A simple recipe for moist, soft peanut butter muffins (loaded with chocolate chips!). These muffins are simple to make, no mixer required.
Hey peanut butter/chocolate addicts, this one’s for you.
For those of you who love soft and fluffy baked goods infused with peanut butter flavor, punctuated with melty pops of milk chocolate (or semisweet, I don’t discriminate). For those of you who have obsessed with me over classics like my peanut butter blossoms or peanut butter bars, and those of you who won’t even think about making my flourless peanut butter cookies without a healthy scoop of chocolate chips tossed into the mix. You’re going to love these peanut butter muffins.
And while technically they may be better categorized with desserts rather than with breakfast, I’ve definitely been enjoying these for breakfast recently. Muffins are breakfast food, right? No matter how much peanut butter and chocolate they contain?
Right.
What You Need and Notes on Substitutes:
- Flour. I have only tested this recipe with all-purpose flour.
- Sugar. I use a blend of granulated and light brown sugar for the best flavor.
- Peanut butter. I recommend using a traditional peanut butter and not a natural variety (where the oil separates on top).
- Oil. Any neutral cooking oil will work, canola and vegetable are my preference.
- Buttermilk. Even though we’re not using baking soda (which, if you remember from my buttermilk substitute, is often paired with buttermilk), I still like to use buttermilk for added moisture and a richer flavor. If you don’t have it you may substitute regular whole milk.
- Vanilla extract. For flavor.
- Eggs. Two large or extra large.
- Baking powder. To help the muffins rise nicely.
- Salt. For flavor.
- Chocolate chips. I used semisweet chips here, but when I have them I prefer milk chocolate. While I’m typically a dark-chocolate fan, milk chocolate and peanut butter are one of my favorite flavor combos.
This recipe makes 18 peanut butter muffins. I tried to scale the ingredients down to make an even dozen, but the muffins didn’t work out too well and a lot of awkward measurements were needed. If you don’t want to make 18, you can cut the recipe in half.
If you only have one muffin tin, bake one batch of muffins and cover the remaining batter while the first batch bakes. Let the first batch cool for at least 20 minutes before baking your remaining batter.
Tips:
- I didn’t have any muffin liners on hand when I made these peanut butter muffins, so I made my own using parchment paper. Here is my tutorial I recently shared on how to make your own muffin liners. Alternatively you can grease and flour the cavities of your muffin tin.
- Don’t over-mix the muffin batter, or your muffins will be dense and dry. Mix gently by hand, using a spoon or spatula.
- Add the chocolate chips once the flour mixture is halfway incorporated. This helps keep the batter from becoming over-mixed, which might happen if you stir the chips in once the batter is already combined completely.
- Take care to not over-bake your muffins or they will be dense, dry, and crumbly.
Enjoy!
More Recipes You Might Like:
Peanut Butter Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups creamy peanut butter (250g)
- ½ cup granulated sugar (100g)
- ½ cup light brown sugar firmly packed (100g)
- ½ cup vegetable or canola oil (118ml)
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup buttermilk (236ml¹)
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (250g)
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups semisweet or milk chocolate chips (340g), I used semisweet because that’s what I had on hand, but milk chocolate goes best with peanut butter!
- Additional granulated sugar for sprinkling on top optional
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F (190C) and line muffin tin with paper liners (out of paper liners? See my tutorial on how to make the muffin liners seen in the photos above).
- Combine peanut butter sugar, oil, and peanut butter and stir well to combine. Beat in eggs, then stir in milk and vanilla extract.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Gently combine wet and dry ingredients with spatula.
- Stir in chocolate chips when dry ingredients are halfway combined (don't over-mix the batter or muffins will be dense and dry).
- Divide batter into muffin liners, filling each cavity ¾ the way full (keep in mind this recipe makes 18 muffins, so you will need two tins. If you only have one, bake the first batch and cover the remaining batter until the first batch has baked and mostly cooled). If desired, sprinkle muffins with additional granulated sugar.
- Bake on 375F (190C) for 20-22 mins or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (avoid chocolate chips) or with moist crumbs. Do not over-bake or they will be dry.
Notes
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published in June of 2014, has since been updated to include new photos, an improved recipe, and a video.
Bruce
Are you sure this only makes 18? I made them without the chocolate chips, since the person I made them for doesn’t like peanut butter and chocolate together (the freak!), and it made 20, and mine were even just a little bigger than yours. With 2 cups of chips, I’d expect to get two dozen.
Anyway, they’re really good. They’re just a little dry, but not nearly as much as other peanut butter muffins – it’s just the nature of the beast. They’re wonderfully light and tasty, and easy, like we expect from your recipes. It was great using my rubber spatula for everything, including getting the peanut butter out of the jar. So easy to mix.
Sam
Hi Bruce! I wonder if you cupcake pan is a little smaller than mine is? I’ve made this recipe dozens of times and it always ends at 18. I’m sorry they were a little dry. I just saw your comment over on Facebook and yes the buttermilk would have helped this issue. Overall I’m glad you enjoyed them. Thank you for the feedback. 🙂
Dani B
These turned out SO WELL. I’m just getting in to baking, but this recipe was easy to follow and fun (I used semi-sweet chips, and I thought it gave them the perfect balance). One down side to them tasting so good—the family devoured them and I didn’t get as many as I wanted.
Sam
I am so glad everyone enjoyed them so much, Dani! 🙂
Carolyn
This is by fat the best peanut butter muffin recipe I have ever made. It stayed moist. It had great texture. My granddaughter and I made it together, the instructions were easy to follow. We made some for her Daddy.
Sam
I am so glad everyone enjoyed the muffins so much, Carolyn! 🙂
Mitzi
Like to say the same recipe minus the chips add jelly in the muffin tin at half full then cover with batter to three quarters made a wonderful dessert.
Sam
That sounds delicious! 🙂
Drew
OMG!! i dont even like peanut butter, but this recipe its insane!! you barely taste it wich is amazing. BEST RECIPE EVER
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed them so much, Drew! 🙂
Andrew
i give 5 stars because they were wonderful delicious! but some of them werent as cooked as others, i dont know what i did wrong !!
Sam
I’m glad you were still able to enjoy them! It’s weird that some baked and the others didn’t. I wonder if your oven is baking unevenly.
Dana Kroon
What would the baking time be if wanting to do mini muffins?
Sam
Hmm, good question, I haven’t tried them as mini muffins (yet!). I think I’d start checking around 11 minutes.
Jennifer Johnson
I’ve tried these a few times and my family has always really enjoyed them, but I thought nothing would ever end the reign of your oatmeal coffee cake like muffins as our favorite. Those never last long!
This time I decided to try a couple of small changes – half morsels and half minis for the chips – and 1/4 cup of Nutella instead of PB. My picky 3 year old has eaten more of these muffins than I think anything I’ve ever seen him eat! It’s amazing!
Thanks again for another great recipe!
Sam
I am so glad everyone enjoyed it so much, Jennifer! 🙂
Sara
I made this recipe just as the directions said. The only thing I did differently was I had a bag of mixed peanut butter & chocolate chips and used those instead of just chocolate chips. They turned out delicious. The peanut butter chips made them extra peanut buttery. The muffins are very moist.
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed them so much Sara! I love the addition of the peanut butter chips. 🙂
Christine
I’ve tried a couple of your recipes. Once again I had a successful attempt and these turned out great! I’m enjoying baking more since I discovered your recipes. Thanks!
Sam
Thank you so much, Christine! I am so glad you have been enjoying baking more. I love to hear stories like this! 🙂
carol arias
The best muffins ever, the recipe is perfect. I do not really like peanut butter but this muffins are delicious. My kids love them!! And they are an easy and yummy breakfast. Thank you!
Sam
I am so glad everyone enjoyed them so much, Carol! 🙂
Jan
Made these muffins last week. Substituted sour cream for the buttermilk. Turned out great!
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that it worked well and that you enjoyed the muffins, Jan! Thanks for trying my recipe and for commenting. 🙂
Alan
These were really good, thank you, Sam. I made them as jumbo muffins and they turned our really good at the same cooking time.
Sugar Spun Run
Thank you for trying my recipe, Alan! I am so glad that you enjoyed the muffins! 🙂
Jessica Amin
I swear I always feared trying to bake til I found your cooking blog and social media pages, both yours and The Country Cook! This recipe came out amazing and my family totally LOVED them. I went with buttermilk instead of whole milk and they were just the right amount of moist without being entirely too fluffy. Thank you!
Sugar Spun Run
Thank you for trying my recipe, Jessica! I am so glad that you enjoyed it! Thanks for commenting. 🙂
Sushila
What if we won’t add eggs in cookies??
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Sushila! In most cookie recipes, eggs act as a binder that binds all the other ingredients together and holds the shape of the cookie. It also gives the cookie moisture and without the egg(s) in the cookie, the cookies will turn out to be very dense and chewy. I do have some egg-free cookies you could try: no-bake cookies, chocolate chip snowball cookies, or pecan sandies.
KatieG
I’m confused by the second step. “Combine peanut butter sugar, oil, and peanut butter and stir well to combine.” Should that just be both sugars, PB, and oil?
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Katie! Yes, you will combine the sugars, peanut butter, and oil. You will stir them until they are well combined. This recipe also has a video where I walk you through my process that you can use as a reference if needed. Enjoy! 🙂
Sam
I only have the oil separating at the top kind of peanut butter and I want to use some of it up for baking… if not for this recipe, what recipe would you recommend?
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Sam! You can certainly try it in any of my peanut butter recipes. Someone people have had success and others have not. Natural peanut butter tends to separate and the consistency can change the batter, therefore I do not recommend it. If you try it, let me know how it works for you. 🙂