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Chocolate Chickpea Muffins (Gluten Free, Dairy Free)

Chocolate chickpea muffins—the chocolate cupcake that’s nutritious enough for a satisfying breakfast. Ohhhhh yeah. These tasty muffins deliver plenty of nutrients, including protein and fiber.

Chocolate chickpea muffins for breakfast

I love garbanzo beans. Or chickpeas. Whatever you call them, I love them in soups, stews, mashed and formed into patties and fried, in salads, with pasta, coated with savory spices and roasted until delectably crispy. And hummus! We can’t forget hummus.

Or put them in a Potato, Tomato, and Olive Stew . And then there’s Chocolate chickpea muffins. Mmmm. My new favorite breakfast.

These delicious chickpea muffins contain a whole can of garbanzo beans (I used the low-sodium variety), unsweetened cocoa powder, and honey and banana for sweetness. At the last minute, I added a few mini chocolate chips and cocoa nibs, but these are totally optional.

Chocolate chickpea muffins in muffin tin--just baked

Finally a healthy chocolate muffin

They’re sweetened with banana and honey (not too much!), so they don’t contain any refined sugar (unless you add the chocolate chips). They’re also gluten-free, grain-free, and dairy-free!

Healthy chocolate muffins!? Hell yes. These chocolate chickpea muffins have protein and fiber and they get their sweetness from bananas and honey.

They are so healthy, I even let my kid eat them for breakfast. He thought I had gone temporarily insane, but he was happy. Heh. He also likes them for dessert. Or a special after-school treat.

For another great grab-and-go breakfast, try these pumpkin banana oat muffins.

Chocolate chickpea muffin with a bite out

Chickpea Muffins use ingredients you likely have on hand

One of the many things that I love about these muffins is that they use ingredients I almost always have on hand:

  • Chickpeas
  • Eggs
  • Honey
  • Cocoa powder
  • Banana
  • Baking soda
  • Coconut oil
  • Vanilla extract
  • Cinnamon

That means I can whip them up any time I get a hankering–or anytime my husband or son does!

My son also loves these Flourless Chocolate Cookies, which are gluten free and dairy free, as well! You should also try my famous Honey Cake!

More great recipes you’ll love

Chickpea muffins on a white plate.

Chocolate Chickpea Muffins

Robin Donovan
With protein and fiber from a can of chickpeas and sweetened with honey and banana, these rich, chocolatey muffins are so healthy that you really can enjoy them for breakfast guilt-free. If you like, you can also add nuts or dried fruit to the mix.
4.54 from 52 votes
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Course Breakfast and Brunch
Cuisine American
Calories 170 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 1 15-ounce can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
  • 3 large eggs
  • ½ cup honey
  • 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 banana
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 3 tablespoons coconut oil melted
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon
  • ¼ cup mini semisweet chocolate chips or 2 tablespoons mini semisweet chocolate chips plus 2 tablespoons cacao nibs (optional)

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Spray a 12-cup muffin tin with baking spray.
  • In a blender, combine the garbanzo beans, eggs, honey, cocoa powder, banana, coconut oil, baking soda, vanilla, and cinnamon and blend until smooth. Stir in the chocolate chips and cacao nibs, if using, and mix to incorporate. The batter will be very runny. Pour or spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tin, filling each well about ¾ full.
  • Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Video

Notes

  • I transferred the mixture from my nutri-blender to a 4-cup measuring cup with a spout before stirring in the chocolate chips and cacao nibs. This made it easy to pour the batter into the muffin tin.
  • The first time I made these, I used paper muffin liners, but the muffins are so moist that they really stuck to the paper. I had a much better result spraying the muffin tin with cooking oil spray.
  • I found variations of this recipe all over the internet, but I don't know where it originated. Possibly beachbody.com? I added my own twists, but took inspiration from the basic recipe floating around the internet.

Nutrition

Serving: 1Calories: 170kcalCarbohydrates: 24gProtein: 4gFat: 7gSaturated Fat: 4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 47mgSodium: 176mgFiber: 3gSugar: 17g
Keyword chickpeas, dairy free, gluten free, grain free, muffins, refined sugar free
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

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chocolate chickpea muffins pinterest pin
Last Updated: October 23, 2019

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By on September 19th, 2019
Photo of Robin Donovan

About Robin Donovan

Robin Donovan is the creative force behind All Ways Delicious. She's a writer, recipe developer, photographer, and cookbook author with more than 40 books to her name, including the bestselling Ramen for Beginners, Ramen Obsession, and Campfire Cuisine. Her work has been featured in major publications, both print and digital, including MSN, Cooking Light, Fitness, Buzzfeed, and Eating Well. → More about Robin

More Posts by this author.

9 thoughts on “Chocolate Chickpea Muffins (Gluten Free, Dairy Free)”

    • I think you can probably use any type of oil, but I haven’t tested the recipe with anything except coconut oil, so I can’t promise anything. If you try it, I’d love to hear how it turns out!

      Reply
    • I really don’t know! I have only ever made them with chickpeas from a can. I think using chickpea flour would completely change the recipe and I can’t really tell you how to do it without testing. They’re delicious made with canned chickpeas though–super light and moist.

      Reply
  1. Hi,

    What is the purpose of the eggs in this recipe? I don’t eat animal product so I would need to find an egg replacer that will serves the same purpose.

    Reply
    • The eggs are a binder that holdes everything together as well as adding some leavening. You could try substituting with a vegan egg replacement or aquafaba. I’ve never tried it so I can’t guarantee results, but it seems worth a try!

      Reply
  2. Could I have the original version you posted? I don’t think it had any banana in the original recipe. The updated version is fine, but my family prefers the old version 🙂

    Reply

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