HEALTHY GLUTEN-FREE CHOCOLATE MUFFINS
When you think of desserts or sweet treats, chickpeas are surely not the first thing that comes into mind. However, I bet you will be pleasantly surprised by how tasty these treats actually are. And not only tasty, but also an excellent alternative for people who follow a healthy, vegan, and gluten-free diet.
These flourless chickpea chocolate muffins are full of nutrients, high in protein, and very easy to make. You can serve them for breakfast, as a healthy snack, light dessert, or as an afternoon pick-me-up.
They are rich, fudgy, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, and soy-free and will certainly satisfy your sweet tooth. Plus, you can’t even taste the chickpeas.
MEET THE INGREDIENTS
These flourless chickpea chocolate muffins are made with healthy and wholesome ingredients. This is what you’ll need:
- Cooked chickpeas
- Apple sauce
- Peanut butter
- Rice milk
- Cacao powder
- Dark chocolate (85% cacao)
- Coconut sugar
- Maple syrup
- Chia seeds
- Baking powder
- Coconut oil
CHICKPEAS – THE MOST VERSATILE LEGUME
Chickpeas are an incredibly versatile ingredient to cook or bake with. They can be used in a variety of dishes, both sweet and savory. You can make chickpea veggie burgers, hummus, add them to salads, soups, or roast them for a delicious, crunchy snack. Moreover, you can make the best chocolate cake, muffins, or delicious energy bites. The possibilities are endless.
They are usually sold dried or pre-cooked in a can. I prefer to use the dried ones and cook them myself (see How to cook chickpeas) but feel free to use canned ones for this recipe.
NUTRITIONAL PROFILE
1 cup (164 g) cooked contains:
- Calories: 269
- Fat: 4.25 g
- Carbs: 45 g
- Protein: 14.5 g
- Dietary fiber: 12.5 g
HOW TO MAKE FLOURLESS CHICKPEA CHOCOLATE MUFFINS
STEP 1
Preheat oven to 180 °C. Grease muffin tins with coconut oil or prepare muffin silicone baking cups.
STEP 2
Mix 10 g ground chia seeds with 5 tablespoons of water. Stir and let it rest for a couple of minutes to thicken.
STEP 3
Melt chocolate over low heat in a medium pot.
Tip: It’s best if you use dark chocolate with a high cocoa content (85%). That way, muffins will taste much better and will be a lot firmer. If you don’t have dark chocolate with 85% cacao, use 72% one but skip the coconut oil.
STEP 4
Drain chickpeas really well and remove the skins.
Place chickpeas, rice milk, apple sauce, and peanut butter into a blender and blend until you get a relatively smooth mixture. Transfer the mixture to a bowl.
Tip: Don’t use milk straight from the fridge, it needs to be at room temperature. The same goes for apple sauce.
STEP 5
Add in coconut sugar, cacao powder, baking powder, 1 tablespoon maple syrup, soaked chia seeds and melted chocolate. Mix for a couple of minutes with a hand mixer until it all comes together. Adjust sweetness if needed.
STEP 6
Spread the mixture into prepared muffin tins and bake for approx. 22-25 minutes.
Remove muffins from the oven and let them cool down completely before removing them from the tins. They will continue to firm up while cooling.
NOTE
The muffins will rise in the oven but will also sink in quite a bit as soon as you take them out of the oven and that’s perfectly normal. Remember, these are chickpea muffins with no flour at all.
Makes 8 muffins.
HOW-TOS
HOW TO COOK CHICKPEAS
Wash chickpeas really well, add them to a large bowl and cover with water. The chickpeas will triple in size so it’s important to add plenty of water. Soak the chickpeas for at least 12 hours, best overnight.
Drain and rinse soaked chickpeas and place them in a large pot. Cover the chickpeas with water and bring everything to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until they are tender, 1 and 1/2 to 2 hours.
It’s best if you keep the lid on but slightly ajar allowing some steam to escape while cooking. Keep an eye on the water level during cooking and top up with fresh hot water from time to time if needed.
Keep cooked chickpeas in the fridge for 3-4 days.
And remember, dried chickpeas triple in size when cooked so 1 cup of dried chickpeas will make about 3 cups of cooked chickpeas.
FLOURLESS CHICKPEA CHOCOLATE MUFFINS ARE:
- Vegan
- Gluten-free
- Dairy-free
- Soy-free
- Nutrient-packed
- Protein-rich
- Fudgy
- Easy to make
Thank you for stopping by! If you try this recipe, please let us know what you think in the comments section below. Your feedback means a lot to us! Also, if you post it on Instagram, please tag us with @alltheworldisgreen because we love to see your remakes.
Flourless Chickpea Chocolate Muffins
Equipment
Ingredients
- 200 g cooked chickpeas remove the skins
- 100 ml rice milk at room temperature
- 50 g apple sauce at room temperature
- 50 g peanut butter
- 100 g coconut sugar
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 30 g cacao powder
- 50 g dark chocolate (85% cacao)
- 1.5 teaspoon baking powder
- 10 g ground chia seeds mix with 5 tablespoons of water
- 1-2 tablespoons melted coconut oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180 °C.
- Grease muffin tins with coconut oil or prepare muffin silicone baking cups.
- Mix 10 g ground chia seeds with 5 tablespoons of water. Stir and let it rest for a couple of minutes to thicken.
- Melt chocolate over low heat in a medium pot. Set aside.It's best if you use dark chocolate with a high cocoa content (85%). If you don't have dark chocolate with 85% cacao, use 72% one but skip the coconut oil.
- Drain chickpeas really well and remove the skins. Place chickpeas, rice milk, apple sauce, and peanut butter into a blender and blend until you get a relatively smooth mixture. Transfer the mixture to a bowl.
- Add in coconut sugar, cacao powder, baking powder, 1 tablespoon maple syrup, soaked chia seeds, and melted chocolate. Mix for a couple of minutes with a hand mixer until it all comes together. Adjust sweetness if needed.
- Spread the mixture into prepared muffin tins and bake for approx. 22-25 minutes.
- Remove muffins from the oven and let them cool down completely before removing them from the tins. They will continue to firm up while cooling.
* The nutritional information provided is calculated automatically and should be used as an estimate.
2 comments
This recipe looks amazing! Is there any way you can do it in cups?
Hi, Molly! I’ve never used cups before because I find that measuring in cups is not quite reliable, especially in gluten-free baking. It often results in a variety of different weights and even a slight difference in weight can have a huge impact on the way a recipe turns out.