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 (250 g) creamy peanut butter
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (100 g) light brown sugar firmly packed
- ½ cup (118 ml) Avocado, vegetable or canola oil
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup (236 ml) buttermilk¹
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups (340 g) milk or semisweet chocolate chips see note
- 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, sugars, and oil, and stir well to combine.1 ¼ cups (250 g) creamy peanut butter, ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar, ½ cup (100 g) light brown sugar, ½ cup (118 ml) Avocado, vegetable or canola oil
- Add eggs and stir well, then stir in buttermilk and vanilla extract.2 large eggs, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, 1 cup (236 ml) buttermilk¹
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour, 1 Tablespoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt
- Combine wet and dry ingredients and use a spatula to gently fold together. Once batter is about halfway combined, add chocolate chips and continue to stir until better is uniform (don't over-mix or muffins will be dense and dry).2 cups (340 g) milk or semisweet chocolate chips
- 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.Additional granulated sugar for sprinkling on top
- 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
¹Buttermilk
You may substitute whole milk for the buttermilk in this recipe without making any other changes. I prefer the buttermilk because it makes the muffins slightly more moist and more flavorful.Chocolate chips
Milk chocolate chips pair best with peanut butter (in my opinion) but this recipe works with whatever variety you have on hand!Storing
Store muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
This recipe was originally published in June of 2014, has since been updated to include new photos, an improved recipe, and a video.
Sandra
Wow, Great receipt!! 😊❤️
Aaliyah
Hi the recipe worked well for me! i used a 16 lined muffin pan. End result was a mushroom like shape. Thought it would overflow but it was just right. Taste great too. i used Greek vanilla yoghurt and reduced the sugar added too.
Ashley
Any ideas on substituting milk or butter milk for someone allergic to milk
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Ashley! You can always make our easy buttermilk substitute with a non-dairy milk 😊
Ro
Just wanted to verify 1 tablespoon of baking powder and not 1 teaspoon. Just seems like a lot. Thanks so much.
Sam
Yes that is 1 tablespoon. 🙂
Zoe
This is one of my favorite all time recipes and I make it a lot for my family. I want to add protein powder to this recipe. Any suggestions on how much etc??? Thank you! Zoe
Sam
Hi Zoe! Unfortunately without having tried it, I can’t say for sure how it would turn out or how much to add. 🙁
Mariel
I made these over the weekend and they tasted amazing. I didn’t have any milk/buttermilk in the house so I used thinned greek yogurt and it worked perfectly. I will be making these again.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Thanks for letting us know how that substitution worked for you, Mariel! We are glad you enjoyed the muffins 😊
Anna
Hello! 🙂 I was wondering, is the peanut butter you use already sweet/salted in some ways? It’s not a very common ingredient in my country, and in the shops I either see the unsalted/unsweetened but “natural” version (with oil on top) or the thick creamy ones that usually are already sweetened and salted. I would like to know if I need to adjust for sweetness in case. Thank you!!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Anna! Yes, our peanut butter is sweetened and salted. Definitely don’t use the “natural” version here–save it for sandwiches!
Anna
Thank you so much for the quick reply, can’t wait to try this recipe out! 😀
aaliyah
Hi, i used sweetened peanut butter. The brand is Kraft and it worked well! I didnt adjust the sweetness the sweetness was just right. I havent tried those natural peanut butter tho. LMK if you tried it!
Monika
Made them, ate them, yum! I used a mix of semi and milk chocolate and added hazelnuts to half the batch. Even more yum. It’s a bit daunting to pull them while still soft, but they turned out great.
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Monika! I love the hazelnut addition. 🙂
Lynne
I often have trouble with muffin recipes, but I’ve made this recipe multiple times & it’s turned out wonderfully every time! I love that these muffins aren’t quite as rich & dessert-like as completely chocolate muffins, but the peanut butter element really draws everything together & makes them fudgier & more cohesive than a simple chocolate chip muffin.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Thanks for your review, Lynne! Sounds like these muffins were just what you were looking for 🙂
Jillian
Just made these today. I halved the recipe and combined semisweet chocolate chips and peanut butter chips. Didn’t have buttermilk so I mixed milk and vinegar. Incredible PB smell and flavor. My oven runs hot so the muffins got a bit more color, though I’m not mad at it. I didn’t use liners so the bottoms were a nice golden brown color. Love the slight crunch of the edges when I ate one that’s still warm. I might try milk chocolate with the PB chips next time, and also decrease the total amount of chips.
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Jillian! 🙂
Sbakes7120
I almost didn’t make these because of one reviewer who said they didn’t have enough peanut butter flavor. Boy am I glad I didn’t listen to them! The peanut butter flavor was amazing as was the texture and appearance. They looked just like the photo. Oftentimes, my muffins turn out flat. Not these. They were perfect in every way. FYI: I was short on chocolate chips, so I used 3/4 cup regular sized semi-sweet chips and 3/4 cup mini semi-sweet chips. I was afraid the minis would melt away but they held their shape just fine. Delish!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy you decided to make our recipe! Thanks so much for your review–enjoy the muffins 😊
Lynette Cory
WOW the flavor is absolutely spectacular. Your recipes Sam are remarkable in everyway. The chocolate chips and peanut butter are such a good combination. Packed packed with flavor 😋 Thank you Sam for sharing this delicious recipe . You are a true talent ❤
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy you loved them, Lynette! Thanks so much for your sweet comment ❤️
Marion MacDonald
So tasty…I used a combination of Reese’s pb chips and milk chocolate chips inside the muffin.
Rubal Jain
Hi, great recipe! Can we use butter instead of oil?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Rubal! We’re so happy you like this recipe. 😊 We use oil in this recipe for a light and fluffy muffin texture. You could substitute cooled & melted butter, but your muffins will probably be more dense.
Nina
Hello Sam! I’m looking for a tahini chocolate chip muffin, and wonder if I could use tahini instead of peanut butter in this recipe. I may experiment, but I’m wondering if you have suggestions about substituting tahini for peanut butter. Thank you! Still swooning over your world-class banana muffins.
Sam
Hi Nina! I honestly don’t bake or cook with tahini very often so I’m truly not sure how it would work. I am very curious, though, as this sounds quite tasty, so if you do experiment i would love it if you’d let me know how it turns out for you!
Nina
Success! Batter tasted a little odd because the tahini flavor seemed to register after the rest of the ingredients. But after baking, these are lovely. I used slightly more tahini and slightly less oil, because the tahini had a thinner consistency than peanut butter. Also I like to reduce the sugar in muffin recipes. Definitely had that edgy tahini taste. (People who don’t like halvah *really* won’t like these muffins!) I’ll see if I can email you a photo.
Sam
Thank you so much for the feedback! I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much! 🙂
Nina
And another tahini update! Made another batch, this time with honey instead of the sugars (honey really complements tahini), plus I substituted toasted sesame oil for some of the oil. Veering a little far from your excellent original, but it makes the muffins taste more like tahini muffins and less like peanut butter muffins with tahini substituted.
Sam
It’s so great to hear you had success! Sometimes it can be fun to play with a recipe. 🙂
Rebecca
Thanks for another fine muffin recipe!
Yvonne
Hi
I made these today for a church outing and they are delicious!! It’s a keeper!! Was wondering if I could add bananas and if so should I change anything about the recipe. I also used a mini muffin pan which worked out great!!
Sam
Oh man that sounds like a fun experiment, but I haven’t tried it to be able to advise how to do it. If you do try it, I would love to know how it goes. 🙂
Sue
If I decide to not include chocolate chips, do I need to make any other adjustments to the recipe/cook time/cook temperature?
Sam
No other adjustments needed. Enjoy! 🙂