I'm excited to share these gluten-free Vegan Chocolate Sweet Potato Muffins, a wholesome, chocolatey treat you'll want to make again and again. Made with nutty teff flour, coconut sugar, maple syrup, cocoa powder, and black tahini, these muffins are rich in flavor and natural sweetness. They're hearty enough for breakfast and just the right amount of indulgent for an afternoon snack.

A round tray with seven vegan chocolate sweet potato muffins on parchment paper.

I created this recipe when I had an abundance of sweet potatoes! I decided to make some healthy sweet potato muffins with chocolate. Because who doesn't like chocolate? And when combined with tahini like in this Vegan Chocolate Tahini Banana Bread, it is absolutely amazing! You might also enjoy this Vegan Peanut Butter Chocolate Skillet Cookie.

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Why You'll Love This Recipe
What Is the Difference Between Muffins and Cupcakes?
Ingredients
Substitutions & Variations
How to Make Vegan Chocolate Sweet Potato Muffins
Expert Tip
How to tell when the muffins are ready
Storage
Related Recipes
Recipe
Comments

Why You'll Love This Recipe

Now, why should you give these muffins a try? Oh, let me count the ways!

First, they are vegan, meaning they're free from animal products. But don't let that fool you-they have a lot of flavor and moist texture, thanks to our star ingredient: sweet potatoes.
These vegan chocolate sweet potato muffins are fudgy, dense, and chocolatey. They're simple to make and are a fantastic option for anyone looking for a healthier snack without sacrificing taste.
It's easy to grab one before you run out the door to start your day or tuck a couple into a lunchbox!

For more healthy breakfast and snack options, try these Vegan Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins, Chocolate Tahini Banana Bread, and Vegan Broccoli Cheddar Egg Cups. If you are craving chocolatey cupcakes, try these Vegan Chocolate Fig Cupcakes with Irish Cream Frosting!

What Is the Difference Between Muffins and Cupcakes?

Have you ever wondered what differentiates a muffin from a cupcake? It's not just the frosting! There's much more to it; the mixing method and composition play a big part in differentiating muffins from cupcakes.

It's all about texture and sweetness. Muffins are typically less sweet than cupcakes and have a denser texture than cupcakes' fluffy, sugary delight. If it doesn't have frosting on the top, it's not a cupcake.

Our vegan chocolate sweet potato muffins perfectly embody this wholesome, not-too-sweet goodness thanks to coconut sugar, maple syrup, and sweet potatoes.

Ingredients

You need these simple ingredients to make these delicious vegan chocolate sweet potato muffins:

Flaxseed meal - When combined with water, flaxseed meal acts as an egg replacer. Flaxseeds are a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids, lignans, healthy fats, and fiber.
Teff flour is a gluten-free ancient whole grain from Ethiopia and Eritrea. It is high in fiber and contains B vitamins, as well as calcium, potassium, zinc, and iron. Its pleasantly nutty flavor works well in this recipe. I buy Bob's Red Mill brand online or at the grocery store.
Sweeteners - I used coconut and pure maple syrup. These muffins are just sweet enough, not too sweet, to balance the bitterness of the cocoa powder.
Sweet potato puree - Sweet potatoes are nutrient-dense and contain plenty of fiber, minerals, and vitamins, including Vitamin A and Vitamin C. Not to mention, they are rich in antioxidants. I baked two garnet yams until they softened and then mashed them.
Applesauce - this acts as an egg replacer.
Black tahini - The nuttiness of black tahini works well to bring out the flavors in this recipe since it pairs well with chocolate.
Organic soy milk is an excellent replacement for dairy milk due to its fat and protein profile. You can use any plant milk you like.
Semi-sweet chocolate chips - I like the mini chocolate chips for this recipe.
Unsweetened cocoa powder - I buy fair trade, ethically sourced organic unsweetened cocoa powder and chocolate. Unfortunately, the major brands of chocolate and cocoa powder I grew up eating that are still on supermarket shelves use cocoa harvested with child slave labor.

Please see the recipe card at the bottom of this post for the complete list of ingredients with measurements and recipe instructions.

Substitutions & Variations

The substitutions and variations for making these double-chocolate vegan sweet potato muffins are here:

Teff flour - To keep this recipe gluten-free, I recommend a 1:1 gluten-free baking blend like Bob's Red Mill in the blue bag. If gluten isn't an issue, use all-purpose flour, white whole wheat flour, whole wheat pastry flour, 50% whole wheat pastry flour and 50% oat flour, or spelt flour. If you want almond flour or coconut flour, substitute with no more than 25% of the flour. Using 100% whole wheat flour will make this muffin too dense.
Applesauce - Use neutral oils, such as grapeseed oil, melted coconut oil, or vegetable oil. Or use mashed ripe banana instead.
Black tahini - Use almond butter or peanut butter; it needs to be pourable. Regular tahini can also work.
Coconut sugar - Use date sugar, maple sugar, brown sugar, or organic cane sugar.
Maple syrup - Try agave syrup or Allulose.
Pumpkin pie spice - Use ground cinnamon instead.
Soy milk - Use oat milk or almond milk.
Sweet potatoes: I love garnet yams for their natural sweetness. You can also try pumpkin or butternut squash or canned purée (not pie filling).
Vegan semi-sweet chocolate chips - Use chopped walnuts or pecans.

How to Make Vegan Chocolate Sweet Potato Muffins

It's easy to make these sweet potato chocolate muffins, even if it's your first time.

I baked the sweet potatoes the day before at 400°F for 1 hour and 15 minutes. I let them cool slightly, removed the skins, mashed them, and refrigerated them.

Small bowl of flaxseed meal mixed with water.

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place 18 paper liners in two muffin pans. Mix flaxseed meal with warm water in a small bowl and set aside for 5 minutes to thicken.

Overhead view of flaxseed meal in a bowl mixed with orange juice and soymilk with apple cider vinegar next to it on a white tile surface.

Step 2: Mix soy milk with apple cider vinegar in another bowl and set aside.

Mixing dry ingredients in a large bowl with a whisk on a marble surface.

Step 3: In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.

Mixing wet ingredients in a medium bowl with a whisk on a marble surface.

Step 4: In a medium bowl, whisk the sweet potato puree, applesauce, maple syrup, black tahini, soy milk mixture, and vanilla extract. Add flaxseed/water mixture and whisk again to combine.

Mixing wet and dry ingredients in a large bowl with chocolate chips with a spatula.

Step 5: Pour the wet ingredients into the middle of the dry ingredients. Mix with a spatula until just combined, and stir in 1 cup chocolate chips.

Muffin batter poured into liners in a muffin pan on a marble surface.

Step 6: Pour the muffin batter into the paper liners, evenly distributing it with an ice cream scoop among the 18 muffin liners. Top with the remaining chocolate chips. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then remove the muffins from the pan to continue cooling on the wire rack.

Expert Tip

Take care not to overmix the batter, as this can affect the muffins' texture.

A muffin tin full of baked vegan chocolate sweet potato muffins.

How to tell when the muffins are ready

When the muffins are ready, they should spring back when touched, and a toothpick inserted into the center should come out with a few crumbs, not raw batter. If liquid batter is present on the toothpick, bake for another 5 minutes and check again.

Let the muffins cool completely on a wire rack. If you try to eat one while it's still cooling, you'll lose some of the muffin to the paper liner because it will stick.

Storage

These freshly baked muffins will last for about 3 to 5 days at average room temperature. To prevent them from drying out, cover them with foil or plastic wrap or place them in a plastic bag, or place them in an airtight container.
Refrigerate the muffins for up to 7 days in an airtight container.
Freeze the muffins for up to one month. To freeze them, let them cool and wrap them tightly with aluminum foil or plastic freezer wrap, or place them in a heavy-duty freezer bag.

If you try this recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a star rating and let me know how it goes in the comments below. I love hearing from you!

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5 from 162 votes (157 ratings without comment)