Chocolate chickpea muffins—the chocolate cupcake that's nutritious enough for a satisfying breakfast. Ohhhhh yeah. These tasty muffins deliver plenty of nutrients, including protein and fiber.
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I love garbanzo beans. Or chickpeas. Whatever you call them, I love them in soups, stews, mashed and formed into patties and fried, in salads, with pasta, coated with savory spices and roasted until delectably crispy. And hummus! We can’t forget hummus.
Or put them in a Potato, Tomato, and Olive Stew . And then
These delicious chickpea muffins contain a whole can of garbanzo beans (I used the low-sodium variety), unsweetened cocoa powder, and honey and banana for sweetness. At the last minute, I added a few mini chocolate chips and cocoa nibs, but these are totally optional.
Finally a healthy chocolate muffin
They're sweetened with banana and honey (not too much!), so they don't contain any refined sugar (unless you add the chocolate chips). They're also gluten-free, grain-free, and dairy-free!
Healthy chocolate muffins!? Hell yes. These chocolate chickpea muffins have protein and fiber and
They are so healthy, I even let my kid eat them for breakfast. He thought I had gone temporarily insane, but he was happy. Heh. He also likes them for dessert. Or a special after-school treat.
For another great grab-and-go breakfast, try these pumpkin banana oat muffins.
Chickpea Muffins use ingredients you likely have on hand
One of the many things that I love about these muffins is that they
- Chickpeas
- Eggs
- Honey
- Cocoa powder
- Banana
- Baking soda
- Coconut oil
- Vanilla extract
- Cinnamon
That means I can whip them up any time I get a hankering–or anytime my husband or son does!
My son also loves these Flourless Chocolate Cookies, which are gluten free and dairy free, as well! You should also try my famous Honey Cake!
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Chocolate Chickpea Muffins
Robin Donovan
Ingredients
- 1 15-ounce can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
- 3 large eggs
- ½ cup honey
- 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 banana
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil melted
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ cup mini semisweet chocolate chips or 2 tablespoons mini semisweet chocolate chips plus 2 tablespoons cacao nibs (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Spray a 12-cup muffin tin with baking spray.
- In a blender, combine the garbanzo beans, eggs, honey, cocoa powder, banana, coconut oil, baking soda, vanilla, and cinnamon and blend until smooth. Stir in the chocolate chips and cacao nibs, if using, and mix to incorporate. The batter will be very runny. Pour or spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tin, filling each well about ¾ full.
- Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Notes
- I transferred the mixture from my nutri-blender to a 4-cup measuring cup with a spout before stirring in the chocolate chips and cacao nibs. This made it easy to pour the batter into the muffin tin.
- The first time I made these, I used paper muffin liners, but the muffins are so moist that they really stuck to the paper. I had a much better result spraying the muffin tin with cooking oil spray.
- I found variations of this recipe all over the internet, but I don't know where it originated. Possibly beachbody.com? I added my own twists, but took inspiration from the basic recipe floating around the internet.
Nutrition
Can I use regular oil i.e. canola or does it have to be cocoanut oil?
I think you can probably use any type of oil, but I haven’t tested the recipe with anything except coconut oil, so I can’t promise anything. If you try it, I’d love to hear how it turns out!
I have chickpea flour. How much would I use, and how much liquid would I have to add?
I really don’t know! I have only ever made them with chickpeas from a can. I think using chickpea flour would completely change the recipe and I can’t really tell you how to do it without testing. They’re delicious made with canned chickpeas though–super light and moist.
Hi,
What is the purpose of the eggs in this recipe? I don’t eat animal product so I would need to find an egg replacer that will serves the same purpose.
The eggs are a binder that holdes everything together as well as adding some leavening. You could try substituting with a vegan egg replacement or aquafaba. I’ve never tried it so I can’t guarantee results, but it seems worth a try!
Delish!!!!! Made them yesturday …super moist so so good
Could I have the original version you posted? I don’t think it had any banana in the original recipe. The updated version is fine, but my family prefers the old version 🙂
This recipe has always had banana in it!
Instead of cupcakes, could I make a bigger cake with this?
I have never tried it so I really can’t say. The texture is pretty delicicate since it doesn’t have flour so I am not sure a cake would work. If you try it, let I’d love to hear how it turns out!
I have made this recipe soooooo many times and my kids love them. My only issue is that they ALWAYS sink after taking them out of the oven. They’re very soft, but fully baked. So I’m not sure what’s going on. My first thought is that the recipe calls a 15oz can of chickpeas and my store sells them as 15.5oz. So I usually decrease the amount of chickpeas I’m adding, thinking that’ll help… but it hasn’t. Any thoughts? We love the taste. It’s just annoying how deflated they get and how easily they fall apart.
I’m so glad you like the recipe! To be honest, mine fall, too. Without flour, it’s very hard to get the kind of stable rise you would get with flour-based muffins.
I love these muffins, I have made them multiple times. I cut down the honey to 1/3 cup and it is sweet enough for me.