Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Muffins
Table of Contents
Why this recipe works
Bakery-style gluten-free chocolate chip muffins are a great way to treat yourself… or your family and friends. You won’t believe how easy they are to make or how quickly they come together! No special equipment is needed— all you need are some mixing bowls, a muffin pan, and an oven.
Would you believe me if I told you these gluten-free chocolate chip muffins can be on the table in just about 20 minutes? It’s true! This is one of the many reasons I love making gluten-free muffins—they’re so quick and easy. They make a great grab-and-go breakfast or snack, so I always have some in my kitchen.
This gluten-free chocolate chip muffin recipe is one of my favorites because they’re bakery style muffins. The muffins themselves are BIG and have the best crunchy muffin tops from a combination of mini chocolate chips and turbinado sugar. The inside is light, fluffy and sooooo moist. You can eat them warm with a little melted butter or at room temperature—they’re scrumptious either way.
You’ll love this recipe because:
Ingredients
Ingredient Notes
- Gluten-free flour blend – I tested this recipe with both Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour and King Arthur Flour Measure for Measure Gluten Free Baking Flour. Both of these blends already contain xanthan gum and are meant to be a 1-for-1 swap with all-purpose flour.
- Xanthan gum – If your gluten-free flour blend does not contain xanthan gum, you will need to add it. Xanthan gum is a corn-based ingredient that either provides elasticity or is used as a thickening agent in many foods. It’s used in gluten-free baking to keep baked goods from crumbling and falling apart.
- Milk – I used whole milk in this recipe, but 2% would also work here. I’ve also tested this recipe with almond milk successfully. The muffins don’t get as much rise as they do with the whole milk, but if you are dairy-free it’s a good option.
- Eggs – I always use large eggs for baking. If you are using medium or jumbo or extra large eggs, you’ll want to adjust the number of eggs you’re using. Large eggs weigh about 50 grams eacho, so we need 100 grams total for this recipe. Crack your eggs into a bowl and whisk them with a fork to combine the yolk and egg whites. Then measure out 100 grams of eggs for this recipe. You may have extra, so use that for another recipe or make some scrambled eggs on gluten-free toast for a quick snack or breakfast.
- Vegetable oil – Instead of butter, I like to use oil for my muffins. It gives them a lot of moisture. You can use any neutral oil that you’d like. Canola oil, grapeseed oil, avocado oil, or even a very light olive oil works here.
- Mini chocolate chips – I like to use mini chocolate chips in my muffin recipes. The miniature size keeps the chocolate chips from sinking into the bottom of the muffin cup when baking. I also love the ratio of chocolate to muffin you get in each bite with mini chocolate chips. I used mini semi-sweet chocolate chips, but you can use milk chocolate, dark chocolate, or even bittersweet chocolate.
- Turbinado sugar – Turbinado sugar is a type of raw brown sugar that has large sugar crystals. It doesn’t really melt into batters like other sugars do, so it typically isn’t used for baking. However, it is often used as a topping on baked goods when you want a crunchy exterior. Bakeries use turbinado sugar a lot for muffins and cookies. All you need is a little bit of sugar to sprinkle over the muffin cups before baking and you get a deliciously crunchy topping when they come out of the oven.
For best results, use a food scale and follow the metric measurements stated in the recipe card. Baking with a food scale is far more accurate for dry ingredients, especially gluten-free flour that can vary easily depending on the way you scoop it.
Step-by-Step instructions
This gluten-free chocolate chip muffin recipe is so easy to make with some simple pantry staples. The photos and matching step-by-step instructions below are to help you see the recipe at various stages and do not have all of the complete steps and ingredient amounts.
For the ingredient list with measurements, full instructions, printable recipe, and additional notes, please scroll down to the recipe card.
Recipe FAQs
I’ve tested this recipe with King Arthur Baking Gluten Free Measure for Measure flour and Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour. Both contain xanthan gum and are meant to be substituted as a 1-for-1 swap with all-purpose flour. I cannot guarantee that other brands of flour will work in this recipe as I have not tested them myself.
The two gluten-free flour blends that I recommend already include xanthan gum in them. If you use a blend other than the two I suggest, you may need to add xanthan gum if the blends do not contain it. I’d recommend using ½ teaspoon. Again, I cannot guarantee that the recipe will turn out if you use a flour blend other than the two that I recommend in the recipe.
No. Almond flour and coconut flour do not work the same way as a gluten-free flour blend does and the ratios are very different. Please do not use these flours in this recipe as you will be wasting your ingredients. Use a recipe that calls specifically for one of these flours.
I really like to use mini chocolate chips in this recipe, because the chocolate chips stay suspended in the muffin batter. Regular size chocolate chips tend to size to the bottom of the muffin cup.
hints & tips
Storage instructions
Storage: You can store leftover chocolate chip muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days. If the muffins start to taste stale after day 2, I’ll typically warm them up briefly in the microwave to make them softer.
Freezer Option: I love to freeze leftover muffins so I can have quick grab-and-go breakfast and snack options. Place gluten-free muffins on a sheet pan or plate and flash freeze for an hour, or until solid. Once frozen, place in a freezer-safe bag or container for up to 3 months. Defrost them at room temperature for about an hour, or until no longer frozen.
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Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 cups gluten-free flour blend (280g)
- 1 cup granulated sugar (200g)
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2/3 cup milk (150g)
- 2 large eggs (100g)
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil (113g)
- 1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups mini chocolate chips (divided (225g total))
- 1/2 tbsp turbinado sugar (or other coarse sugar (6g))
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400F. Line a 12 cup muffin tin with paper liners or grease with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the gluten-free flour blend, granulated sugar, baking powder, ground cinnamon, baking soda, and salt together. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, add together the milk, eggs, vegetable oil and vanilla extract. Whisk until smooth.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Mix until combined.
- Fold in 1 cup of the mini chocolate chips, reserving the rest for later.
- Portion out the muffin batter into the prepared muffin tin. The muffin cups will be almost filled to the top.
- Sprinkle the tops with the remaining 1/2 cup of mini chocolate chips and the turbinado sugar.
- Bake at 400F for 15-17 minutes, until the muffins are browned and cooked through.
- Let the muffins cool for 5 minutes before removing from the muffin tin. Set on a cooling rack to finish cooling.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- This recipe was tested with Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour and King Arthur Measure for Measure Gluten Free Flour. Both of these flours already contain xanthan gum so there is no need to add it to the recipe. If your blend does not contain xanthan gum, you will need to add it to the recipe. I recommend adding ¾ teaspoon of xanthan gum to this recipe.
- If your gluten-free flour blend does not contain xanthan gum, you will need to add it. I’d recommend ½ teaspoon of xanthan gum. However, I do recommend using one of the two gluten-free flour blends I recommended above.
- While you could use regular-sized chocolate chips, I prefer to use the mini chocolate chips in this recipe. They are light enough that they don’t sink to the bottom of the muffins. Also, I love the added crunch from sprinkling the extra chocolate chips on top.
- If you haven’t used turbinado sugar before, it’s a coarse, large crystal sugar that adds some crunch. It’s typically used as a finishing sugar and not something that you would bake with because the granules are too large. If you don’t want to add turbinado sugar to the tops of these muffins, you can omit it. I have done this many times when I’ve been out of it.
- For best results, use the metric measurements that have been provided, especially for dry ingredients like the gluten-free flour blend. The way that you measure flour can vastly change how the recipe turns out. A food scale is only about $10 and so much easier than using measuring cups! If you need to use measuring cups, be sure to spoon the flour into the measuring cup and then level it off with a flat surface. If you scoop the measuring cup into the bag of flour, your flour will be too dense and your muffins will not turn out well.
- If you have celiac disease or are on a gluten-free diet, always be sure to double check that all of your ingredients are gluten-free as ingredients and manufacturing practices can change from time to time.
Nutrition
This recipe was originally posted on November 14, 2010 and updated on January 30, 2023 with new photos, recipe updates, tips, tricks, and FAQs to help you make these gluten-free chocolate chip muffins perfectly every time!
I’m Megan
A gluten-free food blogger from Chicago and lover of all things food, showing you gluten-free can be easy and delicious, too. Let’s make gluten-free stress free together! Read more…
I love mini-muffins! Perfect for school lunches and I love to sneak one for an afternoon snack:)