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.
Table of Contents
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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.
Can I substitute with whole milk Greek yogurt? Any additional modifications if I do?
Yes, just add 2 tablespoons milk also to ensure the batter isn’t too thick.
Hi there, love all your recipes, make atleast a few a week!
This is my first time trying these muffins. I think I must have missed a step or something. I made the egg free version and the badder came out super thick almost like dough. I reduced the yogurt to 3/4 cup and added 1/4 cup milk, there are otherwise no liquids right? Aside from the syrup?
Should I add more milk?
I did you extra creamy Greek yogurt, could that be the issue?
It’s possible that the batter might have been extra thick if your yogurt was extra thick. Hope they turned out okay!
Can you like replace the all purpose flour with whole wheat flour?
Yes, but I would add 2 tbsp milk and check them for doneness two minutes earlier than my timing to ensure they are moist
What I meant to say is like do you use the same amount of oil for the butter or do you like reduce the amount or something.
You can replace the butter with oil and use the same amount.
Can you like use oil instead of butter maybe like lower the amount of oil to adjust it or something?
Could you substitute almond or peanut butter instead of the butter?
I haven’t tried that here but it might work. I’d check for doneness 2 minutes sooner as they make bake faster
These are very tasty my only comment is that if you use muffin cups in your tin they stick to the paper really bad so maybe use parchment paper ones or just grease the tin and don’t use the muffing cups?
I don’t recommend using paper liners with my muffins as they do tend to stick. You’ll see in the recipe I mention to coat the muffin pan with nonstick spray. That works better in my experience.
Hello there! Would I be able to use applesauce in place of the yogurt? Thank you! Looks delicious and we are going make them today, but we’re all out of yogurt!
I bet that would work similarly!
Is 1/4 cup butter = 1 stick? I used half a stick and these came out tasty but dry and matte on top. Might switch to 1 stick!
Maybe also pull them from the oven 2 minutes sooner?
Under “step by step instructions” and “best tips for success,” you mentioned milk. But when I look at the “ingredients” and “instructions,” there is no mention of milk, so I didn’t use any! Can you clarify, was I supposed to use milk in this recipe?
No milk, sorry for that confusion!
I absolutely LOVE this recipe. They are so incredibly delicious. The subtle chocolate flavor is just enough and not overpowering. They aren’t overly sweet either which is amazing. But you get all the texture you want from a muffin… huge win in my book!!! Gonna double the recipe next time!! I’m obsessed with your IG page so thank you for sharing your amazing recipes tips tricks and everything in between!!
I’ve tried many chocolate muffin recepies and this one is the best, without a doubt. Easy to make, fluffy and delicious!
Delicious! I’m so glad I tried these. I substituted vanilla whole milk yogurt, because it’s all I had, and I think it turned out great!
We love these muffins. I’ve made them several times before and another batch just came out of the oven. Each time I am so amazing at their fluffy texture – especially because I make them without eggs (using your egg free notes!). Thank you!
I’m not a great baker but made these with the kids and used 2 8-donut silicone baking things instead of muffins and they were delicious! Thanks
These are a go to breakfast for us! Do you think they would taste just as good using sugar instead of syrup or honey, realizing I’m out of both this time 😅
Yes, just add 2 tbsp milk too.