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Tahini Chocolate Chip Cupcakes (Vegan, Oil Free)

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Chocolate Chip Cupcakes w/ Cocoa & Tahini – These adorable little mini cupcakes are 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.

Overhead view of a stack of Tahini Chocolate Chip Cupcakes drizzled with pink hued icing.

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!

Heart shaped cupcake pan filled with chocolate cupcakes. One cavity has fresh strawberries in it instead of a cupcake.

Healthy Baking

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 1/2 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

Overhead view of a Tahini Chocolate Chip Cupcake drizzled in pink icing. Fresh strawberries and chocolate chips nearby.

Optional 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.

One Tahini Chocolate Chip Cupcake with a bite taken out. Stack of cupcakes behind and chocolate chips scattered about.

Perfectly Soft Texture

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!

A small pink cup of fresh strawberries, with a Happy Valentine's Day cupcake topper sticking out of the top, surrounded by tahini chocolate chip cupcakes. Pink flowers in the background.

Tahini Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

I hope you love these Tahini Chocolate Chip Cupcakes as much as we do. If you try them, please come back and leave me a comment below with your feedback and star rating.

You can also find me on social media. Be sure to tag @veggie_inspired and #veggieinspired so I’m sure to see it!

Enjoy!

Tahini Chocolate Chip Cupcakes
Print
Tahini Chocolate Chip Cupcakes (Vegan, Oil Free)
Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
25 mins
Total Time
35 mins
 
Chocolate Chip Cupcakes w/ Cocoa & Tahini - These adorable little mini cupcakes are 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.
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: dairy free, egg free, oil free, refined sugar free, soy free, vegan
Keyword: valentine's day cupcakes, vegan chocolate cupcakes, vegan cupcakes recipe
Servings: 12 people
Calories: 136 kcal
Author: Jenn S.
Ingredients
Icing, optional
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
  2. Lightly spray a 12-cavity heart shaped mini muffin pan* with cooking spray and set aside.
  3. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, arrowroot powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar.
  4. In a medium mxing bowl, whisk together the tahini, vanilla, and non-dairy milk.
  5. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet and stir until combined.
  6. Mix in the chocolate chips.
  7. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan, filling each cavity no more than half way.
  8. Bake 23-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
  9. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for at least 20-30 minutes** before removing from the pan.
  10. Drizzle icing, if using, over the top of the cupcakes before serving.
Recipe Notes

*If you don't have a heart shaped mini muffin pan, a regular mini muffin pan will work just fine, you just obviously won't have heart shaped cupcakes. Alternately, a regular size muffin pan may be used. Fill each cavity about 3/4 of the way full. Bake 25-28 minutes. You should get about 8 cupcakes.

**These cupcakes are soft, fluffy and delicate. Make sure you let them cool in the pan before removing them or you may have cupcake crumbles instead.

Nutrition Facts
Tahini Chocolate Chip Cupcakes (Vegan, Oil Free)
Amount Per Serving
Calories 136 Calories from Fat 54
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 6g 9%
Saturated Fat 1g 5%
Sodium 163mg 7%
Potassium 42mg 1%
Total Carbohydrates 19g 6%
Dietary Fiber 3g 12%
Sugars 12g
Protein 3g 6%
Vitamin A 1%
Calcium 4%
Iron 5%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.


More Valentine’s Day Recipes to Love:

No Bake Raspberry Cheesecake Tarts

Raw Vegan Raspberry Cheesecake Tartlets for Two

Cherry Chocolate Walnut Truffles

Cherry Chocolate Truffles

Brown Rice Crispy Treats w/ Strawberries

Brown Rice Crispy Treats w Strawberries

Comments

  1. 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

    Reply

    • 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!

      Reply

      • 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

        Reply

        • Jenn S. says

          The best thing about plant based baking – licking the batter!! 🙂 Enjoy, Robin! Let me know how they turn out.

          Reply

          • 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

  2. 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!

    Reply

    • 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.

      Reply

  3. 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!

    Reply

    • 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!

      Reply

  9. 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 🤗💕

    Reply

    • 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!

      Reply

  10. 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!

    Reply

    • 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!

      Reply

  13. Cadry says

    Such cute little cupcakes! I can’t think of a better way to get in the Valentine’s Day spirit. And tahini is so great with chocolate! I always forget about that, but I appreciate this heart-shaped reminder. 🙂

    Reply

  14. Edwina | The Induction Cook says

    I love the heart shapes, just gorgeous. I’ve never baked with tahini before but it sounds like a great idea so I’ll have to try it. I’m also thinking these might be healthy enough to add to the children’s lunch boxes. I know they’d love them but I’m sure I’ll be eating a lot of them first.

    Reply

    • Jenn S. says

      Hi, Edwina! You can use tahini like any nut butter and I just love the flavor it lends to chocolate. Perfect for the lunchbox as they are nut-free (if you use soy milk). Let me know if you make them!

      Reply

    • Jenn S. says

      Thanks, Linda! I hope you both love them! I’ve been eating cupcakes for breakfast for days. LOL!

      Reply

  18. Michelle says

    OMG, that pan! These are darling– and I absolutely love that photo with one cake removed and the strawberries in place. I’ve been having a love affair with tahini lately, so am definitely going to try these!

    Reply

    • Jenn S. says

      Thank you so much, Michelle! I needed a little pop of color in that photo. 🙂 The pan is darling, isn’t it…even if I do only use it once a year. LOL!

      Reply

    • Jenn S. says

      Thanks, Lisa! I really love the tahini in this recipe too! Such a great balance of flavors!

      Reply

    • Jenn S. says

      HaHa, I know!Sometimes I just can’t resist the cuteness. This is only the second time I’ve used it (well, I made this recipe 3 times to get them perfect, but you know) ….and the first time was an utter failure. Must have been last year’s attempt at a Valentine’s Day recipe, but I can’t remember. LOL!

      Reply

    • Jenn S. says

      Perfect! My girls helped me make these! I let them pour everything in…except for the arrowroot because that stuff can get quite messy! 🙂 Hope you guys love them!

      Reply

    • Jenn S. says

      Thank you, Mary Ellen! You might want to make a double batch – ours didn’t last very long!! 🙂

      Reply

  25. Dreena says

    These are adorable! Not sure the icing would be optional for me. 😉 Linking through to those chocolate truffles too, they caught my eye.

    Reply

    • Jenn S. says

      Thank you, Dreena! My girls would say the icing is not optional either. 🙂 It honestly doesn’t bring much as way of flavor or sweetness…unless you really drench them…but it does look pretty! 🙂 Enjoy the truffles too!

      Reply

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My name is Jenn. This is my blog where I share delicious plant based recipes for the whole family. I love to cook; I can read cookbooks like novels; and I enjoy experimenting in the kitchen by making standard American favorites healthier.

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