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

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!

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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!

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 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.)

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.

Healthy Chocolate Oatmeal Muffins Recipe

★★★★★ 4.9 from 24 reviews

• Author: Bren
• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 20 minutes
• Total Time: 35 minutes
• Yield: 14 1x
• Category: Breakfast
• Cuisine: American

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Description

Healthy Chocolate Oatmeal Muffins Recipe: Toasted oats replace flour, bananas & honey provide a bit of sweetness, cocoa & chocolate chips make them irresistibly chocolaty. Ingredients

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Scale 1x2x3x

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)

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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.
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 whole 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.

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Notes

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Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 muffin
• Calories: 190
• Sugar: 19.6
• Sodium: 162.7
• Fat: 5.6
• Carbohydrates: 32.7
• Fiber: 2.7
• Protein: 4.4
• Cholesterol: 25.5

Keywords: healthy chocolate muffins, chocolate oatmeal muffins

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