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While I could eat the same thing for breakfast every single day and be totally fine with that, Little Miss isn’t so sanguine. She’s done with oatmeal, with granola, with eggs… the list goes on.
Mister Man, on the other hand, is happy to have yogurt with preserves just about every morning, especially since I’ll sometimes freeze them and make frozen yogurt pops for him. Little Miss, with her dairy allergy, can’t have them and is… rather jealous.
Muffins I can make dairy free, however. And they are TASTY.
The dairy free chocolate chip muffins were a huge hit, though I’ll admit that they’re a bit more a special occasion. While yogurt works as an every day breakfast, muffins are a little more special.
I pulled in chocolate from cocoa powder, the chocolate cashew milk, and chocolate chips. Because it was all dark chocolate, it wasn’t overpoweringly sweet but just perfect.
I used one of my favorite new tricks for baking muffins to get a nice high dome on top – I baked them at higher heat to start and get them to fluff up then turned the heat down to bake the rest of the way.
To make them look prettier, I sprinkled a few extra chocolate chips on top just before baking, but that’s completely optional. Oh, who am I kidding? Since when it is optional to add more chocolate chips?
What dairy free milk should I use for baking?
For this recipe, I used a chocolate cashew milk, but you have many alternatives.
You can definitely make this with “regular” dairy free milk and not a chocolate version. Because this recipe also includes cocoa powder and dairy free chocolate chips, it is your choice.
When I bake dairy free, I use whichever dairy free milk I have in the house, and I find that they all work well. Use cashew milk, oat milk, almond milk, rice milk – whatever you prefer or have on hand.
Are chocolate chips dairy free?
Most chocolate chips in the grocery store on the regular shelf do contain dairy of some sort. Generally, you have to look for dairy free alternatives.
If you purchase dark chocolate chips, you can often find mainstream brands without dairy in them. (The Kirkland brand chocolate chips are miraculously dairy free, interestingly enough.)
However, if you have a severe allergy, make sure you purchase an allergy free brand. My personal favorite is the Enjoy Life chocolate chips, as I find they have the best texture and flavor.
How to Make Dairy Free Chocolate Chip Muffins
These muffins are quick and easy to make. Prepping them take just the ten minutes you’ll need to preheat your oven to 425 degrees, and baking takes only another 15-18 minutes.
Melt your coconut oil, and set it aside. Prep your muffin tins by adding muffin papers to each cup – this recipe makes 18 muffins, so you know how many to fill.
In your mixing bowl, add the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and chocolate chips. Stir thoroughly to ensure everything is well combined.
In a measuring cup, add your chocolate cashew milk. Add the coconut oil slowly, whisking the whole time like you would if you were pouring oil into a salad dressing.
If you don’t, the coconut oil will create clumps and harden. If that happens, you can carefully microwave it in 20 second intervals to melt it, remembering that coconut oil melts at about 76 degrees.
Add your eggs and vanilla and whisk until thoroughly incorporated. Cutest little helper ever, right?
Pour your wet ingredients over your dry ingredients and stir until just incorporated. You want your batter lumpy for muffins.
The more you mix, the tougher they will be after baking. Your goal is light and fluffy muffins, so don’t stress about it.
Remember to use my baking hack and spray your muffin scooper with nonstick spray to keep the batter from sticking. Scoop into your waiting muffin tins, filling each one pretty full – more so than you normally would.
Bake at 425 degrees for 5 minutes to get that night higher dome, then turn the heat down to 375 degrees and bake for 10-13 minutes until your cake tester comes out with just a few crumbs.
Cool the dairy free chocolate chip muffins for 5-10 minutes then remove from the tins to finish cooling, (Or enjoy them warm with a glass of some of that dairy free chocolate milk you used to make them – yum!)
These are best fresh, but you can keep them in an airtight container on your counter for up to three days.
Bookmark this dairy free chocolate chip muffins recipe to make again!
Enjoy more of my favorite dairy free recipes:
- Dairy free lemon squares
- Double chocolate zucchini muffins
- Banana nice cream sandwiches
- Homemade granola
- Homemade cinnamon apples (Cracker Barrel copycat)
Dairy Free Chocolate Chip Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup coconut oil melted
- 1 1/4 cup chocolate cashew milk
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line muffin tins with 18 muffin papers.
- Melt coconut oil and set to the side.
- Add flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and chocolate chips to a mixing bowl. Stir to combine.2 1/4 cups flour, 1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup cocoa powder, 1 tablespoon baking powder, 3/4 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
- In a liquid measuring cup, add the cashew milk. While whisking, slowly pour in melted coconut oil. Add eggs and vanilla and whisk until thoroughly incorporated.1/2 cup coconut oil, 1 1/4 cup chocolate cashew milk, 2 eggs, 1 teaspoon vanilla
- Pour wet ingredients over dry ingredients and stir until just mixed. Batter will be lumpy.
- Grease a mixing scoop and scoop muffins into prepared tins, filling almost to the top. Add extra chocolate chips to top of each muffin, if desired.
- Bake in 425 degree oven for 5 minutes, then turn down to 375 and bake for 10-13 minutes, just until cake tester has a few crumbs on it.
- Let cool for 10 minutes, then eat warm or store in an airtight container on counter for up to 3 days.
Notes
- If you forget to whisk your coconut oil into the cashew milk and it hardens, you can microwave your mixture in 20 second increments, stirring each time, until it melts. Remember that coconut oil melts at about 76 degrees, so you don't need to heat it much.
- While I make this with chocolate cashew milk, you can make it with any dairy free milk you have on hand, whether chocolate or not.
- For more tips and tricks, be sure to read the full article above.
Nutrition
This site uses an online source to provide nutrition estimates as a courtesy. If you need exact values, please calculate yourself.
I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
Do you think using almond breeze original almond milk would do too much damage? Or just make them less chocolatey? This is typically what I have in my house
It might make them a little less chocolate-y, but I don’t think it would be a disaster at all. You could always add another teaspoon or so of cocoa powder if you’re worried about it.
thank you so much for this recipe . im literally eating the batter its so good. my little just got the news he has a milk allergy and to get rid of all cow milk products he was so sad yesterday . ive been cooking up a storm to show him that its going to be ok.. you can still eat good. thank you so very much .
I’m so glad you like it. I had the same issue with my own daughter, and it’s hard because dairy is EVERYwhere. All sorts of places it shouldn’t be…. But there are definitely fantastic ways to enjoy food without dairy. I hope it’s a smooth journey for you – and with my daughter’s allergy, I have a TON of dairy free recipes on the site, so check out more of them!
Loved this recipe!!!! I made it twice and it came out great both times! Delicious!!!
Awesome – I’m so glad to hear that. I love this muffin recipe, too 🙂
So chocolate chips are not dairy-free..realized that in the middle of making the recipe, but it still tasted good without them! Might want to note that for folks who are new at this dairy-free thing and might toss in the regular kind without thinking about it.
hey there are brands out there that are dairy free my friend.
You know it! (And obviously, so do I) 😉 There are brands you can enjoy without risk, and many of them taste great, too.
we use enjoy life chocolate chips they are gluten diary nut free
Yep – Enjoy Life is a brand that has a ton of allergy friendly products. There are actually a bunch of brands that are dairy free now, which is fantastic.
I’m so sorry that was confusing for you! We always use dairy free chocolate chips. There are a ton of brands out there who make them, and I don’t even think about it when noting it’s dairy free. I’ll update the recipe to note that they should be dairy free chocolate chips. I’m glad you enjoyed the muffins even without the extra dose of chocolate!
We love Silk Milk and both of these recipes look great! Especially those popsicles…don’t you just love the IKEA molds?! They work way better than the expensive ones I bought earlier this year!
I hadn’t tried the cashew before. She absolutely loves it though. Those popsicle molds are the bomb! I have two different colors so each kid knows which popsicles belong to which child 🙂
We love muffins! but the Popsicles look delicious too!
It’s a good way to get some decadence and lightly sweet at the same time, right? Both are g.o.n.e. from my house!
These look fantastic Michelle! Pinned & tweeted!
Aww, thanks, Diana! They were so good – definitely a keeper recipe!
I am glad the glasses were an easy fix. I have done it before myself.
The muffins look great.
Thanks for sharing on Creative K Kids’ Tasty Tuesdays link up. Hope to see you back next week.
Thanks – I’m so glad it was an easy fix, too. Ironically, my daughter has had hers replaced twice and my son only once. Who’da thunk she’d be the one with the issues taking care of them?
These look delicious! I will have to try them.
Thanks, Julie! They were great and I love that there isn’t *too* much sugar in them (hello, blueberry muffins!). Let me know what you think!