The Best Chocolate & Chia Muffins (Gluten Free, Vegan)

These delicious Chocolate & Chia Muffins are wonderfully fudgy, nutrient dense and just bursting with chocolate chips.

This recipe is based on my gooey Chocolate & Chia Loaf, however, these muffins are a slightly sweeter version that are travel friendly and can be taken on the go. They are so deliciously moist and fudgy I would say they are closer in texture to brownies than traditional muffins.

I like to use a food processor when blending my bananas to use in these muffins as it eliminates the risk of finding unmashed pieces of banana in the muffins once baked. If you do not have a food processor or blender you can simply add the peeled bananas to a large jug or bowl and mash them using the back of a fork, or even a potato masher, until smooth.

I like to make this dessert really packed with chocolate and tend to use a bar of dairy free milk chocolate I have chopped into chunks myself as opposed to chocolate chips. I like to hold a few pieces of the chocolate back and scatter them across the top of the muffins once they have finished baking, however, if preferred you can simply throw all of it into the batter. Feel free to increase or decrease the amount of chocolate used if desired.

I have made these muffins using a high percentage dark chocolate and enjoyed them, however, I would not recommend doing this if you have a really sweet tooth. This recipe relies heavily on the bananas and the chocolate chunks for sweetness, therefore, substituting the dairy free milk chocolate for a dark chocolate may result in a bake that is a little too bitter for some tastes.

Make sure you allow the coconut oil to cool before adding it to the blitzed bananas. Do not substitute this ingredient for other types of oil, eg olive oil, as they are heavier and will result in a much denser bake with a greasy texture. When you mix the water and chia seeds together set aside for ten to fifteen minutes and allow the mixture to form a gel like consistency.

I use a silicone muffin tray to make these, however, if you use a metal one you will need to grease or line it. I make six medium to large sized muffins from the amounts listed in the ingredients, however, if you want to make more muffins that are smaller in size remember they may need less time in the oven.

Due to the gooey consistency of these muffins they will stay moist in an airtight container for up to five days. If eaten after this point I would recommend warming them up and serving with a scoop of ice cream.

If you like my gooey Chocolate & Chia Muffins you may also like my Sneaky Tahini Brownies, my Fudgy Black Bean Brownies, my Gooey Chocolate Brownies, my Almond Flour Blondies or my Chickpea Cookies. For more recipes using chocolate and bananas why not try my Chocolate Banana Pancake Poppers or my Banana Bread Breakfast Bars which you can find here.

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