Gluten-Free Chocolate Hazelnut Muffins (Vegan)

Who can say no to some muffin indulgence: My Gluten-Free and Vegan Chocolate Hazelnut Muffins are crafted to accommodate dietary preferences without compromising on taste. These muffins are a delightful treat for all occasions. Infused with rich cacao powder and the nutty goodness of hazelnuts, each bite is the perfect balance of chocolatety excellence .

Why this recipe works

• It uses whole ingredients such as apple sauce, cacao powder, olive oil and coconut milk.
• It’s a decadent muffin that is perfect for anyone who wants a treat but needs something allergy friendly.
• They are great for a snack or to add to your brunch table.  

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Original Post Date: May 2022 | Updated Post: February 2024

Other Gluten Free Muffins to try: Simple Blueberry Buckwheat Muffins and Easy Gluten Free Strawberry Lemon Muffins.

Ingredients

• Gluten free flour. I like to use Trader Joe’s All Purpose Gluten Free Flour 1:1, containing the xantham gum already in it. Bob’s Red Mill has 1:1 as well. 
• Almond flour. Almond flour gives a nice soft texture to muffins.
• Baking powder.
• Baking soda.
• Cacao powder. Regular cocoa powder works too. 
• Organic cane sugar. Other great substitutions are coconut sugar, brown sugar or regular white sugar.
• Fine sea salt. 
• Apple sauce.
• Coconut milk.
• Olive oil.
• Raw hazelnuts.  The easiest way to chop hazelnuts is either in the food processor or take a ziplock bag of hazelnuts and pound on it with either a wooden spoon or metal spoon. 
• Semi sweet GF/DF chocolate chips plus a few more for topping. Trader Joe’s has good ones. The regular grocery store should carry vegan chocolate chips as well. 

How to make this Chocolate Hazelnut Muffin Recipe

1. Start with preheating your oven to 375 degrees F.  Line the muffin tins with non stick baking cups. 

2. In a large bowl, add the dry ingredients, except the hazelnuts and chocolate chips.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients. Gently combine to the dry. Then with a rubber spatula, fold in the chocolate chips and chopped hazelnuts.

4. Divide the muffin batter in between the 12 cups. Sprinkle a few more chocolate chips on the muffin tops. 

5. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes. The best way to test if a muffin is done is to insert a wooden toothpick into the center. If it comes out clean, then the muffins are ready. 

6. Remove from the oven when done and let them cool for about 10 minutes then move to a cooling rack. 

Storing and freezing

You can store cooled chocolate muffins in an airtight container for up 3 days at room temperature. To freeze, let the muffins cool completely. Store in a freezer safe zip lock bag or a freezer safe airtight container for up to 3 months. To reheat, remove the container and place in the microwave for 30 seconds. You may need to do an additional 10-15 seconds.

Serving suggestions and alternatives

There are many different ways to enjoy Chocolate Hazelnut Muffins! Here are some alternatives:

Vegetable oil or coconut oil are good alternatives to olive oil.

You can try different nuts such as walnuts or slivered almonds.

Regular chocolate chips or dark chocolate chips will work. 

If you aren’t allergic or if you don’t have issues with gluten, you could swap out the flours for what you have on hand or try ground rolled oats to make oat flour. 

If dairy isn’t an issue, you can use regular milk or greek yogurt. I haven’t made these with other ingredients, so I can’t say what the results will be. If you try this recipe using a substitution, please let me know how it turns out!

Enjoy these chocolatey muffins with a hazelnut spread.

Instead of adding additional chocolate chips to the muffin tops, add a chocolate drizzle after they are done. 

Helpful tips

I use Trader Joe’s all purpose gluten free flour which is 1:1 (the xantham gum is already in it). I have had the best results with this flour for baking these and also with my Gluten Free Vegan Banana Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins.

For the coconut milk, I like to use So Delicious Brand. I like the consistency of the milk when baking vegan recipes. Lastly, I use cacao powder versus using cocoa powder. I had read cacao powder isn’t the best for baking but since I’ve been recipe testing with it, my taste testers aka my family think the baked items containing the cacao powder are delicious, so here we are. 🙂

Don’t overmix the muffin batter. This can cause the muffins to turn out dry.

Recipe inspiration

I don’t know about you, but Costco rich chocolate muffins are heavenly to me! LOL But those muffins don’t do me any good and they are hard on my digestive system. I wanted to create an alternative that were both still rich and decadent. I hope you enjoy these Gluten Free Chocolate Hazelnut Muffins.

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