These moist and fluffy chocolate muffins are made with oat flour, making them a wonderful gluten-free option for any time of day. This delicious recipe also sneaks in a cooked sweet potato and uses wholesome ingredients, proving that rich and decadent muffins can also be healthy and nutritious!
Chocolate muffins are the ultimate dessert-for-breakfast food. Don't get me wrong, I love muffins made with fresh fruit such my lemon blueberry muffins and apple-cinnamon muffins (both made using oat flour as well), but a nutritious muffin that tastes like chocolate cake makes me feel like a kid and a responsible adult at the same time. It's a guilty pleasure without the guilt!
Similar to my chocolate zucchini oat flour muffins, this recipe also includes a vegetable you won't notice that boosts its nutritional content to another level. The sweet potato adds a subtle sweetness while keeping the muffins light and fluffy.
These healthy muffins are my latest obsession. They use simple ingredients and are completely plant-based and refined sugar-free as well!
Why You'll Love this Chocolate Muffin Recipe
- Decadent with rich chocolate flavor
- Moist and fluffy
- Nutritious - uses whole grains and sweet potato; no gums or flour mixture
- Allergy-friendly - dairy-free, nut-free and gluten-free muffins
- Perfect make-ahead option for a portable breakfast or snack
- Easy!
Ingredients
This recipe uses a total of 10 simple ingredients, featuring oat flour, cocoa powder and sweet potato. See the recipe card below for the full ingredient list and quantities.
- Oat flour - I recommend using store-bought oat flour in this recipe. You can certainly make your own by grinding oats in a blender, but pre-packaged oat flour tends to be finer than homemade, resulting in lighter muffins that aren't as dense.
- Cocoa powder - gives it the chocolate flavor and color. I use unsweetened cocoa powder.
- Sweet potato - I meal-prep with sweet potatoes all the time. I typically cook 4-8 at once and then keep them on hand in the fridge to use in various recipes. This recipe calls for a cooked sweet potato with the skin removed.
How to Make Gluten-Free Chocolate Muffins
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Add silicone or paper muffin liners to a 12-count muffin tin.
2. Blend the wet ingredients. Add the maple syrup, avocado oil, non-dairy milk of choice (oat milk, almond milk, etc.), cooked sweet potato and vanilla extract to a blender and blend on the highest speed until smooth.
3. Add dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl (oat flour, cocoa powder, flaxseed, baking soda and salt). Stir until well combined.
4. Combine wet and dry mixtures to create the muffin batter. Pour the mixture from the blender into the large bowl with the dry ingredients. Use a hand mixer to incorporate them together and ensure that there are no chunks in the batter.
5. Transfer the batter into the muffin tin. I like to use an ice cream scoop for this step but a spoon is fine as well. Fill the muffin cups fully. Top with vegan chocolate chips if desired.
6. Bake the muffins. Place the muffin pan into the preheated oven and bake for 8 minutes. After 8 minutes, reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees without opening the oven door and bake for an additional 8 minutes.
7. Allow muffins to cool. Remove from the oven and allow the muffins to sit in the muffin tin to fully cool. I sometimes pop the entire muffin tin in the freezer to speed up the process. Once fully cooled, remove the muffins from the silicone or paper liners and enjoy.
8. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Don't open the oven door when reducing the temperature. Reducing the temperature halfway through baking ensures that the muffins will continue to cook on the inside without burning the outside. Opening the door will let a lot of the heat out and prevent the muffins from rising as much.
Turn them into gluten-free double chocolate muffins! Add some dairy-free chocolate chips to the muffin tops before baking in the oven for extra chocolate flavor and gooeyness. This is for the true chocolate lovers!
Storage
Store muffins once they have fully cooled in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
The muffins are also freezer-friendly. I actually received very positive feedback on an Instagram reel showing how I make these muffins stating that they are just as light and fluffy after being thawed from frozen! These can be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Why Use Oat Flour?
Oat flour is a powder made from ground-up whole grain oats. It is rich in iron and selenium and also contains nutrients such as fiber, phosphorous, thiamine, magnesium and zinc.
This gluten-free flour is lighter when compared to almond flour and is therefore highly useful in baking muffins and cookies such as my chocolate chip oat flour cookies. If you're buying from the grocery store, definitely make sure the label indicates it is certified gluten-free to ensure there was no cross-contamination.
Why Use Sweet Potatoes?
Sweet potatoes are loaded with vitamins A and C in addition to providing potassium and fiber. I love incorporating them in my baking because they add so much nutritional value and you can't even taste it. I even use them in chocolate sweet potato cupcakes!
More Gluten-Free Recipes Using Oat Flour
My whole family loves these healthy chocolate muffins, and I hope you do too! Please rate or comment below as I always value your feedback.
Gluten-Free Chocolate Muffins with Oat Flour (Vegan)
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 12 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
These moist and fluffy chocolate muffins are made with oat flour, making them a wonderful gluten-free option for any time of day. This delicious recipe also sneaks in a cooked sweet potato and uses wholesome ingredients, proving that rich and decadent muffins can also be healthy and nutritious!
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cup + 2 tablespoons store-bought oat flour
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- ½ teaspoon fine salt
- ¾ cup pure maple syrup
- ½ cup avocado oil
- ½ cup unsweetened plain plant-based milk (oat milk, almond milk, etc.)
- 1, 16 ounce cooked sweet potato (~1 cup), skin removed
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- optional: mini vegan chocolate chips (for topping only)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Add silicone or paper muffin liners to a 12-count muffin tin.
- Blend the wet ingredients. Add the maple syrup, avocado oil, non-dairy milk of choice (oat milk, almond milk, etc.), cooked sweet potato and vanilla extract to a blender and blend on the highest speed until smooth.
- Add dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl (oat flour, cocoa powder, flaxseed, baking soda and salt). Stir until well combined.
- Combine wet and dry mixtures to create the muffin batter. Pour the mixture from the blender into the large bowl with the dry ingredients. Use a hand mixer to incorporate them together and ensure that there are no chunks in the batter.
- Transfer the batter into the muffin tin. I like to use an ice cream scoop for this step but a spoon is fine as well. Fill the muffin cups fully. Top with vegan chocolate chips if desired.
- Bake the muffins. Place the muffin pan into the preheated oven and bake for 8 minutes. After 8 minutes, reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees without opening the oven door and bake for an additional 8 minutes.
- Allow muffins to cool. Remove from the oven and allow the muffins to sit in the muffin tin to fully cool. I sometimes pop the entire muffin tin in the freezer to speed up the process. Once fully cooled, remove the muffins from their liners and enjoy.
- Serve and enjoy! Store muffins once they have fully cooled in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Store in the freezer for up to three months. Separate muffins with parchment paper so they don't stick together as they freeze.
Equipment
Buy Now → Notes
- Don't open the oven door when reducing the temperature. Reducing the temperature halfway through baking ensures that the muffins will continue to cook on the inside without burning the outside. Opening the door will let a lot of the heat out and prevent the muffins from rising as much.
- The cooking time was calculated using a pre-cooked sweet potato. If you do not have a cooked sweet potato on hand, add additional time. See my post on meal-prepping sweet potatoes for instructions on how to bake a sweet potato or how to cook a sweet potato using the Instant Pot.
- Prep Time: 9
- Cook Time: 16
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Oven
Lisandra Tabares-Perez says
Wow these are our new favorite muffins! They taste just like chocolate cake! We’ve made them a few times. FYI home made oat flour works as well.
Elaine Gordon says
Thank you so much! I'm so happy to hear that, Lisandra! I hope you continue to enjoy this one. Best, Elaine
Rikki says
These are so delicious i feel im being bad, it’s like chocolate cake but it’s all healthy ingredients. Thank you for this delicious receipt that i will make on repeat!! Was wondering if you could use canned pumpkin in replace of the sweet potato to make it faster and easier?
Elaine Gordon says
Thank you so much, Rikki! I'm so happy you enjoy them and find them indulgent too! I have tried with canned pumpkin and they work but the flavor and texture is a little different. It is great in a pinch though! Sweet potatoes are naturally sweeter and the homemade is a little thicker than the canned. Canned pumpkin can be a little bitter and have a stronger flavor. Just mentioning but again it will turn out okay with canned pumpkin.
Jeneen says
Hi Elaine, fellow baker here. I plan to try your vegan, GF option shortly and was wondering if there was any specific reason you didn't use baking powder in this (gluten-free chocolate muffins with oat flour) recipe ?
Kindly,
Elaine Gordon says
Hi Jeneen: I used baking soda instead. For me that is what works best as I'm allergic to corn and many baking powder's contain corn starch. I had perfect results with the baking soda. Are you able to use baking soda?
Jenn says
Delicious!
Quick question- what is the best way to reheat them after freezing them?
Elaine Gordon says
Thank you! Great question, Jenn. So there are two ways, one is you take it straight from the freezer and pop in the microwave for 30 seconds or so until warm and fluffy again. The other option is the night before transfer from the freezer to the fridge or even the counter (in and airtight container). It will thaw out slowly overnight. In the morning you may need to warm them up in the oven or microwave for a little bit (if you prefer a warm muffin) but I usually find they are good to go by morning and I enjoy them at room temp or chilled. I hope that helps. Please let me know if you have any other questions.