These are the Best Vegan Gluten-free Chocolate Chip Muffins ever! They are also dairy-free, oil-free, yet incredibly soft, light, fluffy & just 8 ingredients.
VEGAN GLUTEN-FREE CHOCOLATE CHIP MUFFINS
I love baking muffins and classic chocolate chip muffins are always a crowd-pleaser. These are a variation on my really popular Vegan Blueberry Muffins, but with chocolate chips instead and a little bit less sweetener to accommodate the chocolate chips. I’ve made these more times than I can count and they deserved their own post. I like to add a dose of espresso powder sometimes too for a kick. The rich vanilla flavor is addicting too. If you are allergic to almonds, you can make these chocolate chip cupcakes instead, which use coconut instead!
INGREDIENTS FOR VEGAN CHOCOLATE CHIP MUFFINS
You only need 8 ingredients:
- blanched almond flour
- superfine oat flour
- tapioca starch
- baking powder
- maple syrup
- vanilla
- low-fat “lite” canned coconut milk
- dairy-free chocolate chips
HOW TO MAKE VEGAN GLUTEN-FREE CHOCOLATE CHIP MUFFINS
Step 1: preheat an oven to 350°F and line a muffin pan with 7 foil or parchment paper liners.
Step 2: Add the almond flour, oat flour and tapioca starch and make sure to break up any lumps well and then add the baking powder and salt and whisk very well.
Step 3: Make a well in the bottom of the bowl and pour in the syrup, then the milk and vanilla. Stir just until combined. Fold in the chocolate chips gently. Don’t over-mix.
Step 4: Bake for 20 minutes, or when a toothpick comes out clean or a few dry crumbs on it. Cool 15 minutes in the pan, so they can firm up. Keep stored at room temperature covered well so they don’t dry out.
GLUTEN-FREE VEGAN BAKING
Gluten-free vegan baked goods tend to taste either off or with a not-so-pleasant texture. A lot of gluten-free desserts can taste so gross and gummy and anything but light and fluffy. I can promise you though that these muffins are so tender, so light, super fluffy and just as delicious as muffins made with all-purpose flour.
OIL-FREE VEGAN BAKING
The almond flour is what helps to make these muffins really moist without any need for oil. Almond flour is naturally high in fat, so it replaces oil and butter. Oats give a wonderful texture as well as the structure and shape and tapioca starch helps to make these fluffy, rise and act as the egg.
The coconut milk also helps give moisture and fluff to these muffins. They are naturally sweetened with maple syrup instead of refined sugar. For all my other oil-free tips and tricks, see How to Cook and Bake Without Oil!
I mean, look at the inside fluffy heaven going on inside these! These definitely don’t look like your typical gluten-free chocolate chip muffins.
MORE VEGAN GLUTEN-FREE MUFFINS RECIPES
- Vegan Gluten-free Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
- Vegan Gluten-free Double Chocolate Muffins
- Vegan Gluten-free Sweet Potato Muffins
- Gluten-free Cinnamon Coffee Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Vegan Funfetti Cupcakes
- Bakery-Style Cinnamon Streusel Muffins
- Vegan Pumpkin Muffins
- Vegan Orange Muffins
- Vegan Gluten-free Sweet Potato Chocolate Chip Muffins
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Vegan Gluten-free Chocolate Chip Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 cup (112g) superfine blanched almond flour (see note)
- 3/4 cup (96g) superfine oat flour (I use Bob's Red Mill)
- 1/4 cup (32g) tapioca starch
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons (120g) pure maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon (15g) vanilla
- 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons (90g) low fat "lite" canned coconut milk (shake the can really well before measuring)
- 1/2 cup (120g) dairy-free semi-sweet chocolate chips
NOTE
- Always use a scale for accuracy when baking, following MY gram weights listed. You never need cups, just the scale and bowl, making sure to zero out in between each ingredient.
- I use this scale.
Instructions
- Preheat an oven to 350°F and line a muffin pan with 7 foil or parchment paper liners.
- Add the almond flour, oat flour and tapioca starch and make sure to break up any lumps well and then add the baking powder and salt and whisk very well.
- Make a well in the bottom of the bowl and pour in the syrup, then the milk and vanilla. Lightly stir the liquids in the center before blending with the dry ingredients. Stir just until combined. Fold in the chocolate chips gently. Don't over-mix. Pour the batter into 7 liners using an ice cream scoop. They should be filled to the top. Don't worry about them overflowing. Bake for 20 minutes, or when a toothpick comes out clean or a few dry crumbs on it. Cool 15 minutes in the pan, so they can firm up. Keep stored at room temperature covered well so they don't dry out.
Hi! Is the recipe supposed to read half a cup of chocolate chips?
Yes, oops, it’s fixed!
Hi! Thank you for taking the time to post this recipe. Im trying to learn how to bake with only almond or coconut flour. Need to keep to low glycemic stuff…. and WITHOUT EGGS (ugh)! I noticed you are using 3/4 cup oat flour (which is high glycemic). Any idea if I an sub all almond flour or possibly coconut flour?
Hi there! I do not at all recommend coconut flour. It behaves completely different than all other flours with absorbing a lot of moisture and making things very crumbly and a sandy texture. I’m not a fan of it in baked goods. Oat flour is important here for texture purposes and oats are not considered high glycemic because of the fiber. They are actually similar to coconut flour on the glycemic index. The oats aren’t really a concern, the syrup and chocolate chips would be more if that’s what you’re concerned with, so not sure what to tell you to sub with. I do have recipes with just almond flour and starch but not all almond flour. Almond flour needs a starch with egg-free baking, as the starch replaces eggs and gives fluff. Otherwise it would be dense, mushy and gross. I have this cake recipe that you could try to make in muffins but it does have more of a cake texture, not a muffin texture. Just add chocolate chips. https://thevegan8.com/vegan-gluten-free-vanilla-cake/
Yum! The texture really does look fantastic. Can’t wait to give these a try!
Thank you Maria!
I’ve never tried using almond flour but I’ve heard good things about it. This recipe sounds like one that would encourage me to pick some up! The muffins look amazing.
Wonderful, let me know when you try them!
The smell while these were baking had my husband and I both watching the timer. 🙂 They were worth the wait; so tender and light! I had mini chocolate chips left over and they worked great. Thanks for sharing this lovely recipe, Brandi!
Yay Colleen! I’m so glad y’all enjoyed them, thank you so much for making them!!
Would these and your blueberry muffins freeze well? We did the blueberry last week and were a huge hit with the kids!
Hi Jenny! So glad to hear that! Honestly, I never ever freeze my baked goods, nor have I tried freezing these muffins, so I can’t say how they would do. I would just try it and see!
Hello,
Have you used carob for anything in the past?
Thank you
Hi Ami! I actually haven’t but I do have a bag of it I’ve been meaning to use!
Have you ever tried the almond flour from Costco? I need to buy some more and am wondering how fine it is. These look scrumptious and will be on the list to try!
I haven’t but I’ve heard it’s good, so I think you’ll be fine!
Yes I use Costco’s Almond Flour all the time and it is great in recipes!!!! I am making these tomorrow!!! I can’t wait 🙂
Thank you Debra for chiming in, that is great to hear! Can’t wait to hear what you think of these muffins!
I have oat flour that I bought but I have never seen super fine. Does it come in super fine?
Oh if you bought it, it will be fine! Superfine is only in reference to if one makes it homemade 🙂
Girl, these look amazing!! But I am not surprised. You are a tremendous baker and I can’t wait for you to have your shop one day 😉
Is there anything I can use in place of coconut milk?
Hi Karla! Yes, cashew milk or another creamy milk should work just fine. Coconut milk yields the most fluffy results but they should still be good with another milk. Let me know when you make them!
Hi, Do you have the nutrition information for your recipes?
Thanks!
Hi Jane, the nutrition is added above to the recipe now!
Looking forward to making these today but have a couple of questions. How could i convert this recipe to a small loaf? I dont have a muffin sheet.
This looks great but I dont have a muffin tin. How would you convert this to a small loaf?
Hi Kim! I am not sure since I have never tested this as a loaf, not sure how it will bake up or hold it’s structure. These are fluffy and tender muffins so it may make the loaf a bit fragile and not sure how the centers will bake up. Loaves can be tricky because of their shape and height. I would just try baking the recipe in a 9×5 loaf pan. I imagine it would take 40 mins or so, but that’s just a guess. Just make sure the toothpick is clean.
These muffins are the best! Before hubs and I went WFPB, his favorite was Dunkin Donuts Blueberry muffin. After I made these he said, “These taste exactly like Dunkin Donuts!!” I make them in a mini-muffin tin making them the perfect size for a mid-afternoon snack!
Oh yay, so happy to hear that Nancy, thank you for the amazing review!
My kids constantly ask me to make these, they love them. In fact my husband and kids all said they taste more like a cupcake. They are DELICIOUS!
That is so wonderful to hear, thank you so much for leaving a review Stephanie!
Amazing! This recipe did not disappoint and I was asked to share the recipe.
So glad to hear that, yay!
Hi Brandi. I have been plant-based for almost seven years, and these muffins are hands-down my favorite. However, I have only tried the version using all-purpose flour, and they are AMAZING. I just tried the recipe with oat flour and I did not have tapioca starch so I used arrowroot powder instead. Big mistake! I have your cookbook and have made this recipe numerous times, and for some reason I missed where you noted use cornstarch in place of tapioca starch. Doh! Anyway, my question is this: where can I find superfine oat flour? Do you buy yours online? I used oat flour, but I’m not so sure it was super fine. Do I need to just stick it in my Cuisinart and process it until it’s really fine? I live in southern Oregon, and we have a lot of markets with options like these. I can keep searching. Because I am trying to learn from my mistake, was it not using the superfine oat flour and/or the arrowroot powder in place of the tapioca starch? I looked online for substitutes and it was recommended using the same amount of arrowroot powder to substitute for tapioca starch. Apparently, not so! They tasted terrible and I thought I was going to choke because they were so pasty and tasteless. I need to get on a wheat-free diet and I just won’t give up these muffins! I’m hoping they will taste the same with what your recipe originally calls for. I just want to do it right. Thank you! Keep up the great work. I love your new cookbook!
PS, this is the same person from Southern Oregon, I was referring to the almond butter chocolate chip muffins in your cookbook. Sorry, it looks like a different recipe. Please advise. Thanks!
Hi Cristina! So happy to hear how much you loved the Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Muffins from my cookbook! OH yes, if you tried another version with arrowroot starch, then that is definitely the problem! This is one reason why I never use arrowroot in my baking. I never like the gooey or gummy results it gives. I know some people like to use it and it can greatly depend on the recipe, but in my experience, it leave a nasty texture and taste. Definitely try the tapioca or cornstarch and they are delicious. In fact, the all-purpose flour version I got the same exac results with the oat and tapioca starch version, I couldn’t even really tell a difference. Both are light and fluffy and soft! For the oat flour, you can honestly just use any commercial brand. I use Bob’s Red mill oat flour, found at many grocery stores and even on Amazon. I use commercial brand because it’s perfectly fine and not any off texture, as if I would get if I grind them on my own. It just yields a fluffier end result. I hope that helps! And yes, the oat/tapioca version is just as good as the all-purpose. I’ve had tons of readers make them and love them! Just make sure to properly weight everything for accuracy!
Yay! I made these yesterday and I loved them!
I was craving cake and so I searched for something I could do and settled for that feeling of “I want something vanilla-ey”. Despite the fact that I didn’t have tapioca, I just substituted for corn starch, which I know does *not* yield the same results, but we’re talking about craving, not a cupcake contest, so all was good. I can report that you can see the difference because they raised a little bit and then deflated in the middle, so it was a like a normal muffin round top with a little depression in the middle. The flavor was DELICIOUS! Totally satisfied the vanilla hopes and the cake craving. It has a wonderful texture. My only change would be to use less chips, because it was so many of them that they somehow interrupted too much the extension of the cake, and I was craving cake… so I know now that if I want the cakey texture to use less chips so it’s more cake! In any case I can report that: 1) Gorgeous recipe. 2) Delicious despite starch substitution. 3) Exceedingly delicious. 4) Will make again with tapioca.
Also, I left one on the counter and one in a tupper so I could compare texture today and the one that was airtight feels sticky on the top, and the other one feels very dry, like a little crust (but fragile, it breaks if you touch it), however both are super moist inside. No drying inside. No over-humid either. The one that was airtight does feel a little more moist, but just a little bit. The one that was on the countertop is still moist and has the perfect crumble. Can’t wait to make these again!
Thank you for the lovely feedback! Yes, anything sealed tightly will trap the moisture, so that is normal.
I absolutely love these and the chocolate chocolate chip muffins. My kids adore them also!
Is there a way to use stevia or powdered xylitol instead of the maple syrup for someone who is on a candida diet?
Hi Brenda! Very happy to hear that! I actually do not know, as I never use stevia or xylitol in my baking. You’d of course have to replace the syrup with milk so the moisture is not lost, and using milk fully instead of syrup will possibly change the texture. So, I’d just try experimenting with it and see how they turn out using all milk and adding the dry sweetener.
Can you freeze these?
Hi Juliet, I’ve never frozen them personally, but I have frozen my cupcakes before. You can always try it, just make sure to tightly wrap them in plastic wrap and then another sealed container and let them frost to room temperature before eating.