Vegan Chocolate Mini Muffins (no sugar!)

Name: Vegan Chocolate Mini Muffins (no sugar!)
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 33 min
Ingredients: 1.5 cups Medjool dates, pitted and chopped; 1 cup water; ¾ teaspoon baking soda; ¾ cup whole wheat flour; ½ cup oat flour; ¼ cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder (like Hershey's natural); 1 teaspoon baking soda; ½ teaspoon baking powder; ½ teaspoon salt; ½ teaspoon vanilla; ½ cup almond milk; 2 large very ripe bananas, mashed; 2 tablespoons neutral oil of choice (canola, vegetable, grapeseed, etc.); 1.5 tablespoons peanut butter or nut butter of choice; 1/4 cup sugar-free chocolate chips (optional)

by erika

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These vegan chocolate mini muffins are moist, tender and full of chocolate flavor–a secret ingredient makes these perfectly sweet without any sugar!

My favorite type of muffin? It’s a close tie between chocolate or lemon poppyseed. There’s something so satisfying about eating cake in muffin form–and the best chocolate muffins and moist, close-crumbed and bursting with chocolate flavor. These hit the mark on all fronts! And if you’re avoiding refined sugar or even liquid sweeteners, these muffins are for you–they contain no refined sugar!

Instead, they use a secret ingredient: date paste.

What is date paste?

Date paste is made from blending dates with water until you have a smooth, sweet paste that can be used in all sorts of baked goods. Because of the natural sugar content in dates, they are a great way to add natural sweetness to your baked goods. They also add a good amount of moisture to these muffins. You might be surprised at how well date paste works in place of sugar!

Ingredients you’ll need for these sugar-free chocolate muffins

Many of these ingredients (like leaveners, oil and nut butter) you may already have in your kitchen. Medjool dates can be found at most markets in the dried fruit section. If you like, you can swap in all-purpose flour for the whole wheat flour and even the oat flour if you like (the texture will be just slightly less soft).

Medjool dates, chopped and pitted
Whole wheat flour
Oat flour
Unsweetened cocoa powder, like Hershey’s natural cocoa (not Dutch-process)
2 large, ripe bananas
Neutral oil of choice (grapeseed, canola, vegetable, etc.)
Nut butter of choice (peanut butter, almond butter, etc.)
Milk of choice
Baking soda, baking powder and salt
Vanilla
Sugar-free chocolate chips, if desired

How to make the muffins

Once you make the date paste, these muffins are very easy to make. Simply whisk all the dry ingredients together, then combine the wet ingredients. Stir everything together, add to a mini muffin pan, and bake!

What do sugar-free muffins taste like?

I can’t speak for all sugar-free muffins, but these particular chocolate muffins are moist and not too sweet with a soft, almost squishy crumb. If you add the optional chocolate chips, the mellow sweetness will be greatly enhanced with bursts of chocolate flavor. You can leave the date paste slightly chunky for a more rustic texture, but if you blend it until smooth, you won’t be able to tell there are dates in these!

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