My sourdough chocolate chip muffins can be made with active sourdough starter or discard and can be baked immediately or be fermented overnight! They’re light, fluffy, and full of flavor (and chocolate chips, of course!). Sprinkle coarse sugar on top and use my special baking technique for bakery-worthy results! Recipe includes a how-to video!
My Favorite Sourdough Muffins
Today’s sourdough chocolate chip muffins are the slightly sweeter sister to my sourdough blueberry muffins. They have a tender, moist, and perfectly buttery crumb that simply melts in your mouth.
I made just a few subtle changes to make this chocolate chip version, and I think you’ll be just as happy as I am with the final results.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Can be made with active sourdough starter or sourdough discard. Use whichever is most convenient for you. My sourdough biscuits can also be made with either; try those next 😉!
- No mixer needed. I start this recipe with melted butter, which means there is absolutely no need for a mixer in this recipe; in fact, please do NOT use one, or you could risk over-mixing the muffin batter.
- Perfect for freezing! I provide instructions for how to do this below. We love having a stash in the freezer for grab-and-go treats 😋
What You Need
- Sourdough discard. While you can simply well, discard, your sourdough discard, I prefer to use it in recipes like sourdough pancakes, sourdough scones, and these sourdough chocolate chip muffins. Active sourdough starter can also work here; I talk about how to substitute active starter in the FAQ section below.
- Sour cream. Similar to buttermilk (or my easy buttermilk substitute), sour cream adds tenderness, moisture, and depth of flavor to these muffins. PS: we tested these muffins with buttermilk but sour cream just ultimately worked much better.
- Chocolate chips. I like to use semi-sweet chips, but you can use your favorite type. You’ll notice in the photo above that I have two different sizes of chocolate chips (minis and regular)–this is just my preference, and you can absolutely use just one size!
- Melted butter. Melt your butter (either the microwave or stovetop works!), then let it cool down so it is no longer warm to the touch. Using melted butter makes this recipe so easy to stir together by hand! If you look closely at the picture above, you’ll see I accidentally used avocado oil in the photo instead of melted butter — whoops! While this ingredient does work as a substitute, the texture is a tad more oily and just not as good as the buttery version I ultimately went with.
- Sugar. Overall, I use less sugar in this recipe compared to my blueberry versioin, since we have added sugar/sweetness from the chocolate chips. I do like to add some coarse sugar on top though.
SAM’S TIP: A sprinkle of coarse sugar on top gives these muffins a subtle, bakery-style crunch and makes them look like bakery muffins. Regular granulated sugar or turbinado will work, but I really love the bakery style sugar. I linked to the brand I use in the recipe card, if you’d like to give it a try.
Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make Them
Make the batter
Combine the wet and dry ingredients separately (in this instance we’re mixing the sugar with the flour and other dry ingredients though I know it’s actually a “wet” ingredient). Add the dry ingredients to the wet, then use a spatula to gently fold everything together until about halfway combined. At this point, add your chocolate chips.
Fold in the chocolate chips
Use a spatula to fold the chocolate chips into the batter until they are evenly distributed and the batter is cohesive, then stop. Do NOT over-mix! Ever ended up with a muffin that was rubbery, dense, or dry? Odds are good it was over-mixed.
Portion the batter into a lined muffin tin, filling each to the top for larger muffins. You can easily make 12 muffins, but I actually prefer to make just 11 so that they’re just a tad larger with bigger muffin tops (the best part of the muffin, after all).
SAM’S TIP: If you don’t have muffin liners on hand, you can always make your own! I have a tutorial on how to make muffin liners out of parchment paper, if you’d like to give it a try.
Sprinkle with sugar and bake
A light sprinkle of coarse sugar adds a perfect finishing touch and gives you bakery-style results in taste, texture, and appearance. If you don’t have a coarse sugar, regular granulated will do, but I recently found a coarse bakery-quality sugar I’ve been using on my muffins (and my banana bread and banana bread cookies, coming soon!) and I’ll link to it in the recipe card below.
Now for the baking: we start with our ovens at a higher temperature and then lower it (without opening the oven door) to allow the muffins to bake through. This helps the muffins rise properly, nice and tall, but still bake through. This is a technique I also use in my banana muffins and pumpkin chocolate chip muffins.
After baking, let the muffins cool in the pan for just a few minutes, the remove to a cooling rack. This prevents soggy, greasy muffin liners and overcooked muffins.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! This recipe works just fine with active starter. Note that it’s important to make sure to stir it down if using a cup to measure (otherwise you end up using less than you need). If you are using a scale, then you don’t need to worry about this.
Yes! I tested this recipe with an overnight ferment and it worked just fine. Cover the batter and keep it in the fridge for up to 24 hours. The next day, portion into muffin liners and bake (I find they usually take a few minutes longer in the oven when the batter is still cold when baked).
If you want to start a sourdough journey, check out my post on how to make a sourdough starter. Or, you can make my classic chocolate chip muffins–they are just as noteworthy!
My list of sourdough recipes is growing! What others would you like to see?
Enjoy!
Let’s bake together! Subscribe to my newsletter to be notified of all the newest recipes, and find my free recipe tutorials on YouTube 💜
Sourdough Chocolate Chip Muffins
Ingredients
- ½ cup (110 g) sourdough discard (or active starter, just stir down the bubbles before measuring)
- ½ cup unsalted butter melted and cooled
- ¾ cup (180 g) sour cream
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups (187 g) all-purpose flour
- ⅔ cup (166 g) granulated sugar
- 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon table salt
- 1 ½ cups (255 g) chocolate chips I prefer semisweet
- Coarse granulated sugar for sprinkling optional
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425F (220C) and line a 12-count muffin tin with paper liners and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine discard, melted butter, sour cream, egg, and vanilla extract and whisk until smooth and combined.½ cup (110 g) sourdough discard, ½ cup unsalted butter, ¾ cup (180 g) sour cream, 1 large egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- In a separate medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and table salt.1 ½ cups (187 g) all-purpose flour, ⅔ cup (166 g) granulated sugar, 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ¾ teaspoon table salt
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet and use a spatula to gently fold together until ingredients are about halfway combined. Add chocolate chips and continue to gently fold together until batter is completely combined (but don’t over-mix, which will make your muffins dense and dry!).1 ½ cups (255 g) chocolate chips
- Evenly divide muffin batter into prepared muffin tin (I prefer to divide into only 11 muffin cups for slightly larger muffins). If desired, sprinkle lightly with coarse sugar.Coarse granulated sugar for sprinkling
- Transfer to center rack of 425F (220C) oven and bake for 8 minutes, then, without opening the oven door, reduce oven temperature to 350F (175C) and continue to bake for 11-12 minutes longer, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
- Allow to cool in the muffin tin for 5-7 minutes before carefully removing to a cooling rack to cool further before enjoying (removing them from the muffin tin while warm prevents overcooking and prevents soggy muffin liners).
Notes
Overnight ferment
You can ferment the batter overnight. Cover it and let it sit in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. I scoop the batter and bake it cold, it typically needs a few extra minutes in the oven (at the lower temperature) to bake through, just because the batter is cold.Storing
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. Muffins may also be frozen. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and freeze for up to 3 months.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.
Jena
I mixed my batter yesterday with active starter and then baked the muffins this morning. They are beautiful and very delicious!
Thank you for another wonderful recipe!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Jena! 🙂
Jena
On the frequently asked questions under the question “Can I ferment the batter overnight?“ your text is cut off. Can you please finish it so I know all the details?
Thank you!
Sam
Sorry, Jena! I’m not sure what happened there! I updated that. 🙂
Pam sparks
I always need discard recipes! Would yogurt work as a sub for sr cream? Thank you!
Sam
Hi Pam! I haven’t personally tried it, but I think full fat plain greek yogurt could work here. I hope you love the muffins! 🙂
josephine
have not tried yet but i am looking and theese look amazing. i love all of your video’s and recipes so much! you are amazing. How are you doing. Are u catholic?