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Healthy Chocolate Oatmeal Muffins: No Flour, No Sugar, No Oil

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Healthy Chocolate Oatmeal Muffins are healthy enough for breakfast and decadent enough for dessert. They contain no flour, no oil, and are refined sugar-free but still have the irresistible chocolatey flavor of oatmeal chocolate chip bakery muffins.  My kids' all-time favorite muffins!

Close up of chocolate muffin

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When I was pregnant with my daughter I was obsessed with double chocolate muffins. Could eat everyday obsessed. Just need to make a quick run to the bakery obsessed. See you in my dream OBSESSED.

There was just one problem with my pregnancy induced chocolate chip muffin habit >> the pregnant women need-to-eat-healthier problem, and also the my-toddler-is-watching-me-eat problem.

Ah, the trials of motherhood.

Lunch Bag Dilemas

Fast forward a few years and I've used my chocolate muffin obsession to solve another trial of motherhood… packing healthy lunches my kids want to eat.

We're pretty healthy eaters so packing healthy lunches is not a huge problem… until lunchtime arrives at school.

My kiddos definitely get lunch box envy when their classmates pull out snack bags of chips, prepackaged cookies, soda, and candy. They come home from school full of “why can't we” questions and complaints.

And I get it… homemade hummus pales in comparison to Oreos!

And I love to make my kids happy… but I don't want to sacrifice healthy lunches.

What's a mom to do?

Enter healthy chocolate oatmeal muffins, the perfect solution for lunch box envy. They look delicious and tempting (hello, chocolate chips!) but they are healthy!

chocolate muffin batter in muffin tin

Healthy Muffin Substitutions

Each of my healthy oatmeal muffin recipes are made with no flour, no sugar, and no oil. While this might sound like a recipe for cardboard, it actually produces amazingly delicious muffins!

  • Toasted oatmeal replaces flour (use gluten-free oats for gluten-free muffins) for a smooth muffin with a slightly nutty favor.
  • Bananas are used instead of oil or butter to produces tender, moist muffins.
  • Honey replaces refined sugar to add just a touch of sweetness.
  • Unsweetened cocoa and chocolate chips make the healthy chocolate oatmeal muffins CHOCO-rific.

These home baked treats rival the huge chocolate chocolate chip muffins in bakeries and coffee shops… with a fraction of the sugar and calories.

With or Without Chocolate Chips?

I'm 100% pro chocolate chip, but the decision is up to you!  The chocolate oatmeal muffins are delicious with or without chocolate chips.

I stir 1/2 cup of chocolate chips into the batter and press the remaining ½ cup onto the top of the muffin batter before baking to produce a super tempting display of chocolate on top of each muffin.

Favorite Chocolate Chips Brands

To keep the muffins extra healthy I buy chocolate chips that use as few ingredients as possible. My favorites are Trader Joe's semi-sweet chocolate chips and Enjoy Life chocolate chips, both are made with three limited ingredients: cane juice, chocolate liquor, and non-dairy cocoa butter.

If you’ve never tried these delicious chocolate chips you are missing out! They are much tastier than most chocolate chip brands.

Other Mix-Ins

You may omit the chocolate chips altogether or use dried fruit, nuts, or fresh fruit instead. Limit your mix-ins to 1/2 cup per batch for best results.

chocolate muffins collage

Chocolate Oatmeal Muffins Recipe

Ingredients

  • 2 ½ cups old-fashioned oats (1.5 cups ground, 1 cup unground)
  • 2 Tbsp unground oats for muffin tops (optional)
  • 2-3 large overripe bananas (1 c. mashed) or 1 cup applesauce
  • 2 eggs (lightly beaten)
  • 1/3 cup honey
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 3 -4 Tbsp cocoa powder
  • 1 cup chocolate chips (divided into two ½ cup portions, optional)

Healthy Chocolate Oatmeal Muffins Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 325℉. Place oats on a baking sheet and toast until lightly browned, stirring once (about 4 to 6 minutes). Let cool to room temperature. (You can skip this step, however the toasting adds flavor.)
  2. Place 1.5 cups of the oats in a food processor and blend/pulse until they reach a rough, flour like consistency.
  3. Mash bananas well, they should have no lumps. Add eggs, honey, milk and vanilla. Mix to combine.
  4. Add dry ingredients (including both 1.5 cup ground oats and 1 cup unground oats) to wet ingredients and mix until just incorporated. Allow batter to sit for 10-15 minutes to soften the oats.
  5. Fold in approximately 1/2 cup chocolate chips (if desired).
  6. Scoop batter into muffin tins lined with paper wrappers until 3/4 full. The recipe makes approximately 14 muffins. (Optional: Spray the bottom of the liners lightly with oil to make the muffins easier to remove from the wrappers.)
  7. Sprinkle muffin tops with reserved oats and remaining 1/2 cup chocolate chips, press down lightly.
  8. Bake at 350 for about 20 -23 minutes, a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin should come out clean. (Tip: Cut one muffin in half to check doneness.)

one dozen chocolate muffins in pan

Tips for Making Healthy Muffins

Healthy muffins are more dense than typical muffins. These tips will help you get the best results.

  1. Use parchment paper baking cups to keep the muffins from sticking. The healthy muffins tend to stick to other paper muffin liners. (Tip: If your muffins are already stuck to the liners wait overnight and they should easily peel off.)
  2. Press lightly on the top of a muffin when checking for doneness. It should spring back. If the muffin top stays indented or feels mushy the center is probably underbaked.
  3. To get your muffins to look like my photos fill the baking cups very close to the top. Add 5-10 minutes of baking time. (This makes about 12 muffins instead of 14.)

More Healthy Muffin Recipes to Try

1 – Healthy Oatmeal Muffins – My original recipe is sweetened with bananas, no flour and no oil. Easy to customize with your favorite add ins.

2 – Healthy Pumpkin Muffins Recipe  – Delicious pumpkin spice flavor, no oil, no gluten and dairy free. They taste like pumpkin pie.

3 – Apple Cinnamon Blender Muffins – This easy recipe mixes in the blender for no mess but delicious cinnamon apple flavor. Still no flour, no sugar and no oil.

4 – Healthy Zucchini Muffins Recipe – Zucchini and spices give these muffins classic zucchini bread flavor. A fall favorites with no guilt.

5 – Healthy Chocolate Peanut Butter Muffins Recipe – These muffins are full of chocolate peanut butter flavor.  Classic flavor combo that is better for you.

4.69 from 19 votes
Close up of chocolate muffin
Print
Healthy Chocolate Oatmeal Muffins Recipe
Prep Time
15 mins
Cook Time
20 mins
Total Time
35 mins
 
Healthy Chocolate Oatmeal Muffins Recipe: Toasted oats replace flour, bananas & honey provide a bit of sweetness, cocoa & chocolate chips make them irresistibly chocolaty. Ingredients
Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: American
Servings: 14
Calories: 190 kcal
Author: Bren
Ingredients
  • 2 ½ cups old fashioned oats (1.5 cups ground)
  • 2 tbsp oats (for muffin tops)
  • 2-3 large bananas, very ripe (1 cup mashed or 1 cup applesauce)
  • 2 large eggs (lightly beaten)
  • 1/3 cup honey
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • 2 tsp vanilla (pure)
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 3 -4 Tbsp cocoa powder
  • 1 cup chocolate chips (divided into ½ cup portions)
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 325. Place oats on a baking sheet and toast until lightly browned, stirring once (about 4 to 6 minutes). Let cool to room temperature. (If you are in a hurry you can skip this step and use plain old fashioned oats, however the toasting adds flavor!)
  2. Place 1.5 cups of oats in a food processor and blend/pulse until they reach a rough, flour like consistency.
    Healthy Zucchini Muffins contain no oil, no refined sugar, and no flour. The oil and sugar are replaced with ripe bananas and the flour is replaced with whole grain oats. Zucchini and spices give the muffins classic zucchini bread flavor. Enjoy a fall favorites with no gui
  3. Mash bananas well, they should have no lumps. I use my mixer to mash them before adding the other wet ingredients.
  4. Add eggs, honey, milk and vanilla. Mix to combine.
  5. Add dry ingredients (including both ground and unground oats) to wet ingredients and mix until just incorporated. Allow these to sit for 10 minutes to soak the oats.

  6. Fold in approximately 1/2 cup chocolate chips, if using.

  7. Scoop into muffin tin, lined with muffin wrappers (makes 14 muffins). You can spray the bottom of the liners lightly with spray oil to make the muffins easier to remove from the wrappers.

  8. Sprinkle muffin tops with reserved oats and remaining 1/2 cup chocolate chips, press down lightly.

  9. Bake at 350 for about 20 -23 minutes, a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin should come out clean.
Nutrition Facts
Healthy Chocolate Oatmeal Muffins Recipe
Amount Per Serving (1 muffin)
Calories 190 Calories from Fat 50
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 5.6g 9%
Cholesterol 25.5mg 9%
Sodium 162.7mg 7%
Total Carbohydrates 32.7g 11%
Dietary Fiber 2.7g 11%
Sugars 19.6g
Protein 4.4g 9%
Vitamin A 3%
Vitamin C 3%
Calcium 11%
Iron 7%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

 

Healthy Cookies

Can't get enough healthy chocolate baked goods? Check out these healthy cookies . My kids love them for breakfast!

Healthy Chocolate Cookies FB

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Healthy Chocolate Oatmeal Muffins Recipe - No Flour, Sugar Free, Oil Free Healthy Chocolate Oatmeal Muffins Recipe: Toasted oats replace flour, bananas & honey provide a bit of sweetness, cocoa & chocolate chips make them irresistibly chocolaty.

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Comments

  2. Great muffins! I needed to prepare this week’s snacks for my kids, and good thing I came by your website to compare your healthy muffins–which I always make with blueberries– vs. a South Beach recipe I’d just found. Realizing you’d just posted this recipe, I had to give these a try. I didn’t even process or toasts the oats as the plain muffins (with blueberries) are awesome without those steps. 1/2 cup (+) of chocolate chips mixed in the batter resulted in muffins that are chocolatey enough… And delicious! Wonderful job, Bren!

    Reply

    • Thanks Nat! I am so glad you enjoyed the new version of my healthy muffins. We love the original version too, bit it is fun to mix it up a bit in the snack department!

      Reply

  6. Hello!

    I’m very excited to try this recipe! It looks delicious for a healthy+chocolate addict like me 🙂

    I want to ask you though, would using low fat milk completely ruin the taste?

    Also, I’m very new to baking but I know that 14 muffins are too much to handle! Is halving all the ingredients to make about 7 muffins a reasonable idea?

    Thanks 🙂
    Lena.

    Reply

    • Lena, skim milk will work just fine in the recipe. I generally use non-fat or 2%. Yes, you can halve the ingredients and make half a batch. They also store well in the freezer if you want to make a full batch and save some for later. Happy baking!

      Reply

  7. Thank you so much Bren! They turned out amazing 😀 I halved the ingredients and still got 9 cupcakes. Will definitely make more next time 🙂

    Reply

  8. Thanks for this great recipe!!! I have to limit myself because I could eat the whole batch! We have to be dairy free so I made the recipe with water instead of milk and dairy free chips and it worked perfectly. (Then I made them again with coffee instead of milk and it’s delicious too!!!)

    Reply

  9. I made the blueberry muffins and the chocolate ones. Both yummy. My kid and partner loved the chocolate ones in particular. They are just as divine as normal ones but guilt free!

    Reply

  10. Hi, is it possible to make these muffins vegan by substituting applesauce or (?) for the eggs? They sound fabulous, and look, fabulous!

    Reply

    • Melanie, I’ve never tried subbing applesauce for the eggs. I have used flaxseed as an egg substitute in other muffin recipes. Let me know if you try.

      Reply


  11. Thanks Bren for the recipe! I just made these delicious muffins for my healthy on-the-go breakfasts and found that I didn’t have chocolate chips, but only white chocolate chips! Flavor wise, that’s OK by me! However, a bit of caution to anyone else who is interested in using white chocolate chips, I had a difficult time getting the muffins baked to completion (clean toothpick) without the white chips about burning. I got it to work, albeit the muffins are a tad under but I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it…

    Reply

  14. I made these today and 3 scoops of used vegan chocolate protein powder and 1 scoop of coco powder. Made them even healthier and sooo yummy!

    Reply

  15. I’m looking for the nutritional information. Is it posted somewhere and I just can’t see it? Please help! Thanks!

    Reply

  17. I’m very excited to try this recipe! Will the muffins still be as moist if I use sugar instead of honey? How much sugar would you suggest? Also, can I simply use 1.5C whole wheat flour in place of the ground oats? Thanks in advance 🙂

    Reply

    • Hi Rosalynd, you can substitute honey, maple syrup or agave for one another but I have never made them with sugar or whole wheat flour. Sorry! if you want to use those ingredients I would go to the healthy banana bread recipe and make that into muffins. It uses sugar and whole wheat flour.

      Reply


  19. I made these muffins and I liked them better than regular muffins! The best part is I do not have to feel so guilty after eating them. I added a little almond butter and it turned out very moist and fluffy. Love this recipe! Thanks so much:)

    Reply


  20. I just came across your blog and I’m hooked! This is the third time I’ve made these and my husband and 3 year old gobble them down every time! We are dairy-free so I always use almond milk and dairy free chocolate chips. I also useapplesauce instead of bananas because they don’t last long around here! An added plus is that they come out perfectly every time despite us living at 7,000 feet elevation! Thank you so much for the recipe, I am excited to try the apple cinnamon ones next!

    Reply

    • Hey Carlie, you toast the oats at 325 at the start of the recipe and then turn the oven up to bake the muffins at 350. If you read the entire recipe you’ll see where you should use each temperature. Enjoy!

      Reply

  22. Thanks for sharing.. tried both the chocolate muffin and the banana plain oat and both are super yummy and easy to prepare.. my kids love it.. a recipe definitely to repeat

    Reply

  23. Hi Bren.
    This sounds like a terrific recipe and I plan to give it a try.
    However, I want to make them in a mini-muffin pan for a bite-sized snack.
    How would you suggest I adjust the temp/time for the mini pan?
    I’m not much of a baker, but trying to find tasty healthier snacks and these sound perfect.
    Thanks in advance.
    Jim.

    Reply

    • Jim, I would set the timer for 5 minutes less than the original recipe calls for, so bake for 15 minutes and then check to see if the muffins are done. They may need more time if they are still moist in the middle. Good luck!

      Reply


  24. I LOVED this recipe! I first tried your just banana oat muffins and personally they were a bit to plain for my taste but this recipe added just that extra bit of chocolate and sweetness my sweet tooth craved! I actually halved the amount of chocolate chips and added half an apple instead and i think it added a little extra healthy sweetness so I still felt good about eating it for breakfast! So thank you for sharing this recipe, it’s now apart of my muffin repertoire!

    Reply

    • Thanks, Maria! I’m so glad you found the recipe that fits your taste. Between the plain, chocolate, zucchini, apple, and pumpkin versions I think I have most tastes covered! The chopped apple sounds great too! 🙂

      Reply


  25. Delicious! I used them as my birthday cake – still indulgent but not obnoxious in calories! I will admit that I used too much ground oatmeal because when following the directions paired with the pictures, it says 1.5 cups of ground oats, not 1.5 cups of oats, ground. I’ll remember next time.

    Reply


  26. HI! Just in the process of making your healthy chocolate banana muffins. Thanks for all the other healthy muffin recipes, I will definitely be trying those as well. Just hoping you have a good breakfast bar recipe. Something with nuts, dates or prunes etc. Thanks and keep up the great work!

    Reply

    • I’ve never baked it as a loaf, but a reader mentioned that she used a loaf pan rather than muffin pan and it turned out great. She baked the load at 350, and added 10 minutes to the baking time. Let me know if you try it.

      Reply

  28. Hi Bren, Your muffins look so delicious!!!! I can not decide which ones to make first!!!! I would Ike to make the chocolate ones but with the zucchini added. Do you think that woul work and what do you think I will need to do different. Thank you for your time.

    Reply

    • Thanks Paula. You can add 3 -4 Tbsp of unsweetened cocoa powder to the zucchini muffins to make them chocolate. You many have to add a few tablespoons of milk to make the mixture the correct consistency. (You might want to try the recipe once as-is so you can see the texture/batter thickness.)

      Reply

  29. Hi, do you know the carbs, protein and fat per muffin? I only see calories. I’m trying to find high carb/low fat muffin recipes for my soccer players.Thanks!

    Reply


  31. I hae made the chocolate ones and my kids loved them. I am going to try the pumpkin today.
    Have you thought about making a savoury muffin with cheese?

    Reply

  33. Hi, I just made these because my 3 year old has an intense sweet tooth and I wanted something healthier. I used brown rice syrup instead of honey, applesauce because my bananas weren’t ripe enough for baking, and 2% milk. I used a half cup of mini chocolate chips mixed in and no toppings. I also split the batter (which was much wetter than a normal muffin batter) amongst 12 muffin cups because 14 is impractical. Anyway, I don’t know what modification made it go wrong, but they barely raised and even after much longer than suggested, they were goopy inside. We still ate them though because you can’t tell a 3 year old who has been waiting patiently through the whole process and extended bake time that she can’t have one, and I knew they were hot enough for the eggs to be safe to eat. Actually it did taste quite good! Definitely not muffin-like and we had to put it in a cup with a spoon, but it was like a hot dessert porridge or something. I think maybe I needed to let the batter sit longer before putting into the muffin cups, and banana probably would’ve worked better, but I’ll be trying your other recipes soon. Thank you for the healthier muffin ideas! Toddler-approved.

    Reply

    • Thanks for commenting, Nikki. I’ve never used rice syrup in the recipe but I do know that some applesauce is runnier than mashed bananas so this can change the wetness of the batter. The batter is very thick after resting, even thicker than “normal” muffin batter. I’m glad you enjoyed the flavor and hope you try another version!

      Reply

  37. I inherited my love for cooking from my mother who coached my brothers and I from a very young age. One of my mother’s rule’s I have always followed is to make it according to the recipe the first time and then modify if you need the next time. I followed your recipe to the tee and I wouldn’t change a thing. The muffins came out great. Bananas, chocolate and oatmeal, what a great combination. I din’t encounter a soft or uncooked middle so I was delighted.

    Thanks for sharing

    Reply


  38. I have made either this version or your original oatmeal muffin every week since I found your website. This is such an easy recipe and so consistently yummy- even if I make some substitutions. I make it a little easier on myself by doing the whole thing in my Vitamix and it still comes out great.
    Thank you for sharing!

    Reply

    • Thanks for commenting, Melissa. I’m happy to hear that the muffins are a hit. The Vitamix idea is great. Mixing in a blender does make it easier!

      Reply


  39. These things look AMAZING in the pictures!! I’ve already texted this to my GF, knowing her she’ll go to market right now just so we can bake these up tonight. Great recipe!

    Reply


  40. Since coming across your oatmeal muffin recipes, the warehouse club size old fashioned oats we buy lasts us maybe a month(instead of one year).

    Reply


  41. Hi bren, thank you for your healthy recipes.ive made your oatmeal banana muffins thrice already and also haw made this one recently.but this recipe really disappointed me . I wanted to ask you something. The first time when I made the banana muffins , they were perfect, fluffy and nice. I made a change in the recipe of grinding 1cup oats into powder and adding a 1/4 more as whole ( since it was my 1st time I tried half the recipe) , I also didn’t roast the pats but they were still yummy, but I also made a mistake of using 1/2 a tsp baking soda rather than a1/4.the 2nd ad 3rd time ,they turned out to be really dry and not at all fluffy despite me following the recipe exactly except using half part water and half part milk . They did rise in the over but deflated soon after and became more like cooked batter cups with air pockets inside . I was really disappointed by that.i also had replaced the honey with jaggery mixed with water, yet it didn’t work.i don’t know hat went wrong. I really like that recipe and it helps me have a easy to go real fast for school but the muffins aren’t just quite appetising , could you pls help?

    Now , I was extremely excited to try this chocolate recipe . Due to bad past experience with chocolate and banana together I used applesauce instead. And again jaggery ( not with water since Jagger’s has a lot of moisture already and I didn’t want the muffins to be sticky like the banana ones) . I also added 3/4 tsp of instant coffee to the half part water . the muffins again had risen – if not as much as yours – quite well and had a domed top but after letting them cool , that domed top went and they again became flat topped cooked batter cups with air pockets. Unlike my very first attempt , all the other attempts have given me dry muffins which are hard to swallow alone by themselves. The chocolate ones are also extremely dry and rubbery too even when I took extra care not to over mix the batter and only fold . Also gave them 20-30 mins to rest for a softer muffin and cooked for 18 mins until the toothpick was clean and yet this result. Unlike the comment , they aren’t chocolatey either . ( which I kind of figured since it only has like 4 tbsp of coco powder but since you said they would be I thought okay maybe they might be chocolatey). I had especially made applesauce to try this recipe since where I live it isn’t readily available but I’m quite disappointed . Could you pls help.

    Reply

    • Hi Rose! I’ve never baked with jaggery so I am not sure how that will change the recipe. “The Hot Air Balloon Effect” you’re describing (when baked goods rise and then deflate) can be cause by high altitude, raising the recipe temperature (my temperatures are in Fahrenheit), or using too much leavening agent (baking powder or baking soda in this recipe). Hope this helps! If you want extremely chocolaty muffins you should add the optional chocolate chips. Hope this helps!

      Reply

  43. hi bren , its me again. i tried the recipe again following exactly at each step. i even toasted the oats. but this time they turned out salty. im more than sure i added the specified amount of salt. you said toasting adds flavor but it gave the muffins a burnt taste. no my oats werent burnt. they tasted burnt and salty , more like weird popcorn. and when the oats were toasted they gave out a weird taste? why do you think they tasted that way? and i saw a video of your recipe on youtube and it seems everyone else has had much good time with this recipe but me. neither did my muffins rose as much as yours nor did they taste sweet but salty.and also had a weird burnt taste and smell. can you suggest if theres anything i can improve.? i bake them at 180C in my convection oven and other recipes ive tried work, but idk whats been happening lately with these….. heres the link to the video incase you were wondering… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMTyPXfoTPA

    Reply


  47. I made them and they’re delicious! But i want to make them sweeter, can I add more honey?, I am afraid it might thicken the batter.

    Reply

    • Yes, you can increase the honey. Decrease the milk by half the amount of honey you add (for example: add 4 tbsp of honey, decrease the milk by 2 tbsp).

      Reply


  48. I made the healthy chocolate oatmeal muffins, made a couple of changes – I used 1-1/2 cups of spelt flour with the 1 cup of OATS, and 1/2 cup 2% milk with 1/4 cup 2% Greek yogurt and added 1/2 cup walnuts with the chocolate chips – EXCELLENT

    Reply


  49. I made the healthy chocolate oatmeal muffins, made a couple of changes – I used 1-1/2 cups of spelt flour with the 1 cup of OATS, and 1/2 cup 2% milk with 1/4 cup 2% Greek yogurt and added 1/2 cup walnuts with the chocolate chips – EXCELLENT
    Also I used 1/4 cup maple syrup and 2 tbsp coconut sugar instead of honey

    Reply


  50. I LOVE these muffins! Made them twice now. The first time I toasted and processed the oats on my own. Second time I just toasted the whole oats and used Oat Flour. Both times they came out great. First time a little less moist than the 2nd time, maybe because the 2nd I split evenly between banana and applesauce (first time used more applesauce than banana). At any rate, I’m addicted to these. Doubled the recipe and froze half for a quick snack. Can’t wait to to try one of the other combos! Thanks for creating such a healthy recipe!

    Reply

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