Extra fudgy and intensely chocolatey, these are not your average gluten free, paleo and keto double chocolate muffins! Whip them up in 30 minutes for an easy and speedy low carb chocolate treat.
Paleo & Keto Double Chocolate Muffins 🍫
Extra Fudgy & Intensely Chocolatey!
Full disclosure: I’ve never been a big fan of chocolate muffins. They’re generally too spongy, more often than not a little dry, and generally not chocolatey enough for my liking. I mean, why have a muffin when you can have a brownie. Or even a cupcake (big buttercream frosting fan over here!).
So when creating a low carb chocolate muffin for you guys, I took a little different route. Think a cross between between a crazy fudgy brownie and a dense Italian almond chocolate cake.
The ultimate inspiration? Our suuuper fudgy keto brownies (easily the most popular recipe on the site).
The Method
You guys will essentially be following our super easy brownie methodology (see video for reference). The ratios are a little different though, and there is some added flax for a more crumb-like texture.
The most important thing though? The baking time! If you like your keto chocolate muffins extra fudgy you’ll want to do 10-13 minutes, for medium fudgy-ness 14-17, and for ‘normal muffin’ texture 18-20 minutes. Varies a little from oven to oven, but these are good guidelines.
Also keep in mind that if you want your muffins fudgy they will sink while cooling. Which in my humble opinion, simply makes them even better vessels for a generous scoop of (no churn!) vanilla ice cream.
Otherwise, if you bake them fully, you’ll get nicely-domed muffins (see picture below). So long story short, adjust the baking time to get the outcome you desire.
The Sweetener 🍯
You’ve got options here. Think xylitol (no aftertaste and gooey texture), Lakanto (barely any aftertaste), and Swerve (some cooling sensation). Xylitol takes (much) longer to dry out though so your muffins will be extra delicate right after baking, so just keep that in mind.
Fun fact: it might also be our taste buds here, but we’ve noticed that stevia-based sweeteners (such as Pyure) don’t work so great when chocolate is involved as the aftertaste is accentuated. So we cannot recommend enough that you don’t use stevia-based sweeteners here.
Oh, and if just paleo or gluten free (or not restricted by sugars), simply sub 1-to-1 with coconut or regular sugar.
And if using xylitol, make sure to be careful if you have a pup around the house, as it’s highly toxic to the little guys! 🐕
The Flours
We like a mixture of super fine almond flour and flaxseed meal best. No xanthan gum is needed here to yield a wonderful and moist crumb (hurray!).
Just keep in mind that for best texture and rise, you’ll always want to regrind your flaxseed meal in a dry blender or bullet.
In terms of brands, for the almond either Anthony’s or WellBees work great. Both are super fine grinds.
The Chocolate 🍫
You’ll want to use a Dutch-processed alkaline cocoa here. As there’s baking powder involved, using cacao won’t give the same results (at all!).
In terms of brands, our favorite will forever be Valrhona, known to be one of (if not the) best cocoas in the world.
p.s. a lightly sprinkle of flakey sea salt works wonders to cut through the chocolate in these guys!
(Ultra Fudgy!) Paleo & Keto Chocolate Muffins
Ingredients
- 48 g almond flour
- 30 g golden flaxseed meal finely ground
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 70 g unsalted grass-fed butter or 4 TBS coconut oil + 1 TBS coconut cream
- 1/3-1/2 cup allulose *xylitol or coconut sugar if paleo (I use 1/2 cup allulose and 1/3 otherwise)
- 40 g cocoa powder **
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon espresso powder or instant coffee (optional)
- 2 eggs at room temperature***
Optional add-ins
- 50-80 g Lily's Sweets dark chocolate bar to taste
- 50-80 g pecans or walnuts
- flakey sea salt to garnish
Serving suggestions
Instructions
- See recipe video for guidance on methodology! These low carb chocolate muffins follow our brownie methodology. Albeit with different ratios and added flaxseed and baking powder.
- Position a rack in the lower third of your oven and preheat to 350°F/180°C. Line or grease and flour a muffin pan, set aside.
- Add almond flour, flaxseed meal and baking powder to a medium bowl. Whisk until thoroughly combined, set aside.
- Add butter (or coconut oil and cream), sweetener, cocoa powder, salt and espresso powder (optional) to a large heatproof bowl. Melt over a water bath whisking constantly (or use the microwave). You'll want to heat it up until most of the sweetener has melted and the mixture is well incorporated. Remove from heat and allow the mixture to cool slightly.
- Add one egg at a time, whisking well after each one until completely incorporated. The texture should appear smooth, with all the sweetener dissolving into the mixture. If you used coconut oil, you want to be sure to mix it particularly well. Add the flour mixture, whisking vigorously until fully blended (about a minute). Fold in chocolate pieces (or pecans) and spoon into prepared muffin pan.
- Bake for 10-13 minutes if you like your keto chocolate muffins extra fudgy (they'll be set, but still jiggly), for medium fudgy-ness 14-17, and for 'normal muffin' texture 18-20 minutes. Varies a little from oven to oven, but these are good guidelines. Always keep in mind, however, that your muffins will continue to cook while cooling!
- Sprinkle with flakey sea salt (optional) and allow to cool for at least 15-20 minutes in the muffin pan. They'll be particularly fragile right out of the oven if you made them fudgy and with xylitol, so you need to let them set.
- Keep stored in an airtight container for 3-4 days. These guys are also best served warm.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
I haven’t seen any mention of erythritol, is that suitable for this recipe? Is it stevia based? I know absolutely nothing about keto
HI, these look so good! but I have to be egg free. Do you think a chia or flax egg would work in these? Th you for your help
Where can you change the grams to cups? Is there a button to click?
Below the ingredients there’s a button xo!
Paola, do you measure the flax meal and then grind or vice versa? Mine’s already ground but I know it’s still too coarse. Thanks!
I measure it once ground (I just re-grind the entire package from Bob’s once I open it!) xo!
Can i use Hershey’s unsweetened Cocoa powder?
Yup!
O-M-G. These are amazing! I added Sensato sugar free mini chocolate chips. Baked at 350 for 15 min and turned out perfect! They don’t deflate at all. Perfect lovely dark chocolate muffins. I’m in LOVE!!!!!!
These are now pretty much a staple at my house. I use a silicone mini muffin pan and with pecans and choc chunks I get about 20 with the 6-muffin batch. We freeze them after a day or so and they are absolutely magnificent!!!
These are amazing! Like you, I don’t like muffins much. These are definitely better than any non-keto muffins that I have tried. The flaxseed meal adds something to the texture that I really love. I’ve tried a few of your recipes including the chocolate ice-cream and chocolate brownies. Thank you for these amazing recipes! Excuse me while I make my second batch of your chocolate ice-cream.
I’ve made these fudge muffins twice now and they are so good. I break one up in a bowl and sprinkle chia seeds and unsweetened shredded coconut on top and then pour heavy whipping cream over it. I give a few minutes for chia seed to soak up a little cream and then eat!!!
So so yummy!!!!!
I just made these the other day, and my husband and son enjoyed them very much (I am vegan, so I couldn’t try them). It took a bit of time to make them (compared to a regular muffin recipe) but if the outcome is so delicious, it’s worth it ; )
How could I sub the almond flour out for coconut flour?
So hard to believe that one muffin only has 2g of net carbs. I chose not to put the nuts in and just added extra lilys dark chocolate chips and baked for about 16-17 minutes. These were amazing honestly even better then normal chocolate muffins if you’re not a huge fan of sugary sweets. These are very rich and moist and i would recommend trying out this recipe.
I just made this recipe. They taste very delicious! Love love love!
Oh yay! That’s awesome to hear Julz thank yoU!
I just made this recipe and they tastes very delicious! Better than non ket recipe. Love love love!
Daaaaaaaaang. I was sure these were going to be delicious, so I doubled the recipe when making them. I was RIGHT!! They are absolutely amazing. I didn’t have espresso powder so i skipped it, but oh my gosh. So very good. Thank you for this and all your recipes – they make LCHF sooo much easier!
Lol! Now that was really a GREAT call ;)! So happy to hear you enjoyed them thank you!
Going to try these this weekend! Loved your skillet pizza 🙂 Still not tried the basic tortilla recipe but I will.
By the way, I see you always mention to keep xylitol away from ‘pups’, which is great but I feel I should point out that people may take that the wrong way. Xylitol is listed as harmful to many animal, including cats, and it has the same effect on them all – low blood sugar and possible liver damage and failure. It would be more cautious to just say ‘pets’ instead of ‘pups’ if you don’t mind changing it.
Thank you Lulu! In some newer posts you’ll find an amended warning (I didn’t know until recently that it affected animals other than dogs, as warnings are generally for pups). But already spreading the word xo!
Hi I am getting ready to make these to take on a girls trip! Quick question: will they freeze well? And also can I double the recipe? OR should I just make a couple of batches? Thanks so much!! They look sooo yummy 😋
Hi Nancy! You can double the batch and they freeze GREAT! Have fun girls! xo!
Hi again Paola! I cannot find Lily’s Sweets dark chocolate bar locally. Can I substitue using Lily’s chocolate chips, and, if so, how much would I need? I have not been able to make the DOUBLE CHOCOLATE MUFFINS because I could not find espresso powder; I ended up having to order it on-line. I know the recipe says it is optional, but I want to make the recipe as is. Many thanks.
Hi LaWanda! Just go ahead and use the chips then! Same amounts as the chocolate xo and hope you enjoy!
I still cannot believe how good these were! As in not good just for keto, but PROPERLY GOOD! Do you think it would work well for a chocolate cake? I’m thinking of making a Matilda-style chocolate cake for my daughter’s birthday in a couple weeks.
LOL that’s seriously awesome to hear! That chocolate cake is the dream, hope your daughter loves it! 😉 xo!
These were seriously, lip-lickingly, Matilda-style chocolate all over our faces good! I halved the recipe and made four ‘fairy cakes’ as we call them in Scotland, a bit smaller than American muffin size, and reminiscent of brownies. My partner is a fiend for sweet treats and isn’t keto, but he swallowed them whole and desperately wanted more haha! Your tiramisu is also incredible, so a big thank you for your brilliant recipes: not one has let me down so far (and being let down is such a big issue when dealing with expensive ingredients and alternative baking). It’s just great to know I have a reliable source when I want to spend a day creating in the kitchen 🙂
Oh Sophie that’s SO awesome to hear lol! What a wonderful review for these chocolate guys 🙂
I also know fairy cakes a little too well as I went to uni in Scotland!! LOVE (looooove!) Scotland! You brought back so many wonderful memories with your comment, thank you! And so happy to hear that the recipes are working out so well for you xo!
Hi There,
How many cupcakes should this recipe make? A dozen? Also, is it better to use granulated or confectioners type-sugar (Swerve)? I tried the recipe today and the batter was extremely thick as I was trying to ‘pour’ it into the baking cups. What might have I done wrong? Last, how much should the baking cups be filled to? 2/3? To the top? Half way. I love your site and so far, with the exception of this recipe, I have succeeded. They just didn’t rise and were more like chocolate hockey pucks! LOL! p.s. I’m not the greatest baker. Thank you for all you do. -Gabriel
Oh no Gabriel, I’m sorry these didn’t work out for you! But hopefully I can help:
– The recipe yields 6 (I always place yield number in the upper part of the recipe card)
– It works with either granular or confectioners (just make sure to weigh if you are using confectioners)
– The batter being very thick is generally an issue with your eggs not being at room temperature and solidifying the butter. You’d be surprised how even the slightest cold brings the butter back to solid, and once you add the almond flour it just turns into a brick. You also want to be sure that you really do whisk the eggs very thoroughly into the melted butter and cocoa mixture until you no longer see any visible sweetener granules.
– I filled them up pretty much all the way to the rim (just divide the batter between 6 standard-sized muffins). They don’t rise too much and if you make them fudgy they collapse in the center.
Baking (and particularly keto!) can take a little practice, so hopefully you wont despair lol! I can’t tell you the amount of times I messed up when I first started 😉 xo!
These are REALLY GOOD! All 6 are nearly gone in a day between me and my non-low carb BF. Great recipe, super chocolatey and brownie-like, very easy to make.
Oh that’s seriously awesome to hear Kathy!! So happy the two of you loved them so much 🙂 mission accomplished!
These look great and I can’t wait to try them! One thing though…I see warnings everywhere about xylitol being toxic to dogs and I appreciate the warning, but it is equally toxic to cats.
Hi Paula! I had no idea! Thank you so much for the heads up!! Will be including them in the warnings for sure xo!
Just made these!! So easy that my four year old even helped! I used swerve for sweetener and used 1 Tbsp coffee flour in place of the expresso (I’ve had a bag for over a year and this gives me and excuse to use it!) these are absolutely outstanding! So fudgy and taste just like brownies! These are a chocolate lovers dream come true! I paired it with the keto vanilla ice cream and the combo was nostalgic! Thank you so much for all your hard work that goes into these recipes!
Oh hi Amanda!! Thanks so much for reporting back in detail on the blog, again SO HAPPY you loved these so much! And it’s my absolute pleasure to create recipes for you guys- always a blast! Big kiss!
These look so amazing. They have to be dark and fudgy if the Lilly’s chips look like milk chocolate!!!
LOl definitely dark and fudgy! Valrhona cocoa also lends a beautifully dark hue 😉 p.s. I didn’t use chips for this one, just broke up a bar to get large chunks! xo Kelly!
Hi Paola. I have so many low carb chocolate recipes that, up until now, I could not decide on which one to make. This recipe has changed that. I am going to make your DOUBLE CHOCOLATE MUFFINS ASAP! I just have one question, and it will most likely come across as really silly (I am still learning about all the different kinds of sweeteners), but is xylitol the same as Swerve? Swerve and Monk Fruit in The Raw Sweetener is all I have. Oh, and thank you from the bottom of my heart, for all you do for us gluten free, keto, and low carbers. 🙂
Hi LaWanda!! Swerve is erythritol, which also works great in this recipe. Xylitol is a different sugar alcohol (slightly higher GI, but works great for chocolate baking).
And it is my absolute pleasure, always so happy to read your comments!! 🙂
I have been living a low carb, then keto way of life for 18 years. I follow many blogs and my pantry is filled with keto cookbooks. It is great to find someone new who provides keto recipes in such a clean, well organized, and with beautiful presentation.
The recipes I have tried so far are delicious and look forward to whats to come.
Great Job!
Teresa that’s so wonderful to hear!! Thank you for your lovely comment, and I hope you continue to enjoy the recipes and work 😉 xo!!
your photos are unbelievable…I can taste the food already…can’t wait to try this…whatever I have tried has come out great…just not quite as eye catching as the photos…LOL—thank you!!
Oh LOL Gila! So happy to hear your enjoying the recipes so much (and loving the pics!!) Thank you for reading! 🙂
What could you sub for flaxseed meal? Allergy :/
Hi Rebecca! Yes, you can sub 1-to-1 with ground psyllium husk xo!
Thanks! Xo
Good to know! The flaxseed made the muffins taste a little ‘eartie’, if you know what I mean. Didn’t like it.
I altered the recipe a bit. I used half of the needed almond meal, and replaced the other half, divided in two, with coconut flour. Added a splash of coffee for the coconut flour to soak up. The batter turned out great, and my wife loves the muffins. Thank you for sharing!
I LOVE LOVE LOVE your brownies! Can’t wait to try these tomorrow 🙂 thank you for all the wonderful work that you do.
That’s so awesome to hear Ana Maria! Hope you enjoyed these too :)!
Could I use erythritol as a sweetener for any of your yummy desserts? If so, would u be able to tell me how much more to use for this recipe?
Hi Addy! Yup, keep in mind that Swerve is erythritol. Same quantity as xylitol xo!