The best vegan muffins: fluffy, tender, and naturally sweetened.
These are my new favorite muffins and might be yours too. With chewy edges and a soft, tender crumb, studded with pockets of dark chocolate and a rich, nutty undertone from the tahini, these make a wonderful breakfast or snack. As a bonus: they’re gluten-free, oil-free, and naturally sweetened.
You’re supposed to let these cool, but this batch smelled so good while baking I couldn’t resist and broke one open warm out of the oven– releasing wisps of steam– and then ate it in a few tender bites, gooey chocolate and all.
Ingredients in Tahini Chocolate Chip Muffins
The ingredients are simple and wholesome:
Oats— high in fiber and nutrient-dense. You’ll be using both ground oats (oat flour) and rolled oats for texture. These muffins don’t contain any flour.
Coconut sugar and bananas— instead of refined sugar. Be sure to use ripe bananas, as they not only lend sweetness but also moisture.
Non-dairy milk— I used unsweetened almond milk, but you can use your favorite plant-based milk.
Walnuts and tahini— these lend healthy fats and a richness without the need for oil. The tahini adds a distinctive hint of sesame, but you can also use almond or peanut butter instead. The walnuts can be easily substituted with toasted sunflower seeds.
Flax eggs— in place of eggs. These are made by whisking ground flaxseed together with water; after sitting for a few minutes, the mixture sets into a gel-like consistency that acts as a binder.
The dark chocolate chips make these muffins extra good. Feel free to add fresh blueberries and a bit of lemon zest for blueberry lemon muffins. Or chopped apples and cinnamon for a fall-inspired apple muffins— this recipe is endlessly versatile.
Before baking, like to top the muffins with chopped nuts (pecans, walnuts, hazelnuts), or some toasted sesame seeds.
I’m not one for overly sweet treats, but these are wholesome and one of my favorites to pack as a breakfast or snack. I’ve made these muffins multiple times for myself and for friends and family members, and I’m always asked for the recipe on Instagram so I thought I’d share it, finally! Enjoy! 🙂
More Simple Vegan Treats:
If you made this recipe let me know how you liked it by leaving a comment and a rating below. Or tag me on Instagram @hannah.che, I love seeing your re-creations!
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Print📖 Recipe
Tahini Chocolate Chip Muffins (Vegan, Gluten-free)
The best vegan muffins— fluffy, tender, and naturally sweetened.
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 25
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 12 1x
- Category: Desserts and Sweets
- Method: Bake
Ingredients
Make the flax eggs:
- 2 flax eggs (2 tablespoons ground flax seed + 4 tablespoons water)
Dry Ingredients:
- 2 and ½ cups (230g) rolled oats
- ¼ cup (30g) walnuts
- ½ cup (58g) rolled oats, separate
- ½ cup + 2 tablespoon coconut sugar*
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
Wet ingredients:
- 2 very ripe medium bananas
- 1 cup (240mL) unsweetened non-dairy milk
- ¼ cup + 1 tablespoon (80g) runny tahini
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice or apple cider vinegar
Additional ingredients:
- ¾ cup (130g) dark chocolate chips
- More chopped walnuts or nuts, to top (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). In a small bowl, make the flax eggs: whisk 2 tablespoons of ground flax with 4 tablespoons of water, and let sit for 5 minutes to thicken.
- Combine the dry ingredients. Place 2 cups rolled oats and the walnuts in a food processor or high-speed blender. Pulse until the mixture forms a fine meal. Transfer to a medium bowl and whisk in the remaining ½ cup rolled oats, coconut sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Combine the wet ingredients. In a separate, large bowl, mash the bananas with a fork, then add in the non-dairy milk, tahini, flax eggs, vanilla extract, and lemon juice. Stir to combine.
- Incorporate the dry mixture into the wet mixture, folding just until all there are no more clumps. Fold in the chocolate chips. Divide the batter evenly into a 12-cup muffin tin (either greased or lined with parchment paper cups).
- Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until the tops of the muffins are golden brown, or when an inserted toothpick comes out cleanly. Let sit for 10 minutes before removing from pan, then cool on a wire rack before serving.
Notes
- You can also use ready-made oat flour.
- If allergic to nuts, substitute toasted sunflower seeds.
- *The sweetness will depend on your bananas. I’ve found that if my bananas are not very ripe, adding the extra 2 tablespoon of sugar is necessary.
- Blueberry muffin variation: use one heaping cup fresh blueberries in place of the chocolate chips.
Beatrice says
I just made these muffins and they are divine. I put raspberries in half and chopped up dark chocolate in the other half and used sunflower seeds instead of walnuts. I have tried so many healthy vegan muffin recipes and none of them have turned out very good but these were absolutely incredible! They will be my go-to muffin recipe from now on. Thank you so so much for sharing this recipe!
Hannah says
I’m so glad! And thanks for sharing those variations! xo
Emilie says
Hi Hannah, I would like to know if it is normal if in the recipe there are chocolate chips and no blueberries and in the instructions you say blueberries and not chocolate chips.. ? Thank you 🙂 Love
Hannah says
oops! thanks for catching that! fixed 🙂
Trisha says
these are amazing, I literally make them every week. They’re so wholesome but taste SO good!
★★★★★
Hannah says
yay! they’re my go-to muffins too! 🙂
Emilie says
Really good recipe ! Made them without sugar for breakfast. Topped with sliced bananas and added cinnamon. They are Very delicious ! They taste like baked oatmeal cups. (Because they actually are, lol) .
Thank you hannah for this simple yet super recipe !
Alana says
Eating one now- just made these! They taste wholesome- I left out the chocolate chips because I didn’t have any. The top of the muffins looked cooked by 25min, but when I pulled them out, it was still goey inside…I gave it another 10 minutes and it was still “soft”. Not quite as fluffy or moist as I thought it would turn out, but it tastes fine. I don’t taste much tahini though…would recommend added chopped walnuts for texture (not blended into fine flour). Thanks for the recipe!
★★★★
Emily Laue says
I made these this morning and I think they turned out great! I opted for the blueberries instead of chocolate chips. Not too sweet (which I appreciate) and the light tahini flavor is nice. I made the recipe for 12 but it made nearly 18 muffins. The first batch fell pretty flat but still taste good. The second batch (I only have one muffin tray) puffed up nicely. Perhaps it was the 30 minute rest? These took closer to 30 minutes to bake in my oven.
I will make these again!
★★★★