Vegan Double Chocolate Muffins

Name: Vegan Double Chocolate Muffins
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 2 cups All Purpose Flour (spoon and level); 1 cup Organic Cane Sugar; 1/2 cup Unsweetened Natural Cocoa Powder; 1 teaspoon Baking Soda; 1 teaspoon Baking Powder; 1/2 teaspoon Salt; 1 cup Vegan Chocolate Chunks (I used half dark & half semi-sweet); 1/2 cup Room Temperature Apple Sauce; 1/2 cup Room Temperature Unsweetened Vegan Yogurt; 1/2 cup Room Temperature Plant Milk; 1/2 cup Good Quality Olive Oil; 2 teaspoons Apple Cider Vinegar

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These Vegan Double Chocolate Muffins are made with two types of chocolate chunks, cocoa powder, apple sauce, good quality olive oil, and vegan yogurt to create the most chocolatey and moist muffin of all time.

Stack of double chocolate olive oil muffins.

Kitchen Essentials:

These muffins are made with olive oil and not by creaming butter and sugar together so a big bowl and a 12-count muffin pan are all you need for this recipe.

Main Ingredients

All Purpose Flour
Organic Cane Sugar
Unsweetened Natural Cocoa Powder
Applesauce
Vegan Yogurt
Good Quality Olive Oil
Chocolate Chunks

Substitutions

I know it's hard to follow recipes exactly because you want to use what you have on hand instead of buying excess ingredients that you may not use again. My best tip for this is to just be mindful of what switches you make. One small change in baking can result in an entirely different outcome.

All Purpose Flour: I've only tested this recipe with All Purpose Flour so I'm unsure if this recipe can be made gluten-free. I recommend using a GF All Purpose Flour if you decide to give it a try.
Organic Cane Sugar: Granulated sugar or raw turbinado sugar will work in this recipe. You could also use light brown sugar.
Olive Oil: You can use a neutral oil instead but I love the flavor of olive oil in baked goods. Butter is not recommended in this recipe.
Applesauce: Applesauce is a popular egg replacer and is used in this recipe to make the muffin moist and fluffy. Substituting this out could result in a dry muffin and it's not recommended.
Yogurt: The vegan yogurt in this recipe is to moisten the muffin and help lift the crumb. This can be replaced with vegan sour cream.
Chocolate Chunks: This can be replaced with vegan chocolate chips with no issues. I used a mix of 90% cocoa and semi-sweet. I love the combo because you get some bites with delicious sweet melted chocolate and some bites have bitter chocolate. It helps balance out the sweetness of the overall muffin. That being said you can use a mix as I did or stick to one kind of chocolate.

Optional Add-ins:

I love keeping these double chocolate olive oil muffins simple by adding just chocolate chunks but walnuts would be a delicious add-in as well or some vanilla extract.

Tips & Tricks

When it comes to baking the most important step to follow in order to ensure that the product comes out correctly is to spoon and level the flour, do not over-mix the batter, and follow the ingredients and instructions as written.

double chocolate olive oil muffins in muffin tin.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why are my chocolate muffins dry?

Over-measuring flour can result in a dry batter which will then create a dry and crumbly muffin. Spoon and level off the flour! I can’t recommend this enough. Avoid scooping the flour out of the container or bag with your measuring cup simply spoon the flour into the measuring cup and level it off with a knife instead. Avoid packing the flour into the cup or banging the cup on the counter. This will make the flour settle and you’ll end up with too much flour.

What makes this chocolate muffin so light and fluffy?

Over-mixing the batter can make extra gluten start to develop and will become too dense. This is a common problem in baked goods but can easily be avoided. I also recommend adding the chocolate chunks to the dry mixture and not after the batter is combined. The chocolate will be distributed already and you won't have to double mix.

Use room temperature ingredients so that they are easier to mix and incorporate into the dry. While my oven was preheating I put the yogurt, apple sauce, and nondairy milk on to the stovetop. This worked well for me and I recommend it. You could also heat the ingredients in the microwave for about a few seconds. Once it is no longer cold to the touch, it's good to go!

Are muffins better with butter than oil?

Muffins are commonly made with butter because butter is delicious and adds flavor. I used olive oil in this muffin because it adds flavor but also keeps the muffin moist. I find that the combination of cocoa powder and butter makes this muffin a little too dense and dry when combined. Oil keeps these chocolate muffins very fluffy and moist.

Why are these chocolate olive oil muffins baked at two different temperatures?

The high heat will help the muffins become nice and tall and then the lower temperature will cook the inside without burning the outside.

close up shot of double chocolate olive oil muffins.

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If You Make This Recipe:

Tag me on Instagram! I’d love to see your delicious re-creations and feature them! As always, I would greatly appreciate if you share your review in the comments below. Don’t forget to add if you made any fun substitutions. Thank you!