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.
Obsessed. Thank you!! Made this for the first time for my daughters and they’re delic. I had to modify for baking powder with a baking soda/vinegar mix and was nervous but it came out amazing. Thank you!!
Delicious, though I had a bit of a hard time getting them out of the pan. I made full size as I don’t have a mini muffin tin. Very easy though and super yummy, thank you!
So good! They have the consistency of a fluffy pancake. My 2 yr old and husband loved them. I substituted half whole wheat flour and they turned out great. Thank you for the recipe!
Super tasty. Idk if my molds are extra small, but this recipe made close to 48 mini muffins for me and only needed about 1 Tbsp per mold. Also, using a silicone mold on a baking sheet, the bottoms definitely browned before the top did. I baked for 14 min and tops weren’t brown but bottoms were even on a higher shelf. Just fyi for anyone using similar equipment 🙂
These are delicious! Very quick and easy to make.
What non stick spay do you like to use?
I use classic Pam since it consistently works.
Hi Amy, would avocado oil spray work?
It may work in conjunction with a nonstick pan, but it is likely to not work as well as a classic baking spray.
Amy does it again! Another delicious, easy to make, and toddler (and husband) approved recipe for a busy mom of a newborn and 2 year old! These are SO good and take no time at all to prepare.
These are a HUGE hit with our family, kids and adults alike!!! I know there are a few suggestions in the notes for storage but I’ve never even been able to keep them around long enough to need to store them. Even when I make a triple batch they are gone before the end of the day. My kids especially love when I exchange the chocolate chips for rainbow sprinkles to make a “funfetti” version. I haven’t had success with blueberries so far (tried frozen “wymans wild Maine” blueberries) but I’m going to keep trying different types to get it perfected!
Try using dried blueberries! Pretty sure that’s how Little Debbie does it. Keeps the muffin from getting soggy.
Could I swap the dry ingredients for Krustez pancake mix ? If so how much?
I haven’t tried that with the other ingredients here but feel free to look at my Pancake Muffin recipe and add chocolate chips https://www.yummytoddlerfood.com/pancake-muffins/
Could you substitute or add shredded zucchini to this?? Or would it make it too runny??
They are very, very moist so if you want to do it, make sure it is squeezed super dry. I am not sure I would do it to this recipe honestly but I do have a few zuchcini muffins on the site you can look at.
This recipe is excellent! I swapped the chocolate chips for chopped strawberries and they are the perfect treat for my 15 month old.
This recipe was very easy to make and oh so tasty! My 3 y.o. Loved to help and especially loved the taste.
Could this work with full fat sour cream instead of yogurt?
I haven’t tried them that way but I suspect it would be very similar.
My toddler loves these muffins! Would it be possible to use this recipe to make a cake version?
I bet that would work well!
These are incredible! I made them for my daughter after she went to bed for a morning surprise, but I don’t know if they’ll last through the night! Do you think Maine blueberries would work or would they be too heavy? We get the ones from Trader Joe’s that are very small.
Yes, those work super well!