Healthy Chocolate Muffins (with veggies!)
With over a hundred 5-star ratings, these Healthy Chocolate Muffins are a must-make! Packed with good-for-you ingredients and so fluffy, these delicious muffins can also be mixed up in your blender and are done baking in just 20 minutes. Loaded with greens and carrots, you are going to love how much your family adores these healthy muffins!
These chocolate muffins are naturally sweetened, made with white whole wheat flour, and are made extra good for you with the addition of blended carrots, spinach or kale, and bananas! They are so delicious, fluffy, and perfectly moist. Mix them in your high-speed blender or in a bowl, these healthy chocolate veggie muffins are great as part of meal prep or for stocking up your freezer. Bonus: they are done, start to finish, in 30 minutes!
They are vegetarian and dairy free, but can easily be made gluten free when you use cup-for-cup gluten free flour in the batter.
Made these muffins but now you have leftover spinach? Check out How to Store Spinach (and keep it fresh all week long).
The Veggie Loaded Roadmap
Find the recipes + tips to help you eat more veggies with my free ebook.
Healthy Chocolate Muffins
Healthier homemade muffin recipes are basically my go-to for all the meals. Breakfast. As part a snack-type lunch. As an easy mid-day munchie. Heck, let’s use them for dinner or as a healthy dessert too! When a muffin recipe is made from good-for-you ingredients, it can be part of any time of day.
Love veggie muffin recipes too? Check out my Oatmeal green smoothie muffin recipe and Healthy morning glory breakfast muffins, too!
Vegetable muffin recipe
If you follow me at all (on my email list, Instagram, Pinterest, or you simply visit the TNN website often), you probably know that I am kind of the queen of vegetable muffin recipes (this is a title my followers have given me, but I do say it is a weird gift I seem to have).
I feel like I am sharing a new veggie-loaded muffin recipe every few weeks. I love how easy muffins are, how healthy they can be (seriously, they can!) and that they are a great vessel for veggies. They are legit part of how our family eats and I probably will never stop finding new and creative way to stuff vegetables into muffins.
The difference between “hidden veggies” and “veggie-loading.”
Whenever I share a chocolate veggie-loaded recipe, I almost always get the question about whether or not I am trying to hide veggies from my daughter.
Nope! I’m just finding a way for all of us to get extra veggies in (because I don’t think I have ever heard of extra veggies being a bad thing) and a way for my daughter (and husband, and myself, and all of you!) to enjoy veggies that maybe we are feeling iffy about.
Friends, a recipe with vegetables in it is only hidden if the person eating doesn’t know the veggies are in there! Chocolate or not! I am upfront with my 8-year-old daughter about my habit of adding veggies to pretty much all the foods. I don’t think of it as hiding because she knows they are in there. In fact, she helps me make most of my recipes and is in charge of adding the vegetetables.
How kids can help make these Veggie Chocolate Muffins
So, you are down with letting your kids know that these delicious chocolate muffins in fact are packed with carrots and greens? Awesome! Let’s get them into the kitchen with you and making them with you so that they can also become confident in the kitchen!
Here are a few ways kids can help make these chocolate veggie muffins!
- Let them load the blender with the ingredients. Either you measure everything out and you let them dump everything in. Or you supervise as your older child measures everything out and adds it to the blender.
- Put them in charge of at least adding the veggies! If you are not ready to have them in charge of all the ingredients, think about at least letting them add the vegetables in this healthy muffin recipe to the batter. That way, they are 100% aware they are in there and will be dazzled by how delicious veggie can be!
- Have them push the buttons on the blender. Just make sure you put the top on first! Oh my, what a mess otherwise!
- Put them in charge of putting liners in the muffin tin. This is a great fine motor takes for young kids and low mess!
- Have them sprinkle bonus chocolate chips on top. If you are using them.
Wondering how to store your carrots so they stay fresh as long as possible? Check out my post on How to Keep Cut Carrots Fresh and get the most out of your produce buck!
Suggested adaptations
- Use a blend of all-purpose and whole wheat flour. If you can’t find white whole wheat or just don’t have it, you can use 1/2 cup white all-purpose flour + 1/2 cup whole wheat flour instead of the 1 cup white whole wheat.
- Make them gluten free by using a cup-for-cup gluten free flour blend. I like this one.
- Make them vegan & egg-free. Replace the eggs in this recipe with 2 “flax eggs“.
- Skip the chocolate chips. If you want to reduce the sugar in these, just leave the optional chocolate chips out! They will still be yum!
Other healthy, veggie-loaded muffin recipes
- Oatmeal Green Smoothie Muffins
- Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins
- Healthy & Wholesome Banana Zucchini Muffins
- Healthy Morning Glory Breakfast Muffins
- Healthy Zucchini Lemon Muffins
- Mini Butternut Squash Blueberry Muffins
- Healthy Lunch Box Muffins
Loving these veggie-loaded chocolate muffins and are hungry for more?
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Healthy Chocolate Muffins (with Veggies!)
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs, can sub 2 "flax eggs"
- 1 cup mashed overripe banana, can sub with 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 cup grated carrots
- 1 cup loosely packed spinach or kale
- ¼ cup oil, I use melted coconut oil or avocado
- ¼ cup maple syrup or honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup white whole wheat flour, can sub 1:1 gluten free flour mix, if needed
- 1 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup chocolate chips**, or to taste. If you omit, add a couple tablespoons of granulated sugar to help bring up the sweetness.
Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 ℉ and line a 12-hole muffin tin with liners. Set aside
- In your blender, combine eggs, banana / applesauce, carrots, spinach/kale, maple syrup/ honey, oil, vinegar, and vanilla.
- Blend until mixture is smooth.
- Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cocoa powder and cinnamon. Process until just mixed. If you do not have a high speed blender, combine everything in a bowl and mix by hand.
- Finally, fold in chocolate chips (if using).
- Portion batter into prepared muffin tin and top with extra chocolate chips if desired.
- Bake for 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.
- Let cool in pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Enjoy and let cool completely before storing leftovers in an air-tight container in fridge or freezer.
Can you sub frozen spinach/kale for fresh.
You can. I would defrost it first and drain off the extra liquid. And since greens wilt down so much when frozen, I’d reduce the amount to more like 1/3–1/2 cup.
I scrolled and found my answers but I bet other bakers would love to have the mini muffin timing within the recipe for our tiniest littles! My 5 and 7 year old love them, but prefer bite sized for their bento boxes!
Thanks for the idea, Angela! I’ll add mini muffin baking time to recipes notes!
We made these for the first time yesterday, and they are a hit with my 2.5-year-old and almost 5-year-old. (Even after all of the sweets from their Halloween adventures.) I used the applesauce substitution because I didn’t have any ripe bananas on hand, and it worked out great. Thanks for another gem, Taesha!
SO glad you enjoyed them, Kimberly! What a compliment that they successful competed with candy!
Where have these muffin recipes been all my life? I love that these have veggies, but my kids also loved them, even the one who hates eating veggies! I just made them for the second time, since my kids loved them so much. They’re a breeze to make with a food processor. My only negative comment is that the ads are a bit distracting and annoying – I know ads are an important revenue source for bloggers, but I would gladly buy a cookbook with your recipes if that were an option!
Hi Sarah! So glad you loved these so much. And I totally understand about the ads…I wish I didn’t need to have them in order to keep doing what I am doing. Unfortunately, cookbooks are not a great source of income for bloggers (many people are surprised to hear that, but lots of people take a cut of the pie from a published book). I’m working on self publishing a cookbook of my top published recipes from those who want it! Hope that is something you might be interested in.
Could I bake this in a square pan? Tired of cleaning my mini muffin one and want to add some shape variety!
Oh I haven never tried but I bet you could. I’d guess it would need about 30 minutes, but bake until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. If you give it a try, let us know how it comes out!
Just plain excellent!! Will absolutely be adding this to the rotation!
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Sarah!
I am a junk food eater, so these muffins were a great surprise! I made them today and you can’t even taste the veggies! Now I don’t have to feel so guilty when I snack on them! Thank you!
I’m so glad you enjoyed them, Amy! They are so beloved in our house too.
could i use flour from oats as a substitute? i usually grind up the oats and have used it in other veggie muffin recipes
I haven’t tried it with this particular recipe, but it might work. My only concern is that I think the oat flour would soak up more liquid than the white whole wheat flour this recipe uses, so they might be dense and/or dry
So good and an easy snack for my toddler. Thank you!
That is awesome, Jessica! Finding toddler-approved snacks that are fueling can be so hard sometimes!
Okay I just made these, they taste really good and the texture is perfect. But the banana is strong..I’m okay with that but can you use applesauce only and no banana and get similar results? I’ve got one kid that doesn’t like banana lol. But over all super easy and yummy! And I will make again!
Hi Sarah! Yes, you can totally use applesauce in place of banana in these!
My toddler made these at school and they were so good we had to track down the recipe! I just finished baking them with my 3 year old and his 9 year cousin. They were a breeze to make and turned out so good!
That is so wonderful to hear, Samantha! I’m used to teach preschool before doing The Natural Nurturer full time and would make my veggie-loaded muffins and smoothies with my students. It warms my heart to hear they are still being used in classrooms to help kids enjoy veggies. Thanks for taking the time to share and leave a review!
Can I mix in a chocolate protein powder or vanilla?
Also can I use stevia as a sweetener instead of hunny.
Would almond flour make it too dense or not be fluffy?
-I’m in a 1200 calorie diet but I’m DYING for some healthy sweets at the moment.
Hi Abby! You can mix in protein powder but, depending on your brand + how much you add, it will absorb some moisture in the batter and you will likely need to add a splash milk to help it have the right consistency. I have never made these using stevia and I know the amounts are quite different. I know monkfruit tends to be a better 1:1 swap in baked goods. However, the honey is a liquid sweetener and that moisture would (again) need to be replaced so that these muffins are not too dry! And almond flour would definitely change the fluff factor of these muffins, just because it is a heavier flour to bake with and is not a straight 1:1 swap with all flours. Here is a muffin recipe using almond flour that I have made that is quite soft. https://thenaturalnurturer.com/paleo-banana-muffins/
Hey! Loved this recipe. Made a few changes bc I didn’t have everything and was looking to use up some stuff. I used a can of sliced carrots (didn’t have fresh) drained, a full can of pumpkin instead of banana, and 3/4 cup frozen chopped spinach instead of fresh.
Baked a little longer, maybe 25 minutes. Everything else was the same! My kids and husband loved these!
So glad you enjoyed them so much, Katie! And I’m so glad you were able to make them work with what you had. Thanks for taking the time to leave a review!
Super delicious!!! Loved making these with my toddler – he thinks they are a treat because they are chocolate! #momwin
Mom win for sure! So glad to hear you involve your kiddo in making these veggie-loaded muffins, Kelly! Not only is he getting a food he loves, but also a positive experience with veggies. Thanks for taking the time to share! I so appreciate it.
Delicious!! I accidentally left them in an airtight container on the countertop though, out of the fridge, for a couple days. Are they still good to eat?
If they look and smell good, then they should be fine! I just find because they are so moist, they tend to mold faster than other muffins. But if your home isn’t too hot, I’m betting they are okay
Excited to try this recipe? I only have Fage Greek yogurt which is super thick- should I thin it out with water or make any other adjustments? Thank you!
It should be fine when you blend it up. I have used Fage often in my baked goods
I had pinned this several months ago, but have been loving following Taesha on instagram and seeing all of her creative recipes and ways to incorporate vegetables into things.
I am *that annoying person* that alters recipes, but this was partially due to necessity. A snow storm hit and I was out of eggs! I was also out of flax seed so I used “chia eggs” and added a touch extra of oil. I also added in some hemp hearts and collagen bc my partner will not take the time to build a balanced breakfast, he will just take the muffins and leave for work and I wanted to add a touch of protein! The batter was a little dry because of MY updates (would have been PERFECT had I not added the extra powder) so I added a splash of milk. I topped with some dark chocolate chips and WOW these are definitely going to be on repeat in my house! What a fun way to get some added nutrients, use up some spinach/carrots/bananas that may otherwise go bad, and uses simple ingredients I almost always have on hand (except when the egg prices are this high!). Can’t wait to work my way through the website and add veggies to allllll the things!
Katie, I laughed out loud at your comment. I am “that annoying person” too. I joke that that is how I got started as a food blogger…changing up someone’s recipe to fit my needs so much that it was a totally different recipe.
I am so happy that your version of this recipe was such a hit! Thank you for taking the time to leave a review and I can’t wait to hear what you cook next!
Hi i have a diabetic child could you tell me how many carbs per muffin pls
Hi Amber! All the *estimated* nutritional information for these muffins is located at the bottom of the recipe card.
Can you use almond or coconut flour?
Hi Kelly! I have never tested these with almond or coconut flour. I know sometimes people find success swapping almond flour with whole wheat flour. And while it think it *might* work with this recipe, I feel like it might result in a pretty dense muffin. If you are looking for a tried-and-true veggie-loaded muffin made with almond meal, I suggest this one! https://thenaturalnurturer.com/paleo-chocolate-zucchini-muffins/
As for coconut flour, that is a unique flour that I don’t suggest swapping into a recipe that is not written for coconut flour. It is very “thirsty” and soaks up a lot more liquid than most other “flours”. I don’t work with coconut flour a lot these days, but these are a reader favorite that are made with coconut flour. https://thenaturalnurturer.com/lemon-paleo-muffins/
How long would this take to bake in a mini muffins pan? I think my kid loves the bite sized versions?
I’d probably do 10-13 minutes to start!
We love veggies and fruit in our home. But we don’t eat enough of it. So I am on a mission to add green leafy veggies wherever I can. The recipe is perfect for that and the muffins are delicious 😋
I’m so delighted that this recipe can help you in your quest to eat more veggies, Theresa!
Thanks for the recipe, worked great in the blender!
So glad to hear that, Sue!
I never comment on recipes but I absolutely love these. They are so moist and delicious! New favorite recipe
I’m so glad you made an exception, Sadi! I’m delighted you enjoy them so much and appreciate you taking the time to leave a review.
I don’t usually comment, but wow these are good. I didn’t really have high hopes, but they are pretty perfect…nice chocolate taste and not dry. I can taste some of the banana in the flavor, but that’s no problem for me and it seems like you could eliminate that by using applesauce instead (which is a listed option). Thanks for the great recipe!
So glad you enjoyed them, Jackie! Yes, the applesauce option is perfect for those who are not big banana fans!
Hi, these sound awesome, can you leave out the maple syrup/honey without altering the rest of the recipe? I know the banana will make these sweet enough for my toddler so the extra sweetener isnt necessary!
I haven’t tested it without maple syrup or honey, but I imagine it would work. Since it is a liquid sweetener, maybe add some extra banana or some applesauce to keep the wet ingredients: dry ingredient ratio balanced.
So I have made this recipe twice and the first time I left them in the oven for about 10 minutes longer and took them out, thinking they were done. They ended up still being raw in some spots and I had to throw them out. The second time I made them some of them cooked all the way through after leaving them in for extra minutes, but the majority of them still a raw spots after cooking for at least 45 minutes. I have know this is different than regular muffin but I have never had an issue with cooking time before now. I bake often. I used applesauce. Do I need to decrease the amount of wet ingredients? Increase the oven temperature? I’m just a little stumped on why this hasn’t been working out. Thank you.
I’m a bit stumped too…especially since so many other readers have made these with success. But let’s see if we can troubleshoot!
Are you sure your oven is cooking true to temp? I ask because SO many do not (even newer ones!) and I often suggest getting an internal thermometer for your oven to see if it is still calibrated correctly. They are very inexpensive and have saved me from so many failed recipes over the years because an oven wasn’t getting to the temp it claimed.
No muffins should take 45 minutes and the fact that some muffins in the same batch are cooked through but others are not leads me to think it is the oven not the recipe. However, are you making any changes to the recipe? Maybe adding more spinach than recommended? I’ve had readers over pack the spinach in other veggie-loaded, not realizing the water content of the veg, and end up with mushy muffins.
Can I skip the apple cider vinegar? I don’t have that currently
You can or you can use a different vinegar (like white vinegar) or lemon juice.
Would oat or almond flour work well in this recipe.
Oat flour might work, but they might not be quite as soft and fluffy. I haven’t tested it though! If you give it a go, please share!
I made these the other day for my fussy toddler. He keeps yelling he wants more and more! I have sent this recipe to all my toddler mum friends and they all agree they are now a stable in our life!! Thank you for sharing this recipe you are amazing
This is so awesome to hear, Zoe! Thank you for taking the time to share!
Hello! Love and appreciate the idea of folding in veggies, however, when I made this the result was bland and not sweet enough to be considered chocolate. The veggies were covered, but in more of non-distinct way.
I think chilled, with more sugar, these could be tasty. However, I would cook them at 325 to avoid burning the higher sugar content. As is they came out slightly toasted.
Overall: I wouldn’t make it again without modifications.
Hi Leah. Thanks for your feedback and ideas! Everyone has a different taste preferences and, while many many other readers found these sweet enough for them, it doesn’t sound like it hit for you.
After seeing your tempting stories on Instagram, I realized I had all of the ingredients and made these to go with our dinner tonight. You did it again! Another great veggie loaded recipe that will be another favorite of ours. Thanks for all the effort you do in coming up with recipes that get those veggies into us.
So pleased to hear that, Dawn!
Pretty good but definitely could be sweeter. Next time I would definitely add extra chocolate
Chips on top then they would be five stars.
Glad you enjoyed! And yes, I’m all for extra chips on top!
Really good for a veggie muffin. I thought I was going to mess it up but it absolutely turned out perfect!
Thank you!
The ads on the page make it hard to navigate the recipe on a cell phone.
So glad you enjoyed them, Jessica! I totally get that ads are annoying, but it is how I am able to make an income + provide free recipes to people. However, I do try to keep a balance and not overdo the ads to make a recipe hard for my readers to use. I will look at this particular post to see if I can scale back for the best reader experience. Thanks for the feedback
Made these for my daughter’s class party because I’m terrified of other parents brining absolute junk to school. They’re so good! The kids had no idea there was carrots and spinach in them:)
So glad they were a success!
My whole family (including my veggie-picky husband, toddler and younger sister) love these!!
Thank you so much for sharing!
Just curious though, what does the apple cider vinegar do for the recipe? Is it just for health benefits or does it help with the “baking magic” somehow? Lol
So glad these were a hit, Zoe! The apple cider vinegar is the acid that activates the baking soda to help give these muffins a lovely rise.
I had to write a review to share the extent these muffins are as forgiving as they are delicious! I have made them a few times prior- to varying degrees of following the recipe exactly or doing some the suggested subs. Each time my family devoured them. This evening in an effort to clean out the fridge prior to a trip I made ALL of the subs- flax eggs, half applesauce half bananas, applesauce instead of oil, even some zucchini I had to use up to round out the cup of carrots. Somehow it still turned out delicious!! Add them to your rotation and don’t be afraid if you don’t happen to have everything on hand because chances are they will still be awesome 🙂
Love this, Lauren! They are so forgiving and still turn out so good. Thanks for taking the time to share!
I made these and they are scrumptious!! I did alter the recipe by adding an extra banana. Also, I made sure to put the carrots in a food processor before adding. Simply divine! I’m adding these in my rotation! Thank you so much!
So glad you enjoyed, April!
I loved this recipe, but forgot to put the grated Carrots in…Ugh.. lol.
Still turned out great!
Love a forgiving muffin recipe! So glad these worked for you!
These are THE best veggie muffins I’ve ever made!! Can’t taste the veggies. Muffin texture was fluffy and perfect!! I used one regular egg and one flax egg, keeping all else according to recipe. Soooo good. Next time I’ll skip the chips (maybe top with walnuts?) cuz they were sweet enough without them.
Thanks for a super tasting recipe that was easy to make!
So glad you loved them, Jana!
These are really so delicious. My daughter frequently asks for them, and I like them too! Plus it’s amazing that we’ve found a healthy snack our daughter likes!!!
Every time I make them though, the muffin gets stuck to the wrapper when trying to take it off to eat, and a lot comes off with it. Any tips to get it out in one piece?
So glad these are a success in your house, Maggie! Are you letting the muffins cool before unwrapping? If yes, then I find that (because I use less oil than many muffin recipes) how much a muffin sticks can be very liner specific. I use If You Care brand and they work great. Silicone liners also work too. Or just greasing up your muffin tin and cooking them without liners might be a good route too.
A phenomenal recipe. Every ingredient synchronizes perfectly to create a soft, fluffy, and delicious tasting muffin. I’ve made several times with different ingredient subs and it always turns out amazing. A forever keeper in this household.
So happy to hear that you love this recipe so much, Rose! Thank you for taking the time to share!
I used 1 cup frozen kale and it worked great! It tasted good and not at all like veggies. The kids devoured these muffins!
So happy to hear that, Brooke!
How long do these last in the freezer?
About 2 months
Loved these muffins. So moist and so healthy. Will definitely make these again. My 2 1/2 year old granddaughter loved them too. Would love your self publishing cookbook.
So happy to hear these were so enjoyed by you and your granddaughter! And it is good to know I have lots of people ready and willing when I publish a cookbook!
These muffins are truly worth the hype! Super tasty and easy to make. I have tried them once with applesauce and once with bananas. I like the chocolate/banana flavor a lot, but the applesauce muffins were also delicious! I made them as mini muffins (11 minutes at 350) and they made the perfect little treat for my 4 year old. He won’t stop asking for more.
This is music to my ears! So happy to hear they are such a success in your home! Thanks for taking the time to leave a review, Katie!
Absolutely delicious! The chocolate flavor is not very robust, they taste more like banana muffins, but delicious all the same. I did leave out the chocolate chips though and added in 2 tablespoons of monk fruit sweetener.
So glad they were a success!
These are a big hit at my house – my kids will eat them with 5 oz of frozen kale blended in.
So happy to hear that!
I followed the recipe (banana and spinach route) and while we LOVED the flavor of these, they really stuck to the paper cups. We lost about half of the muffin, stuck to the paper. 🙁 Is there something that you can think of that we might’ve done wrong? I want to make it right for next time.
I know we added too many chocolate chips, but I’m ok with that!
Ah yes, this is a bit of an issue with some of my muffin recipes because I don’t tend to add as much oil as a traditional muffin recipe. I find that HOW much a muffin sticks depends a lot on the liner (I love using If You Care liners….I swear, muffins almost never stick). Or you could use silicone liners or just spray your tin instead of lining to help them pop out. I also recommend letting the muffins cool more, as they firm up and hold together better once they are steaming hot.
I made these over a year ago and they are sooooo tasty! My now 4 year old loves them! I am glad I came across this recipe so I can make them again!
So happy this has become a staple recipe for you, Kathy!