One-Bowl Chocolate Chip Muffins {Whole Grain Option!}

These easy one-bowl chocolate chip muffins are made start to finish in less than one hour and are so soft and delicious – better than a bakery (even with whole wheat flour)!

Chocolate chip muffins totally fall into the category of I don’t really know I want them…until I want them. And then, holy moly, get outta my way until I get my hands on one. 

Just me? 

Soft and tender, simple but flavorful, bursting with glorious chocolate chips. Man, why are chocolate chip muffins so gooooood?? 

This easy one-bowl chocolate chip muffin recipe is literally the only chocolate chip muffin recipe you’ll ever need. The batter is crazy simple to whip up…and there’s just nothing fussy about this recipe. And that makes me happy. 

Secrets to a really good muffin

-Buttermilk. I use buttermilk in so many things that I keep the real deal store bought* stuff on hand 24/7. It’s a magical ingredient. In pancakes, muffins, cakes, biscuits. Buttermilk gives a huge boost in tenderness to baked goods when it reacts (appropriately) with the baking soda.

I like to live life on the wild side and pretty much sub buttermilk anytime milk is called for in a baked recipe (like this cornbread, AMAZING!). Even if it says strictly to not do that. It’s like the only part of my life when I’m truly rebellious. 

*Good news: making your own buttermilk is super easy. You can go the 1 tablespoon lemon juice + 1 cup milk route, but my favorite homemade buttermilk sub is whisking together half sour cream/half milk. 

-Add the add-ins with the dry ingredients. If your muffin calls for blueberries or chocolate chips (!!) or whatever, add them with the dry ingredients. Not only does this mean less mixing overall (which is a good thing), but it will help that delicious add-in not sink to the bottom while baking.

-Mix by hand. Muffins can be a bit finicky when it comes to mixing. You want the ingredients incorporated so there’s no chunks of flour or salt (ew), but over mixing can mean death to a fluffy muffin. For most muffins (except for recipes like these blender muffins), mix with a spoon or rubber spatula just until no dry streaks remain. A few lumps here and there are ok. Say it with me: RESIST THE URGE TO OVERMIX. You can do it.

-Bake (obviously) but don’t overbake (obviously). Actually, I might even suggest underbaking by just a teensy little bit. Not looking for raw batter here…just trying to hit that sweet spot so the muffins are fluffy and moist instead of dry. I’ve found  baking muffins for even 1-2 minutes too long can give a cornbread-like texture instead of deliciously soft muffin innards.

In my oven, muffins are usually done around the 17-18 minute mark. (Oven types, elevation, muffin pan…all of these things can make a difference in baking so keep an eye on what you’ve got to work with!)

These chocolate chip muffins are extra delicious and reminiscent of an incredible bakery-style chocolate chip muffin especially if you throw a sprinkle of coarse sugar on top before baking. It adds just the right something  to make these muffins extra special. 

I very much prefer light-colored muffin tins over dark-coated muffin tins. If you are using a dark, nonstick muffin tin, you’ll probably want to decrease the oven temperature by 25 degrees to avoid over browning the bottoms of the muffins. 

My favorite muffin tin of all time is the USA brand {aff. link}. The wells of the muffin cups are a bit deeper which means you can overfill the muffin cups slightly for bakery-style tall muffins and not have any overflowage. Miracle of miracles.

The muffin tin in the pictures of this post is a regular, super inexpensive Farberware muffin tin {aff. link}; works like a charm! You may get more than 12 muffins if using a standard muffin tin like this (especially if you are playing it safe in the risky overflow department). But I have a feeling no one will be complaining about that.

Whole wheat option

For all you whole grain bakers out there, this chocolate chip muffin recipe works really well with whole wheat flour. My favorite whole wheat version of these muffins is half all-purpose flour/half whole wheat flour. But 100% whole wheat flour works pretty well, too, especially if you are already on board with the slightly denser, nuttier texture whole wheat flour brings to the table. 

I highly recommend using white whole wheat vs red whole wheat for a lighter texture (differences in these types of wheat here). Also, if using whole wheat flour, measure with a light hand (if using a scale, use about 1/4 ounce less per cup than all-purpose flour). 

Now, enough talking! Get yourself into the kitchen and make these easy one-bowl chocolate chip muffins. You’ll be happy you did.

They are so simple to make, I have a feeling they’ll quickly become a breakfast/snack/anytime staple.    

One Year Ago: Creamy Coconut Milk Steel Cut Oatmeal {Instant Pot or Slow Cooker!}
Two Years Ago: Instant Pot Indian Vegetable Rice
Three Years Ago: Mother’s Day Gift Guide + A Few Spring Favorites
Four Years Ago: Sweet Molasses Bread {Restaurant Knock-off}
Five Years Ago: Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bars

Easy One-Bowl Chocolate Chip Muffins

Yield: 16 Muffins

Prep Time: 20 minutes mins

Cook Time: 20 minutes mins

Total Time: 40 minutes mins

4.80 stars (95 ratings)

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Ingredients

• ½ cup neutral-flavored oil (see note)
• ½ cup (106 g) granulated sugar
• ½ cup (106 g) packed light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• ½ cup buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups (284 g) all-purpose flour (see note)
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 to 1 ½ cups (170 to 255 g) chocolate chips
• Coarse or raw/turbinado sugar, for sprinkling , (optional but delicious)

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Instructions 

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners and set aside.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the oil, granulated sugar and brown sugar. Add the eggs, buttermilk and vanilla and mix until very well combined.
• Add the flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda and before mixing, add the chocolate chips on top.
• Mix the batter with a rubber spatula until no dry streaks remain (don’t over mix or the muffins might be dry and tough).
• Scoop the batter evenly into the muffin tin (about 2/3 full). If you have leftover batter and are worried about overfilling the muffin cups, bake a 2nd batch with the remaining batter.
• Sprinkle the tops of the muffins with coarse sugar, if using. Bake for 18-20 minutes until the tops spring back lightly to the touch and/or a toothpick comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.

Notes

Oil: I recommend a neutral-flavored oil for best flavor (canola, vegetable, grapeseed, avocado oil). Melted coconut oil, if you like the flavor, would probably work, too. These muffins are also delicious with half melted butter (so 1/4 cup oil, 1/4 cup melted butter). I haven’t tried all butter.

Flour: I’ve made these muffins with white whole wheat flour – they are a bit more dense but still super delicious (50/50 white and wheat flour works amazingly well, too!). If using whole wheat flour, measure with a light hand (if not using a scale); white whole wheat flour will give a lighter texture than red whole wheat flour. If measuring with a scale, you might try using 4.75 ounces per cup vs 5 ounces per cup (the measurement I use for all-purpose flour).

Author: Mel

Course: Bread

Cuisine: American

Method: Bake

Serving: 1 Muffin, Calories: 237kcal, Carbohydrates: 33g, Protein: 3g, Fat: 11g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Cholesterol: 24mg, Sodium: 151mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 20g

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Recipe Source: from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe

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