Chocolate Chip Chia Seed Muffins

Muffins are the perfect little snack alongside your morning coffee, tea, or glass of plant milk. My healthy Chocolate Chip Chia Seed Muffins are the most delightful bite for any time of day! Chocolate chips and healthy chia seeds make for a textured, sweet muffin that won't last long on the counter!

Muffins are delicate bakery treats that I typically do not buy from the bakery. They are a beginner-level baked good, so I find no trouble in making them from scratch when I have a craving.

These Chocolate Chip Chia Seed Muffins were born one day when I had a craving for muffins but had to use whatever ingredients I already had. My pantry was full of multiple bags of mini vegan chocolate chips and chia seeds for my smoothies.

Some of the most delicious recipes come out of necessity. I would have never thought to combine these ingredients before. Once I baked these experimental muffins, I realized this recipe was special. After all, who doesn't love chocolate and chia seeds!?

My muffin recipe is totally vegan, so all of my dairy-free friends can enjoy them. Plus, I have gluten-free options for the recipe as well. These muffins are versatile, so add whatever seeds or chocolate chips you have in your pantry. You just might surprise yourself with innovative flavor combinations!

How to Make Buttermilk Vegan

We all know that buttermilk makes for some pretty delicious cakes and muffins. The problem is, buttermilk is not vegan. I want the tartness and lightness that buttermilk gives to cake while still keeping the recipe vegan. So, how do I do it?

You can make a version of buttermilk using vegan ingredients! By combining plant milk and acid, you can "curdle" the plant milk and create a liquid that closely resembles buttermilk. 

In this recipe, I mix apple cider vinegar along with my plant milk to create vegan buttermilk. Use this technique for any recipe that requires buttermilk and you will have delightful, light dairy-free cakes, just like my Chocolate Chip Chia Seed Muffins!

Can You Have Muffins for Breakfast?

Technically, you can have anything for breakfast. But, if you are eating a muffin for breakfast, you want that muffin to contain healthy vitamins and minerals. Many muffin recipes contain loads of sugar and fat, but these Chocolate Chip Chia Seed Muffins are different. You'll be happy to call these little cakes breakfast!

I use organic flour and pure cane sugar, not refined. I love the security in knowing my ingredients are high-quality and less processed than others, which makes for healthier recipes. The vegan chocolate that I use contains less sugar than traditional chocolate, plus it is made without any dairy.

Chia seeds are considered a superfood due to their omega-3 fatty acid content. Omega-3s are responsible for fighting inflammation in the body and are an essential healthy fat in our diets. Other foods high in omega-3s are kale, salmon, and flaxseeds.

So, yes, you can easily have these muffins for breakfast! The healthy ingredients will do your body well, filling you up with a satisfying not-too-sweet snack alongside your cup of tea.

Ingredients in Chocolate Chip Chia Seed Muffins

Use these simple ingredients in this simple muffin recipe:

• 2 cups organic all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon finely-ground sea salt
• 1 tablespoon chia seeds
• ½ cup organic cane sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup almond milk
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• ¼ cup coconut oil
• ½ cup vegan chocolate bar, roughly chopped
• ½ cup vegan chocolate chips

How to Make Chocolate Chip Chia Seed Muffins

Add the almond milk and apple cider vinegar together in a small bowl, stirring together until combined, and let it sit for 5 minutes until it becomes "slightly thickened" and activated.

Preheat your oven to 400F. Lightly grease your muffin pan (for larger muffins) or for standard muffins, line the wells with liners.

Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, chia seeds, cinnamon, and sea salt in a large bowl. Whisk ingredients together until combined.

Add in the milk-cider mixture followed by the coconut oil and vanilla. Stir everything together using a rubber spatula (or wooden spoon) until combined and smooth.

Fold in the chocolate chips and chopped chocolate and spoon batter into the prepared muffin pan (about 2 tablespoons each), gently spreading it into each cavity evenly.

Bake muffins for 20 to 24 minutes or until the centers come out clean when tested with a toothpick. Once fully baked through, remove from oven and let the muffins cool in the pan before removing.

To serve, enjoy muffins along with your favorite coffee, tea, or a glass of plant-based milk.

Bon Appetit!

Muffin Tips

• Do not over-mix your batter! As soon as the flour is added, lightly stir until the dry bits are moistened. Then stop!
• Fold in your chocolate while there are still dry flour bits. This will help prevent the chocolate from sinking to the bottom.
• If you have flaxseeds instead of chia seeds, use equal amounts. You can also use sunflower seeds!
• Use festive muffin liners for different events or seasons of the year.

Other Recipes You'll Love

Are you a fan of sweetbreads for breakfast? How about oats? Try out some of my favorite breakfast recipes here!

• Breakfast Peanut Butter Banana Chia Seeds Oats
• Vegan Chia Seed Maple Banana Bread
• Maple Brown Butter Breakfast Muffins
• Easy Vegan Double Chocolate Muffins
• Vegan Banana Oatmeal SunButter Mini Muffins

Chocolate Chip Chia Seed Energy Muffins

5 from 2 votes

Muffins are the perfect little snack alongside your morning coffee, tea, or glass of plant milk. My healthy Chocolate Chip Chia Seed Muffins are the most delightful bite for any time of day! Chocolate chips and healthy chia seeds make for a textured, sweet muffin that won't last long on the counter!

Author: Shanika

Prep Time: 5 minutes mins

Cook Time: 25 minutes mins

Total Time: 30 minutes mins

Serves: 12 Muffins

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Ingredients

• ▢ 2 cups organic all-purpose flour
• ▢ 2 tsps baking powder
• ▢ ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon finely-ground sea salt
• ▢ 1 tablespoon chia seeds
• ▢ ½ cup organic cane sugar (See Notes!)
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢ 1 cup Almond milk (You can use your fave plant-based milk!)
• ▢ 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• ▢ ¼ cup coconut oil (See Notes!)
• ▢ ½ cup vegan chocolate bar, roughly chopped
• ▢ ½ cup vegan chocolate chips

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Add the Almond milk and apple cider vinegar together in a small bowl, stirring together until combined and letting it sit for 5 minutes until it becomes "slightly thickened" and activated.
• Preheat your oven to 400F. Lightly grease your muffin pan (for larger muffins) or for standard muffins, line the wells with liners.
• In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, chia seeds, cinnamon, and sea salt. Whisk ingredients together until combined.
• Add in the milk-cider mixture followed by the coconut oil and vanilla. Stir everything together using a rubber spatula (or wooden spoon) until combined and smooth.
• Fold in the chocolate chips and chopped chocolate and spoon batter into the prepared muffin pan (about 2 Tbsps each), gently spreading it into each cavity evenly.
• Bake muffins for 20 to 24 minutes or until the centers come out clean. Once fully baked through, remove from oven and let the muffins cool in the pan before removing.
• To serve, enjoy muffins along with your favorite coffee, tea, or a glass of plant-based milk.
• Bon Appetit!

Tips & Tricks

• STORAGE: Can be tightly sealed in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Can be frozen for up to 2 months in a freezer safe bag.
• SWEETENER: If you choose to opt out of cane sugar, you can always substitute with organic brown sugar, coconut sugar, additional pure maple syrup (which requires less milk), Agave, or Date syrup as well. 
• MUFFIN SIZE: This recipe can make 8 Jumbo muffins OR 12 standard muffins, if desired.
• OIL: Instead of coconut oil, you can also use vegetable oil or vegan butter, if preferred.
• GLUTEN-FREE VERSION: To make this bread GF, I recommend using a GF Flour Blend (Bob’s Red Mills has a great version!). **NOTE: If the bread mixture is too ‘thin + runny’, simply add additional GF flour, ¼ cup at a time.** As an alternative, simply substitute all-purpose flour with 1  cup Almond flour + ½ cup Oat flour. Just be sure to see whether more flour is needed due to the amount of liquids.

 

Nutrition

Calories: 232kcal | Carbohydrates: 33g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.004g | Cholesterol: 0.2mg | Sodium: 194mg | Potassium: 83mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 14g | Vitamin A: 4IU | Vitamin C: 0.02mg | Calcium: 89mg | Iron: 3mg

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