Vegan Chocolate Muffins are easy to make in one bowl and are full of chocolatey goodness! They are incredibly moist, rich and loaded with melty chocolate chips.
Loving double chocolate vegan desserts? Then you have to try my Vegan Chocolate Cookies and Vegan Chocolate Donuts!
There’s never a bad time for chocolate muffins! Filled with chocolate chips, cocoa powder, and a few other basic ingredients, you can bake a batch in 30 minutes and quickly get to snacking.
Just like my Vegan Chocolate Chip Muffins, these soft and sweet chocolate muffins are perfect for breakfast, as a quick pick-me-up, and even dessert. Their bakery-worthy flavor and texture is all thanks to a mixture of vegan “buttermilk”, cornstarch, and oil in the batter.
The best part is they store and travel well, and even freeze beautifully so you can indulge in a chocolate muffin whenever a craving strikes!
Ingredients needed (with substitutions)
- Soy milk – Or any unsweetened dairy free milk you have at home, like almond, oat, or cashew milk.
- Apple cider vinegar – This is mixed with the soy milk to make vegan “buttermilk”. ACV is best but white vinegar works in a pinch! If you don’t have vinegar, lemon juice is the best replacement.
- All purpose flour – This will give you the best results. For gluten free chocolate muffins, use a quality gluten free flour mix instead.
- Cocoa powder – I used regular unsweetened cocoa powder here, but dutch processed cocoa would likely work fine.
- Sugar – May substitute coconut sugar, if desired.
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Cornstarch – This secret ingredient gives chocolate muffins a super soft texture without affecting the flavor.
- Canola oil – Or another neutral vegetable oil, such as avocado oil. Substitute applesauce for oil free.
- Vanilla extract
- Vegan chocolate chips – Mini chocolate chips are my favorite but you can use any kind you love.
How to make vegan chocolate muffins
Start by combining the soy milk with the apple cider vinegar to make the vegan “buttermilk”. Let it sit out for about 10 minutes to curdle.
Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, granulated sugar, baking powder, salt, and cornstarch together in a large bowl.
Pour the “buttermilk” mixture, oil, and vanilla in with the dry mixture.
Gently stir until everything is combined, being careful not to overmix the batter. This will make your muffins hard instead of soft!
To finish, fold the chocolate chips into the batter.
Pour the batter into a lined muffin tin and sprinkle some chocolate chips on top.
Bake the muffins until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out mostly clean. Let them cool for a few minutes in the pan before transferring them to a wire rack to let them cool completely. Serve and enjoy!
Frequently asked questions
- Can the muffins be made without oil? I haven’t tested it in this recipe, but applesauce is often used as a replacement for oil. Use the same amount as you would oil.
- How do you store chocolate muffins? Store the baked and cooled muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for about 3 days. They’ll last for a few days longer when kept in the fridge.
- Are they freezer-friendly? Yes! Wrap the muffins in plastic and keep them in a sealed ziplock bag. Freeze for up to 3 months.
Want more vegan muffin recipes?
- 1 Bowl Vegan Blueberry Muffins
- Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
- Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
- Vegan Pumpkin Muffins
Vegan Chocolate Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups unsweetened soy milk
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1/3 cup canola oil or other neutral flavored oil
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups vegan chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a standard muffin pan with liners and spray them lightly with oil.
- Combine the soy milk and apple cider vinegar in a glass measuring cup or small bowl and set aside to curdle. This is your vegan buttermilk.
- In a large bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients: flour, cocoa powder, granulated sugar, baking powder, salt and cornstarch. If the cocoa powder is really clumpy, sift it in.
- Pour the vegan buttermilk, oil and vanilla into the dry ingredients bowl. Stir with a spatula gently, being careful not to over mix. Over mixing muffin batter makes them hard instead of soft.
- Fold in most of the chocolate chips, saving about 1/4 cup for the tops.
- Fill muffin cups nearly to the top and sprinkle a few more chocolate chips on the tops.
- Bake for 26-28 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out mostly clean. Be careful not to over bake, or the muffins will become dense and dry.
- Let them cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then transfer to a cooling rack.
- Enjoy! Store leftover muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for about 3 days. They also freeze perfectly.
Notes
- Gluten free – I haven’t tested it, but using a quality gluten free mix would likely work quite well.
- Oil free – You can try substituting applesauce for the oil. The texture of the muffins will be different though.
- May use coconut sugar instead of regular sugar, if desired.
- Tapioca starch or arrowroot work in place of cornstarch.
Ok lol I saw the amounts later😭😭😭
Glad you found the amounts! Enjoy!
These are PERFECT! Very tasty and just what we needed for our toddler with egg, milk and nut allergies!
How wonderful. I’m glad your toddler is able to enjoy chocolate muffins! Thank you for sharing!
I made these today and they were delicious 😋. The only substitution I made was to use Carob powder instead of cocoa powder and it is still turned out great!!
Alright! I’m so glad you loved the muffins, Dahiana! Thank you for taking time to share your great feedback!
I baked it found out muffin come out very hard I think temperature a bit too high it need applesauce or liquid more to make muffin soft and fluffy.
I use normal muffin tray and other silicone tray the silicone tray all bottom muffin burn to black colour. I wasn’t sure about temperature.
any subs for corn starch?