Double Chocolate Olive Oil Muffins
Chocolate muffins made lighter with olive oil and kefir. The muffins are rich, moist and utterly delicious without being too sweet for a morning treat.
The baker (or chocolate lover?) in me has always found store-bought, or even bakery-bought muffins to be a disappointment (not enough chocolate, usually dry). So I decided I’d make my own. I wanted something of a hybrid of lot’s of chocolate but without totally sacrificing some nutrition (because I knew my 2 yo was going to be all over these in the early am, hehe).
I use olive oil instead of butter to keep the fat light, and sometimes I’ll sub in some oat flour instead of AP. I lean into the chocolate and swirl some chocolate hazelnut spread on top. The result is truly wonderful and, after eating one we did not feel that usual dessert heaviness, which make these a great brekkie or tea companion.
Recipe Ingredients
All-Purpose Flour: You can swap oat flour or white whole wheat to make these more nutritious. The muffin will be just a tad dryer.
Chocolate Chunks: You will very very rarely hear me say this but I recommend chocolate chips for the recipe. Normally I’d say cut up a good chocolate bar but the added wax to the chips keeps their shape and so when you are eating the soft muffin, you know a chip when you find it. Use a good brand though! I love Guittard’s Dark and Nestle’s Artisan Brand.
Cocoa: dutch-process as it gives a deeper look and taste to the muffins. I don’t recommend subbing with natural cocoa which is more acidic because there is no baking soda in the recipe for it to interact with.
Chocolate Hazelnut Spread: Nutella is ‘fine’ but this is tastes so much better!
Keffir: If you aren’t familiar with it, keffir is a fermented milk and in taste and texture is similar to a drinkable yogurt. It’s a lot like buttermilk but is often thicker, smoother. You can sub keffir with a thinned out greek yogurt.
How to make chocolate olive oil muffins
For this recipe, we want to have all our ingredients laid out before we start beating because once we do, things will move pretty quickly.
Start by combining the sugar and eggs together – don’t leave eggs cracked on top of or under the sugar without immediately mixing them as the sugar can ‘cook’ the eggs (you’ll see them start to solidify). As soon as they’re both in the bowl, start mixing right away.
The mix will start out dark but as you beat it it will get lighter in color, airy and creamy looking.
With the mixer on, slowly drizzle in the olive oil. Then beat until you have a very light mixture
If the cocoa or flour is lumpy, sift it in. Add the leavening ingredients as well
Once the dry ingredients are partially mixed in, slowly pour in the kefir then mix to just combine
Add the chocolate hcips, if using, and stir.
You have the option to chill the batter for a few hours or overnight (this helps the domes rise higher) but you can also proceed to baking straight-away. When you do, line every other muffin tin with batter
If you are using the ‘nutella’ chocolate hazelnut topping, add a dollop to the top then swirl it into the batter with a toothpick
Bake until a cake tester comes out clean – you can also press the tops (avoid where the nutella is or it will burn you!) and if they spring back they’re done.
Store them in an airtight container, they’ll last a few days.
Recipe Notes
- This recipe was updated on 3/11/2021. The new recipe now makes exactly 12 muffins. Shortly after reworking the recipe, I asked about 10 bakers to test it in their own homes. Everybody used dutch cocoa (important!) but there were variances in using keffir, greek yogurt and one person even used milk & sour cream. Happily, all gave rave reviews!
- I love kefir here (see above) but if you are using the greek yogurt option use about 1/3 yogurt and add enough water to get it to 1/2 cup. Rylee of abouttosprout made these and recommends using 110g greek yogurt and adding enough water to get it to 130g.
Chocolate Olive Oil Muffin Recipe
Chocolate Olive Oil Muffins
Ingredients
- 105gor ½ cup olive oil
- 200g or 1 cup granulated sugar
- 50g or ½ cup dutch-process cocoa
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 163g or 1 ¼ cups all purpose flour
- 1 ¾ teaspoons baking powder
- 130g or ½ cup kefir, buttermilk or greek yogurt thinned with water to get the consistency of pourable yogurt
- ⅓ cup chocolate hazelnut spread
- ½ cup chocolate chips if desired
Method
- In a large bowl beat the sugar and eggs until the mix is light and fluffy, at least 3 minutes.
- With the beater on, slowly pour in the olive oil and beat to combine.
- Add the salt, vanilla and beat to just combine.
- Add the flour, baking powder, cocoa and keffir and beat to just combine. Don’t overbeat.
- Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Optional, for higher domes: Cover the batter with plastic wrap and set in the fridge to chill for 2-4 hours.
- Fill muffin liners until ¾ full.
- Melt the hazelnut spread in the microwave and spoon half a teaspoon on each muffin in circles on the top of the batter, swirl it in.
- Preheat oven to 375 F.
- Bake for 20 minutes, until the tops spring back when pressed or a cake tester comes out clean.
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Hello, is the hazelnut spread optional? And if omitted will it affect the taste of the muffin?
absolutely optional!
These are the best chocolate muffins ever. Just so good!!
such high praise!! Thank you =)
This is my go-to muffin recipe! These muffins are the best you’ll ever get to make and everyone you will offer one to will be left speechless! The olive oil and Kefir come together to make the softest, moistest little cakes. PLEASE make these!
=) Thank you Catherine!
These muffins turned out so amazing! Perfect for when that chocolate craving hits as you can whip them up so quickly! SO chocolate-y and so delicious! Love the olive oil in them!! thank you Sam!!!
Hi Sam! Love love love your recipes. Wondering if you think this would work as a loaf cake?
Made these this morning and they turned out great! I used the tip of diluting the greek yogurt with water as listed in the notes. And for those curious about the dutch cocoa, Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa is a dutch processed cocoa. Maybe not the highest quality ever but easily accessible in most regular grocery stores and worked just fine for me in this recipe.
Hi, sorry if this is a bit of an annoying question, but since you said keffir was a lot like buttermilk do you think I could use leftover buttermilk as a sub instead of greek yogurt ? Thanks in advance, can’t wait to try it either way!
Hi Dom, it should work just fine with buttermilk.
Great recipe, Sam! I halved the sugar and used the greek yogurt substitute and thought these were a perfect breakfast muffin. One question though: I used granulated cane sugar, but I see from the comments that most people mentioned brown sugar… was I supposed to use brown sugar instead? Either way, delicious!
Kristin, a previous version of the muffins used brown sugar but the the recipe was reworked recently to use granulated. I’m surprised the halving sugar worked well, I would think it might make the muffins a bit dry/dense. But good to know!
Got it! They are probably drier than if I used full sugar, but I like the consistency as a muffin (and for me, any sweeter and they would be more like cupcakes… which would also be delicious). My husband was my taste tester and he loved these as well :). Thanks for another great recipe.
These are divine. A deep chocolate flavor, not overly sweet, great crumb. The batter that I know I’m not supposed to eat raw tastes like ganache. Make these!
For healthier muffins, these are a great option! I was a tad worried about how strongly the batter smelled of olive oil, but the olive oil taste only comes through very slightly in the final product. I made jumbo muffins, and got about 6 muffins out of this recipe. They took a while longer to bake, maybe 10 minutes extra. I didn’t see any amount listed for the chocolate chips, so I added approx. 3/4 cup, if I had to eyeball it. Would add more next time! 🙂
Really light, moist and fluffy muffins with a deep chocolate flavour! They’re super quick to make as well so all round a great recipe 🙂
What kind of greek yogurt do you use? Full fat?
Yep!
Thanks! They were incredible 🙂
Can coconut oil be substituted for the olive oil?
Anyone tried a keto version of this recipe? Thinking about subbing almond flour for AP flour, Swerve Brown for the sugar, and Keto Nutella. Not sure if egg and baking powder should increase- thoughts?
I dont have any Nutella. Should I leave it out or substitute something else? Like honey, melted chocolate, some type of ganache ?
I’d leave it out or use some kind of nut butter.
Hey! What would u recommend for the oven temperature and baking time if making jumbo muffins? Thanks!
I’d keep the temperature the same and look for visual cues for doneness: press the top slightly and you’ll be able to tell if it’s still wet inside.
Is there any substitute for the eggs in this recipe?
You could try flax eggs but honestly I’ve no idea how it would turn out. Maybe find an eggless chocolate muffin recipe? I’m sure there are tons out there!
Hey! I just realized my baking powder has aluminum. Will this recipe now work for me?
It will work but it might have a slight metallic taste to it.
These muffins are the best that I’ve ever made! So soft & tender! I will no longer search for chocolate muffin recipes ?
I used half oat flour & half all purpose. I also used fat free Greek yogurt because this is what I had. Lastly, I reduced brown sugar by 20% as I like my desserts less sweet. I’ve read & tried it several times that reducing sugar by 20% does not alter a cake’s structure.
I also converted cups to grams & I hope these measurements are right as I googled them. I prefer weighing ingredients for accuracy.
200 g light brown sugar
35 g cocoa powder
2 eggs (57 g each with shell)
192 g flour
140 g Greek yogurt
107 g chocolate chips
95 g hazelnut chocolate spread (nutella)
Awesome, thank you for those conversions!
Hello! Just want to confirm that brown sugar is the soft variety (light brown sugar) and not caster/granulated brown sugar? Many thanks
Soft!
so sorry I also need to confirm what size are your eggs or how much do they weigh? I am in London. Many thanks
Large eggs in the US weigh about 2 oz.
It’s me again! I forgot to ask if your cup is 250 ml, 1 tsp 5ml and 1 tbsp 15ml? Lastly, have you posted this recipe in metric/ ingredients in weight? Many thanks
I haven’t! Next time I make them I’ll take notes. I use standard measuring cups.
I would like to ask if it is ok to use black cocoa powder? If I’m not wrong, black cocoa powder is ultra-dutch processed. Also, you mentioned muffins will be little dry if oat flour is used. Is there anything I can do to while using oat flour? Many thanks and cant wait to try these
Hi! Honestly I wouldn’t use black here, it will dry it out the muffins and the taste will be so smoky. You can skip the oat flour if you like and use all AP!
These were so yummy!!! I didn’t see a spot in the recipe where it says to add the cocoa, so I added it to the flour. I don’t care for nutella, so I combined crushed biscoff cookies and melted butter and added them as a swirl to the top. Froze some batter in a cupcake tin so I can pop them in the oven when I *need* more fresh-baked muffins in my life. Thank you!!
Whoops! Adding that cocoa bit now. So glad they turned out well and cheers to having muffins anytime they are needed 😀
Hi, I was just wondering if you knew how many calories are in these? Thanks so much!
I don’t, sorry!
Are you sure you mean a bakers dozen? It’s very ood to make 13 muffins when almost all pans are either 6 or 12. You mean a regular dozen of 12, correct?
Hi Jacqueline. Yes, a baker’s dozen (13). In my experience, most recipes are based on round numbers of cups of flour, eggs, etc. rather than made to produce an exact number of something. Often too, the way we measure can lead to differences in yield. Cookies are a great example of this. I don’t overfill my muffin liners (2/3 of the way at most) and so I usually end up with a baker’s dozen.
Can you use another type of flour rather than oat flour? Looks delish!
I’m are they regular sized or jumbo muffins? Thanks.
Hi Jenn! Regular sized. In the recipe notes I say white whole wheat is a fine sub, as would be more AP.
How many cupcakes does the recipe yield? The photo shows a pan of eight muffins. I couldn’t find a reference for the number.
Mike, the recipe makes a baker’s dozen. I’ll add it to the notes, thanks!
Hey! do we just whisk & combine the oil and sugar? or we whisk it extra to make it look pale and a teeny bit fluffy?
is greek yogurt substitutable for something, cause i have a feel sour cream will work the same
I have question for Vanilla. 1 teaspoon of Vanilla what?Extract or powder/spice?These muffins looks beautiful and I cant wait to make these 🙂 Thank you for beautiful recipe!
Hi Ursula! pure vanilla extract. Also, make sure your baking powder is aluminium free!
that’ll work!
Amrita, just use a hand-held whisk to combine it well. I don’t think trying to make it fluffy would work – for truer results we’d need to try it with a hand or stand mixer.
I don’t have a scale. Can you convert the flour to cups?
These look delicious. Any reason we can’t omit the Nutella? Allergies put that out of reach.
Skip it or use a different spread for the topping (peanut butter, sun butter, etc.)
Cori, a cup of flour weighs 120g. That brings us to 1 cup, plus 1/4 cup, plus a tablespoon.
Do you use Dutch processed cocoa in these olive oil chocolate muffins?
Delicious! Rise nice and fluffy, perfect amount of chocolate flavour, a keeper!
always =) thank you for the question, the recipe now specifies!