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Hello! I’m Anjali. I’m a board certified health coach, author, wife, mom and food lover from the SF Bay area (now living in Seattle, WA!); with a passion for delicious food and a desire to make healthy eating easy, tasty and fun! Learn more about me here and stay for a while!

Anjali Shah

Healthy Chocolate Cupcakes with Honey Avocado Frosting

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These are the best healthy chocolate cupcakes ever!! They are lightened up with Greek yogurt, white whole wheat flour, and contain no refined sugar. Super easy to make, moist, rich and chocolatey – the perfect guilt-free treat for the whole family!

healthy chocolate cupcakes on a blue and white cloth with milk in the background

For those of you who know me, you know that cupcakes are one of my favorite desserts 🙂 And chocolate cupcakes combine TWO of my favorite things!

Which is why, I had to come up with a way to make the best healthy chocolate cupcakes so I could enjoy these delicious treats much more often.

This recipe comes together in just over 30 minutes with simple, clean ingredients. And these cupcakes are topped with a healthy cupcake frosting made with avocados instead of cream cheese!

Latest Recipe Video!

This cupcake recipe is super easy to make, low in sugar, and still super decadent and chocolatey! I’ve also included notes on substitutions for different dietary restrictions that all work really well.

You have to try these low fat cupcakes the next time you have a craving for chocolate cupcakes. I can guarantee that everyone who tastes them will love them!

Refined Sugar-Free Chocolate Cupcake Recipe

I don’t know about you, but when I think of how to put a healthy twist on a classic dessert, my mind goes straight to sugar. So I knew I wanted to get rid of the processed sugar in most cupcake recipes, and replace it with a healthier option. 

That’s where these honey chocolate cupcakes come in. They’re sweet enough that your kids will still devour them but without the insane amount of processed sugar and calories found in most baked treats.

Recipe Ingredients & Notes

ingredients for healthy chocolate cupcakes

Chocolate Cupcake Ingredients

  • Coconut Oil: You’ll want to melt it before mixing it with the rest of the ingredients.
  • Eggs (use Flax Eggs for a vegan substitution): At room temperature
  • Plain Greek Yogurt (use Vegan Greek yogurt for a vegan substitution)
  • Unsweetened almond milk (or any plant milk)
  • Honey (use maple syrup for a vegan option)
  • Unsweetened cocoa powder: Critical for that deep chocolate flavor!
  • White Whole Wheat Flour (use Gluten Free 1:1 Baking Flour for a gluten-free option). White whole wheat flour is made from white wheat (vs. red wheat for whole wheat flour), and has a lighter taste and texture (similar to all purpose flour), but is equivalent to whole wheat flour from a nutritional standpoint! Whole wheat pastry flour would also work well in this recipe.
  • Baking Powder & Salt

Healthy Cupcake Frosting

  • Avocado: The secret ingredient in this frosting instead of cream cheese!
  • Coconut Oil
  • Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
  • Honey (or maple syrup for a vegan option)
  • Unsweetened almond milk

How to Make Healthy Chocolate Cupcakes Step by Step

Step 1: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line a muffin tin with paper cupcake liners. In a large bowl, mix together melted coconut oil and eggs.

coconut oil and eggs combined in a bowl

Step 2: Add Greek yogurt, almond milk and honey. Mix to combine. In a smaller bowl, whisk together cocoa powder, wheat flour, baking powder and salt.

dry ingredients mixed in a bowl

Step 3: Slowly add dry ingredients to wet ingredients.

dry and wet ingredients combined in a bowl

Step 4: Scoop cupcake batter into each section of the muffin tin, filling it about 2/3 of the way.

muffin tin filled with cupcake batter

Step 5: Bake for 20-22 minutes. Allow to cool before adding frosting.

healthy chocolate cupcakes on a blue and white cloth with milk in the background

Directions for the Frosting

Step 1: Add all ingredients to a large bowl.

frosting ingredients added to a bowl

Step 2: Use an electric mixer to beat on low speed until smooth.

chocolate frosting with healthy chocolate cupcakes

Step 3: Use an offset spatula to frost each cupcake.

chocolate frosting added to healthy chocolate cupcakes

How to Make Chocolate Cupcakes Healthier 

The key to making guilt-free chocolate cupcakes is choosing smarter swaps.

Here are some of the changes we made to make these healthy chocolate cupcakes:

  • Whole Grains: Switching out all purpose flour for a whole grain flour adds fiber and healthier carbs into this chocolate cupcake recipe
  • Less Sugar: We used a little less than half the amount of sugar in most traditional cupcake recipes!
  • Less Fat & Calories: Subbing in Greek yogurt and removing butter/oil from the recipe takes down the fat and calories in each cupcake.
  • Healthy Cupcake Icing: A cupcake is nothing without its gloriously creamy icing, right? Unfortunately, it’s basically nothing but sugar in regular cupcakes. We swapped the icing for healthy cupcake frosting – made with an avocado, honey, and coconut oil mix, and I must say it turned out incredible!

Frequently Asked Questions

What ingredient makes a cupcake moist?

The secret to moist cupcakes lies in the recipe’s ratio of  eggs, milk, and oil. Why? Eggs and milk add moisture, while the oil adds a soft texture that’s similar to that of butter or shortening. In this healthy cupcake recipe, I was careful to get the ratio of eggs to almond milk to coconut oil just right for a deliciously moist end product. 

What do I need to make healthy chocolate cupcakes?

You’ll need a few healthier alternative pantry staples. Regular baked desserts use things like processed sugar, vegetable or canola oil, sweet cocoa, and butter. 
On the other hand, healthier chocolate cupcakes tend to use coconut or avocado oil, nut-based milks, yogurt, honey or maple syrup, and unsweetened cacao powder. 

healthy chocolate cupcakes on a blue and white cloth

Recipe Variations

Change Up The Milk

Many people want chocolate cupcakes with no milk, so what I’ve done here is swap the milk for almond milk.

Almond milk is a good alternative for those who don’t drink cow’s milk. It contains no cholesterol and has less saturated fat than whole milk. Almond milk contains only about 30 calories for a cup and is an excellent source of vitamin E.

Make it Egg Free

To make egg-free cupcakes, simply swap the eggs for what’s know as “flax eggs.” For each egg, swap it for 1 tablespoon ground flaxseeds mixed with 3 tablespoons of water.

Make it Vegan

  1. Substitute the Eggs for Flax Eggs
  2. Substitute the Greek Yogurt for Vegan Greek Yogurt
  3. Substitute the Honey for Maple Syrup or Agave

Change the Sugar

When it comes to choosing a healthier sugar alternative for cupcakes, I personally prefer honey, but you can also use maple syrup or even agave. 

Make it for Kids!

While kids will love these low fat chocolate cupcakes the way they are, to turn these into mini healthy cupcakes for toddlers, just fill each mold 1/2 full instead of two-thirds. 

healthy chocolate cupcakes on a blue and white cloth with milk in the background

Top Tips for Making Healthy Chocolate Cupcakes

  • These cupcakes are not meant to be overly sweet – they taste more like dark chocolate. If you want a sweeter cupcake, add a bit more honey to the cupcake batter and the frosting.
  • Make sure to spray your cupcake liners with cooking spray so the cupcake doesn’t stick to the liner after baking!
  • Spoon and level your flour and cocoa powder into your measuring cup vs. using your measuring cup to scoop out the flour. You’ll get a more accurate measurement that way and a lighter/fluffier cupcake!
  • Make sure your ingredients are at room temperature for easy mixing and for a better tasting cupcake.
  • Don’t overmix! Mix the batter together just until the wet and dry ingredients are combined. Overmixing results in a tough cupcake!

Well, I think I pretty much covers everything. This easy cupcake recipe has quickly become one of my favorite healthier chocolate desserts. I hope you give it a try!

Want More Healthy Cupcakes And Treats? Check These Out:

🎥 Watch How to Make It

healthy chocolate cupcakes on a blue and white cloth with milk in the background
Print Recipe
5 from 6 votes

Best Healthy Chocolate Cupcakes with Avocado Frosting

These healthy cupcakes without refined sugar are an amazing guilt-free dessert you’ll make again and again. The Greek yogurt, honey, and coconut oil combine to form a super moist treat that both kids and adults won’t even know is healthy!
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Total Time35 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Servings: 12 cupcakes
Calories: 146kcal
Author: Anjali Shah

Ingredients

For The Cupcakes:

  • 2 tbsp coconut oil melted
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature (flax eggs for vegan)
  • ¼ cup Greek yogurt (vegan Greek yogurt for vegan substitution)
  • ½ cup almond milk
  • 3-6 tbsp honey or maple syrup (for a vegan option) Note: Use 3 tbsp for these cupcakes to have 8 grams of sugar a piece. Use up to 6 tbsp for a sweeter cupcake.
  • 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • ¾ cup white whole wheat flour (1:1 gluten free baking flour for gluten-free option)
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • ¼ tsp salt

For The Healthy Chocolate Frosting:

  • 1 large, ripe avocado
  • 1 tbsp coconut oil
  • cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 2-4 tbsp honey (maple syrup for a vegan option) Note: Use 2 tbsp for these cupcakes to have 8 grams of sugar a piece. Use up to 4 tbsp for a sweeter frosting.
  • 1 tbsp almond milk

Instructions

To Make The Healthy Chocolate Cupcakes:

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line a muffin tin with paper cupcake liners.
  • In a large bowl, mix together melted coconut oil and eggs.
  • Add Greek yogurt, almond milk and honey. Mix to combine.
  • In a smaller bowl, whisk together cocoa powder, wheat flour, baking powder and salt.
  • Slowly add dry ingredients to wet ingredients.
  • Scoop cupcake batter into each section of the muffin tin, filling it about 2/3 of the way.
  • Bake for 20-22 minutes. Allow to cool before adding frosting.

For The Frosting:

  • Add all ingredients to a large bowl.
  • Use an electric mixer to beat on low speed until smooth.
  • Use an offset spatula to frost each cupcake.

Notes

Top Tips for Making Healthy Chocolate Cupcakes
  • These cupcakes are not meant to be overly sweet – they taste more like dark chocolate. If you use 3 tbsp of honey for the cupcake and 2 tbsp honey for the frosting, these cupcakes will have more of that bitter/dark chocolate feel, but they will be super low in sugar (only 8 grams per serving). If you want a sweeter, more traditional cupcake, use 6 tbsp honey for the cupcake and 4 tbsp honey for the frosting. If you do that, these cupcakes will have 16 grams of sugar and 180 calories per serving. 
  • Make sure to spray your cupcake liners with cooking spray so the cupcake doesn’t stick to the liner after baking!
  • Spoon and level your flour and cocoa powder into your measuring cup vs. using your measuring cup to scoop out the flour. You’ll get a more accurate measurement that way and a lighter/fluffier cupcake!
  • Make sure your ingredients are at room temperature for easy mixing and for a better tasting cupcake.
  • Don’t overmix! Mix the batter together just until the wet and dry ingredients are combined. Overmixing results in a tough cupcake!

Nutrition

Serving: 1cupcake | Calories: 146kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 27mg | Sodium: 80mg | Potassium: 340mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 8g

48 responses to “Healthy Chocolate Cupcakes with Honey Avocado Frosting”

  1. wow those sounds like they came for a 5 star NYC bakery the ingredients are fabulous hope your selling these 🙂 outstanding!5 stars

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