These healthy Chocolate Cherry Greek Yogurt Muffins are made without any butter or oil, but so soft and tender that you’d never be able to tell! Greek yogurt and applesauce help keep them moist, while dark chocolate and cherries make them taste super decadent. A healthy and delicious way to satisfy those chocolate cravings!
Promise not to get mad when I tell you what I’m about to tell you? Because while this probably isn’t what you want to hear right now, it’s something I noticed this morning when my pea-sized bladder woke me up at an ungodly hour (read: 4:30am) and I had to feel my way around because it was too dark to see.
Too dark to see?! Mmm hmm. The days are getting shorter, my friends, and that means it’s only a matter of time before the sun starts setting at 4pm and we have pumpkin coming out our eyeballs.
But not yet! I’m not ready to let go of summer just yet, which is strange considering I’m usually more than ready for the peace and quiet that comes with fall by this time of the year.
Maybe it’s because it hasn’t been crazy hot here so summer hasn’t felt overly exhausting. Maybe it’s because I’ve been enjoying all the hiking and biking in the [relatively mild] summer sun. Or maybe it’s because I don’t want to say goodbye to all the delicious summer fruit…
Yeaaaaaah. It’s most probably that last one.
Cherries. Berries. Peaches. Mangoes. Melons… I’ve been trying to load up while I can because, while I’m grateful to have the frozen stuff available during the other 9 months of the year (9?!?! ðŸ˜), there’s nothing quite like fresh, ripe fruit when it’s in season.
And when we get tired of eating it by the pound-ful? We bake!
Say hello to the newest member of my muffin arsenal – the ever-so-perfect chocolate cherry Greek yogurt muffins.
Like so many of my other muffins, these little guys are made without any butter or oil, but they stay super soft and moist thanks to sneaky substitutions like Greek yogurt and applesauce. Are they going to taste exactly like bakery style muffins? Not exactly; but they’re not going to set you back 500-600 calories either, and they’re still pretty freaking delicious for being a healthier alternative.
They’re also pretty darn versatile, so if you don’t have any cherries on hand, you can use a cup of strawberries, raspberries, or even blueberries instead. Actually, chocolate blueberry sound like a pretty epic combo… if you try it, you’ll have to let me know!
In the meantime, I hope you love these chocolate cherry Greek yogurt muffins. And I hope I didn’t scare you with all that talk of summer coming to an end – we’ve still got plenty of warm sunny days left!
Happy eating!
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Chocolate Cherry Greek Yogurt Muffins
- Total Time: 27 mins
- Yield: 12 muffins 1x
Ingredients
- 1 cup (120 g) whole wheat pastry flour*
- 1/2 cup (40 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup (115 g) plain Greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) honey
- 6 tbsp (75 g) coconut palm sugar**
- 1/3 cup (80 ml) unsweetened applesauce
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup (140 g) cherries, pitted and chopped
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350F (176C) and prepare a muffin pan by lining the cavities with paper liners or greasing them with oil or cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, lightly beat the eggs with a fork until the yolks break. Whisk in the yogurt, honey, sugar, applesauce, and vanilla, mixing until well combined before folding in the chopped cherries.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, mixing gently until just combined. Be careful not to overmix.
- Divide the batter evenly among the 12 muffin cups, filling until they’re about 3/4 of the way full. Sprinkle the tops with dark chocolate chunks/shreds, if desired.
- Bake for 17-19 minutes, or until the tops of the muffins are firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Allow the muffins to cool in the pan for ~10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days, or freeze for up to 3 months.
Notes
* You could also make this with all purpose flour or use a mix of 1/2 cup (60 g) whole wheat and 1/2 cup (60 g) all purpose. ** You can sub this with regular brown sugar.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 17 mins
Looking for more chocolate muffin recipes? Try one of these!
Healthy Chocolate Lover’s Muffins
Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
Flourless Double Chocolate Chip Muffins
Chocolate Banana Minute Muffin
Flourless Chocolate Pumpkin Muffins
wondering if you can make this in a cake pan and if you can use frozen cherries? Thank you!
yummy muffins but really stuck to the wrapper and was hard to eat. Maybe let others know to spray with butter?
My daughter loves this recipe but wants a cake. Every tried that? Any suggestions on how to accomplish it? Pour into a cake pan instead of muffin tin? Thanks, I love the combo of cherries and chocolate!
I’ve never tried it myself, Sage, so I can’t be 100% certain. But I’d love to know how it turns out if you do end up trying it!
These sound yummy. Thinking of making them with dry cherries . Has anyone made them with dry tart cherries?
Amanda – you got the perfect little done on these guys! And their texture is the best yet – I’d pick these over 500-600 calorie bakery muffins anyday!
I’m not ready to let go of summer – even though its been hot hot hot here – am just not a fan of short days – so here’s hoping summer stays just a tad longer?!
Happy Monday sweet friend! xx
Some goose has a favorite birthday cake which is black forest which deems this recipe pretty tailored to them.
My favorite summer fruit is cocoa.
You mean -vegetable-. I think it’s been proven that chocolate is a veggie 😛
This is my favorite combination: chocolate+cherry. It looks great Amanda and thanks for sharing!
Loving these muffins, and all of your recipes!
I was just wondering how important you think it is to have a good quality camera for blogging and which ones you’d recommend? I’ve just started a baking blog and I am using my phone camera to take photos at the moment, but I think I should upgrade! Thanks! 🙂
People tend to eat with their eyes first, so I’d say a good quality camera is one of the most important things for food blogging if it’s something you want to pursue in the long run. And the Canon Rebel is a pretty good starter camera!
I’ve only just realised that you replied to this – my bad! Thanks so much for the advice! 🙂
Ugh the thought of my summer produce waning gives me hives. Seriously, I’m stressing about it. Don’t get me wrong – I love my squash, pumpkin and apples but I’m going to miss the bright, juicy flavors of summer. And these muffins! If I hadn’t just baked 100 different muffin recipes I might be tempted to make these right NOW. Maybe next cherry season 😉
Lol I hear that! I was so muffin’d out for a while there, but they’re still my favourite thing to bake. I think.
Girl you are such a pro at chocolate greek yogurt muffins ;). All the ones you have come out with look so delicious!
Thank you!
I can’t believe you said the P word!! I feel like it should be banned until at least September and maybe even October. Shenanigans. I will forgive you though if you pass me a muffin. 🙂
*passes TWO muffins* 😛 Are those poor pumpkins still hanging out in your basement?!
Yes I’ve noticed it getting darker a little earlier each night but truthfully when it’s as hot as it is in the dessert you want the sun to go down. It will feel like summer here through October which means I will be sweating as I’m baking all things pumpkin!
I can imagine! I’ll be in the dessert in a week and I’m kind of looking forward to experiencing some real summer heat 😀
Ah let me count the reasons I don’t want summer to end…. There are too many! It’s just not fair how it’s so short.
I love the chocolate cherry combo. I still need to make the lovely brownies you put out with that combo!
At least it keeps things interesting 😀 I feel like the changing seasons makes us appreciate them a little more. I don’t know if I could deal with summer all year!
Yup, I’m really noticing the darker mornings now even though I’ve been getting up a little later, this isn’t making it easier to go back to 5sm! Something about the start of Aug makes it feel like summer’s almost gone. Love the deep dark chocolate look of these 🙂
I feel like I’m in recipe limbo right now because it seems a little late for berries but too early for pumpkin 😆