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These Chocolate Chip Cupcakes w/ Cocoa & Tahini are adorable little mini cupcakes perfect for Valentine’s Day. Treat your sweetie…or your kids…or yourself…to some chocolate indulgence made healthier with no dairy, no eggs, no oil, and no refined sugar.
We’re only a week away from Valentine’s Day. While I’m not big on a showy celebration, I do enjoy eating sweets!
It doesn’t have to be a holiday for me to indulge in some decadent chocolate, but it is probably the only time you’ll see me busting out the heart shaped cupcake pan. And who can resist little chocolate heart shaped cupcakes? Not my kids, that’s for sure. I lost count of how many they have eaten.
Ok, I’ll admit, I lost count on how many I have eaten! And you will too!
As far as cupcakes go, these Chocolate Chip Cupcakes are pretty healthy. You don’t need eggs, dairy, oil, or refined sugar to make a delicious, melt in your mouth treat. And there’s only ½ cup of flour in the whole recipe too. What you will find is:
- luscious deep chocolate flavor
- vitamin and mineral rich tahini, which balances out the sweetness perfectly
- little bites of chocolate chips – heaven!
- healthy plant protein
- healthy unsaturated fats
Icing
I drizzled on some lightly hued pink icing, mostly for my girls’ benefit.
I had a bottle of cran-apple juice in the fridge and used that instead of non-dairy milk to mix with the powdered sugar.
You can use anything red – beet juice would make a gorgeous color.
As much as we loved the addition of the icing, it’s absolutely not necessary.
Check out the soft, fluffy texture of the inside of the cupcake above. These mini Tahini Chocolate Chip Cupcakes are so light and moist. No one will know these are dairy free, oil free, egg free, and refined sugar free!
Bonus – they are nut free too, so feel free to pack one in your kids’ lunch to show them how much you love them!
Happy Valentine’s Day!
I hope you love this recipe as much as we do! If you tried it, please use the rating system in the recipe card and leave a comment below with your feedback.
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Tahini Chocolate Chip Cupcakes (Vegan, Oil Free)
Recommended Equipment
Ingredients
- ½ cup white whole wheat flour
- ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 tbsp arrowroot powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- ¾ cup coconut sugar (or brown sugar or organic cane sugar)
- ½ cup tahini
- 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup unsweetened almond milk (or plant milk of choice)
- ¼ cup dairy-free chocolate chips
Icing, optional
- â…“ cup organic powdered sugar
- 1 ½ tbsp unsweetened almond milk (or red juice if you want a pink hue; I used Cran-Apple juice I happened to have in the fridge)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
- Lightly spray a 12-cavity heart shaped mini muffin pan with cooking spray and set aside.
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, arrowroot powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar.
- In a medium mxing bowl, whisk together the tahini, vanilla, and non-dairy milk.
- Pour the dry ingredients into the wet and stir until combined.
- Mix in the chocolate chips.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared pan, filling each cavity no more than half way.
- Bake 23-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool in the pan on a wire rack for at least 20-30 minutes** before removing from the pan.
- Drizzle icing, if using, over the top of the cupcakes before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition values are calculated using online calculators and are estimates only. Please verify using your own data.
Sue H. says
Do you think I could make a good non-chocolate/chocolate chip cupcake by replacing the cocoa powder with an equal amount of additional white whole wheat flour, maybe changing the baking soda to baking powder, and omitting the chocolate chips? I was thinking of flavoring the glaze with pomegranate juice.
Jenn Sebestyen says
That’s a lot of changes. I would suggest looking for a vanilla cupcake recipe as written.
robin m says
Hi Jenn S.
Do you mean to use 1 1/2 cups flour? The recipe calls for 1/2 c and that doesn’t seem like enough for all the cupcakes the recipe makes.
Thanks….robin m
Jenn S. says
No, the measurements are correct. The cocoa powder and arrowroot powder contribute to the dry ingredients too. And keep in mind, they are mini cupcakes (the recipe will make about 8 regular size cupcakes if you only have a regular muffin pan). Hope you like them! Let me know how they turn out!
robin m says
Thanks for your prompt reply. The heart shaped muffins are in the oven as i write! The batter was very thick so i added a bit more milk. I am thinking these will be delicious. I had tasters of the batter so know they will.
Thanks for your amazing recipes.
xoxo robin m
Jenn S. says
The best thing about plant based baking – licking the batter!! 🙂 Enjoy, Robin! Let me know how they turn out.
robin m says
Jenn S. Hello,
I thought I wrote to tell you that I love the cupcakes and will definitely be making them again.
Here’s to yummy healthy good food….robin m
Jenn S. says
Thank you, Robin! So happy you loved them!
Laura Buckholz says
These are fantastic! The tahini / cacoa combination is divine. Usually I can see the calorie, fat, protien I could have missed it somewhere above however could you pls let me know. thanks for sharing!
Jenn S. says
Thanks, Laura. Glad you like them. I don’t have the calorie counts on the blog because every program will give you slightly different results (though I have recently been looking into my options for getting them on here – so stay tuned). There are several free online sites you can plug in the info into (nutritiondata.com and myfitnesspal.com are examples). If you have one you trust, use that one.
Alisa Fleming says
Tahini is one of those ingredients that approach cautiously, because I can’t stand the bitterness (yes, I’ve tried all of the “good” brands), but recipes like this make me think I just need to branch out in how I use it!
Jenn S. says
Well, I think the sweetness of the cupcakes balances out the bitterness of the tahini really well. BUT, I DO really LOVE tahini, so take that into consideration. You could always add a bit more sugar for your tastes! Thanks, Alisa!
Mel says
I love chocolate and tahini together and baked up into a heart shaped cupcake sounds perfect!
Jenn S. says
Thanks!The heart shaped pan makes it easy to turn everyday goodies into holiday treats!
Sophia | Veggies Don't Bite says
What a cute little heart shaped tin! So many things you can do. Love the brownies! I use tahini in mine too. Such great flavor.
Jenn S. says
Ah, great minds think alike! I love the chocolate/tahini combo! Thanks, Sophia!
Vegan Heaven says
These look so delicious, Jenn, and they’re perfect for Valentine’s Day tomorrow. What a great idea to use tahini! 🙂
Jenn S. says
Thank you, Sina! It’s a great combo! Happy Valentine’s Day!
Sarah says
Chocolate and tahini are the best combination! These look delicious!
Jenn S. says
Thank you, Sarah! I agree!
Amy Katz from Veggies Save The Day says
Jenn, these are simply the cutest little cupcakes!
Jenn S. says
Aw, thanks, Amy!
Theresa says
Hi Jenn, I made these tonight for my twin grandsons, 4 yrs old, and my daughters & family. Most of us are Df/ gf , for the boys it’s a newer adjustment due to allergies! I made these gf too! I couldn’t wait for them to cool & ate one from a hot pan! They are very good. Hoping the little ones enjoy them as well, for a Valentine’s treat! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Nani of 3 🤗💕
Jenn S. says
Hi, Theresa. I have twins too – they just turned 5 last month. I’m so glad to hear you loved them. What kind of flour did you use? Fingers crossed all the little ones love them too! Thanks for stopping by to let me know!
The Vegan 8 says
These look so good Jenn! I love chocolate and tahini together, it’s one of my favorite combos! I’ve been working on a dark chocolate tahini bread this month and then you post these and I’m like, droooool, lol! I love that you made them with a heart shape. I have a wheat chocolate muffin recipe on my blog in the shape of hearts too, hahaha! Great minds think alike. I’m loving that you added a glaze on top, that definitely would not be optional for me, haha!
Jenn S. says
Thanks, Brandi! I have dark chocolate tahini granola bars on the blog, too – I definitely love the combo! Looking forward to your bread recipe!