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These healthy chocolate muffins are made with oats, banana, and Greek yogurt: no flour, refined sugar, or mixer required! Just blend, bake, and enjoy a delicious treat that feels good to eat.
OK, I’ve made so many healthy muffin recipes that my job title should probably be the “healthy muffin queen!” I’m here with a new spin on my healthy oatmeal muffins that I know you will absolutely love: these healthy chocolate muffins.
This recipe feels like magic: these muffins are all whole food ingredients like rolled oats and Greek yogurt. Whiz it up in a blender and it comes out impossibly fluffy and dark chocolaty. My recipe testers agreed a handful of dark chocolate chips would enhance these, but they’re not needed for flavor if you want to keep it extra healthy. My kids are constantly requesting these!
5 Star Reader Reviews
“They were delicious and so easy! They were filling so I found just one was satisfying! Definitely making again.” -Carla
“I did add a few dark chocolate chips to the top with the sugar, perfection! So, so, so delicious!” -Renata
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Made with real, wholesome ingredients like rolled oats instead of flour, maple syrup, banana, olive oil, and Greek yogurt.
- Tastes like a treat. It’s actually delicious: not like those recipes that are “healthy” but taste suspiciously off.
- So easy to make in a blender! No mixer, no whisking: all you need is a few minutes for dumping and blending.
Ingredients You’ll Need
There’s no all-purpose flour, no refined white sugar, and no stand mixer required! Try to stick to the ingredients listed because each one is important:
- Old-fashioned rolled oats: Blended into a fine flour in the blender, keeping these muffins naturally gluten-free (use certified GF oats if needed).
- Very ripe banana: Use those soft, dark, sweet bananas that are blackening on your counter. will be.
- Greek yogurt: This is actually key to the texture here: it smooths it out. For a dairy-free version, plain coconut yogurt works well (I like the brand Cocojune).
- Pure maple syrup: Grade A Dark Color Robust Flavor is what I call: it has a deeper, more caramel-like flavor.
- Dutch-process (dark) cocoa powder: This is the most important ingredient! It’s key to that deep chocolate flavor. Don’t skip buying it (then you can make my healthy chocolate dip, too).
- Olive oil: A healthy oil that keeps things moist.
- Turbinado sugar: Just a sprinkle on top adds a sparkly crunch with little added sugar. Or, you can add dark chocolate chips!
Pro Tip: Know Your Cocoa Powder
Dutch-process or dark cocoa powder has been alkalized: this mellows its acidity and gives it a richer, darker flavor than natural cocoa, which tastes more fruity. You can see a color difference, too.
This ingredient is often used in baked recipes to bring a deep chocolate flavor. If you’ve never used it before, it’s the key ingredient to many of my chocolate recipes like healthy chocolate pudding and flourless chocolate cake. There are so many ways to use it!
How to Make Healthy Chocolate Muffins
Here’s the basic flow for this healthy chocolate muffins recipe (or jump to the recipe for the quantities):
- Blend the oats first. Give them a full blitz until they’re a fine flour.
- Blend everything else. Add everything else (except the turbinado sugar and chocolate chips) and blend on high for 1 to 2 minutes until completely smooth.
- Fold in or top with chocolate chips. If you’re using them, you can either fold them in with a spatula or reserve them to sprinkle on the tops of each muffin.
- Fill and bake. Line your muffin tin with 12 paper liners, divide the batter evenly, and sprinkle turbinado sugar on top. Bake at 350°F for 28–30 minutes.
- Let them cool completely. This step solidifies the texture and flavor — no cheating!
Chocolate Chips, Or Not?
If you want something a little more decadent, you can add some dark chocolate chips to this recipe. Personally I like feeding these to my kids, so on the regular I don’t add chocolate so I can even let them eat them for breakfast.
But when I’m looking for something a little more special, I like to add just a sprinkle of dark chocolate chips to the top. It definitely makes them more like a traditional chocolate muffin.
I asked my testers this question and 75% of my recipe testers thought chocolate chips were a must!
Variations Worth Trying
Here are a few fun variations to this recipe you can use:
- More banana-y: Increase the mashed banana to 1½ cups for a more pronounced banana flavor.
- Peanut butter: Swap 2 tablespoons of olive oil for 2 tablespoons of peanut butter or almond butter for more nutty flavor.
- Warm spices: Add ½ teaspoon of cinnamon.
- Dairy-free: Swap the Greek yogurt for plain coconut yogurt. My favorite brand is Cocojune.
Storage Notes
These muffins store well — here’s what I do:
- Room temperature: Up to 5 days in an airtight container (they stay more moist this way)
- Refrigerated: Up to 10 days (they keep longer this way)
- Frozen: Up to 3 months (I have not tried this but I’m fairly certain it will work)
More Healthy Muffins
My healthy muffins are some of my most popular recipes! Here are the top flavors:
Healthy Muffin Recipes
Dietary Notes
These heathy chocolate muffins are vegetarian and gluten-free. For dairy-free, use plain vegan coconut yogurt (I like the brand Cocojune). The eggs are essential to this recipe, so I don’t have a vegan variation (though you could try flax eggs at your own risk).
Healthy Chocolate Muffins (No Flour!)
These healthy chocolate muffins are made with oats, banana, and Greek yogurt: no flour, refined sugar, or mixer required! Just blend, bake, and enjoy a delicious treat that feels good to eat.
Ingredients
- 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1 cup mashed very ripe banana
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup Greek yogurt
- ½ cup pure maple syrup (use Grade A: Dark Color Robust Flavor)
- ⅓ cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon turbinado sugar
- 1/3 to ½ cup dark chocolate chips (optional; see Notes)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Place the oats in a blender and blend until fully processed. Add all remaining ingredients except for the turbinado sugar and chocolate chips in a blender. Blend on high for 1 to 2 minutes until a smooth batter forms, stopping to scrape down the sides as needed. If using chocolate chips, you can fold them in with a spatula or use them to top the muffins.
- Line a muffin tin with 12 paper liners and divide the batter evenly between the cups. Sprinkle the tops with turbinado sugar (or chocolate chips, if using).
- Bake for 28 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove the muffins from the tin, then cool completely before tasting. Store at room temperature for up to 5 days, refrigerated for up to 10 days, or frozen for up to 3 months.
Notes
- For dairy-free: Swap the Greek yogurt for a dairy-free alternative, such as plain coconut yogurt (I like the brand Cocojune).
- Nut butter: Swap in 2 tablespoons peanut butter for 2 tablespoons of the olive oil.
- More banana: Use 1 ½ cups of mashed banana for a more pronounced banana flavor: the riper the banana, the sweeter and more fragrant the muffins will be.
- Warm spices: Add ½ teaspoon of cinnamon to add a subtle warmth.
Okay, so I’d love to make these muffins, but is there any good way to do it without the banana? I don’t deal well with the flavor of overripe bananas, and my body doesn’t want to digest them well, either. Would extra yogurt, plus extra sweetener be a workable substitute?
I don’t think they necessarily neeeed chocolate chips, but they’d be a fun add. The muffins themselves are not very sweet which is nice, so the chips might add that sweetness for those who want it. Very easy to prepare, my 5 year old was able to do most of the steps herself! Great school snack and to have as a simple and quick recipe.
Thank you so much! So glad you loved this one :) My kids also do (obvi!)