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.)
Table of Contents
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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.
Tasty muffins, and I love the high protein content. My only complaint is that they stuck horribly to my nonstick pan, which I greased with butter. I had to pry each one out.
This recipe is amazing!! I made these for my toddler, but this pregnant mama wants to eat them all! The batter smelled so good when prepping it. They came out the oven (10m my first batch of 12) and they were moist and delicious! Can’t wait for him to try after his nap! Would totally make again. Tastes better than the little bites real thing!
Best muffin recipe! Do yourself a favor and make a double or triple batch so you can have these more than 2 days. Soft delicious and we love the extra protein from the yogurt for my picky eater.
I followed the recipe, but I’m unsure if I’m doing something wrong, but the muffins seem to sink a bit after I take them out of the oven. Is that normal?
These were for my toddler(who helped make them)! But unfortunately for her, my husband and I ate them all before she had a chance to try. They are THAT GOOD
Tried it for the second time today, it was a big success. Appreciated by everyone who ate the muffins!
Have you ever baked this in a loaf pan?
I haven’t but it might work okay that way!
I baked it in a loaf pan this morning and it was great! It baked at 375 for 30 minutes. Next time I’ll will probably multiply the recipe by 1.5 to fill the pan a bit more. My kids love the muffins, hopefully they will like the bread.
Glad to hear that!
I’ve made this recipe too many times to count. It’s our go to weekly snack. I made it in a 9×13 greased pan and baked for 17 mins today and it is *chefs kiss* perfection. Tastes like eating vanilla chocolate chip cake. I really dislike cleaning muffin tins so this is a win all around!
Oh, love that!
These are AMAZING! My super picky ASD son who eats next to nothing gobbled his muffin up and said it was sooo good. The fact that I could sneak some Greek yogurt into him (which I’ve been trying, unsuccessfully, forever!) makes me incredibly happy! Thanks so much for this game changer!
My kids love these muffins!! I have trouble with them sticking in the pan. I have trying nonstick spray, olive oil, butter, and ghee. They all stick for me. What do you recommend?
Try parchment paper baking cups/ cupcake liners. I bought them accidentally and have never looked back.
Bought 500 for under $10 from Amazon.
Rub a lil stick of room temp butter on the pan! they fall right out for me
I first made these gems for a school bake sale a few weeks ago…. They were the first thing gone! They didn’t even make it to the table for the bake sale. They were pre-sale bought! Lol I was asked to make these for another school bake tomorrow. BIG HIT by all who tried these! Note to self: Make a double batch! Thanks for the recipe! 👍
These are great! We love all your muffin recipes 🙂
Hi! Is there a way to add protein powder to this recipe for an extra protein boost? Thanks!
I think you could likely add 1/4 cup without any issues.
Thank you!!
I typically add 1/2 cup of canned chickpeas to boost up fiber and protein content. They are also the same color so mixes it pretty well.
And I blend all the wet ingredients with the chickpeas in our vitamix before adding in the flour