also use peanut butter instead of almond butter if you prefer. (The peanut butter creates a slightly drier texture.) If you want to try another veggie puree, you can toss raw zucchini in a blender to create a zucchini puree that could be used instead of the pumpkin.
You can add a teaspoon of espresso powder, if you keep it on hand, to emphasize the chocolate taste. For a less-sweet muffin, you can also cut back on the maple syrup, for a darker chocolate flavor.
Looking for more healthy muffin recipes? Try Blender Banana Oatmeal Muffins, Raspberry Chocolate Chip Almond Flour Muffins, or Chocolate Zucchini Muffins, for another variation.
Ingredients
- 1 cup creamy almond butter
- ½ cup pumpkin pumpkin puree
- 2 whole eggs
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- ½ cup coconut sugar
- ¼ cup cacao powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ cup dark chocolate chips , plus more for topping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF and line a muffin tin with 12 muffin liners. In a large bowl, stir together the almond butter, pumpkin puree, eggs, maple syrup, coconut sugar, cacao powder, vanilla extract, baking soda, and salt. Once the batter looks smooth, fold in the chocolate chips.
- Use a ¼ cup measure to divide the batter between the 12 prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle a few extra chocolate chips on top, if you like.
- Bake at 350ºF until the muffins have risen, and the center looks dry, about 25 minutes.
- Let the muffins to cool in the pan for 20 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. You can serve them at room temperature, or store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.
Video
Notes
- Nutrition information is for 1 of 12 muffins, including the chocolate chips. This information is automatically calculated and is just an estimate, not a guarantee.
- See the full post above for substitution tips. You can use any other nut butter or fruit/veggie puree in this recipe for a similar texture, but the flavor will change depending on what you use.
- I haven’t had the chance to test a vegan version of this recipe yet, so I’m not sure if there’s a successful swap for eggs.
Nutrition
If you try these healthy chocolate muffins, please leave a comment and star rating below letting me know how you like them.
This was most delicious muffin I have ever tasted ..I used cane sugar instead of coconut sugar …will be making them again soon.
These were awesome! I normally don’t comment but I had to for this one! My husband told me he would never have thought they were Paleo! Making again tonight!
What if u don’t have coconut sugar?
I only tested this recipe that way, so you’ll have to experiment if you want to use another sweetener. Sucanat might have similar results, or you could try a liquid natural sweetener making a more moist muffin.
I omit coconut sugar. The maple syrup makes them sweet enough for my kids.
Made these this weekend and they were SO SO good! My daughter (who can detect a “healthy” recipe a mile away) even liked them!…that’s saying a lot! Still so impressed how they turned out with no flour in them. Love all of your recipes! Everything I have made has turned out great! 🙂
I’m so glad to hear that! Glad you all enjoyed them! 🙂
I have now made these multiple times and this recipe has to be one of my favorites from Detoxinista. My only substitute is organic raw cacao powder and the finished product reminds me of a very decadent chocolate cake. For some reason, like with most Detoxinista recipes I had to bake a little bit longer then the recipe called for, but the texture is very cake/muffin like to me, yum! I have tried in both silicone muffin cups and in a 9×9 pan. Both came out great, but I definitely had to adjust for longer cooking time in the cake pan.
I don’t see myself getting tired of these anytime soon and when everybody at work brings cookies and donuts, I can have one of these instead!
Hi Megan
When you do your baking for deserts what rack level do you usually use?
As well, I am a big fan of your website which I discovered quite by accident. There is not a recipe that I have tried and not enjoyed. You have introduced me to a whole new way of cooking. I purchased your new book and love it.
Thank you
Elaine
Thanks, I’m glad you’re enjoying the new book! I always use the middle rack for baking. 🙂
Hello~ You might get a little chuckle out of this. I downloaded the My Fitness Pal app and when I got to the place to enter my birthdate, I realized that I had to hit each month starting with 1983 one month at a time till I got back to 1934! After nearly getting carpal tunnel, I finally got to 1942 and was pushing on thinking “I’m almost there!” only to have it revert back to 1983! My husband said they probably figured nobody that old was going to care about how many carbs in a pumpkin muffin. And by the way, they are excellent. I used walnuts instead of chocolate. He approved, too!
PS: Never could get to 1934. Do you have any ideas about carbs? I used Xyzitol…..only a couple of tablespoons if that much.
Goodness, these are a delicious treat! They’re so decadent, I’d consider them to be more like cupcakes than muffins. So good and easy!
*off
Would using homemade pumpkin puree work? Or would it throw of the flavor/texture? In the past, I’ve felt the difference between canned and fresh can be significant. If I did try it out, would you have any recommendations for adapting any ingredients? Thanks so much for your wonderful recipes!
Yes absolutely it will work, and this recipe tastes even better with homemade pumpkin puree. Actually there is a big difference between canned pumpkin and fresh pumpkin puree. I keep some frozen in the freezer in 1/2 portions just for the recipe throughout the year.