These healthy Orange Chocolate Chip Muffins have incredible orange flavor spiked with chocolate chips and are made with wholesome ingredients!
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Heads up! This recipe was first published in 2014. Photos updated 2018. I can’t count how many times I’ve made these since I first published it and they are a household favorite. Enjoy!
Muffins can be funny little things. They walk a tight line between being something nourishing we eat for breakfast and being, well, a dessert. That’s probably why my two little ones request them for breakfast so often.
These muffins actually were inspired by a dessert. Ina Garten’s orange chocolate chunk cake is one of Tim’s favorite desserts, and his dad makes it every time we visit. (Here is smitten kitchen’s version of Ina’s iconic dessert)
I thought I would be a good wife by giving Tim a portable, acceptable-to-eat-for-breakfast version of one of his favorite desserts. Turns out I was being a good wife and mother, as these have become my kids’ favorite muffins to date. Couldn’t have anything to do with the chocolate chips, could it?
The thing is, while these are perfectly satisfying enough to be called dessert, these muffins are much less sinful than the cake version. First, they are made with whole wheat flour instead of the processed white stuff. They have half the fat and more than 100 percent less sugar. I also used low-calorie, unsweetened almond milk, making them dairy-free. (You can use any milk you choose in this recipe.)
Yet. They have that intense orange flavor, paired with chocolate chips that is fabulous. The essence of Ina’s dessert is here. These healthy orange chocolate chip muffins are light, moist, and everything you want a muffin to be.
You really can’t go wrong with this healthy muffin recipe. Feel free to make a double batch and throw some in the freezer. You’ll be glad you did.
I’ve branch out and made another orange-chocolate combo recipe! You’ve got to try this Orange Chocolate Chip Baked Oatmeal recipe!
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Orange Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 12 muffins 1x
Description
These Orange Chocolate Chip Muffins taste sinful, but they are made with whole wheat flour and unrefined sugar!
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
- 1/3 cup coconut sugar or organic sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Wet Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk + 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar (let sit a few minutes) or buttermilk
- 1/4 cup orange juice
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted, or grape seed oil
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon wild orange essential oil OR 1-2 tablespoons orange zest
Extra
- 3/4 cup mini chocolate chips (I use EnjoyLife’s dairy and soy-free chips)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Oil a muffin pan, or line with paper liners and spray them with oil. Set it aside while you prepare your ingredients.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients.
- Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips. Do not over mix or you’ll end up with dense muffins.
- Fill each cup of the muffin pan almost to the top. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until the muffins are just turning golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.
- Allow to cool on a rack before removing the muffins from the tin. Enjoy!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
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If you’d like to save this recipe for later, here’s an image to save to your Pinterest recipe board.
Want more healthy muffin recipes? Here you go!
Healthy Muffin Recipes
Flourless Chocolate Peanut Butter Blender Muffins
Carrot Cake Oatmeal Muffins
Vegan Strawberry Chocolate Chip Muffins
Apple Cinnamon Crumb Muffins
delicious!
These were delicious! All of my kids said they wanted them for their birthdays! I couldn’t find whole wheat pastry flour, so I used all purpose flour for a little more than a quarter of the flour called for, and the rest whole wheat. These are definitely going on repeat!
So happy to hear this Coby! 🙂
do you know the calories per muffin?
Have you tried substituting applesauce for the coconut oil? My daughter has a tree nut allergy and I can’t use coconut oil in anything. Thanks!
I have not tried apple sauce in this recipe, but whenever I have substituted it for oil in other recipes I’ve had good luck. I have used different oils at times in this recipe, also, if you’d like to try that as well.
Have you tried substituting applesauce for the coconut oil? My daughter has a tree nut allergy and I can’t use coconut oil in anything. Thanks!
Great recipe – thank you! I have been making orange chocolate muffins for years but today decided to find a healthier version. I have made a dozen for our new neighbours and luckily had enough ingredients to double the recipe (so we could test them out beforehand!!). Yum!
I’m so glad you liked this recipe! It’s my daughter’s favorite. 🙂
These sound amazing!! Cannot wait to try these. They sound like healthy muffins too which I’m happy to hear 🙂 how many calories per muffin do you know?
Made these yesterday with my 4 year old. They were fabulous. This is yet another of your recipes that I have made with success. (I’ve probably made the blueberry lemon scones about 10 times). I cook with many of the same ingredients that you use which brings me back to your site often! Thank you 🙂
Thanks, Jackie! Glad to hear it! 🙂
I made these over the weekend & we love them! Just the perfect amount of orange flavor & they have a great texture. Plus the chocolate adds the final touch. Thanks for the recipe!
You’re welcome! Thanks so much for letting me know you tried them.
I have made so many of your recipes (love all the breakfast and snacks). I am even making your banana chocolate chunk cake for the second year in a row for my son’s birthday cake. His request! Your recipes are easy and use wholesome ingredients. My son who will be 4 in a few weeks LOVES chocolate chips so I use the Enjoy Life mini chips as well. He know will only eat muffins if they have chocolate chips in them. So, this will be a perfect muffin for him and a nice addition to lunch box. Thank you so much for your Blog.
You’re welcome, Diedre! Thank you for you kind comment. I was just thinking about that banana chocolate chunk cake and wishing I had a special occasion coming up so I could make it. 😉
Whoa these look super delicious! =) Love anything with orange flavor (well pretty much!)
Thank you!
I’m muffin crazy right now so I can’t wait to try these! I bet they smell pretty magical with that orange too.
Yes, the orange smell is amazing. I’m actually diffusing it in my house right now. Can’t get enough!
I always have breakfast breads and muffins on hand for breakfast. I usually make 2-3 recipes and freeze them for quick and easy breakfasts. My kids in general don’t like many foods. But my daughter-nearly 8-will eat ANYTHING with chocolate. I just have to throw in a teaspoon of chocolate chips and she’ll down a huge bowl of oatmeal. She will be thrilled at a new chocolate chip breakfast muffin!
How funny! Meghan is the same way. Anything with chocolate is good in her book. My brother put some chocolate chips in her pancakes over Thanksgiving and now she requests chocolate chips in her pancakes every. single. time. 🙂 I hope you all enjoy these!
Chocolate + oranges is to die for. I love the idea of this recipe and can’t wait to try it!
I made these yesterday and they are delicious! However I found a few pockets of none melted coconut oil in them. This was my first time working with the stuff. Any suggestions? Did I just not mix well enough? I melted it in the microwave prior to adding it.
I have found this happens if the coconut oil is really warm and the other ingredients are really cold. I try to let me coconut oil cool a bit after I melt it and make sure my other ingredients aren’t too cold.
Maryea, your banana-pumpkin muffins (from 2010!) are one of our absolute favorite treats around here – even my 21 month old gobbles them up. These orange chocolate chip muffins look fantastic, but my daughter has an egg allergy. Typically in muffin recipes I’ll sub 1/4 c. applesauce for 1 egg, but I am wondering if you ever tried using a flax egg in these, and if so, what your results were. They look delicious!
I’ve never had a flax egg NOT work. I bet it would be great!!
I haven’t tried a flax egg in this exact recipe, but have used them in very similar recipes with great success. I think it’d work fine! 🙂
P.S. I am often so interested in trying/developing new recipes that I forget about the old ones. Thanks for a reminder about the banana pumpkin muffins. I’m going to make them soon now! 🙂
Thanks for your reply – I’ll give these a try soon with the flax egg! 🙂
Great! Let me know how they turn out. 🙂
I cannot wait to try this! I love the combo of orange & chocolate! YUM!
Let me know how you like them!
They look delicious , Maryea . Can’t wait to try them. Since we only have the cake when you and Tim are here maybe I can persuade jack to make your healthy version instead.
After trying his delicious decadent version, I was going to attempt this too!!! Glad you did.
Definitely have him make these! Make sure he gets whole wheat pastry flour, not regular whole wheat flour. 🙂