These Healthy Chocolate Muffins are made with 9 simple ingredients and packed with double chocolate flavor. Free of refined sugar, oil, and flour, each muffin has under 200 calories, 7g protein, 4g fiber, and 12g fat—perfect for a guilt-free chocolate fix!
Craving healthy muffin recipes? Check out my naturally sweet Healthy Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins or my perfect Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins—both are perfect for a quick, nutritious treat.
In This Post You'll Find:
My dear chocoholics, today I have something special for you. Something chocolatey, yummy, CLEAN, and healthy, too. HEALTHY chocolate muffins!
I have many healthy muffin recipes here on the blog – some are fruity, like these Strawberry Muffins or like these Peach Muffins or Blueberry Muffins, some are nutty and sweet, like my Easy Banana Nut Muffins, and some are slightly more chocolatey, like these Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins.
But I have to admit these healthy chocolate muffins are something else. They are very special. Think about the best chocolate muffin you ever ate. Remember the taste, texture, flavor, and chocolate taste? So YUMMY, right?
Well, these chocolate banana muffins are like that. But better because they are also healthy.
I’ve made these muffins healthy by replacing the typical chocolate muffin ingredients with healthy alternatives. And I ended up with these low sugar muffins that are so cute and delish. <---- LOVE
Reasons You'll Love It
- Made with 9 simple, wholesome ingredients—no refined sugar, oil, or flour
- Packed with protein and fiber for a satisfying, guilt-free snack
- Double the chocolatey flavor to satisfy your sweet tooth!
Tips For Making Super Moist Muffins
Here are some tried and true tricks you can do to make sure your healthy chocolate muffins are perfectly moist and have that amazing chocolate muffin texture.
- use good, whole ingredients – good ingredients = good taste always;
- let ingredients come to room temperature before starting to work on this chocolate muffin recipe – the ingredients incorporate better into the batter when they have the same temperature;
- don’t overmix – blend the muffin ingredients only until the mixture is smooth, then, when adding the flour, make sure you stir until the batter ingredients are combined;
- when adding the chocolate morsels, fold gently without over-mixing;
- and, speaking of chocolate morsels, I like to add some on top of the muffins for extra moisture but also for extra flavor, texture, and cuteness.
Try my Sweet Zucchini Muffins for incredible moist muffins!
Ingredients For Healthy Chocolate Muffins
Bananas: Provide natural sweetness and moisture, replacing the need for refined sugar and oil. Use overripe bananas with brown spots for optimal sweetness and flavor. And, if you love bananas, check out my 1-Ingredient Banana Ice Cream.
Almond flour: The base ingredient for these muffins, making them gluten-free and adding a mild, nutty flavor. Ensure you use finely ground almond flour for a smooth texture. Avoid almond meal, as it may result in a grainy consistency. For flour alternatives, check out my guide to Healthy Flour Substitutes.
Cocoa powder: Creates the rich chocolate flavor. Use unsweetened cocoa powder for no added sugar or Dutch-processed cocoa powder for a deeper color and bolder taste.
PRO TIP: For healthy chocolate muffins, make sure you use dark chocolate morsels. Mine are 70% cacao but anything above 60% is fine. Avoid milk chocolate morsels since those have a ton of added sugar.
Chocolate chips: Add melty chocolate bursts with dark or dairy-free chips. Toss in almond flour to prevent sinking. For variation, use nuts, dried fruits, fresh fruits, coconut flakes, cacao nibs, or skip the chips altogether.
Step By Step Instructions
While making chocolate muffins is relatively easy anyways, since it's a quick-bread and doesn't require many steps, I made the process even easier by making these healthy chocolate banana muffins in a blender AND using only 9 simple, clean, and healthy ingredients. The result is this chocolate muffin recipe makes gluten-free, paleo, dairy-free, and clean eating chocolate muffins.
- Step 1: In a blender, add all the ingredients except for the dark chocolate morsels and almond flour.
- Step 2: Blend until smooth. Check out my Beginner's Guide Vitamix for more info on my favorite blender.
- Step 3: Add the almond flour to a mixing bowl, and then pour in the chocolate blender mixture, and stir to combine. Add the chocolate morsels and stir to combine.
- Step 4: Pour the mix into the prepared muffin pan, approximately ⅔ of the way full. I use a 1 ½ tablespoon cookie scoop to transfer equal amounts into each muffin tin.
- Step 5: Transfer to pre-baked oven.
- Step 6: Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean and tops are golden brown.
Recipe FAQs
These healthy chocolate muffins are versatile and can be adapted for various diets:
Vegan option: Replace eggs with flax eggs (mix ground flaxseed meal with water, let sit for 5-10 minutes to thicken, and use as a substitute).
Whole30 option: While baking isn’t technically Whole30, the ingredients are compliant. Swap vanilla extract for vanilla bean powder.
To ensure they're perfect, follow these instructions:
- Use the toothpick test: insert it into the center—if it comes out clean, they're done; if not, bake a bit longer.
- Check the tops: they should be golden brown.
- Bake at 350°F for 20-25 minutes.
You can freeze these chocolate muffins to keep them fresh longer. For best results:
- Wrap in freezer-safe plastic wrap, foil, or reusable bags.
- Place in Ziploc or reusable bags and freeze.
- Muffins last up to 3-4 months in the freezer. For longer storage, consider making a double or triple batch.
You can store muffins…
ON THE COUNTER: For 1 or 2 days, at room temperature, covered with foil, plastic wrap, or re-usable bags to prevent drying;
IN THE FRIDGE: For up to 1 week, in an airtight containers or wrapped in plastic wrap, aluminum foil, or re-usable bags. Check out my Guide To Meal Prep Containers for my favorite ways to store food.
IN THE FREEZER: For 3-4 months, if stored as I mentioned above.
More Healthy Muffin Recipes
Once you start eating healthy muffins, it’s hard to stop. I have more healthy muffin recipes you should try before you consider stopping. They are all so yummy, easy, and full of muffin goodness!
9-Ingredient Blender Chocolate Muffins
Healthy Chocolate Muffins
Equipment
- blender
- mixing bowl
- 1 ½ tablespoon cookie scoop (optional)
- cupcake liners (optional)
- muffin tin
*This post may contain affiliate links for products I use often and highly recommend.
Ingredients
- 5 ripe bananas
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups almond flour
- 2 tablespoon dark cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ⅛ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ tablespoon coconut oil, for greasing muffin tin (could also use cupcake liners)
- 1 cup 70% cacao dark chocolate morsels, plus more for topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease muffin tin with coconut oil.
- In a blender, add all the ingredients except for the dark chocolate morsels and almond flour.
- Add the almond flour to a mixing bowl, and then pour in the chocolate blender mixture, and stir to combine.
- Add the chocolate morsels and stir to combine.
- Pour the mix into the prepared muffin pan, approximately ⅔ of the way full. I use a 1 ½ tablespoon cookie scoop to transfer equal amounts into each muffin tin.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean and tops are golden brown.
- Remove and let cool on cooling rack.
Video
Notes
- The riper the bananas, the sweeter and more flavorful your muffins will be, reducing the need for additional sweeteners.
- Overmixing can make the muffins dense. Mix until just combined for the best texture.
- Sprinkle extra chocolate chips on top before baking for an even richer chocolate flavor.
Nutrition
This post contains affiliate links for products I use often and highly recommend.
Z
Hi Ms. Lacey,
I made these muffins yesterday, and I must say that these were some of the best chocolate chip muffins that I have ever baked! Blending most of the ingredients in the blender made the muffins so smooth and creamy. I only used about 1/4 cup of chocolate chips because I am not a fan of too many chocolate chips in baked goods and I used two bananas and a little bit of sugar because I did not have enough bananas, but aside from that, I followed the recipe exactly and they cam out well. I will definitely be making these again and thank you so much for creating this recipe!
Lacey Baier
Thank you so much for your kind words and for trying out the recipe! I’m thrilled to hear that you loved the muffins and found the blender method helpful—it really does make the batter super smooth! Your adjustments sound fantastic, and I love how you made the recipe work with what you had on hand. I’m so glad it turned out well for you, and I really appreciate you taking the time to share your experience. I can’t wait to hear how your next batch turns out. 😊
Cindie Milczarek
Hi Lacey,
Love your website! I was wondering if you were to use
applesauce instead of the bananas, how much applesauce would you need? I’ve made these exactly as the recipe calls and I’m now experimenting we’re going to try quinoa flour so it’s still gluten free but my kids can still take them to their nut-free school and I’ve run out of ripe bananas and the supermarket only had very green bananas...
Susan
I just made the recipe substituting 1 1/4 cup of Trader Joe’s organic unsweetened applesauce for the bananas and they came out awesome!!!!!
Lacey Baier
Thank you so much for your kind words—I’m so glad you’re enjoying the website and experimenting with the recipe! To substitute bananas with applesauce, you can use about ½ cup of applesauce per banana. It might slightly change the texture, but it should still work well. I love the idea of trying quinoa flour to make it nut-free for your kids—that's such a great adaptation! Let me know how your version turns out; I’d love to hear how it goes!
DD
Can I use cacao instead of cocoa powder?
I love using blender for baking, any more recipes?
Lacey Baier
Yes! My "dark cocoa powder" is actually 100% cacao so they are the same 🙂
SUE RUSSELL
These muffins look yummy! I saw your comment about substituting whole wheat pastry flour for the almond flour. Is it an equal swap or should I use more or less of the whole wheat pastry flour? Thanks so much!
Lacey Baier
It's an equal swap 🙂