These chocolate chip mini muffins are soft, fluffy, and packed with mini chocolate chips in every bite. They’re easy to make with simple ingredients and perfect for breakfast, lunchboxes or an afternoon snack.
If your kids are anything like mine, a box of chocolate chip mini muffins disappears in just a few days. We were buying Abe’s muffins on repeat, so with back-to-school season around the corner, I wanted to create a homemade version that’s perfect for lunchboxes and deserves a spot on my list of kid’s lunch box ideas.
It took several rounds of testing to get the texture and sweetness just right, but we finally nailed it. They’re soft, moist packed with mini chocolate chips, and made with simple ingredients. Best of all, my kids devoured every batch.
Why I Love These Chocolate Chip Mini Muffins
- Soft and moist: Unsweetened applesauce keeps these muffins tender and moist while replacing some of the oil, so they stay light and fluffy instead of dense.
- Kid-approved: These bite-sized muffins are perfect for breakfast, lunchboxes, after-school snacks, or whenever a chocolate craving hits. My kids couldn’t stop eating the test batches!
- Just the right amount of sweetness: Sweetened with maple syrup and a touch of coconut sugar, these muffins taste like a treat without being overly sweet.
- Quick and easy: Mini muffins bake in just 9 minutes, so you can have a fresh batch ready in under 30 minutes from start to finish.
Ingredients Needed
- all-purpose flour – the base of the muffins. Spoon it into your measuring cup and level it off rather than scooping directly from the bag, which packs in too much and gives you dry, dense muffins.
- unsweetened applesauce – replaces some of the oil and keeps the crumb soft and moist. Make sure it is unsweetened, since sweetened applesauce will push these over the edge into cupcake territory. Homemade applesauce works beautifully here if you have it.
- avocado oil – keeps the muffins tender without adding any flavor of its own. This is what gives them their richness alongside the applesauce.
- maple syrup – the primary sweetener. Use pure maple syrup, not pancake syrup, since that is mostly corn syrup and will taste noticeably different.
- coconut sugar – just two tablespoons. It adds a subtle caramel depth that maple syrup alone does not give you.
- mini chocolate chips – mini chips are the right call here rather than regular. They distribute evenly through a small muffin so every bite gets some, whereas full-size chips tend to clump and sink.
Find the full ingredient list with measurements in the recipe card below.
How to Make Chocolate Chip Mini Muffins
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a mini muffin pan or line it with mini liners. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.
Step 2: In a large bowl, whisk together the applesauce, oil, maple syrup, coconut sugar, and vanilla until smooth.
Step 3: Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir until just combined, then gently fold in the chocolate chips.
Step 4: Scoop the batter into the pan, filling each about three quarters full. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes until the tops are set. Cool in the pan for 5 to 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack.
Brittany’s Tips
- Watch them closely: Mini muffins go from perfect to overbaked faster than you would expect. Start checking at nine minutes. A toothpick with a few moist crumbs is exactly right, and if it comes out completely dry they are already slightly past.
- Do not overmix the batter: Stir until you no longer see streaks of flour and then stop, even if it looks a little lumpy. Overmixing develops gluten and turns a tender muffin tough.
- Fill three quarters full, not to the top: This is what gives you a nicely domed muffin instead of one that spills over the edges and bakes into its neighbor. A small cookie scoop makes this fast and consistent.
- Let them cool in the pan first: They come out of the oven quite delicate and firm up considerably as they sit. Give them a full five to ten minutes in the pan before you try to move them or they will tear.
How to Store Mini Muffins
Let the muffins cool completely before storing, otherwise trapped steam will make them soggy.
- Room temperature: Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days. I like to lay a paper towel in the bottom of the container to absorb any excess moisture.
- Fridge: They will keep for up to a week refrigerated. Let them come to room temperature or warm them for a few seconds before serving since they firm up when cold.
- Freezer: These freeze really well for up to 3 months. Cool completely, then freeze in a single layer before transferring to a freezer bag so they do not stick together. For lunchboxes, pack them straight from the freezer and they will thaw by snack time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, just increase the bake time to around 18 to 22 minutes. Start checking at 18 with a toothpick. The batter and everything else stays exactly the same.
The batter fills a standard 24-cup mini muffin pan, though your exact yield will depend on how full you fill each cup.
Almost always overbaking. Mini muffins need far less time than regular ones and even two extra minutes makes a difference. The other common culprit is packing the flour into the measuring cup instead of spooning and leveling it.
Not necessarily, but they make removal much easier. If you grease the pan instead, be thorough about it and still let the muffins cool for a few minutes before trying to lift them out.
More Muffin Recipes to Try
If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider leaving a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below.
-
Preheat oven to 350°F and lightly grease a mini muffin pan or line with mini liners.
-
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
1 cup (141g) all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ¼ teaspoon sea salt
-
In a large bowl, whisk together the applesauce, oil, maple syrup, coconut sugar and vanilla until smooth and fully combined.
⅓ cup unsweetened applesauce, ⅓ cup avocado oil, ¼ cup maple syrup, 2 Tablespoons coconut sugar or brown sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
-
Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and stir until just combined. Avoid overmixing.
-
Gently stir in the mini chocolate chips.
¼ cup mini chocolate chips
-
Scoop the batter into the mini muffin pan, filling each about ¾ full.
-
Bake for 9–11 minutes, or until the tops are set and a toothpick inserted comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
-
Let muffins cool in the pan for 5–10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. They will continue to soften as they cool.
- Measuring flour: Spoon the flour into your measuring cup and level it off rather than scooping from the bag. Packed flour is the most common cause of dry, dense muffins.
- Bake time: Start checking at 9 minutes. Mini muffins overbake fast and a toothpick with a few moist crumbs is exactly right. Completely dry means they are already slightly past.
- Storage: Cool completely first. Room temperature in an airtight container for 3 days, fridge for up to a week, or freezer for up to 3 months. Pack them frozen in a lunchbox and they will thaw by snack time.
Serving: 1 muffin | Calories: 83kcal | Carbohydrates: 10g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Sodium: 71mg | Potassium: 10mg | Sugar: 6g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.