These Vegan Chocolate Muffins are made in one bowl, ready in just 25 minutes and only require 7 simple everyday ingredients!

The first time I made these vegan chocolate muffins I knew immediately they were a keeper!

They're ready in less than 30 minutes start to finish, and that includes 5 minutes prep and 20 minutes in the oven.

Moist, with deep chocolate flavour, and absolutely fool-proof, these vegan muffins have everything you want.

They're soft and rich with a rich chocolate flavour, and SO easy to make, you will want to make them on repeat.

I tried many vegan recipes before, but this recipe beats them all. You really can't go wrong with these!

7 Simple Ingredients

There are many vegan muffin recipes out there that call for "unusual" ingredients such as flax eggs, coconut oil, applesauce, etc.

But not this one.

This recipe will show you just how easy vegan baking can be!

This dairy-free chocolate muffin recipe only calls for 7 simple everyday ingredients I'm pretty sure you have in your pantry already:  

• flour
• cocoa
• brown sugar
• olive oil
• vegan dark chocolate
• baking powder
• water

YEP. That's it!

I use wholemeal flour because is a bit healthier but you can totally use all-purpose flour if you like, it won't affect the result.

For the rich chocolate flavour, I use a mix of cocoa powder and vegan dark chocolate.

Cocoa powder plays a fundamental role to make the most delicious vegan chocolate muffins.

For best results choose high-quality Dutch cocoa powder whenever possible.

Why use Dutch cocoa powder for muffins?

I won't bore you with all the details (but here they are), but a common rule in baking is:

• if you’re using baking soda go for raw cocoa powder
• if using baking powder choose Dutch cocoa powder instead

For the chocolate, I like to add a small chunk of vegan dark chocolate into the center of the batter before baking the muffins in the oven.

There are many vegan chocolate bars out there, I usually opt for organic brands for personal taste, but feel free to use your favourite brand, or not add any chocolate at all for plain vegan cocoa muffins.

I opt for light extra-virgin olive oil for making these vegan muffins. You can also use mild-flavoured inexpensive olive oil, coconut oil, canola oil or sunflower oil.

To sweeten things up, I use organic unrefined brown sugar for most of my baking treats.

I simply love the taste of this kind of sugar, so this is a totally personal choice, and you will be absolutely OK by using regular white sugar, brown sugar or coconut sugar.

You can also add a little maple syrup if you want!

Finally, water is the most simple liquid of choice when making these muffins. But you can totally substitute with almond milk or soy milk if you like.

How To Make Dairy-free Chocolate Muffins 

I cannot stress enough how easy these plant-based muffins are!

This simple chocolate muffin recipe requires just one bowl and 25 minutes, from measuring out the ingredients to biting into a delicious decadent treat.

If you're a novice baker or a super busy mum who gets continually interrupted by her kids whilst attempting baked treats (that's me. EVERY SINGLE TIME), you will find this extremely useful!

Check below my easy to follow step-by-step pictures:

Step 1. Prepare the dry ingredients. 

• Measure out the flour and baking powder, then sift them into a bowl and add a pinch of salt.

• Measure the cocoa powder then sift it into the bowl, followed by the brown sugar.

Step 2. Add liquid ingredients.

• Pour the olive oil into the bowl.

• Mix all the ingredients gently with a whisk, then slowly incorporate the water.

• Mix all the ingredients until just combined (do not over mix the batter, or your muffins will end up super dense!).

Step 3. Pour into tin and bake.

• Divide the batter among a muffin tin greased with a little oil (I didn't use paper liners, but if you do, you can skip the greasing step), filling each mould by half.
• For double chocolate muffins, place a small chunk of vegan dark chocolate into the center of each mould. Then pour the remaining batter on top, filling up ¾ of the mould.
• You can also add chocolate chips into the batter, omit the chocolate chunks, and simply fill ¾ of each mould with the batter.

• Bake in a pre-heated oven to 180°C / 360°F for about 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Et-voila, they're all ready to be enjoyed!

These soft delicious chocolate treats will make the perfect breakfast option, and they are just as good for a yummy afternoon snack!

Make a big batch and store the remaining muffins in an airtight container, they keep well for about 3 days, but trust me, they will disappear a lot sooner than that!

Are These Chocolate Muffins Allergy-friendly?

These vegan muffins are naturally milk-free, butter-free, egg-free, soy-free and nut-free, so they are definitely the perfect treat to share with someone who has these food allergies. 

Do they freeze well? 

Yes, absolutely! For a quick snack, freeze them individually in ziplock bags and store them in the freezer for up to 1 month.

How long will they keep in the fridge? 

They should keep well in the fridge for up to 4 days, make sure you transfer them into an airtight container. Warm them up in the microwave for 30 seconds, then enjoy with a cup of tea!

Turn it into a cake!

If you're looking to make a cake out of this recipe, I strongly suggest giving my popular Italian water cake a try, it's basically the same recipe, adapted and perfected for a cake version.

More muffin recipes you'll love:

• Gluten-free Banana Muffins
• Easy Peach Muffins
• Cheesy Parmesan Beer Muffins
• Vegan Blueberry Muffins

Did you make this recipe?

Please let me know how you liked it! Leave a comment below and share a picture on Instagram with the hashtag #thepetitecook! Looking at your pictures always makes me smile *and super hungry*!