9-Ingredient Blender Chocolate Muffins | Paleo and Gluten-Free!

Made with just 9 simple ingredients, these chocolate banana muffins have double chocolatey yummines AND they are free of refined sugar, oil, and flour! One muffin has under 200 calories, contains 7 grams of protein, 4 grams of fiber, and 12 grams of fat.  Satisfy your chocolate cravings guilt-free and in a totally good-for-you way!

My dear chocoholics, today I have something special for you. Something chocolatey, yummy, CLEAN, and healthy, too.  HEALTHY chocolate muffins!

I have many healthy muffin recipes here on the blog – some are fruity, like these strawberry muffins or like these blueberry muffins, some are nutty and sweet, and some are slightly chocolatey, like these banana chocolate chip muffins.

But I have to admit these double chocolate muffins are something else. They are very special. Think about the best chocolate muffin you ever ate. Remember the taste, texture, flavor, and chocolate taste? So YUMMY, right?

Well, these chocolate banana muffins are like that. But better because they are also healthy.

I’ve made these muffins healthy by replacing the typical chocolate muffin ingredients with healthy alternatives. And I ended up with these low sugar muffins that are so cute and delish. <—- LOVE

HOW TO MAKE HEALTHY CHOCOLATE MUFFINS

While making chocolate muffins is relatively easy anyways, since it’s a quick-bread and doesn’t require many steps, I made the process even easier by making these healthy chocolate banana muffins in a blender AND using only 9 simple, clean, and healthy ingredients. The result is this chocolate muffin recipe makes gluten-free, paleo, dairy-free, and clean eating chocolate muffins.

For realz – here are the easy steps:

1. mix all the ingredients aside from flour and chocolate morsels in a blender;
2. add almond flour to a mixing bowl then pour the blended chocolate yumminess over the flour;
3. add chocolate morsels – for double chocolate muffins deliciousness  – and stir to combine;
4. bake.

CHOCOLATE MUFFIN INGREDIENTS

Let’s talk about the muffin ingredients for these homemade chocolate muffins. To make healthy muffins, you’ll need:

• ripe bananas;
• eggs;
• vanilla extract;
• almond flour;
• dark cocoa powder;
• ground cinnamon;
• baking soda;
• sea salt;
• coconut oil, just for greasing muffin tin;
• dark chocolate morsels.

For healthy chocolate muffins, make sure you use dark chocolate morsels. Mine are 70% cacao but anything above 60% is fine. Avoid milk chocolate morsels since those have a ton of added sugar.

If you don’t want to add chocolate morsels or for variation, you could leave them out or replace them with nuts, dried fruits, frozen coffee granules, fresh fruits, coconut flakes or cacao nibs.

I think I’ll have to try all these options very soon because they all sound incredibly yummy to me. Agree?

HOW TO USE BANANA AS A SUGAR SUBSTITUTE

I like natural sweeteners in my desserts and ripe bananas happen to be perfect for muffins.  I learned that from these Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins. Not only do they add sweetness, but they also make the chocolate muffins texture-perfect and very moist so there’s no need to use oils if you’re using bananas! For realz!

To use bananas as a sugar substitute, remember that the riper the bananas, the sweeter the healthy muffins so don’t throw away those overripe bananas on your counter!

OTHER NATURAL SWEETENERS

If you really don’t like bananas (even though you won’t taste them in these muffins), there are other options to sweeten your muffins without using sugar.  You can replace them with unsweetened applesauce. Applesauce is another great sugar substitute that will add natural sweetness and will eliminate the oil from your chocolate muffins batter.  Like bananas, unsweetened applesauce can even replace the use of eggs.

I feel like using ripe bananas or applesauce add more than enough sweetness but, if you don’t agree and your sweet tooth is more demanding than mine, you can add a little bit of pure maple syrup or raw honey. You would still be making healthy chocolate muffins, but your sweet tooth will be happy, too.

ALMOND FLOUR VS. WHEAT FLOUR

To make this chocolate muffin recipe, I used almond flour (AKA almond meal) instead of all-purpose flour. Not only is almond flour slightly sweet – which is great when you’re not using any refined sugars in your baked goods, but it’s also low in carbs and high in nutrients, it contains fiber and protein, AND it’s paleo and GF.  Pretty big win right there.

Almond flour has a little more calories than wheat flour – that’s because it contains more fats. But we’re talking about healthy fats, here. The kind of healthy fats that can actually reduce bad cholesterol. Woot!

Also, almond flour makes gluten-free muffins. Stating the obvious here but wheat flour cannot do that.

If you can’t have almonds due to allergies, you can replace it with whole wheat pastry flour. However, if you want these healthy muffins to stay gluten-free, then you can try cassava flour. Or even coconut flour!  Though, if using coconut flour, add an extra egg because coconut flour needs more moisture.

HOW TO MAKE THESE MUFFINS WHOLE30 OR VEGAN

I’m sure you can already tell that these healthy chocolate muffins are versatile and they can be modified to fit your dietary needs. That’s so true. You can make these healthy muffins vegan, too. Or Whole30.

To make chocolate muffins vegan…

1. replace the eggs with flax eggs:
   1. combine ground flaxseed meal with water;
   2. let sit for 5-10 minutes to thicken;
2. add to muffin batter as you would add eggs.

Technically, baking is not Whole30 approved, but the muffin ingredients are Whole30.  Just replace the vanilla extract with vanilla bean powder so you can still make them if you don’t mind bending the rules.

HOW LONG TO BAKE HEALTHY CHOCOLATE MUFFINS

Whether you’re making healthy muffins or not, there is a rule you always have to follow – don’t over-bake the muffins if you want them to be perfect. If you over-bake them, they come out dry. And no one wants dry chocolate muffins. We all want them moist, rich, and dense.

If you’re not certain for how long to bake muffins, rely on the trustworthy toothpick test: insert a toothpick in the center of the muffin:

• if it comes out clean, the chocolate muffins are ready;
• if not, bake for a few more minutes, and then try again.

Also, take a look at the tops – they should be nicely golden brown.

The whole baking process shouldn’t take longer than 20-25 minutes.  Also, I always bake my muffins at 350° F because it’s a nice not-too-hot heat that cooks the muffins evenly and not too fast.

TIPS FOR MAKING SUPER MOIST CHOCOLATE MUFFINS

Aside from the baking tip above on not over-baking the muffins, there are a few more tricks you can do to make sure your muffins are perfectly moist and have that amazing chocolate muffin texture…

• use good, whole ingredients – good ingredients = good taste always;
• let ingredients come to room temperature before starting to work on this chocolate muffin recipe – the ingredients incorporate better into the batter when they have the same temperature;
• don’t overmix – blend the muffin ingredients only until the mixture is smooth, then, when adding the flour, make sure you stir until the batter ingredients are combined;
• when adding the chocolate morsels, fold gently without over-mixing;
• and, speaking of chocolate morsels, I like to add some on top of the muffins for extra moisture but also for extra flavor, texture, and cuteness.

CAN I FREEZE CHOCOLATE MUFFINS?

You can absolutely freeze these chocolate muffins. In fact, it’s better to freeze them than to leave them on the countertop if you’re looking to keep them for longer than a couple days. They will hold moisture better, and keep longer both in the fridge and the freezer. But I really recommend a double or even a triple batch if you want to freeze some. I say this because I’m sure the first one will disappear in no time.

To freeze muffins…

1. wrap them in freezer-safe plastic wrap or aluminum foil or place them in Ziploc bags;
2. I have also been using these re-usable bags and just placing the muffins in there straight away;
3. freeze.

They’ll last in the freezer for up to 3-4 months!

HOW LONG DO MUFFINS LAST

Speaking of how long muffins last int he freezer, I’m betting you might be wondering how to store muffins for the best result. Here’s an easy breakdown.

You can store muffins…

• ON THE COUNTER: For 1 or 2 days, at room temperature, covered with foil, plastic wrap, or re-usable bags to prevent drying;
• IN THE FRIDGE: For up to 1 week, in an airtight containers or wrapped in plastic wrap, aluminum foil, or re-usable bags;
• IN THE FREEZER: For 3-4 months, if stored as I mentioned above.

3 MORE HEALTHY MUFFIN RECIPES

Once you start eating healthy muffins, it’s hard to stop. I have 3 more healthy muffin recipes you should try before you consider stopping. They are all so yummy, easy, and full of muffin goodness!

HEALTHY BANANA CHOCOLATE CHIP MUFFINS

These Healthy Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins are similar to my double chocolate muffins but they are made with spelt flour and no cocoa powder.

These muffins are also refined flour, refined sugar, and refined oil free. Very easy to make, too, might I add. Get the recipe.

PALEO APPLE MUFFINS WITU CRUNCHY CRUMB TOPPING

These Paleo Apple Muffins with Crunchy Crumb Topping are also low sugar muffins that taste absolutely incredible and are easy to make. Spoiler alert – your house will smell amazing while they are in the oven!

Can you image waking up to these muffins during Fall? Great way to start the day with yummy flavors. But you don’t have to wait until Fall to make the muffins. You can make them any time you want. Get the recipe.

EASY BANANA NUT MUFFINS

The recipe that makes these Easy Banana Nut Muffins is a no fail, super-easy recipe. The muffins are soft, dense, and packed with banana flavor. Yummy-yummy.

You can eat these muffins as breakfast, snack or dessert. They are great at any hour of the day! Get the recipe.

9-Ingredient Blender Chocolate Muffins

9-Ingredient Blender Chocolate Muffins

Made with just 9 simple ingredients, these chocolate banana muffins have double chocolatey yummines AND they are free of refined sugar, oil, and flour! One muffin has under 200 calories, contains 7 grams of protein, 4 grams of fiber, and 12 grams of fat.  Satisfy your chocolate cravings guilt-free and in a totally good-for-you way!

• 5 ripe bananas
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups almond flour
• 2 tbsp dark cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/8 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tbsp coconut oil, (for greasing muffin tin (could also use cupcake liners))
• 1 cup 70% cacao dark chocolate morsels, (plus more for topping)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease muffin tin with coconut oil.

2. In a blender, add all the ingredients except for the dark chocolate morsels and almond flour.

3. Add the almond flour to a mixing bowl, and then pour in the chocolate blender mixture, and stir to combine.

4. Add the chocolate morsels and stir to combine.

5. Pour the mix into the prepared muffin pan, approximately 2/3 of the way full. I use a 1 1/2 tbsp cookie scoop to transfer equal amounts into each muffin tin.

6. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean and tops are golden brown.

7. Remove and let cool on cooling rack.

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