Chocolate Protein Muffins (Healthy, Yummy!)

Name: Chocolate Protein Muffins
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 25 min
Ingredients: 3 eggs (large, room temperature); 1 cup peanut butter (smooth and runny, not firm, 260g); 3/4 cup Greek yogurt (188g); 1/2 cup almond milk (120ml, or use a milk of your choice); 2 tsp vanilla extract; 2/3 cup golden monk fruit sweetener (110g or granulated sweetener of choice); 1/2 cup lupin flour (60g); 1/2 cup cocoa powder (45g); 2.5 tsp baking powder; 1/2 tsp sea salt (if your peanut butter is unsalted); 1/3 cup sugar free chocolate chips

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My chocolate protein muffins are 12 grams of protein each! This easy protein muffin recipe contains real food ingredients only. No protein powders needed!

Chocolate protein muffins in a muffin pan.

Protein chocolate muffins without protein powder? Here they are!

After publishing my vanilla protein muffins, I wanted to create a chocolate muffin that is high in protein. Because, as we all know, life is better with chocolate.

These easy muffins have a deeply satisfying chocolate flavor. I also adore the crumb texture. And most exciting of all, they contain completely different ingredients to my original protein muffins. Including one that is a Sugar Free Londoner first - lupin flour!

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What's To Love About This Recipe
Ingredients
Instructions
Variations
Recipe FAQs
Storage
More High Protein Recipes
Recipe

What's To Love About This Recipe

Secretly healthy. Kitchen goddess Nigella has this chocolate cake recipe that I used for kid's birthday cakes. The texture of these muffins reminds me of the fine crumb of that very epic (not sugar free) cake. How cool is that? Muffins that taste as naughty as a cake, but are secretly super healthy.

Nutritious - The recipe contains high protein ingredients such as Greek yogurt, peanut butter, eggs and gluten-free lupin flour. It is also low in carbs and sugar free.

Easy - This is a one bowl recipe that's ready in just 25 minutes.

Ingredients

Here are the ingredients you'll need for this chocolate protein muffin recipe:

WET INGREDIENTS

Eggs - I always use large eggs in my recipes, this one included. Must be at room temperature.
Peanut Butter - Muffins need fat to be moist, and peanut butter is our "fat" in this recipe. It is very important that the peanut butter is runny and not firm. Ideally, pick a peanut butter that contains only one ingredient - peanuts! These also tend to be more runny. Brands that I use regularly include Meridian, Manilife and Pip&Nut.
Greek Yogurt - For a perfectly moist and fluffy muffin crumb.
Almond Milk - Any milk works here. I like unsweetened almond milk, because it is low in carbs.
Vanilla Extract

DRY INGREDIENTS

Lupin Flour - Made from ground lupini beans. This is a high protein, keto friendly flour alternative. This is my first lupin flour recipe and I'm going to use it more often from now on.
Cocoa Powder - I use unsweetened cocoa powder. The recipe also works with Dutch processed cocoa powder or with cacao powder.
Sweetener - My go-to is a golden monk fruit sweetener. This is a 1:1 sugar substitute and it is zero carb. You can use any sweetener of your choice here, such as allulose or Bocha Sweet. If carbs are not a concern, feel free to use coconut sugar instead.
Baking Powder - Check that it is fresh to ensure the muffins rise well.
Salt - A pinch of sea salt lifts the flavor. Only required with unsalted peanut butter. If your peanut butter is already salted, you don't need it.

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

Instructions

It is simple to make chocolate protein muffins. Here are the basic steps.

Scroll down to the recipe card for the detailed method with ingredient amounts, oven timings and nutrition information.

Frothy blended eggs in a food processor bowl.

STEP 1

Blend the eggs in a food processor until frothy and double in size. You can also use a large mixing bowl and a handheld electric blender.

Blended wet ingredients in a food processor bowl.

STEP 2

Add the remaining wet ingredients - peanut butter, Greek yogurt, almond milk and vanilla extract. Also add the sweetener of your choice at this point. Blend until smooth.

Lupin flour and cocoa powder added on top of wet ingredients in the food processor bowl.

STEP 3

Now add all the dry ingredients: lupin flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Blend until a soft and smooth muffin batter forms.

Muffin batter in paper cups in a muffin pan.

STEP 4

Spoon the batter into a muffin pan lined with paper cups, or use a silicone muffin pan. My mix made 11 muffins, but I could have stretched it to 12. Bake in the preheated oven until fluffy and the tops are domed and firm to the touch.

Katrin's Top Tips

#1 Peanut butter is sticky. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl in between blending to achieve a smooth muffin batter.

#2 The muffin batter should be very soft. The consistency will depend on how runny the peanut butter was. Add more yogurt to loosen the batter if required. It should level easily.

#3 Don't over-fill! Leave space at the top of the muffin cups because protein muffins rise considerably.

#4 Pick your texture: 20 minutes baking time yields a moist and soft muffin, akin to a cake. 23 minutes baking time made the muffins very light and fluffy (as seen in the image below).

Variations

Chocolate chip protein muffins - Sprinkle sugar free or dark chocolate chips over the muffin batter just before baking, pushing some inside the batter.

Peanut butter swirl - Add a drizzle of peanut butter onto the muffin batter and create a swirl with a knife. You can check out the method in my post about keto marble cake.

Chocolate frosting - The frosting from my keto avocado brownies tastes AMAZING on these protein muffins. Bonus: it also adds healthy fats.

Chocolate muffin sliced in half, showing the fluffy crumb.

Recipe FAQs

What is lupin flour?

Lupin flour is a high protein, low carb and gluten free flour made from ground lupin beans. Lupin beans are legumes. They are in the same plant family as peanuts.

Can I use a different flour?

I do not recommend it. First of all, I chose lupin flour because it is very high in protein. Secondly, lupin flour is NOT a 1:1 replacement to any other flour I use on a regular basis. Lupin flour is about twice as absorbent as almond flour and probably a little less absorbent than coconut flour.

How can I make them dairy-free?

Use coconut or almond yogurt instead of the Greek yogurt. I don't recommend yogurt made from soy as it is more watery.

Can I use almond butter instead of peanut butter?

Yes, the recipe works with almond butter. However, the muffins won't be as high in protein any more.

How to make chocolate muffins with protein powder?

You can replace some of the lupin flour with protein powder. I have observed that whey protein powder and lupin are similar in texture and mouthfeel. Note that I have not tested this myself yet and you may have to adjust the amounts.

Storage

Store these high protein chocolate muffins just like you would regular muffins - in an airtight container. They stay fresh at room temperature on the kitchen counter for 2 days or in the fridge for 5 days.

The muffins also freeze well. Store them in the freezer for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight.

Option to gently warm them in the microwave.