I knew I wanted to bake a batch of pumpkin muffins this year because my Pumpkin Spice Muffins from last year were so popular with friends and family. But, I also knew that I wanted to combine pumpkin and chocolate because the combination is irresistible. Hence these pumpkin chocolate chip stuffed muffins.
I tried to keep these muffins healthy(ish) because I get a lot of requests for desserts that don’t break the bank (ahem, the calorie bank). But, we’re still talking dessert here, so you’re still going to get the delicious, mouthwatering taste of chocolate chip muffins.
If you’re wondering why I added tahini to these muffins, the answer is why WOULDN’T I add tahini? Tahini is my literal favorite food in the world. It’s simply sesame seed paste and is similar to nut butter but has a thinner texture. I like to drizzle it on baked goods and regularly use it in lieu of oil for a salad dressing as well as a sandwich spread. I just love the flavor and moistness it brings to baked goods.
I would say that these muffins are refined sugar free because they’re sweetened only with pure maple syrup, but I did add a generous amount of vegan chocolate chips. So there’s that. But if you’re limiting sugar, replace the chocolate chips with a high-quality dark chocolate of 80-85% cocoa content. On the other side of the spectrum, you can be as generous with the chocolate chips as you’d like. I thought one cup of chocolate chips was plenty of chocolate, but hey, feel free to get a little crazy.
For the flour, I used a combination of cake flour and a whole grain flour. Cake flour might sound strange in muffins, but it ensures that the muffins stay light, soft and fluffy. This is especially the case when you are baking with whole grain flour, which can cause baked goods to feel heavy and dense. The combination of cake flour and whole wheat (or spelt) flour means you get some additional nutrition while still having that nice light texture.
These muffins are delicious on their own, but are especially good paired with an afternoon latte or cup of tea. Or for an extra special treat, drizzle a little extra tahini (or almond butter) on top!
You have one month left until pumpkin season ends, so get to baking already! If you make these muffins or any of my recipes, drop me a comment below or tag me on Instagram!
Big Vegan Flavor
Techniques and 150 recipes to master vegan cooking.
Vegan Pumpkin Tahini Chocolate Chip Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 cup unbleached cake flour
- 3/4 cup whole spelt flour or whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated, or ground nutmeg
- 1 1/2 teaspoons aluminum-free baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 3/4 cup unsweetened soy milk
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup canned pumpkin purée
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
- 1/4 cup tahini
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup or coconut nectar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 flax egg*
- 1 cup vegan chocolate chips or dark chocolate chunks
Instructions
- Prepare the flax egg by mixing 1 tablespoon flaxseed meal with 2.5 tbsp water, stir to combine and let sit for 15 minutes to thicken.
- Preheat the oven to 375F or 190C. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners and lightly spray the liners with nonstick cooking spray or brush with melted coconut oil to prevent sticking.
- Stir together the soy milk and apple cider vinegar. Set aside for 5 minutes to curdle.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the cake flour, whole spelt or whole wheat flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, baking powder, and salt.
- In a large bowl, add the soy milk mixture, maple syrup, pumpkin purée, coconut oil, vanilla, and tahini and whisk until combined.
- Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, mixing with a wooden spoon until just combined, taking care to not overmix. The batter should be lumpy, not smooth. Fold in the flax egg using a rubber spatula. Gently fold in 3/4 of the chocolate chips.
- Spoon the batter into the lined muffin tins until they are filled almost to the top. Top the muffins with the remaining 1/4 of the chocolate chips.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the tops are lightly golden and a toothpick in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. Remove the muffin pan from the oven and let it rest for 10 minutes. Then remove the muffins from the the tin and cool completely on a wire rack.
Notes
Caveat: I am not vegan, so have not had many vegan baked goods, but I was not a huge fan of the texture in these muffins. Although edible and the recipe is easy to follow, I found the chocolate overpowered the pumpkin (and I love chocolate!). I followed the recipe and sprayed the muffin liners with grapeseed oil spray, but they stuck really badly- the entire bottom portion came off with the liner. I cooked for about 22 minutes, so maybe should have cooked them longer? I love the idea of these, but they just weren’t quite right on texture or flavor for me.
Hi Amanda, sorry to hear this recipe didn’t work well for you! Have you tried Nisha’s pumpkin bread? I love adding chocolate chips to it. 10/10 recipe (it’s also a newer one!)
Can you replace cake flour with regular flour?
Hi Bhumika, we haven’t tested it, but based on similar recipes we’ve made, we think all purpose flour should work fine :)
Easily the best pumpkin chocolate recipes I have made. I love the extra protein from the tahini as well as how it is not overwhelming sweet!
Colene, So glad to hear you loved this recipe!
can i use unsweetened applesauce in place of the coconut oil?
Hi Linda, we can’t recommend using apple sauce in place of oil because 1. we haven’t tried it ourselves and 2. the end results will be much different than intended. Sorry we couldn’t be of more help!
Am I able to make this with regular all purpose flour? It’s the only thing I have and I was trying to not buy new ingredients :)
Hi Uma, we haven’t tested it, but based on similar recipes we’ve made, we think all purpose flour should work fine :)
These are truly the most moist and delicious muffins I’ve made. I come back to this recipe every few months after trying other lackluster muffin recipes and remember each time how good these are. I only had 1/2 cup of chocolate chips this time so I used dried blueberries for the other 1/2 cup, which was a nice add-in.
Thanks for sharing, Jocelyn!
These were so scrumptious. You can never go wrong with Nishas recipes in my experience :)
I think I made these last year and i added too much dry ingredients. They ended up being to dry, also It depends on what flour you use. I am a novice here… so I recently learned you can’t just use any flour when a recipe calls for flour. I got some flour free, and two of the types were gluten free and one had arrowroot flour. Once I made some type of muffin with just arrowroot flour and they were gross. So I avoided those two and went with this chick pea /whole wheat /rice flour. I experimented and used less flour then the recipe called for.
I only have a 6 hole muffin tin so I cut the recipe mostly in half, besides the spices and can of pumpkin which I kept the same amount. I didn’t have milk.. so I used a bit yogurt, water, and acv.
and…. they were so moist! I am so pleased!! I’ve made Nishas blueberry spiced breakfast cake too and it was also incredibly moist.. I love a soft muffin, cupcake, or cake.
It’s funny because I think these vegan baked goods are more soft and moist than non vegan breads and cakes I attempt to make.
Thank you again!! Can’t wait to make these again with the left over batter 🙂
Hi Hannah,
Thank you for your lovely comment and feedback! Yes, you’re right – unfortunately, with baking, the ingredients and measurements are precise and you can’t just substitute any flour in most recipes. I’m glad you were able to experiment with your ingredients and that they came out moist and delicious! I also love a soft muffin or cake :) I think dairy-based butter can weigh cakes down! That’s why I love cakes made with olive oil! I hope you have fun as you continue to bake more!
These chocolate chips are so enticing and really caught my eye on Instagram! I’d love to make these but have a soy intolerance. Can I use another type of milk and also can I use sweet potato puree instead of pumpkin? I don’t love pumpkin. Thanks.
Hi Maria! Haha yes, the chocolate chips overload is very tantalizing :) Yes, you can definitely use any other plant-based milk such as almond milk. And sweet potato puree would be great! It is a little sweeter than pumpkin puree so you might want to cut back on the sugar just a bit.
You seriously have the best recipes! And photos too :) These look absolutely scrumptious Nisha!
You are SO sweet! Thank you for the support, Noelle! Hope you had a fabulous trip to Maui!