Vegan Chocolate Chip Muffins – Super Easy Bakery-Style

These vegan chocolate chip muffins are soft, fluffy, and so utterly irresistible! These bakery-style muffins are made with just 9 simple pantry ingredients, easy to make, and packed with gooey and melty chocolate chips. The muffins come together in just 30 minutes and taste just like the ones you buy from your favourite bakery – it’s perfect for breakfast, snacks, or when that chocolate craving hits.

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Are you like me and find it so magical about pulling a tray of warm, freshly baked muffins out of the oven, especially when they’re filled with lots of gooey chocolate chips? These vegan chocolate chip muffins are everything you want in a bakery-style muffin: soft, fluffy with a tall muffin top and bursting with chocolate in every bite.

And the best part is you only need 9 simple ingredients to make these delicious muffins! Love me an easy and simple yet tasty muffin. I love having them for a snack on my break with my cup of tea, but they are great for a quick breakfast and lunch to give you instant energy!  

Must Read: The Ultimate Guide to Perfect Muffins – A complete guide to baking your perfect vegan muffins with easy and delicious muffin recipes!

Main ingredients and substitutions

*Use room temperature ingredients unless otherwise instructed.

Plain flour: The base of the muffins is a good old plain flour.  It creates a soft and fluffy crumb. You can use self-raising flour and reduce the amount of baking powder slightly if self-raising is handy for you. For a gluten-free version, swap with a high-quality 1:1 gluten-free flour blend like the one from King Arthur. 

Soy milk: Soy milk is best for vegan baking in my experience, so I used it to make this recipe. When mixed with apple cider vinegar, it gives muffins a tender and fluffy texture. If you don’t want to use soy, you can substitute it with almond milk, oat milk, or any unsweetened plant-based milk you have on hand.

Caster sugar: Some caster sugar is all you need to add sweetness, and it also helps the muffins stay moist. If you prefer, you can use light brown sugar for a richer flavour, or coconut sugar for a less refined option.

Vegetable oil: The tender, moist texture you get in muffins is all thanks to some plant oil, it keeps the muffins moist and light. You can substitute with melted coconut oil, sunflower oil, or even light olive oil if that’s what you have.

Cornflour: Cornflour gives a lovely tender texture to muffins as well as acts as a binder like eggs, helping the muffins hold together. If you don’t have cornflour, potato flour, arrowroot flour, or tapioca flour work as substitutes.

Dairy-free chocolate chips: Use dark, semi-sweet, or even vegan white chocolate chips, depending on your mood. I used some dark chocolate chips! You can also chop up a vegan chocolate bar instead for a more chunky, decadent texture and flavour.

Other ingredients: apple cider vinegar, vanilla extract, baking powder, and baking soda.

Note: Substitution may change the final taste and texture of this recipe.

*I use bone char-free sugars for all of my recipes. I cover the topic in my article Vegan Baking 101. Go to the “Is sugar vegan?” section to learn more!

Recommended equipment for this recipe

Large mixing bowl: Use a fairly large mixing bowl for combining your dry ingredients and making batter easily.

Silicone spatula: A silicone spatula is perfect for folding the chocolate chips into the batter without over-mixing. A large wooden spoon is a great tool to mix the batter too.

12-cup muffin tray: A standard 12 muffin tin is perfect for baking these muffins.

Muffin liners: I like using muffin cups/liners for easy removal from the tray and also I think the muffins look cute in them.

Ice cream scoop or large spoon: It helps portion the batter evenly.

*The ingredient list and measurement for this recipe can be found in the recipe card at the bottom.

How to make vegan chocolate chip muffins

Step 1: Mix the dry ingredients

Preheat your oven to 180°C (350°F).

Start by mixing the soy milk with apple cider vinegar and set it aside for a few minutes. This is your vegan buttermilk, it helps the muffins bake fluffy, tender, and have tall muffin tops.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and cornflour until well combined. 

Step 2: Mix the wet ingredients and make the batter

In a separate bowl or jug, whisk the vegetable oil, vanilla extract, and prepared buttermilk until very smooth. You are halfway there!

Now, pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients and gently fold together with a silicone spatula until just combined. Be careful not to over-mix, as I always say, this can make the muffins dense and the texture will be tough.

Fold in the chocolate chips gently until they are evenly distributed. A few folds will do the job! Save a handful to sprinkle on top before baking.

Step 3: Bake

Divide the batter evenly between the muffin cups/liners using an ice cream scoop. For medium-sized muffins, fill the cups 3/4 full, and for big muffins with tall muffin tops, fill the muffin cups to the top. Sprinkle with extra chocolate chips, and bake until the tops are golden and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.

Transfer them onto a cooling rack and cool to room temperature. Enjoy!

Expert tips and tricks

Don’t over-mix the batter

Over-mixing any batter develops too much gluten in the flour and makes the muffins dense, tough, and even chewy and rubbery. The key is to only mix until the dry and wet mixture are just combined. Don’t worry if you see tiny bits of flour in the batter, it’ll incorporate in the oven!

Use room temperature ingredients

Bringing your plant-based milk to room temperature helps it mix more smoothly into the batter for even baking.

Rest the batter for 30 minutes for a tall muffin top

One of the things I noticed about baking muffins is that they rise high and tall when the batter is rested a bit. Resting allows the gluten to relax and also gives the leavening agents some time to activate as well. So if you have time, rest the batter for 30 mins in the bowl before filling the muffin cups/liners.

Use a digital scale to weigh ingredients

Always use a digital scale rather than measuring cups when you are baking. It’s so much more accurate and measuring correctly is very important to achieve the best result.

Recipe variations

• Want more crunch to the muffins? Add chopped nuts like walnuts or pecans, they go nicely with the chocolate chips in the muffins!
• You can swap chocolate chips for berries like blueberries to make berrry muffins – but I do have a recipe for lemon blueberry muffins and raspberry muffins if you fancy some berry flavour!
• If you are a coffee flavour lover, mix in a teaspoon of fine instant coffee to dry mixture for mocha-flavoured muffins.
• Add a sprinkle of cinnamon or pumpkin spice for a cosy twist in Autumn or Winter. Perfect companion for a nice cup of hot coco.

How to store

• Room temperature: Keep the muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1-2 days. 

• Refrigerator: Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-5 days. Bring to room temperature or warm slightly in the oven before eating for the best texture, like freshly baked ones.

• Freezer: These muffins freeze well too. Place the muffins in a freezer-safe bag or container, and store in the freezer for up to 2 months. Defrost at room temperature or pop in the microwave for a quick chocolate snack.

*Although you can store this recipe in the fridge or freezer, it’s always best to consume it fresh and as soon as possible.

Q and A

Want to master the basics of vegan baking?
Check out Vegan Baking 101 – the beginner’s guide to vegan baking for you to become an excellent vegan baker and familiar with the basics of vegan baking, ingredients, and techniques with useful tips!

You will LOVE these chocolate chip muffins because they are:

• easy to make
• full of delicious chocolate chips
• perfect for any occasion

Want more recipes like this?

Try my other delicious chocolate and dessert recipes you might enjoy!

• Double chocolate muffins
• Pumpkin banana muffins
• Blueberry lemon muffins
• Chocolate chip cake
• Banana chocolate chip cookies
• Double chocolate chip cookies

Visit the muffins page and recipe page for more delicious recipes!

Please leave a comment and rate this recipe with 5 stars in the comment section below if you like the recipe! Let me know and tag me @thechestnutbakery on Instagram too. Thank you for making my recipe, friends!

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