These one-bowl vegan chocolate muffins taste like dessert but are wholesome enough for breakfast! They’re moist, fudgy, ultra-chocolatey, gluten-free, oil-free, and optionally refined sugar-free!
Transforming empty-calorie treats into more wholesome versions is kind of an obsession of mine (like my vegan zucchini brownies, healthy chocolate mousse, and no-bake cinnamon rolls). So, when you’re craving vegan chocolate muffins that are decadently chocolatey, rich, moist, and fudgy yet healthier than traditional muffins, look no further!
Made with oat flour, applesauce, nut/seed butter, cocoa, and unrefined sugar, these one-bowl double chocolate vegan muffins are naturally gluten-free, oil-free, egg-free, dairy-free, and optionally refined sugar-free, with a moist, brownie-like texture I adore. They’re also easy, customizable, meal-prep and freezer-friendly, and kid-approved—perfect for breakfast, lunchboxes, snacks, or dessert.
Want more vegan and gluten-free muffins? Try my chocolate chip sweet potato muffins, healthy carrot muffins, or vegan banana chocolate chip muffins.
The Ingredients
The Dry Ingredients
- Oat flour: Gluten-free certified if necessary. Buy it or make it yourself (see FAQs). Buckwheat or millet flour also works (spelt/ all-purpose flour if not gluten-free).
- Sugar: I used unrefined coconut sugar, though brown sugar, white sugar, date sugar, or sugar-free erythritol all work, though. I also tried maple syrup which works as well. Adjust the amount accordingly.
- Cocoa powder: Use high-quality, unsweetened cocoa powder for a rich chocolatey flavor.
- Leavening agents: Baking powder and baking soda are combined to provide lift for fluffier vegan gluten-free chocolate muffins.
- Salt: This enhances the chocolate flavor.
- Dairy-free chocolate chips: Use your favorite chocolate chips/chunks (semi-sweet or bittersweet, regular or sugar-free).
The Wet Ingredients
- Dairy-free milk: I used almond milk, though any should work. High protein/fat options like soy milk or canned coconut milk yield the moistest, richest dairy-free chocolate muffins.
- Unsweetened applesauce: To bind and add moisture for fudgier egg-free chocolate muffins. Mashed overripe banana works, too, but has a stronger flavor.
- Nut butter: To replace oil, adding moisture, richness, and fats in these healthy vegan chocolate muffins. Use almond, cashew, or peanut butter, or nut-free sunflower seed butter/ tahini. Alternatively, 1/8-1/4 cup neutral oil will work.
- Apple cider vinegar: To activate the baking soda. White vinegar/ Lemon juice work, too.
- Vanilla extract: (or vanilla paste) Use natural vanilla for the best flavor.
Please read the recipe card below for the full ingredients list, measurements, complete recipe method, and nutritional information.
Recipe Variations
- Espresso/coffee powder: Add 1–2 tsp to enhance the chocolate flavor. More makes mocha muffins.
- Stuffed muffins: Add a chocolate square to the middle of each for a molten center.
- Spices: Like cinnamon, nutmeg, chili powder/cayenne, etc.
- Orange zest: For subtle citrus flavor and brightness.
- Berries: Add ½ cup fresh/frozen raspberries, cherries, or chopped strawberries.
- Nuts: Add raw or toasted, chopped walnuts, pecans, almonds, pistachios, hazelnuts, sunflower seeds, etc.
How To Make Vegan Chocolate Muffins?
- First, preheat the oven to 360°F/180°C and line a muffin tin with paper liners.
- Whisk the dry ingredients (except the chocolate chips) in a large bowl.
- Add the wet ingredients and stir until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Divide the batter evenly between the muffin cups (or make 6 muffins and save two muffins’ worth of batter for a mug cake to bake alongside them).
- Bake for 24-27 minutes, or until the tops crack, and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out mostly clean (moist crumbs/ slight stickiness is fine).
- Let the vegan double chocolate muffins cool and enjoy!
Storage Instructions
Store: Store the fully cooled chocolate oat flour muffins in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Freeze: Flash-freeze until solid, then transfer to a Ziplock bag for up to 3 months.
Thaw overnight in the refrigerator for several hours at room temperature, or use the microwave’s defrost function.
FAQs
Can I use Dutch-processed cocoa powder?
Yes, it works fine.
Can I make oat flour?
Yes! Process rolled oats in a high-speed blender or spice/coffee grinder into a fine flour. Sift it and weigh it after grinding.
Why are my chocolate oat flour muffins gummy?
Too much liquid/applesauce, underbaking, or cutting them while hot can make them gummy.
Can I make mini vegan chocolate muffins with the batter?
Sure! Divide the batter into mini muffin pans and bake the mini dairy-free chocolate muffins for 12-15 minutes.
Recipe Notes
- Measure the flour properly: I recommend measuring all the ingredients in grams. However, if you’re using cup measurements, fluff the flour in its bag, spoon it into the cup, then level it with the back of a knife to avoid dense, dry muffins.
- Use fine oat flour: Coarse oat flour makes grainier, more crumbly muffins.
- Adjust sweetness: I use ⅓ cup coconut sugar for mildly sweet muffins or ½ cup for sweeter results. Adjust according to the sweetener used.
- Leave to cool: They’re delicate (and likely to stick to the liners) hot from the oven.
- Yield: This recipe yields 7-8 muffins or 6 muffins and one mug cake.
Delicious Vegan Chocolate Recipes
- Vegan chocolate lava cake
- Avocado chocolate cake
- Chocolate Zucchini Cake
- Sweet Potato Brownies
- Chocolate banana bread
- Vegan peanut butter chocolate cake
- Vegan chocolate mug cake
If you try this easy gluten-free vegan chocolate muffins recipe, I’d love a comment and ★★★★★ recipe rating below. Also, please don’t forget to tag me in recreations on Instagram or Facebook with @elavegan #elavegan—I love seeing them.
Vegan Chocolate Muffins
Video
Ingredients
Dry ingredients:
- 1 ⅓ cup (120 g) oat flour gluten-free if needed (see notes)
- ⅓ to ½ cup (70-100 g) coconut sugar (see notes)
- ½ cup (50 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ cup (90 g) chocolate chips (dairy-free) + more for the top
Wet ingredients:
- ¾ cup (180 ml) almond milk
- ⅔ cup (160 g) applesauce unsweetened (see notes)
- ¼ cup (65 g) nut butter (see notes)
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- I recommend measuring the ingredients in grams using a kitchen scale. You can watch the video for visual instructions.
- Line a muffin pan with paper liners (or grease the pan) and preheat oven to 360 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius).
- Add all dry ingredients (except the chocolate chips) to a large mixing bowl and stir with a whisk.
- Now add the wet ingredients and stir to combine. You can also use a hand mixer.
- Finally, stir in the vegan chocolate chips.
- Divide the batter among the wells of the muffin pan. I had enough batter to make 8 muffins.
- Bake for 24 to 27 minutes or until you spot cracks on top of the muffins. I also recommend making a toothpick test. Insert the toothpick into the center of a muffin. It should come out almost clean (it's ok if the toothpick is crumbly/slightly sticky but it shouldn't come out wet).
- Let the muffins cool and enjoy! Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
Notes
- Oat flour: If you don't have oat flour, simply process oats (regular or certified gluten-free oats) in a blender or electric spice/coffee grinder.
- Other flours: Buckwheat flour or millet flour works too. You can use regular all-purpose flour or spelt flour if you aren’t gluten-free.
- Sweetener: Any granulated sweetener can be used. Some examples are coconut sugar, Erythritol, regular sugar, or date sugar. I used 1/3 cup, however, if you have a sweet tooth, I recommend using 1/2 cup.
- Applesauce: You can use mashed banana instead.
- Nut butter: You can use almond butter, cashew butter, peanut butter, or sunflower seed butter for a nut-free version. If you don't have nut butter, you could use oil instead. Please note that I never made this recipe with oil, however, I would suggest about 1/8 to 1/4 of a cup (please report back if you give it a try).
- Recipe makes 7-8 muffins (depending on muffin size). Nutrition facts are for one muffin.
- Do you want to make cupcakes? Try out this sweet potato frosting!
Nutrition information is an estimate and has been calculated automatically
„Simple and Delicious Vegan“ Cookbook by ElaVeganCLICK HERE to order!If you are using Pinterest, feel free to pin the following photo:
I was using the grams to measure as suggested but the 1/2 cup of cocoa powder does come close to 50g nor the 1/4 cup nut butter does not come close to 65g. You have 1/2 cup (90 g’s) for chocolate chips which is fine but then you have 1/2 cup (50 g) for the cocoa powder. No other reviews mentioned this so I am assuming they used cups as I am. Keeping my fingers crossed when I bake.
Oh, wow! Amazing! I accidentally underbaked them a bit, and didn’t want to wait for them to cool completely, so ended up with the most delicious, warm lava-cake muffins! Amazingly good! I am looking forward to trying them when they are cooled all the way as well. I followed the recipe exactly, except to add 2x the vanilla amount because it is one of my favorite flavors. Other than that, no changes. Thank you, Michaela, for another amazing recipe! This one is going into my regular dessert rotation, for sure!
You are very welcome, Annie. I am glad you like them. 🙂
I cooked these in mini muffin pans. They only needed 10 minutes in the oven, and turned out to be the most lovely, tender, moist little pillows of deliciousness. I expected them to be pretty dense, but they were light and fluffy. It’s nice to find a gluten free recipe that doesn’t taste gluten free.
That’s awesome, Elise. Thanks for your feedback. 🙂
These hit the spot! Quick and easy to put together and delicious and moist! I had to cook them longer than stated in the recipe, but otherwise I followed the recipe.
Sounds great! Thanks for your feedback, Liz. 🙂
Outstanding! Five stars isn’t enough. I have been searching for a muffin that is GF, no eggs, and has rich chocolate flavor, but isn’t dry or gummy. I finally found it, this recipe is perfection; moist, chocolatey, not too sweet, and simple ingredients.. Thank You!
You are so welcome, Ann! 🙂
Hands down the best vegan muffins I have ever made. Applesauce works so well and the muffins are so moist. I didn’t want to use nut butter, so I used total 1/8 cup of slightly metled vegan butter and coconut oil. It worked great. Great recipe! Thank you!
You are so welcome! Happy you love them. 🙂
Hi Ela,
It came out incredibly delicious! It was hard to restrict myself to one a day.
Thank you!
You are very welcome, Leona. So glad you like the muffins. 🙂
Could any other flour substitute work?
I usually keep Bob’s 1:1 Gluten Free flour on hand.
Hi, it might work with a little less milk, but I haven’t tried it. 🙂
These muffins were divine! My family loved them so much that I’m going to make another batch for my neighbors 🙂 Finally a guiltless, super easy to make, plant-based treat that I can confidently share with others! Thank you for sharing 🙂
That’s really awesome, Ness! I am glad your family loved them. 🙂
Love these muffins, i make them for my 4 year old often since they are his favorite. Tested them on adults too and they loved them. They are so indulgent yet don’t make you feel guilty! Definitely a staple for me. Any tips on how to include a vegetable in there (zucchini, spinach)? Thank you!
That’s awesome, Alaa! So glad everyone loves them.
You could check out my recipe for zucchini brownies and fill the batter into a muffin tin and reduce the baking time. 🙂
These are delicious Ela! Made them today and had one straight out of the oven. Delectably moist and rich chocolaty goodness. Will definitely be making them again.
That’s awesome, Kari! I am glad you like them. Thanks for your comment! 🙂
Can you sub the cocoa powder for more oat flour to get a vanilla flavour?
I never tried that, so I am not sure. Please report back if you try it. 🙂
Thanks a lot for allergy friendly recipes. When I first realized my son cannot have muffins and other treats that most kids enjoy, I felt so depressed. But now I make most of your recipes and even my non-allergy kid enjoys it. All of your recipes are huge hit in my family. I no longer feel sad for his allergies. Whenever there is a party, I make any of your treats and thus he don’t feel left out. When he has something yummy on his plate we all are able to enjoy those parties. Thank you !!!
Aww, that’s amazing, Nisha! I am so glad he can enjoy those parties again. Thanks for letting me know. 🙂
Hallo Ela!
Ich habe deiner Rezept wie oben geschrieben gefolgt und das Resultat war einfach wunderbar. Lecker, knackig und richtig süß ohne zu viel Zucker! Ich werde sie wieder nächste Mal probieren !
Macht’s gut!
Das ist super liebe Johanna! Ich freue mich, dass sie dir geschmeckt haben. 🙂
LG, Ela
The best recipe ever – the best vegan chocolate muffins ever. I’ve tried so many on Pinterest and none of them worked like this one. Thank you Ela.
Aww, that’s amazing, Ruth! I am so glad you loved them! Thanks for your fantastic feedback. 🙂
The best vegan muffins ever! I’ve tried soooo many recipes and these are my favorite! Getting ready to make a second batch.
Thank you so much for this recipe!! I made these for my gluten free dad and vegan mom. They are both allergic to almost everything. I made these with oil instead of peanut butter. Lemon juice instead of apple cider vinegar. Organic cane sugar, and gluten free flour. Also no chocolate chips and the batter taste amazing so far so I know these will be so good!!
I hope they will love them! 🙂
Good evening Ela. I just made your chocolate muffins with banana. They came out very delicious!! Thank you for the wonderful recipe!!
You are very welcome, Xenia! I am so glad you liked the muffins. 🙂
Hello! I see it says to use granulated sugar, but I’m wondering if there’s a way I could use maple syrup instead?
Thanks!
Hi Holly, you can definitely give it a try and simply reduce the plant-based milk slightly. 🙂
Thank you! I ended up adding a scoop of protein powder to balance out, they turned out great ☺️
That’s awesome! So glad they turned out great. 🙂
Hello there!
I tried this recipe with almond flour, which I sifted.
A couple things first: I adjusted the recipe to yield 6 muffins, and I made them in my air fryer.
Since I used an air fryer I had to adjust the time and temperature. I set the temperature to 320 (which has seemingly worked for all the other muffin recipes I have made in the air fryer), and baked them for about 18 minutes until a toothpick came out almost clean as the recipe states.
After waiting for them to cool, I don’t know how to feel about the texture. It’s hard to describe. Overall, I did not like it lol. Won’t make it with almond flour again. But taste was good. Will try again with another flour.
Hi, I think almond flour simply doesn’t work in this recipe, therefore, I do not mention it as a sub. Maybe a combination of almond flour with one other flour would work better, but I haven’t tried it. So interesting that you made them in the air fryer. 🙂