Fluffy, tender, and just sweet enough, these easy Chocolate Muffins are a favorite breakfast and snack to share with the kids. Bonus: They bake up in less than 20 minutes and store so well!
Chocolate Muffins
We’ve long made our Chocolate Protein Muffins, Chocolate Chip Mini Muffins, and Chocolate Banana Muffins, but I had a craving for a straight-up Chocolate Muffin…so here we are. This muffin recipe, which is similar to my Yogurt Muffins, is both easy to make and super delicious.
We love these healthy muffins for their chocolate flavor but also because they are satisfying with the inclusion of yogurt and eggs for protein. They’re great on their own served warm or cold and pair nicely with diced berries or banana as an easy meal or snack.
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What’s the secret to making moist muffins?
In this recipe, there are a few things that create very moist muffins. First, there’s a full cup of yogurt which adds a lot of moisture and fluffiness in the baked muffins. And the all-purpose flour keeps them light, too.
From there, stir the batter together gently. And transfer the baked muffins from the pan to a wire rack so they can cool fully on a wire rack. If they cool in the pan, they will likely continue to bake and may be tougher.
Ingredients You Need
Here’s a look at the ingredients you need to make this muffin recipe, including dry ingredients and wet ingredients.
- Whole-milk plain yogurt: Full fat yogurt is best if possible. This helps the muffins be super moist and super tender.
- Eggs: Large eggs help the muffins cook through and stay moist. See the Notes at the end of the recipe for the egg-free options.
- Vanilla extract: Adding vanilla extract balances the flavor of the cocoa powder nicely.
- Maple syrup: Or you can use honey for kids over age 1 or sugar to save a little money on groceries.
- Unsalted butter: This needs to be melted and cooled, slightly so we can stir it into the batter. I prefer unsalted butter so I can decide how much salt to add.
- All-purpose flour: This helps the muffins stay tender and light.
- Unsweetened cocoa powder: I typically use SACO, Hershey’s Special Dark, or Trader Joe’s brand.
- Baking powder and baking soda: A combination of these helps the muffins rise nicely and bake through properly.
- Semi-sweet chocolate chips: You can use full size or mini chocolate chips. You could even use chocolate chunks. We stir these into the batter for extra chocolate flavor to make double chocolate muffins. (You can also use berries or diced fruit instead if you prefer.)
Step-by-Step Instructions
Here’s a look at how to make this recipes so you know what to expect. Scroll down to the end of the post for the full recipe, including the amounts and timing.
- Preheat the oven. Grease a muffin pan. Stir together the yogurt, eggs, melted butter, and vanilla in a large bowl.
- Add the flour, sugar, chocolate chips, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Gently stir or whisk the mixture together.
- Divide batter among the muffin tin. (I prefer to use classic nonstick Pam instead of muffin liners as muffins without a lot of oil can stick to liners. If you want to use them, parchment ones may work better.)
- Bake until a cake tester or toothpick inserted into the center comes out cleanly. Remove from oven, then transfer muffins to a wire rack to cool fully.
Frequently Asked Questions
I prefer Hershey’s Special Dark, SACO, or Trader Joe’s store-brand.
Sure. You can trade in 1 cup of diced strawberries or bananas, or blueberries, to add more flavor in place of it if you prefer.
Follow the recipe and simply reduce the baking time to about 12 minutes.
The main difference in my recipes is that chocolate muffins have more nutritious ingredients including yogurt and less added sugars so they are less sweet.
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 (they firm up a bit when they’re cold so warming slightly returns them to their softer texture).
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
- To make as mini muffins, divide batter in a greased 24-cup mini muffin pan and bake for 12-14 minutes.
- Dairy-free: Use a nondairy Greek-style yogurt, like the plant-based options from Siggi’s, and a neutral oil, like canola oil or vegetable oil in place of the butter. (If the batter is very thick, add a few tablespoons of nondairy milk.)
- Gluten-free: Substitute cup-for-cup gluten-free flour in place of the wheat flours.
- Egg-free: Omit the eggs. Reduce the yogurt to ¾ cup. Add ¼ cup additional milk. Proceed with the recipe.
- I prefer dutch process cocoa powder from brands including SACO, Hershey’s Special Dark, and Trader Joes.
- Coat nonstick pans with nonstick spray (I use classic Pam) to ensure they don’t stick.
I’d love to hear your feedback on this post, so please rate and comment below!
Fluffy Chocolate Muffins
Ingredients
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup cocoa powder (sifted if at all lumpy)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup whole-milk plain yogurt
- ⅓ cup maple syrup (or honey for kids over age 1)
- 2 eggs (large)
- ¼ cup unsalted butter (melted and cooled, slightly)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chocolate chips (I prefer mini or to chop up full-size to evenly distribute the chocolate)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 12-cup standard muffin pan with nonstick spray.
- In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, cocoa powder, chocolate chips, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Add the yogurt, maple syrup, eggs, butter, and vanilla.
- Gently stir or whisk together.
- Divide batter among the prepared muffin tin, using a heaping ¼ cup batter in each cup.
- Bake for 14-16 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden brown and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out cleanly. Remove from oven, then transfer muffins to a wire rack to cool fully.
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 (they firm up a bit when they’re cold so warming slightly returns them to their softer texture).
- 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.
- To make as mini muffins, divide batter in a greased 24-cup mini muffin pan and bake for 12-14 minutes.
- Dairy-free: Use a nondairy Greek-style yogurt, like the plant-based options from Siggi’s, and a neutral oil, like canola, in place of the butter.
- Gluten-free: Substitute cup-for-cup gluten-free flour in place of the wheat flours.
- Egg-free: Omit the eggs. Reduce the yogurt to ¾ cup. Add ¼ cup additional milk. Proceed with the recipe.
- Feel free to replace the chocolate chips with diced berries or other fruit, or to increase the amount of chocolate chips to 1 cup. Up to you!
Nutrition
This post was first published October 2022.
These came out lovely. Wonderfully balanced and soft in both flavor and texture with a gentle chocolate aroma and subtle sweetness. They’re fluffy without being too airy and moist without being too dense. I wouldn’t say they’re indulgent, so don’t skip on the chocolate chips unless you and/or your littles don’t have much of a sweet tooth and want a very light snack 😉
We usually have plain low fat Greek yogurt in the house. Could I use that instead?
Sure
These were a total hit for a 4yo old that used to eat everything, a super picky mom, and a GF dad. I subbed King Arthur’s 1:1 GF flour, and you’d never know! They were delicious and didn’t last 2 days in our house. Yum! There’s been a request to have these weekly. Thank you for this yumminess!
These are so so tasty and quick to put together. I used King Arthur 1:1 gluten free flour, and has some extra ripe bananas waiting to be used so swapped those for the yogurt (per Amy’s recommendation on IG) and they turned out perfect. Will make these regularly!
Another 5 star special! I make this to recipe, but just halve the choc chips (it feels a tad too much otherwise). Also when it’s a tight week I halve the amount of maple with sugar… Because cost of living 😂 but also when I can make it full maple syrup you don’t taste it. Which is wild to me! Great recipe. Thanks, Boss Amy
These were a big hit this week. To get a nice muffin top, I preheat the oven to 450 and drop to 375 when I put in the muffins.
This is one of our favorite recipes! It turns out perfect every time and is always so light and fluffy. This time we used peanut butter chips and baked in a 9×9 to make “cake”!
These muffins were enjoyed by myself, my husband, and my 4-year-old. Highly recommend as they are so easy, made with pantry staples, and are delicious. I like to use muffin liners in my muffin tins but know that these types of muffins tend to stick to the liners so I sprayed my liners with nonstick spray and that worked like a charm.
Loved these! Subbed for gluten free flour and used mini choc chips. Super fluffy and moist, tasted like Costco muffin but better! Most importantly my two girls (3 & 1) ate them which means it’s a success ☺️
Do you think whole wheat flour would work ok?
I would reduce the amount to 1 1/4 cup if using whole wheat flour (and you may get one less muffin)