Chocolate Protein Muffins

 

My friend Jen shared this muffin recipe with me, and I’m SO glad she did! They are flourless chocolate muffins, sweetened with honey and packed full of nutrients. I mean, there are green vegetables in there and you’d never guess! I loved these muffins, and so did both of my kids. 

The first time I made them, I used a regular metal muffin pan that I had greased. I found that the bottom of the muffins still stuck to the pan a bit, so the second time around, I made them in my silicone pan (also greased), and it was absolutely perfect! These muffins don’t rise much, so you can fill each cavity almost to the top (I would have had enough for 13 muffins the first time, and filled the pan slightly more the second time for 12 muffins with no spillage). I had used half peanut butter and half almond butter that time; you could use sunbutter if you want them nut-free. And the Little Prince walked in the kitchen in time to see the contents of the blender before I activated it, and he still liked these muffins – win! 

You can easily store them at room temperature for a day or two, or store them in the fridge or freezer for longer. I think I’ll need to make these often! 

1 cup peanut butter or sunbutter 

1 cup roughly chopped very ripe banana 

1 cup roughly chopped raw zucchini (or summer squash) 

1 cup kale leaves, lightly packed (or spinach) 

3 eggs 

¼ cup cocoa powder 

2 Tbsp. ground flaxseeds 

1 tsp. baking powder 

1 pinch of salt 

¼ cup honey (or maple syrup) 

1 tsp. vanilla extract 

chocolate chips 

Preheat oven to 350°F and grease a mini or standard size muffin tin (ideally silicone). 

Place all ingredients into a blender. Blend until very smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides of the blender and/or using the stick that came with it to move the ingredients around if needed. 

Fill muffin cups about ½ full using (mine were much fuller). Top with chocolate chips. 

Bake 22-24 minutes (14-16 minutes for mini muffins) or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out cleanly. 

Let cool for 5-10 minutes in the pan, run a knife around the edges, and carefully transfer to a wire rack to cool.