Our chocolate peanut butter muffins recipe combines moist, tender muffins with the classic flavor combination that everyone loves. Made with better-for-you ingredients, these muffins let you enjoy sweet, delicious flavor with zero guilt. Dig in!
We love our desserts, but we also love keeping things at least somewhat healthy. To that end, we usually use alternatives to refined sugars and butter to help create delicious desserts and treats that have all the sweetness we love but less bad stuff.
These chocolate peanut butter muffins are moist, tender, and loaded with peanut butter chocolate flavor, but just like our dairy-free corn muffins, we make them with ingredients that don't load them up with harmful ingredients.
These muffins have a classic flavor, but we use yogurt and avocado oil for moisture in place of butter and honey in place of sugar. They create muffins that are much better for you but still taste as delicious as their regular counterparts. Pair them with these spinach feta egg bites for a fun breakfast loaded with flavor.
And just like the traditional version, these moist, tender muffins and their chocolate peanut butter flavor make a great dessert, especially when paired with bold dishes like these stuffed poblano peppers with chicken and cream cheese or this ground chicken and sweet potato recipe.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Basic Ingredients: Like our gluten free pumpkin cake, this recipe uses basic baking ingredients. Even the replacement ingredients are found in any grocery store, so you don't have to track down anything special.
- Easy to Make: This is a basic muffin recipe, so you'll just mix, scoop, and bake. That's it!
- Classic Flavor: The chocolate batter and peanut butter chips create a classic flavor combination that every chocolate and peanut butter lover craves.
- Moist and Tender: Using yogurt and avocado oil actually makes these muffins more moist and tender than they would be using traditional butter.
- Versatile: These make the perfect sweet breakfast or afternoon snack, dessert, or appetizer at parties.
- Freezer-Friendly: These muffins can be frozen, making them perfect for meal prep.
- Better for You: Honey in place of sugar and brown sugar and oil in place of butter makes these muffins a better-for-you choice.
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- Flour and Baking Soda: Most muffins require flour, and baking soda makes them rise.
- Unsweetened Cocoa Powder: Cocoa powder gives the muffins their deep, rich chocolate flavor.
- Cinnamon: Cinnamon adds a warm, earthy note that complements both the chocolate and peanut butter flavors in the muffins.
- Peanut Butter Chips: Peanut butter baking chips add pops of peanut butter flavor in every bite of these muffins.
Wet Ingredients
- Yogurt: Yogurt helps make the muffins tender and soft without using butter.
- Avocado Oil: Avocado oil adds the fat necessary for the muffins to get tender without the need for butter.
- Eggs: Eggs add moisture and bind the batter together.
- Milk: Milk adds more moisture to the muffins, helping make them soft.
- Honey: Honey sweetens the muffins without refined sugar and adds a deeper flavor.
- Vanilla Extract: Vanilla adds a richness that accentuates the other ingredients. We prefer Singing Dog vanilla for its quality, purity, and deep vanilla flavor.
See the recipe card at the end of the post for a full list of ingredients and their exact amounts.
Flavor Variations
- Add Nuts: Chopped peanuts add more peanut flavor and texture to the muffins.
- Coffee: Add a bit of strong coffee to accentuate the chocolate flavor of the muffins.
- Deeper Chocolate Flavor: Dutched cocoa adds even deeper chocolate flavor with no bitterness.
- Even Healthier: Use a blend of flour and whole wheat flour.
- Flour: We use a 1:1 gluten-free flour to make these gluten-free muffins, but all-purpose flour will work as well.
- Dairy Free: Use dairy free yogurt, dairy free peanut butter chips, and almond milk for a dairy free muffins.
- Frosted: For even more chocolate and peanut butter flavor, try frosting these muffins with the peanut butter cream cheese frosting used in our gluten free dairy free banana cake recipe.
- Muffins for All: Use both gluten and dairy free ingredients for muffins that anyone except those with nut allergies can enjoy.
Equipment
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Mixing bowls
- Muffin tin
- Muffin liners
- Whisk
- Wire cooling rack
Instructions
- Line a cupcake or muffin pan with 9 liners and preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
- Whisk all the dry ingredients in a medium mixing bowl.
- Whisk the wet ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Then, fold in the peanut butter chips.
- Use a large cookie scoop to fill the muffin liners about ⅔ full. At this point, you can top them with more peanut butter chips if you like.
- Bake the muffins until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Remove the muffins from the oven and let them cool in the pan for about 10 minutes. Then, transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Expert Tips
- Bring all your cold ingredients to room temperature for more efficient mixing and less gluten formation.
- Mix your muffin ingredients until just combined. This helps keep the muffins soft and tender.
- Let your muffin batter rest for 5 to 10 minutes before baking to get nice, high crowns.
- We find that tulip muffin lines make it so easy to remove the muffins. Just grab the tops and pop them out!
Pairing Suggestions
These muffins are the perfect sweet breakfast or afternoon snack with a glass of milk, a cup of coffee, or a cup of tea. They're also a simple, delicious dessert after a meal like crock pot rosemary chicken or baked chipotle chicken.
FAQ
Butter and oil both work well in muffins. The choice really comes down to personal preference. Butter adds more flavor, while oil has a neutral flavor that lets the other ingredients shine. Butter also often makes baked goods rise more than oil.
Moist muffins need fat as well as moisture. A combination of butter, yogurt, or sour cream and oil yields incredibly moist and tender results. In addition, mixing the batter until just combined and not overbaking are both crucial to tender, moist muffins.
The most common, and perhaps the most detrimental, mistake made when making muffins is overmixing the batter. Muffin batter should be mixed until just combined. NO SMOOTH BATTER. Overmixing the batter makes them tough and dense.
More Delicious Muffin Recipes
📖 Recipe
Chocolate Peanut Butter Muffins
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 1 cup flour
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cups peanut butter chips
Wet Ingredients
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup yogurt
- ½ cup honey
- 2 eggs room temperature
- ¼ cup avocado oil
- ⅓ cup milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and line a muffin tin with 9 muffin liners.
- Whisk the flour, baking soda, cocoa powder, cinnamon, and salt in a medium mixing bowl.
- Whisk the yogurt, honey, eggs, avocado oil, milk, and vanilla extract in a large mixing bowl.
- Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined.
- Gently fold in the peanut butter chips.
- Use a large cookie scoop to divide the batter between the 9 lined muffin tin wells. Top with more peanut butter chips if you like.
- Bake the muffins for 22 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Cool the muffins for 10 minutes in the pan. Then, transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- Store these muffins at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
- For longer storage, wrap the muffins in plastic wrap and freeze them for up to 2 months in an airtight, freezer-safe container or heavy-duty freezer bag.
- Bring the muffins to room temperature and enjoy.
- Measuring your flour by weight, if possible.
- If you don't have a food scale, loosely spoon your flour into your measuring cup and level it off with a knife.
- Never scoop the flour out directly with your measuring cup. It compacts, and you'll use too much.
- For the most tender muffins with the highest crowns, let the batter rest for at least 10 minutes before baking the muffins.
Nora says
ChatGPT said:
These chocolate peanut butter muffins are absolutely irresistible! So moist and rich, with that perfect balance of chocolatey goodness and nutty peanut butter. I love that they’re made with better-for-you ingredients—makes enjoying them feel like a treat and a win!
Paula says
My family ADORED these chocolate peanut butter muffins! "it's like a reese's for breakfast mommy", they were so fun and delish, and I was happy the ingredients were on the cleaner side!
Andrea says
These muffins were perfectly moist without being too sweet, and my family couldn't believe they were made with yogurt and honey instead of sugar.
Tisha says
Chocolate muffins with peanut butter is the perfect combo! Thank for sharing this amazing recipe!
Lora says
Really lovely muffins. Chocolate and peanut butter is one of my favorite flavor combos!!
Vicky says
These chocolate peanut butter muffins were a big hit with the kids. They are rich and yummy and just the right amount of sweet. Perfect for snack time or an easy breakfast treat!
Andrea says
I tried these muffins and they turned out soft, rich, and full of chocolate peanut butter flavor—so good and not too sweet.
amy liu dong says
I love these muffins. These are so perfect as breakfast, dessert, or a snack.
Matt says
These were such a hit. The chocolate and peanut butter combo really shines, and they turned out super moist and flavorful.
Greta says
These chocolate peanut butter muffins came out just perfect and so beautiful! My family loved it and they asked for more! Saved it for later!
Swathi says
Chocolate peanut butter muffins looks delicious, I have made it for my kids they loved it.
Jacqueline. says
I love how easy these muffins are to make and they're so tasty too! Will make them again.
Nicole Kendrick says
A regular at our table too. Thanks for stopping by, Jacqueline!
Claudia says
Made a batch of Chocolate Peanut Butter Muffins and they came out perfectly moist with a fantastic combination of tastes! 🍫🥜🧁
Nicole Kendrick says
I love hearing about this big success
Tisha says
These Chocolate Peanut Butter Muffins are a deliciously indulgent treat with rich chocolate, melty peanut butter chips, and a surprisingly wholesome twist using yogurt and honey.
Nicole Kendrick says
Honey is always a perfect way to give a touch of healthy sweetness. Have a great day, Tisha!
Lisa says
So addictive! We ate them for breakfast and snacks and they didn't last long!
Nicole Kendrick says
Breakfast, lunch, even dinner, LOL! These are always a great option!
Joe says
These muffins turned out so soft and chocolatey, and those peanut butter chips make every bite extra good. Such a great combo for a quick breakfast or snack!
Nicole Kendrick says
I will never get enough peanut butter in my life!!
Sonia says
Muffins are my favorite sweet treat so I like to make them at home. This recipe is delicious and it feels guilt-free. I'll make it again for sure!
Nicole Kendrick says
Who doesn't love a good muffin! Especially when it is so moist and flavorful!
Meg says
Sign me up for any chocolate dessert. They were easy to make and so scrumptious.
Nicole Kendrick says
Tell me about it! Thanks so much for the review!
Erin says
These muffins are a chocolate peanut butter dream! We loved them so much.
Nicole Kendrick says
I couldn't agree more! These are such a dreamy pick!