Chocolate Protein Muffins

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Healthy, soft, moist Chocolate Protein Muffins that are packed with protein that taste like Devil’s Food Cake?! Yes, it’s true! Filled with protein rich, healthful ingredients and mixed together easily in one bowl. You will love this recipe.

I’ve been working away at these (secretly healthy) Chocolate Protein Muffins and I’m so thrilled to be sharing it with you all today! It’s taken me some time to tweak it to get it *just right* and we are there! Not only goes this pack a protein punch using greek yogurt, whey protein powder and egg whites, but it also has a secret hidden vegetable that keeps these muffins soft and tasting like devils food cake. You would never guess they were healthy. Read on friends, you’re going to love this recipe.

Protein Muffin Recipe

I’ve been wanting to make protein muffins for some time and having a carb loving husband home with me has been good motivation. Counting my macros also has been helpful in making the most of every recipe I make.

ANYWAYS, these muffins call for low fat plain greek yogurt, egg whites and whey protein to bump up the protein. The all purpose flour also has protein in it, but not as much.

Protein Powder

I was able to easily find this Bob’s Red Mill Whey Protein Powder at two separate grocery stores in my small town. Please don’t confuse this with regular protein powder. This is the plain protein that is unflavored and unsweetened. This is the protein source used to make a chocolate protein powder you’d mix with milk or water and drink. They aren’t interchangeable. Do your best to find plain whey protein.

About that hidden vegetable…mwahahaha

If you’ve been around the blogging block and know anything about me, its that I take great pleasure in hiding vegetables from my children. These protein muffins are no exception. If you follow me on instastories, you’ll know that initially I wanted to use zucchini in this recipe. Well, half way through making this for the first time, I realized I didn’t have zucchini but you know what I did have? Riced cauliflower. So, I went for it and believe it or not it worked beautifully.

Before you navigate away and think I’ve truly lost my mind, let me explain.

I used the frozen riced cauliflower from SteamFresh and steamed it in the bag before making the muffin batter. Once the batter is made, I fold in the cooked cauliflower and then bake. After these are baked, the white pieces of cauliflower dissolve, leaving a totally chocolate-looking muffin. But as a word of warning: if you’re splitting one open fresh from the oven, they might still have a few white cauliflower pieces that are visible in the bottom of the muffin. Totally normal! As they cool and sit, they dissolve even more. So sit tight!

I would recommend making these before bed and then enjoying the next morning. No one will know or even tell that they are filled with two cups of pure unadulterated cauliflower.

How to make Protein Muffins

The method to make these protein muffins is just about the same as any other muffin. I would recommend mixing by hand to ensure it doesn’t get over mixed by a stand mixer and thus messing with the texture. (Over mixing creates gluten, gluten creates chewier bread products. We want our muffins to be soft and tender, like a cake would be.)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 24 muffin tins with paper liners or spray with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
2. Steam riced cauliflower in microwave. Open bag and set aside to cool.
3. In a large bowl, whisk sugar, flour, cocoa powder, whey protein, baking soda and salt together. Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients.
4. Into the well, add in the wet ingredients: greek yogurt, maple syrup, egg whites, vanilla and melted butter. Slowly incorporate the wet ingredients into the dry until just combined.
5. Fold in steamed cauliflower.
6. Scoop into prepared muffin tins. Top with chocolate chips, if desired.
7. Bake 15-20 minutes.
8. Cool completely and store in air tight containers for up to four days.

Bakers Notes you’ll want to read

Since these are a lower-fat muffin, they have a tendency to stick to the paper liners. But, I have found if they cool and sit in an airtight container for 8-12 hours afterward, they peel perfectly. OR, don’t use paper liners and spray your muffin tins well with nonstick cooking spray.

Like I mentioned above, fresh out of the oven, these chocolate protein muffins will still have a few remnants of the cauliflower. That is totally normal! If your kids are veggie-phobic, you’ll want to let this sit out a few extra hours so they disappear completely. It’s weird but it works. I’m sure there’s some science behind it but I don’t know why.

These muffins aren’t too sweet and very much reminded me of a devils food cake. If you’d like a sweeter muffin, use agave in place of the maple syrup.

I’ve made these with three different kinds of cocoa powder and I got a bit of a bitter taste with some of them because they were a darker cocoa powder. The best kind that worked for me was the plain old unsweetened Hershey’s cocoa powder. I’d recommend using this kind.

These are Chocolate Protein Muffins (obviously) but you can easily substitute flour for the cocoa powder and keep these plain or add some different flavorings to. More tasty variations to come!

Anyways, I hope you enjoy these beauties and love them as much as we have come to love them! Don’t forget to save/bookmark/pin/print so you have this one forever and ever. She’s a good one 🙂 Have a great day, friends!

More Muffin Recipes to Try!

• Chocolate Chip Muffins
• Banana Nut Muffins
• Double Chocolate Muffins
• Mini Chocolate Donut Muffins
• Bakery-Style Blueberry Muffins
• Cinnamon Muffins
• Morning Glory Muffins