Moist, fudgy 110 calorie chocolate muffins filled with juicy cherries. You won’t miss all the calories and fat, trust me!
Fact: I accidentally typed “Skinny Chocolate Cheery Muffins” as the title of this post. I think I’ve had… no, wait… I’ve definitely had too much chocolate recently.
You’re absolutely going to love these muffins.
- They don’t taste lightened-up.
- They are full of chocolate (just like lightened up chocolate pumpkin muffins).
- Seriously, they don’t taste lightened-up.
- They are only 110 calories.
- They are only 110 calories.
So um, did you get that? 110 calories. That is not a typo. How can it be? Someone pinch me, I must be dreaming.
You’ll be very impressed that a low calorie muffin can taste this good.
Today’s recipe is actually based off of my popular Skinny Double Chocolate Muffins. Those were voted in the top three favorite muffins of 2013. They’re moist, flavorful, fudgy, and surprisingly light. You love them and today’s muffins are no different.
So how can they be so low in calories, yet so rich in flavor? Easy. You’re going to need a few all-star, magical ingredients. First, applesauce. Unsweetened applesauce takes the place of any oil or butter in this muffin recipe. It keeps the muffins moist for very little calories. You’ll also need Greek yogurt. Or what I like to call “the powerhouse ingredient.” For little calories, a ton of protein, and lots of moisture – Greek yogurt is a miraculous ingredient to use in lightened-up recipes.
All of their chocolate flavor? That comes from cocoa powder. Just enough to give the muffins a strong chocolate taste, but not too much to dry them out. There’s also whole wheat flour in the muffin recipe too. Yup, this recipe is a major WIN all around. Sweetening the muffins is some sugar and honey. I tried to reduce the refined sugar to the minimum amount possible, while still producing a muffin that actually tastes good. And does not taste like cardboard or mulch. I reduced the sugar from 1/2 cup in the first batch to 1/3 cup in the second batch. Still perfectly sweet.
The juicy cherries also do a fine job sweetening each bite. I used fresh dark sweet cherries, though frozen would be just fine instead. Whatever’s easiest for you.
Here’s the calorie breakdown if you’re curious:
- applesauce: 75
- sugar: 249
- honey: 252
- egg whites: 34
- Greek yogurt: 100
- flour (combined all-purpose and WW): 438
- cocoa powder: 97
- cherries: 92
All of that divided by 12 = 110.
The tops of the muffins are sprinkled with a couple chocolate chips each. Those are completely optional, but let’s face it, a little extra chocolate chip never hurt anyone… right? I ate 4 of these muffins over the course of the day yesterday. In my defense, running and chocolate (and umm…baking and gossip magazines) are my stress relievers OK? Usually the chocolate comes in large quantities after the run. Life’s all about balance.
I froze a couple of these muffins for breakfast in the coming weeks and I have a feeling a fresh batch will be in high demand often because Kevin loved them too.
Print
110 Calorie Chocolate Cherry Muffins
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 12 muffins
- Category: Muffins
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Moist, fudgy 110 calorie chocolate muffins filled with juicy cherries. You won’t miss all the calories and fat, trust me!
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup (133g) unsweetened applesauce
- 1/3 cup (67g) granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup (85g) honey
- 2 large egg whites or 1 large egg
- 3/4 cup (183g) plain Greek yogurt (or regular yogurt, plain or vanilla)
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup (63g) all-purpose flour (spoon & leveled)
- 1/2 cup (64g) whole wheat flour (spoon & leveled)
- 1/2 cup (41g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 cup chopped dark sweet cherries (fresh or frozen)
- optional: chocolate chips for sprinkling on top
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F (218°C). Spray 12-count muffin pan with nonstick spray. Do not use liners.
- In a large bowl, combine applesauce, sugar, honey, egg whites, greek yogurt, and vanilla extract. Whisk them all together until smooth, with no yogurt lumps remaining.
- Sift* the flours, cocoa powder, salt, baking soda, and baking powder together. Slowly stir in the wet ingredients, being careful not to overmix. Get any dry pockets of flour out. Fold in the cherries. The batter will be a little chunky. This is ok.
- Divide the batter evenly between each muffin cup – fill them all the way to the top if you can. Bake for 5 minutes 425°F (218°C)* then, keeping the muffins in the oven, reduce heat to 350°F (177°C) and continue baking for another 15 minutes. Insert a toothpick into the center of one muffin. If it comes out clean, they are done. If not, bake for 2 more minutes.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 3 minutes in the pan, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Makes 12 muffins. Muffins stay fresh in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: For longer storage, freeze muffins for up to 3 months. Allow to thaw overnight in the refrigerator and heat up in the microwave if desired.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 12-Count Muffin Pan | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Mesh Sieve
- Sifting: If your cocoa powder has lumps, I urge you to sift it with the dry ingredients to avoid any dry cocoa powder lumps in the muffins.
- Tall Muffin Tops: Why the initial high temperature? See my chocolate chip muffins recipe for more detail.
Keywords: chocolate cherry muffins, skinny chocolate muffins
I love Sally’s recipes but this one is a miss for me. I followed the recipe as described (fresh cherries and one whole egg), but as others mentioned the muffins fell flat and did not have a muffin like consistency at all. “Mushy” is how my husband described it. I love most other muffin recipes I have found here, but I would recommend skipping this one.
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How many carbs in a muffin
Hi Pat! We don’t usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients. Plus, many recipes have ingredient substitutions or optional ingredients listed. However, there are many handy online calculators where you can plug in and customize your exact ingredients/brands. Readers have found this one especially helpful: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
Hi therePenny, I’ve had the exact same problem today! The last time the muffins were over done as I left them in the full 20 mins, this time I did the toothpick test , at 17 mins ,which was clean so I removed them. Disaster they dropped straight away! I know my husband won’t mind one bit he’ll demolish them regardless! Just annoying! Mardie
Made these today and, although I loved the consistency and taste while they were still warm, the little the tops did rise fell upon taking them out of the oven. It could be because I used a cup of unbleached flour and no whole wheat flour? It seemed that when I put the toothpick in to check 2 of them, they deflated but it could also be that I put them back in the oven for 4 mins as there was some chocolate on the toothpick. We then had some more after supper and they were as good as they were when they were warm. Will make again next time I have fresh cherries.
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Hello Sally, thank you so much for your recipes ! I already tried your pies and they turned out amazing and my family and friends just loved them so now you became my fail proofed address for backing recipes .
Those muffins I didn’t add artificial sugar. Since I puréed fresh apples to imitate the apple sauce and it was very sweet already. then I put in two whole medium sized eggs and added some fine oat flakes. Then in the end the muffins have got a dark chocolate toping. Besides that the recipe worked. I love the yogurt in it and also here everybody loved them and reached for another one.
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I love your recipes and always get so many compliments on my bakes thanks to you! Unfortunately, I’m struggling with getting these muffins to avoid sinking in the middle.any thoughts? It did take me longer to get them to finish baking and I had to switch from regular baking to convection bake. I’m curious if my oven temp needs adjusting.
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Hi Angela, Sinking in the middle would be either (1) the cupcakes are a little under-baked or (2) the cupcake liners were a little over-filled.
What alternate baking pans might be suitable for this recipe?
Hi Marie! You could try a loaf pan, or an 8×8 baking dish instead – let us know what you try 🙂
These muffins look and sound so yummy. But I can’t get applesauce here. Can I use something else instead? Other than mashed ripe bananas, that is.
Hi Eleanor, a 1/2 cup oil or melted coconut oil, or a 1/2 cup melted butter can work in place of the applesauce or mashed banana.
I am going to try theses muffins tomorrow, they sound and look heavenly, but can you tell me why you don’t use liners? Is it just because you like the texture of baked sides. Is it okay to use muffin cases?
Hi Pat, you can certainly use muffin liners with this recipe. Hope you enjoy them!
I just finished baking these muffins. Absolutely delicious!
Thank you for sharing your recipe.
Love your whole wheat muffins. Tried this low cal cherry chocolate ones today… turned out perfect… Lovely sky high tops too… works great. Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe
I love these muffins and make the all the time – one difference i do is use almond extract instead of vanilla because nothing goes better with chocolate and cherries like almond! I also don’t like using white sugar so i use brown which adds depth and i use dark chocolate chips in the batter and dark chocolate cocoa powder. These are a family favorite. Thank you Sally, i love many of your recipes.
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Thank you.
Can I use just white flour?
Absolutely! Instead of 1/2 cup all-purpose flour and 1/2 cup whole wheat flour, use 1 cup of all-purpose flour. Hope you enjoy them!
Could you replace both flour with almond flour?
And what to use instead of honey?
Hi Sue, we haven’t tested this recipe with alternative flours but let us know if you do! Instead of honey, try maple syrup or agave.
Hi Sally,
First of all, just want to say I’ve become such a huge fan of your recipes in the last few months! Everything I’ve made so far has been great and super popular in my house!
I’m trying to go more healthy these days though so I wanted to ask:
Do you think it would be okay if I substituted the white flour for more whole wheat flour? And could I sub the white sugar with more honey? Or an artificial sweetener?
Hi Rina, If you use all whole wheat flour expect a heavier muffin. I haven’t tested these with an artificial sweetener.
Really loved how this one turn out! Do you have a similar recipe but for plan (not chocolate) muffin body? I am guessing that just replacing the cocoa powder with flour wouldn’t work that well.
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Hi Mannie, You can try my Skinny Raspberry Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins, or my 45 Calorie Mini Chocolate Chip Muffins.
To browse all of my muffins recipes you can visit: Muffin Recipes
I used tin cherries and made in mini muffin tins. They are so moist and very tasty. Wonderful school lunchbox addition
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Can you use almond flour in place of wheat flour?