These vegan chocolate muffins use dark chocolate, warm spices, and unrefined sugars for a healthier-for-you treat. Rich in anti-inflammatory properties, these decadent, gluten-free chocolate muffins are a great breakfast, snack, or dessert!
Healthier Chocolate Muffins
Many of the muffin recipes online call for massive amounts of refined sugar! I mean, there is nothing wrong with enjoying something sweet for breakfast. I’m not one to turn down a plate of French Toast Pull Apart Bread or Sheet Pan Chocolate Protein Pancakes. But aren’t overly sweet muffins are really just glorified cupcakes?
If you want a muffin that’s gluten-free, vegan, and sweetened naturally, this recipe is exactly what you need! But if you truly want a muffin for dessert, it is easy to do! All you have to do is add a refined sugar free dessert sauce like vegan dulce de leche and your vegan chocolate muffins will become dessert!
Mexican Chocolate Health Benefits
Here in the states, the term Mexican chocolate is often used when referring to Mexican spices that we sometimes add to traditional milk or dark chocolate.
Authentic Mexican chocolate is a paste made from roasted, ground cacao nibs, refined sugar, and cinnamon. Other spices such as nutmeg and allspice are often used in Mexican chocolate as well, along with nuts, and even chili peppers.
By combining the cacao nibs, Mexican spices, and unrefined sugars (coconut sugar and maple syrup), you’ve got yourself a much healthier treat, with health benefits!
Did you catch that? Mexican chocolate uses cacao nibs and has some pretty spectacular anti-inflammatory spices.
- Cinnamon – My fave! Cinnamon can help to calm us, boost brain function, and it contains antibacterial properties that support healthy digestion.
- Nutmeg– contains antioxidants and disease-preventing phytochemicals plus a hefty dose of Manganese which can help regulate the blood sugar.
- Allspice– Contains an essential oil that aids in digestion. Plus it contains great anti-inflammatory properties.
- Cacao – Known as the plant Theobroma cacao, cultivated for its seeds, known as cacao beans or cocoa beans. Super power antioxidants and helps promote healthy gut microbiome.
- Chilies or chili powder– antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, and has shown to help reduce pain in muscles or joints due to inflammation.
Ingredients and Substitutions
Below is an overview of the ingredients and recipe. Please be sure to scroll down to the recipe card below for the complete details and nutrition information.
- Gluten-free oat flour– You can buy this ready to use, or make your own by grinding gluten-free oats in a food processor.
Note: If you’re using homemade oat flour, you should weigh it after grinding, and then whisk/sift it before combining it with the other dry ingredients. This is important because each brand weighs differently per volume.
- Spices– Ground cinnamon, nutmeg, and cayenne pepper. If you can’t have nightshades, you can omit the cayenne pepper.
- Chocolate– You’ll need unsweetened cocoa powder and dark chocolate. If you happen to come across authentic Mexican chocolate made with unrefined sugar, use it! The best place to look for it is in a Mexican specialty store. Otherwise, choose an unsweetened extra dark chocolate, and be sure there are no hidden refined sugars!
- Almond milk– Honestly, you can use any non-dairy milk you prefer. However, if you use coconut milk, be sure it’s brought to room temperature first. Otherwise, it can be difficult to incorporate with the other ingredients.
- Sweeteners– Coconut sugar and maple syrup are my choices for this vegan muffin recipe. Other options are raw sugar (turbinado) or a plant-based sugar substitute like monk fruit.
- Apple cider vinegar– There are some health benefits to using ACV, but white vinegar or lemon juice can be used instead.
- Naturally refined coconut oil– You’ll be melting the oil, so if you prefer to melt plant-based butter, that will work as well.
How to Make Vegan Dark Chocolate Muffin
The reason I love this updated recipe so much is because these muffins are FLUFFY and MOIST. The previous recipe called for pumpkin puree, which is a heavy ingredient that ended up making the muffins very dense.
- Longer rest times equals fluffier muffins! The longer the batter sits, the thicker it gets, due to the oat flour absorbing the liquid. If you let the batter sit for 10 minutes or so, the dark chocolate muffins will be extra moist, but don’t let it sit longer than that. Otherwise, your muffins won’t rise as much. Why? The baking soda/vinegar reaction will start to lose its effectiveness. It’s a balance game.
- You may need to grind the coconut sugar. If your coconut sugar or raw sugar is coarse, I recommend grinding it in a food processor so you can get a finer sugar texture.
How to Store Muffins
To keep them fresh for up to a week, be sure to store your chocolate muffins in an airtight container. It isn’t necessary to refrigerate them, but you can if you want to.
For longer storage (up to 3 months), place them in airtight freezer bags.
When you’re ready to serve them, either let them thaw at room temperature, or microwave the frozen muffins for a minute or so on high power.
More of Our Favorite
Gluten-Free Muffin Recipes
Dark Chocolate Vegan Muffin Recipe
- Total Time: 29 minutes
- Yield: 10 muffins 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cup oat flour 195g * see notes
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅓ cup coconut palm sugar or cup-for-cup sugar substitute (see notes)
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 cup almond or coconut milk, at room temperature
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon Mexican vanilla or pure vanilla extract
- 2 ounces (¼ cup) naturally refined coconut oil, melted
- ½ tablespoon apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
- ½ cup dark chocolate chips
- dark chocolate shavings and sea salt, to top. Or see notes for optional topping.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line or grease a 12-cup muffin pan and set aside.
- In a large bowl, sift together the dry ingredients: oat flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Add the sugar and spices and mix to combine. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, combine milk, maple syrup and vanilla extract. Stir together, then add to dry ingredients, gently stirring to combine. Add the oil and vinegar and gently mix again. Don’t over mix. Fold in chocolate chips or chopped dark chocolate.
- Spoon batter into greased or lined muffin tins, about ¾ full.
- Transfer pan to preheated oven for 18-20 minutes (rotating halfway), or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. Baking times vary depending on your oven, so be sure to check progress around 15 minutes.
- Remove pan from oven and let muffins cool in the pan on a cooling rack.
- Add toppings of choice (see notes)
Notes
- If using homemade oat flour (grinding oats), be sure to weigh it after grinding and then whisk/sift before combining it with the dry ingredients. Be sure to weigh the oat flour because each brand weighs differently per volume.
- The longer the batter sits, the thicker it gets, due to the oat flour absorbing the liquid. If you let the batter sit for 10 minutes or so, the result will be a more moist muffin, but I would not let it sit longer than that or your muffins won’t rise as much. Why? The baking soda/vinegar reaction will start to lose its effectiveness. It’s a balance game.
- If your coconut sugar or raw sugar is coarse, I recommend grinding it in a food processor so you can get a finer sugar texture.
- Enjoy muffins as is, or top with dark chocolate shavings and sea salt, or vegan dulce de leche sauce.
This recipe was originally published on April 27, 2016. The recipe was re-tested and a video was added for republishing on February 22, 2021.
- Prep Time: 10 min
- Cook Time: 19 min
- Category: snacks
- Method: oven
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 muffin
- Calories: 213
- Sugar: 13.5 g
- Sodium: 217.1 mg
- Fat: 9.8 g
- Saturated Fat: 6.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 29.4 g
- Fiber: 3.2 g
- Protein: 3.9 g
- Cholesterol: 0.3 mg
can you use regular oats ( quick cooking or old fashioned ) to make your own oat flour? I can’t wait to try this recipe
Hi Becky! Great question. Yes, you can use quick cooking or old fashioned oats to make oat flour. We have a whole post dedicated to making your own oat flour if you’re interested: https://www.cottercrunch.com/how-to-make-oat-flour/ Happy baking!
Any subs for oat flour? My hubby can’t tolerate it. Thank you!
What type of flour do you have on hand? A GF all purpose flour might work. Or quinoa flour.
These muffins are so good!! Glad they are healthy cause I ate more than two!!
Haha, I completely agree!
I am in love with the flavors in the muffins! All of my kids loved them, thank you!
These muffins are incredible! They taste like such a treat, I had a hard time convincing my husband that they were actually healthy!
I think that’s what I love the most about the recipe too!
This is such an amazingly healthy muffin!! It tastes really good, too!
Holy cow, these are so incredible. I was tempted to hide some from my kids 🙂
Mexican hot chocolate is so much better than the normal one! Parisian hot chocolate is delicious too. I love all of the spices that goes into Mexican hot chocolate–these muffins look phenomenal and so deliciously moist inside!
Ohhh i gotta try!
Chocolate for breakfast on repeat. I like the sound of that.
Your muffins look delicious but the recipe says gluten free – not Paleo. Is there a way to make them Paleo? I save and sometimes use many of your Paleo recipes. Thanks so much.
sure! can you have eggs?
I HAVEN”T FORGOTTEN ABOUT YOU! I promise I still read your posts daily!! These muffins look a—amazing! Totally making soon!
And I haven’t forgotten you! I hope you are well
There is so much goodness going on in these little muffins! Yuuuuuuuuuuuummmmmmmm!
Chocolate is always a winner with me but Mexican Chocolate is just a whole new level of deliciousness 😉
You know it!
These look really tasty and I just love your photos!! Pinning 🙂
thank you friend!
I don’t think I’ve ever tried Mexican chocolate, but I did try chocolate with a little spice in it… which my wimpy taste buds couldn’t even handle 😆 I’ve heard that anything sweet is supposed to help with a burning tongue, though, so I’ll take a shot glass of dulce de leech sauce please 😀
OMG you must try! it’s not spicy. Promise!
I have not tried Mexican chocolate but it definitely on my radar. The muffins look fabulous. Healthy and yummy. Thanks for the recipe.
yea! thanks Lauren. Let me know if you try it.
Yes Yes Yes!!!! Love all those spices too!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And i love you! <3
xoxoxo
The fact that these are healthy and have a dulce de leech sauce too makes me want to throw my hands in the the air like I just don’t care haha!
yea! that’s the way to do it! haha
These look delicious. I need some more chocolate in my life.
I can concur
I just don’t care! That’s classic.
Those California figs are a sign. Head west. I need some adrenals support for this move – I know you have all the secrets.
P.S. Who knew about the allspice?!
Girlfriend, I have an idea – how about you eat that one muffin you are holding and send me the rest? Gosh darn it – you made these super healthy and seeing I have 0 self control when chocolate is in healthy form – I’ll take ’em ALL! xx
Chocolate + Spices + Muffins = a bite of breakfast (or snack) heaven!!!
I am not sure if I can cheat on Swiss chocolate with Mexican chocolate….but yes, it is delicious, I tried it when I travelled there.
And Dulce de Leche?! Oh sooooo gooood.
Oh yes, swiss chocolate and mexican chocolate need to have a baby. 😉 p.s miss you!
Hello yum! Does this recipe yield a dozen? I was unable to find how many servings it made.
oh whoops! typo in my recipe. thanks for catching it. So if you fill cups 2/3rds full they make 12. If you fill 3/4 full they make 10. Hope that helps!
YASSS!! I can NOT wait until Friday for that dulce de leche recipe!! I’m loving that you sweetened them with figs too!
I have never had Mexican Chocolate but I guess that needs to change 😉
I still haven’t spiked any chocolate treats with the SPICE! I should probably get to it!
I LOVE this!! Literally anything with figs is my favorite 😉 So exciting about this recipe – pinned for later!
Mexican chocolate is the best! It’s one of the things I miss about working in Mexico. Now these I must try. Waving my hands like I just don’t care right now lol!
haha why i love you so!
YAS. I love spicy Mexican chocolate. Really, I love most things about Mexico. I need a margarita.
Need these! Anytime chocolate gets a healthy twist I’m on board – and now I’m craving spicy Mexican chocolate. On another note you’re reminding me I’m really curious to try out a vegan muffin!
making vegan muffins with paleo flour is tricky but doable! I used bobs redmills 1:1 here so I could get more volume with the starch and acid. So they are not paleo but they are so fluffy and moist! You gotta try!