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These easy Chocolate Chip Muffins are moist and sweet like bakery-style muffins, but surprisingly healthy. Made with whole grains and no refined sugar, they are perfect for breakfasts, snacks and desserts.
If you are looking for healthier muffin recipes, try these. Together with protein muffins, apple muffins and banana bread muffins, these chocolate treats will satisfy your sweet tooth without guilt.
Chocolate chip muffins have always been one of my favorite desserts. Especially those that my dad used to get on our Saturday grocery trip. They were soft, moist and oh so delicious that I couldn’t help myself eating the entire pack.
Last weekend we went to that exact grocery store, and, guess what, I saw them. Tempted to get some, I then made my own yogurt chocolate chip muffins at home. But healthy, with better ingredients and fewer calories.
Why you will love this recipe
- Moist and flavorful. Have a bite and it will taste like a bakery treat. They are moist, soft, tender and so delicious, perfect to satisfy your sweet tooth. From kids to adults, anyone will love them.
- Good for you. These are healthy chocolate chip muffins, with no refined flour and no refined sugar. Greek yogurt replaces most of the oil, making them low fat and low calorie (153 kcal only).
- Quick and easy. This recipe requires just a bowl and 30 minutes of your day. It’s so simple and involves minimal cleaning.
- Versatile. These muffins with chocolate chips come in very handy for healthy breakfasts, snacks, desserts, and late-night treats. They’re also great for kids! Pack one in their lunchbox for a wholesome alternative to packaged snacks.
Ingredients and replacements
- Wholewheat flour. I used wholewheat flour because it is less refined and has more nutrients. You can replace it with spelt flour, oat flour, all purpose flour, or gluten free pastry flour.
- Eggs. Two large eggs give choc chip cupcakes a better texture and a richer flavor. As a vegan alternative, use flaxseed eggs.
- Greek yogurt. Greek yogurt makes moister muffins without too much fat. I recommend 5% Greek yogurt, nonfat yogurt doesn’t provide the same richness.
- Maple syrup. This is my sweetener of choice instead of sugar. Maple syrup can be replaced with honey, agave syrup, date syrup or coconut syrup.
- Vegetable oil. Choose a neutral vegetable oil, such as canola oil, avocado oil or coconut oil. Melted butter will also work.
- Milk. I like unsweetened almond milk, but any dairy or nondairy milk can be used.
- Baking powder. This helps your muffins rise and become soft.
- Vanilla extract. A must for in desserts.
- Salt. Salt balances sweetness and enhances flavors.
- Chocolate chips. I like mixing mini chocolate chips and regular chocolate chips, extra dark chocolate and with no added sugar. But any type of chocolate, such as sweet or semi-sweet chocolate chips, is great.
Here are some dietary adaptations if you need. For a vegan recipe, replace the eggs with 2 flaxseed eggs and use dairy-free yogurt as a substitute for Greek yogurt. To make gluten-free chocolate chip muffins, use gluten-free pastry flour.
How to make chocolate chip muffins
- Step 1 – Mix wet ingredients. In a large bowl, beat eggs with Greek yogurt, maple syrup, canola oil, vanilla extract and a pinch of salt. Stir well until you get a smooth mixture.
- Step 2 – Add dry ingredients. Add to the wet mixture wholewheat flour and baking powder. Stir the ingredients together until the batter reaches a smooth consistency. Only if it is too thick, add up to 2 tablespoons of milk. Fold through your favorite chocolate chips.
- Step 3 – Bake. Fill ⅔ of each muffin liner with batter, sprinkle with more chocolate chips on top and bake in hot oven for 20 to 25 minutes. Do not overbake the muffins – they are ready when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove them from the oven and let cool over a baking rack for 15 – 30 minutes.
Storage information
Let the muffins cool completely to room temperature, then transfer to an airtight container. If you keep them at room temperature, they will last for 3 days. In the fridge, they will stay fresh for up to 5 days.
For a longer storage, place leftovers in zipper bags and then freeze for up to 3 months. If you have extra time, I recommend wrapping each muffin before freezing. This simple step helps preserve them.
Reheat in hot oven at 350°F (180°C) for about 5 minutes, or microwave for 15 – 30 seconds before serving. The chocolate chips will melt and get ooey gooey.
Tips for bakery-style chocolate chip muffins
Yogurt choice. To make healthy muffins with fewer calories and more protein, I opted for 5% Greek yogurt. You can replace with any other type of yogurt, dairy or dairy-free. But avoid nonfat Greek yogurt, little fat is necessary for taste and texture.
Chocolate chips. I used a mix of mini chocolate chips and regular chocolate drops. Whenever baking, I love – and recommend – this combination. On the one hand, mini chocolate chips disperse all the good chocolate flavor inside muffins. On the other, regular drops have more texture (and look nicer).
Mixing the batter. Stir dry and wet ingredients until just combined, and stop there. Over-mixing incorporates too much air in the batter and causes the flour to release gluten. The result: dry muffins.
Recipe variations. This is an easy chocolate chip muffin recipe, which you can freely customize. Mix in some ground cinnamon or nutmeg, if you crave a spicy treat. Or experiment with mix-ins, such as cranberries, pieces of pecans or chopped walnuts.
Bake and let cool. Never overbake muffins, or they will get dry. You can check for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center, it should come out clean. Once baked, allow them to cool for 15 – 30 minutes before serving.
More healthy muffin recipes
- Protein muffins
- Carrot cake muffins
- Sweet potato muffins
- Banana bread muffins
- Apple cinnamon muffins
- Chocolate banana muffins recipe
- Flourless chocolate muffins
Healthy Chocolate Chip Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs
- 180 grams (⅔ cup) Greek yogurt
- 120 ml (⅓ cup 1 tbsp) maple syrup, or honey
- 30 ml (2 tbsp) canola oil, or preferred oil
- 220 grams (1 ¾ cup) whole-wheat flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ⅙ tsp salt
- up to 30 ml (2 tbsp) milk of choice, if necessary
- 50 grams (¼ cup) chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F) and prepare a muffin mold with muffin liners. Make sure you grease the muffin liners to prevent sticking.
- In a large bowl, beat eggs with Greek yogurt, maple syrup, canola oil, vanilla extract and a pinch of salt. Stir well until you get a smooth mixture.
- Add to the wet mixture wholewheat flour and baking powder. Stir the ingredients together until the batter reaches a smooth consistency. Only if it is too thick, add up to 2 tablespoons of milk.
- Fold through the chocolate chips.
- Fill ⅔ of each muffin liner with batter, sprinkle with more chocolate chips on top and bake in hot oven for 20 to 25 minutes. Do not overbake the muffins – they are ready when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Remove muffins from the oven and let cool over a baking rack for 15 – 30 minutes.
These look good and want to try them! But I need to cut back on the sugar due to the diabeetus so I was wanting to use Truvia. If you WERE to use sugar in the recipe, how much do you think it would be? Then I can figure out how much Truvia to use. 🙂
Hey Ellen,
thanks a lot for your comment! You can replace maple syrup for the same amount of granulated sweetener (provided it sweetens in a 1:1 ratio to sugar). Should the muffin batter get too thick, you can thin it out with little extra milk or Greek yogurt.
Hope I could help, and good luck baking!
Matteo
Super good! I used this recipe for a class project and the class loved them. Thank you!
Hey dear Charlotte,
thanks a lot for your kind feedback!! I’m so glad to hear that you all liked my healthy muffins with chocolate chips. It truly made my day 😉
Have a great weekend,
Matteo
Good recipe and delicious!
Hey my dear Liza,
thank you so so much for your kind comment. So glad you liked!!
Have a great day,
Matteo