How about a chocolate muffin for a healthy snack? These gluten-free chocolate chip muffins are not only decadent but also nourishing. They’re easy to make and suitable for various diets—low-carb, sugar-free, lectin-free, grain-free—while being packed with protein, fiber, and essential nutrients.
The Inspiration: The Olympic Chocolate Muffins
The idea for these gluten-free chocolate muffins came during the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics, when a decadent Olympic Chocolate Muffin became the talk of the Olympic Village and beyond! That’s when I realized I didn’t have a chocolate muffin recipe in my repertoire.
The Olympic muffin looked fantastic, and I’m sure it tasted amazing, but as I examined the recipes circulating online, I noticed that about 80% of it was just sugar in various forms. The process was also more complicated than I prefer—I love simple, easy-to-make recipes.
So, I set out to create my own version: a chocolate muffin that’s gluten-free, lectin-free, and contains no added sugar or sweeteners.
The mild sweetness in these muffins comes from a few dates and the baked pumpkin or sweet potato (you can use either one). The blend of almond and tigernut flour also adds a natural sweetness that works wonderfully in sugar-free desserts.
While these muffins do contain natural sugars, they’re still relatively low-carb. Having quit sugar over seven years ago, my palate is quite sensitive to sweetness. To me, these muffins have the perfect taste, akin to 85% dark chocolate. If you prefer a sweeter muffin, feel free to add more dates or a natural sweetener.
Each muffin provides 5.4 grams of protein and 6.7 grams of fiber, making them not only delicious but also a nutritious treat, rich in micronutrients. For the complete nutritional breakdown, check out the label after the recipe card.
Now, let’s get to the recipe!
Ingredients You Need
Dry Ingredients:
- 1 cup almond flour, packed
- 1 cup tigernut flour, packed
- 2 tablespoons tapioca flour
- 1/3 cup raw cacao powder
- 2 teaspoons gluten-free baking powder
- 1 teaspoon gluten-free baking soda
Wet Ingredients:
- 350 grams baked pumpkin or baked sweet potato (about 1 1/3 tightly packed cups)
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 4 pastured eggs
- 80 grams dates (about 5 Medjool dates), pitted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- Pinch of salt
Add-ons: about 100g of chopped dark chocolate or dark chocolate chips (I use 85%), divided
How to Make Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Muffins
Preheat the oven to 350°F / 180°C and prepare a muffin tin by lining it with paper liners.
Combine the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
Blend the wet ingredients in a blender until creamy.
Mix the creamy wet ingredients with the dry ingredients until you have a thick and smooth batter. Then, stir in 80 grams of chopped dark chocolate or chocolate chips (I use 85% cacao).
Scoop the batter into a muffin pan lined with paper liners and sprinkle more chopped chocolate (or chocolate chips) on top (about 20 grams).
Bake at 350°F for about 35-40 minutes, or until the muffins are set and don’t feel soft when you touch them. Remove from the pan and cool on a rack. Enjoy them warm or cold.
A Healthy Sweet Treat
These muffins are decadent yet nourishing, and easy to customize if you prefer a bit more sweetness. Soft, moist, and packed with protein, fiber, and micronutrients, they’re the perfect healthy treat.
Store them in the fridge for a few days or freeze them for longer. I recommend making a double batch to keep in the freezer, so you always have a healthy snack ready when a craving strikes—you’ll thank me later!
They thaw perfectly at room temperature, but if you’re short on time, warm them up in the oven. Place the muffins in a cold oven, set to convection at 350°F, and let the oven reach full temperature. Bake for about 5 minutes, then turn off the heat and leave them in the oven until they’re soft to the touch. This way, you’ll have a warm, delicious chocolate muffin.
Enjoy!
*This post contains affiliated links, which means I get a small commission if you choose to purchase something via one of my links, at no extra cost to you.
Print
Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Muffins (No Added Sugar)
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 12 muffins
Description
How about a chocolate muffin for a healthy snack? These gluten-free chocolate chip muffins are not only decadent but also nourishing. They’re easy to make and suitable for various diets—low-carb, sugar-free, lectin-free, grain-free—while being packed with protein, fiber, and essential nutrients.
Ingredients
DRY INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup almond flour, packed
- 1 cup tigernut flour, packed
- 2 tablespoons tapioca flour
- 1/3 cup raw cacao powder
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
WET INGREDIENTS
- 350 grams baked pumpkin or baked sweet potato (about 1 1/3 tightly packed cups)
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 4 pastured eggs
- 80 grams dates (about 5 Medjool dates), pitted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- Pinch of salt
- Add-ons: about 100g of chopped dark chocolate or dark chocolate chips (I use 85%), divided
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F / 180°C and prepare a muffin tin by lining it with paper liners.
- Combine the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
- Blend the wet ingredients in a blender until creamy.
- Mix the creamy wet ingredients with the dry ingredients until you have a thick and smooth batter. Then, stir in 80 grams of chopped dark chocolate or chocolate chips (I use 85% cacao).
- Scoop the batter into a muffin pan lined with paper liners and sprinkle more chopped chocolate (or chocolate chips) on top (about 20 grams).
- Bake at 350°F for about 35-40 minutes, or until the muffins are set and don’t feel soft when you touch them. Remove from the pan and cool on a rack. Enjoy them warm or cold.
2 Comments
Pamela Shorland
February 6, 2025 at 3:59 amHi Claudia,
I do try as much as possible to follow a lectin-free and keto diet as promoted by Dr.Steven GUNDRY.
I am thus perplexed as to why you would choose to sweeten these muffins with dates rather than a product like Allulose or Monkfruit.
My understanding is dates are a high carb/high sugar choice – even if you only use a few.
Claudia
February 6, 2025 at 4:23 amHi Pamela! One date a day is acceptable in the Plant Paradox program. It is a great source of nutrients, and fiber, and especially if combined with the right ingredients, it will not negatively affect your blood sugar (of course, if you are diabetic you have to measure this for yourself as everyone is different). This recipe has 5 dates, for 12 muffins. So you basically eat less than 1/2 date when you eat a muffin. This should not be a problem for a relatively healthy person (who is not on a strict, zero carb keto diet for medical reasons). Many of my recipes are sweetened with the approved sweeteners (btw, Allulose and monk fruit are not yet approved in the European Union, so we can’t find them here). But I have created hundreds of recipes with a variety of sweeteners, for all tastes and preferences. Also, you could play around with this recipe and use allulose instead of dates. But that will affect the taste and texture a little bit. I hope this clarifies your question. -Claudia