Tasty Oil-Free, Gluten-Free Chocolate Muffins

Just because these chocolate muffins are oil-free and gluten-free doesn’t mean that they won’t be full of tasty, yummy deliciousness! I used gluten-free oat flour and applesauce instead of oil and these work quite well for this recipe.

I originally tried making these oil-free chocolate muffins with Lankanto Sugar-Free Monkfruit Baking Sweetener and they were quite tasty, but after reading more about monk fruit, I decided using coconut sugar would be the better option. 

I understand if you don’t want to use any sugar substitutes, especially if you’re strictly whole food and plant-based. I do advise using the least processed foods plus little or no sugar except dates, date syrup, maple syrup, and molasses.

If, however, you love baking and want a sugar-free treat once in a while this sugar substitute might work for you if you’re trying to cut calories. Lankanto also has a regular sugar substitute vs this baking version.

Just be sure to leave out the mini chocolate chips because they are made with sugar and oil.

Alternatively, you could try using cacao nibs which have no oil or sugar. They are bitter by themselves, but when mixed with other ingredients this bitterness doesn’t stand out quite as much. I’ve used cacao nibs in this Mint Chocolate Smoothie recipe.

What is Lankanto Sugar Substitute

Let’s dive into this sugar substitute a little more. It contains both monk fruit and erythritol. According to Dr. Michael Greger from nutritionfacts.org, erythritol is one of the better sugar substitutes.

Don’t expect miracles from monk fruit, though. It’s a better choice than most substitutes, however, Dr. Greger points out that while blood sugar does not spike initially after eating this sugar substitute (and others in the study he covers) it averages out at the end of the day to be the same when compared to those eating real sugar. Here’s Dr. Greger’s video, Is Monk Fruit Sweetener Safe? He wanders around a bit before getting to the nitty-gritty at minute 2:20 in the video.

If you’d like to read more about artificial sweeteners, here’s my article, Zero Calorie Sweeteners: Are they Healthy and Safe?

These vegan chocolate muffins are quick to put together. Once you’ve mixed the dry ingredients, the oat flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt then you just need to add the wet ingredients, plant milk, apple cider vinegar (which helps baked good rise,) and vanilla.

I like my muffins a  little larger so you can fill 10 muffin wells instead of the 12 if you’d like. Otherwise, divide the batter evenly among the 12 wells. I made a note about this in the recipe (and in the nutritional label).

Baked goods made without oil can be a little drier than those made with oil so keep that in mind. These chocolate muffins are best eaten right out of the oven. 

Other Muffin Recipes

Try one of these…

• Oil-Free Cherry Almond Muffins
• Banana Chip Almond Muffins
• Chai-Spiced Apple Muffins

I’d love to hear your feedback in the comments below for these Oil-Free Gluten-Free Chocolate Muffins! If you have a photo, post it on my Instagram page, tag me using the hashtag #plantbasedcooking in your caption, and I won’t miss it!

Print Recipe

5 from 4 votes

Tasty Oil-Free, Sugar-Free, Gluten-Free Chocolate Muffins

You won't miss the oil or sugar in these delicious gluten-free chocolate muffins that're perfect for a snack or dessert.

Prep Time20 mins

Cook Time20 mins

Total Time40 mins

Servings: 12 muffins

Ingredients

• 2 cups oat flour (gluten-free)
• 1/2 cup coconut sugar (*or Lakanto Monkfruit Sweetener)
• 1/2 cup cacao powder (or cocoa powder)
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt (optional)
• 1 cup unsweetened plant-based milk
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup dairy-free mini chocolate chips *(optional or try cacao nibs)

US Customary - Metric

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Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400F. For medium-sized muffins, line pan with paper liners or lightly spray with non-stick cooking spray. For larger-sized muffins line or grease only 10 wells of a muffin pan.
• In a large bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt.
• Add the plant-based milk, applesauce, apple cider vinegar, and vanilla, and stir until just combined. Don't over mix! Gently fold in the chocolate chips.
• For larger muffins, divide the batter evenly among the 10 wells of the prepared muffin pan. For small, divide into 12. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until the muffins have cracks on the top. Test for doneness at 15 minutes.

  *12 muffins may take 20 minutes whereas 10 muffins may take 25 minutes.

  *If testing with a toothpick, you may touch melted chocolate chis. Instead, touch lightly with your finger and if they bounce back, they're probably done.

Notes

* Nutrition label is for 1 regular muffin with salt but without chocolate chips. The recipe makes 10 larger muffins or 12 regular muffins. 150 calories in 1 larger muffin vs 125 in the "regular" muffin size.

* You can make your own oat flour using old-fashion oats blended in a blender for a few seconds.

* Lakanto Monkfruit Sugar Substitute

* Substitute cacao nibs for mini vegan chocolate chips if you don't want sugar or oil

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts

Tasty Oil-Free, Sugar-Free, Gluten-Free Chocolate Muffins

Serving Size

 

1 Regular Muffin

Amount per Serving

Calories

125

% Daily Value*

Fat

 

2.5

g

4

%

Saturated Fat

 

0.6

g

4

%

Sodium

 

62.7

mg

3

%

Carbohydrates

 

23.6

g

8

%

Fiber

 

2.4

g

10

%

Sugar

 

9.5

g

11

%

Protein

 

4

g

8

%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.