Easy flax brownie muffins.
Not overpoweringly sweet and with a perfect texture, these grain and dairy-free easy flax brownie muffins are a perfect snack or treat! The inspiration for these delicious little bites of chocolate goodness came from the Flax 4 Life chocolate brownies that Costco sells. My dear friend and her mom regularly buy me a bin of them for special occasions and I wouldn’t say I’m *addicted,* but I do crave them!
Of course, the Costco version is much sweeter, and has a couple ingredients that I wouldn’t be putting in anything. So I decided it was high time I came up with a copy-cat version that I could enjoy whenever I wanted!
Into the ingredients…
Flax meal.
My first intro to flax meal was way back when I went egg-free. A little flax meal and some water can make a great egg replacement. But that’s not how it’s used in this brownie recipe. The flax meal here is actually the main flour! Of course, it’s really a flour, it’s just seeds ground up into a meal. In fact, if you can’t get your hands on good quality flax meal, you can buy the seeds and grind your own flax meal in your blender. This is what I usually do. That way I can make as much as I need at a time so the meal has the optimal amount of nutrients.
Speaking of which, flax is loaded with nutrients like thiamine (a B vitamin) and copper. It’s also high in omega-3 fatty acids and fiber, making it good for people who are detoxing, since the fiber in the flax works as a binder to pull out toxins from the body.
If you’re looking to grin your own flax meal, I suggest using these organic flax seeds from Azure Standard.
The sweetener.
Yes, I know, these easy flax brownie muffins have sugar in them. But I console myself with the fact that it’s organic coconut sugar. Since coconut sugar is a natural and not as refined as white sugars, my body handles it well. And bonus, I love the texture it gives desserts!
If you’d like to use something else like maple sugar or rapidura or something, feel free. I have NOT tried these with only liquid sweeteners, like honey or maple syrup. But if you do, please let me know!
My favorite cocoa powder ever.
I feel like I talk about this in every recipe – but that’s just ’cause I love it! – I always use the fair-trade, organic cocoa powder from Azure Standard. It is absolutely the best! Not only is it deep and so delicious, it’s also the cheapest cocoa I can find! As always, you can use whatever kind of cocoa you have. No need to be just like me!
The liquids.
The original ingredient list for these brownies calls for water. While I have used water in brownie recipes before, that’s kinda… boring. So I like to keep things fun by using other liquids like coffee, milk (raw or coconut), or even herbal teas! You can do whatever you want. I personally think these easy flax brownie muffins are best with milk. It helps mellow out the sorta harsher flavors of flax and cocoa.
Baking options.
Now, when you buy these at Costco they come in little mini muffins. And generally that’s what I make too. But you could totally just pour the batter into a pan and then cut it out like brownies (but they’ll have a muffin texture) or you could use a regular muffin pan. Just remember to adjust the baking time to a little longer if you do one of those last two options. The brownie muffins should have a fluffy, very light texture when they’re done.
If you’re not in the mood for plain chocolate (I’ll allow it), there are always other delicious things you could add in, like:
I mean, the options are pretty endless… Enjoy!
In the recipe card I’ve linked to some of the products from my affiliate partners that I like to use. Purchasing through these links won’t cost you anything extra. I try to only link to products that I have personally used and enjoyed so you know you’re not getting something that’s not been vetted. Thanks!
Easy Flax Brownie Muffins
Free from gluten, grains, and dairy.
Ingredients
- 1 cup flax meal (or 1 cup flax seeds ground into a meal)
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar
- 1/2 cup arrowroot or tapioca starch
- 6 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder (I use 1/2 teaspoon baking soda and 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar)
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup water or milk of choice (or coffee for extra yumminess!)
- 1/4 cup coconut or olive oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 and grease 2 12-count mini muffin tins.
In larger bowl, whisk together dry ingredients.
In separate bowl, whisk wet ingredients.
Pour wet over dry and stir quickly to combine.
Scoop 2-3 tablespoons-ful of batter into each muffin tin.
Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until they spring back lightly when the tops are squished gently.
Need more delicious healthy brownie or muffin recipes? Here are a few of my favorites…
- Dark Chocolate Triple Berry Muffins
- Easy One-Bowl Cassava Flour Brownies
- Paleo Chocolate Chip Muffins
- No-Bake Banana Walnut Brownies
- Banana Lemon Chia Seed Muffins
- Perfectly Easy Coconut Flour Brownies
- Cassava Flour Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies
- Perfect Dark Chocolate Almond Flour Brownies
Raia, welcome back…I missed your posts!
These muffins look delicious…can’t wait to try them.
Thank you SO much!
I love this easy and healthier take on a brownie and muffin. Perfect morning breakfast.
Thanks Nancy!
Just finished my 3rd muffin. YUM. And healthful. Be aware that if you use a muffin liner it really sticks to the paper. May need to grease or spray before filling. Also… I used standard size muffin cups and the bake time was only sightly longer.
Thank you for this muffin recipe, Raia! Rita
I’m so glad you enjoy the muffins, Rita! Thanks for sharing the tip about the liners. :)
I didn’t love these, but I do love Flax4Life. These were far less sweet than Flax4Life, which is explained in the recipe. However, these were extremely affordable and last time I checked Flax4Life was $10.99 for a dozen mini muffins in my area. And my toddlers love eating these. So I’ll keep making them (and add chocolate chips to mine for the extra sweetness).
Haha! I’m glad they worked for the toddlers! It’s always nice to have treats on hand for them. ;) Adding the chocolate chips is a great idea to help them be a little sweeter. :)
Any way to make these without the eggs? I am allergic to them.
I have never tried this recipe with an egg sub. But my first suggestion would be to use 1/2 cup applesauce instead and see if that works. It will probably change the texture, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work. :) Hope you get to enjoy them!
I used Aquafaba (1 egg is 3 TBS Aquafaba) they were delicious
I’m so glad that worked for you! Thanks for sharing!
Could these be made with a cup of shredded zucchini in place of the water, and baked as a loaf???
Did it work for you? I’d like to try it if you’re successful.
Hmmm…. I think that would work. Maybe just pay attention to how dry the batter is after adding the zucchini, and add in 1/4 cup water if it’s too dry. Hope it works for you!
Girl, I was searching for a recipe to make Flax 4 Life chocolate brownies at home since I can’t afford to buy them anymore. One dozen is $10 now. 12 little muffins, $10!! Anyway, THANK YOU for coming up with an even healthier version. God bless you!
Haha! I hope you enjoy them! They’re definitely not as sweet as the name brand, so feel free to add a little more sweetener if you want!
Tried these last night and I liked them.
I used real cacao so I minus one tbsp or it would have been way too rich. Used coconut milk. Added some cinnamon powder and 1/3 cup of sugar was plenty for me.
Will make again.
I’m glad you enjoyed them! I love your addition of cinnamon!
These are very close to the original. I have found after making them a few times that if I grind the flax meal very fine and underbake them for a couple of minutes, they are even better. Fudgy and delicious! I was buying the flax 4 Life brownie muffins, but they are expensive. Thank you so much for this recipe!
I’m so glad you enjoyed them, Michelle! Thanks so much for passing along your tips!
Do you have to use arrowroot or tapioca starch?
You could try cassava flour instead.
What about almond flour or regular flour?
I have used almond flour and the texture is different, but if that’s what you like to use, go for it. I have not tried regular flour because I cannot eat it.
I am keen to make these. They look so good.
Can I use ordinary flour?
I have never tried, so I have no idea if it would work. Sorry!
I just made these and they are delicious – myself and my 4 year old love them! The only thing I would say is that mine were just the tiniest bit gummy, would you think thats from the tapioca flour? Ive not done much gluten free baking. But they do taste a little more chewy than the flax4life brownies. I want to perfect these because I ll make these all the time, lol! Soooo Good :) Thank you. The only changes I made that might have affected the outcome, were about 2 extra tablespoons of coconut sugar, 2 tbsp maple syrup, I ground the flax a little more to make it more like flour texture.
I’m so glad you enjoyed them Beth! You can try using arrowroot powder instead of tapioca and see if that helps it not be so chewy. :)
Do you have the carb and fiber information? Mt husband is a diabetic and carb counting is a way of life for us. Thank you for your time
I don’t, sorry! But I know there are free online counters you can plug the ingredients into.
Yummy! So delicious! I had a little extra batter after filling my 6 muffin tin and used the extra batter to make a couple little pancakes and of course we had to add butter and maple syrup. This might be my new favorite breakfast! Thanks for the amazing recipe!!!
Has anyone tried it with maple syrup? That’s my favorite sweetener thanks
Maple syrup should work just fine!
I absolutely love these! I have looked for a similar grain free flax blueberry muffin recipe from you, but don’t see one. Am I missing it, or if there isn’t one, would you please consider creating one? I was going to omit the cocoa powder from this recipe, but I’m not sure it would work.
I am so glad you love the muffins! I would not try omitting the cocoa for these. Hopefully some day I’ll be able to keep blueberries around long enough to make muffins out of them! Currently they disappear due to children… Haha.
These are very yummy! I baked them in the regular size muffin tins and I wasn’t sure how to regulate the time. I think I overbaked them a little bit but they’re still good! And Ditto on the muffin papers. They do stick!
Sorry about the papers! I’m glad the regular size muffin tin worked for you. :)