Moist tender Mini Chocolate Chip Muffins that taste as good as store bought, but have a little extra nutrition? Sign. Me. Up. These muffins are seriously delicious and are a must-make if you have fans of Little Bites in your house!
Mini Chocolate Chip Muffins
Every time I go to our local big box store, I always walk by a giant stack of Little Bites muffin boxes. And while I almost never have the urge to do copycat recipes, this one stuck with me—because I just knew I could make an equally tender little muffin that the kids would love.
And with the inclusion of yogurt and a little less sugar, and a super simple method, these are exactly the kind of homemade snack that makes me excited. (Especially since I love to snack on these too!)
My three kids all adore these muffins. They’re a great preschool snack, after school snack, or snack to go with lunch and are one of my all-time most popular kids muffin recipes.
(Know that you can swap in blueberries for the chocolate chips if your kids prefer blueberry mini muffins, or check out my Sprinkle Muffins.)
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Ingredients You Need
Here’s a look at what you’ll need to make this recipe so you know what to pick up at the store and have on hand for baking.
- All purpose flour: I use regular all-purpose flour here to ensure that the muffins are light and fluffy after baking.
- Baking powder and baking soda: A combination of both of these ensures that the muffins are tender and rise properly.
- Maple syrup: You can use maple syrup, honey, or granulated sugar to sweeten these muffins just a smidge for the kids.
- Plain Greek yogurt: I love baking with yogurt and like the consistency of the muffins using Greek yogurt. If you only have regular style yogurt, that is totally fine. You’ll just want to add a smidge more flour. See the Notes at the end of the recipe for the details.
- Eggs: Large eggs help to hold the ingredients together and bake tender muffins.
- Unsalted butter: I prefer to bake with unsalted butter so that I can control the amount of added salt.
- Vanilla extract: Vanilla extract adds that classic vanilla flavor that pairs so well with chocolate chips.
- Chocolate chips: I prefer to use mini chocolate chips in these mini muffins, but regular size ones will work too.
TIP: See the Notes at the bottom of the recipe for allergy variations to make these without eggs, dairy, and gluten.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Here’s the general process for making this recipe so you know what to expect. Scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full how-to on the timing and amounts.
- Stir together the wet ingredients.
- Stir together the dry ingredients, then mix in the wet. Add the chocolate chips.
- Divide among a greased mini muffin pan.
- Bake! These muffins bake quickly, so set that timer and avoid over baking for the best results.
Use a small knife to help transfer the cooked muffins to a wire rack to cool fully. (Note that I do not recommend using paper cupcake liners with these as they will likely stick. Nonstick spray is a better option.)
Frequently Asked Questions
You can store them, once cooled, in an airtight container for up to 3 days at room temperature. They hold well for up to 5 in the fridge, but you may want to warm them briefly to serve from the fridge as they firm up when cold.
They have less sugar, twice as much protein, and you have the ability to control more of the ingredients.
We usually have them for breakfast or snack with cut up fruit, though they’d also work with a smoothie, a cheese stick, and a smoothie—among other lunch snacks.
How to Store
- Once cooled, store in an airtight container for up to 3 days at room temperature. Store in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Warm slightly to serve from the fridge as they will firm up when cold.
- You can also freeze the muffins in a freezer bag with as much air removed as possible for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature or in 15 second increments in the microwave.
Best Tips for Success
- I like using whole milk Greek yogurt in this recipe. You can use regular style yogurt if you prefer. If using regular yogurt, add 2 tablespoons additional flour to ensure that the muffin batter isn’t too runny.
- You can use an equal amount of sugar instead of maple syrup if that’s what you have.
- Dairy-free: Use a nondairy Greek style yogurt like the plant-based options from Siggis and a neutral oil like canola in place of the butter.
- Egg-free: Omit the eggs. Add ½ cup milk and use ¾ teaspoon baking soda.
- Gluten-free: Use cup for cup style of gluten-free all purpose flour like the one from King Arthur Flour.
- Note that I do not recommend using paper cupcake liners with these as they will likely stick. Nonstick spray is a better option.)
Related Recipes
I’d love to hear your feedback on this recipe if you try it, so please rate and leave a comment below!
Chocolate Chip Mini Muffins (Little Bites Copycat)
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup whole milk plain Greek yogurt
- ⅓ cup maple syrup (or sugar)
- ¼ cup unsalted butter (melted and slightly cooled)
- 2 eggs (lightly beaten)
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- ¾ cup mini chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 24-cup mini muffin pan with nonstick spray.
- In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In another bowl, stir together the yogurt, maple syrup, eggs, butter, and vanilla.
- Gently stir the yogurt mixture into the flour mixture.
- Stir in the chocolate chips.
- Divide batter among the prepared muffin tin, filling about to the edge. (You'll use about 1 ½ tablespoon in each mini muffin cup.)
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden brown and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out cleanly. Do not over bake.
- Remove from oven, and let cool in the pan for 2 minutes. Run a paring knife around the edges to loosen, if needed, then carefully transfer muffins to a wire rack to cool fully.
Video
Notes
- Once cooled, store in an airtight container for up to 3 days at room temperature. Store in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Warm slightly to serve from the fridge as they will firm up when cold.
- You can also freeze the muffins in a freezer bag with as much air removed as possible for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature or in 15 second increments in the microwave.
- I like using whole milk Greek yogurt in this recipe. You can use regular style yogurt if you prefer, just add 2 tablespoons additional all-purpose flour to ensure that the batter isn’t too runny.
- I prefer mini chocolate chips since they are more evenly distributed through the muffins but you can use regular ones if you prefer. If you use regular size chocolate chips, I would use 1 cup.
- Dairy-free: Use a nondairy Greek style yogurt like the plant-based options from Siggis and a neutral oil like canola in place of the butter.
- Egg-free: Omit the eggs. Add ½ cup milk and use ¾ teaspoon baking soda.
- Gluten-free: Use cup for cup gluten-free all purpose flour.
Nutrition
This post was first published April 2021.
HI, I made these muffin but they came out heavy and not fluffy at all! I am not sure what I did wrong! they also tasted more like yogurt than anything else! helpp
Maybe check that the baking soda is fresh?
I can’t wait to try these! My son loves the store bought muffins, but it’s getting expensive. Any thoughts on pumpkin or banana versions? Those are his favorite. I might also try strawberry.
I think you could likely do half pumpkin and half yogurt and add 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (and omit the chocolate chips) for a pumpkin one. I haven’t tried the strawberry flavor!
I have made these at least a dozen times now and can’t say enough good things. My kids love them (and so do I). I do two batches usually and make some with blueberries and then freeze them to microwave quickly for busy mornings.
I’m so glad to hear it!
So easy, so versatile and delicious! I didn’t have eggs so I’m substituted applesauce and they’re perfect. Thanks for this fantastic recipe –
I don’t have a mini muffin pan so I’ll be using a regular muffin pan, how long should they bake for?
Probably 16-18 minutes or so
These are perfect. So fluffy and addicting. My almost 2 and 3 year old devoured them, along with myself and my husband. Well done!
I’m so glad!
Wow these are awesome! So fluffy and light. I was a little thrown off by the batter because it was so airy and almost spongey but they turned out great. Thanks!
They tasted great and kids loved them. They came out completely flat though which was disappointing. Not sure why it did that.
I’m glad they enjoyed them. Can I ask which type of yogurt you used?
So good! Easy to make and delicious!
We love these! Definitely going to be a staple for us!
I made these for my 16mo daughter. Mom, dad, and baby all loved them!
Oh em gee! Delicious. Super easy. So fluffy. Absolutely perfect and even better than the bagged mini muffins. This recipe is going to get a lot of use. I’m supposed to save some for my toddler, right? 😉
These muffins are great!! From my big kids, 9 and 7, to my toddler, 3 years old….everyone loved them! I didn’t love buying the little bites, we have only bought them a handful of times as a treat, but these taste way better and MUCH better ingredients, thanks for testing out this recipe and sharing!
These are so good and so easy to make! My grandson has turned into a bit of a picky eater and doesn’t always want much for breakfast so I thought I would give these a try and hope for the best. I made half with blueberries (for him) and half with chocolate chips (for me) and I added a scoop of plain protein powder to boost the protein. He really liked them! (hooray!) I’ll be trying your ABC muffins next. 🙂
So easy. So delicious. Definitely recommend. Loved making this healthier version of Little Bites with some added protein. My 3 year old loved them!
I’ve made these twice now, and they’re so yummy and bouncy! Great texture. Great yummy taste. Each time I pull them out of the oven to cool, they deflate a good amount. Maybe I need to keep them in the oven a minute more? But who cares, deflated or not, these are super yummy.
Made them this morning and by lunchtime they are almost gone! My 6 year olds gobbled them up. Great muffin recipe as always from you!