I've made these buckwheat chocolate muffins more times than I can count, and the challenge is always the same: buckwheat has no gluten to hold air, so it's easy to end up with a dense muffin instead of a light one.
The fix comes down to two things: how long you beat the eggs and sugar before the buckwheat goes in, and making sure your baking powder is doing its job, since it's picking up the slack gluten would normally handle. Get both right, and buckwheat flour on its own, no gum blends, no flour stack, gives you a proper, tender muffin with a nutty edge from the flour itself.
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What do you need for Buckwheat Chocolate Muffins?
To prepare these Gluten-Free Buckwheat Muffins with Chocolate, you need the following ingredients. You can find the correct amounts in the recipe card at the bottom of the blog:
- Buckwheat flour - In the Netherlands, buckwheat flour is light gray, but it can vary in color. That makes no difference to the recipe. After baking, buckwheat flour gives golden-colored muffins. The flour itself has a nutty taste and does not contain gluten.
- Baking powder - Allows the brownie to rise, making it fluffy. If you want to know more about baking powder and possible substitutes, you will find a blog about baking powder and baking soda here.
- Salt - Balances the flavor in the muffins.
- Sugar - Gives the gluten-free muffins a sweet taste.
- Eggs - Provides full flavor to the Chocolate Muffins and bind the batter.
- Butter - Use unsalted butter.
- Vanilla Extract - For a hint of vanilla flavor. If you can get it, use natural vanilla extract, which has a slightly deeper flavor than artificial vanilla extract. With this recipe, you can make a homemade vanilla extract (and, if you bake a lot, it is highly recommended because you can use this for a reasonable amount of time).
- Chocolate - For delicious chocolate chips in the muffins. Use chocolate with more than 50% cocoa. Use good chocolate because the cheaper version contains too much fat.
- Coconut Grated - For a touch of coconut flavor.
Why buckwheat holds these muffins together
Wheat flour gets its stretch and structure from gluten, a protein network that traps air bubbles as a batter bakes. Buckwheat has none of that, so these muffins lean on two things instead.
First, the air you beat into the eggs and sugar at the start, that's your physical lift. Second, the baking powder, which reacts with moisture and heat to release CO₂ as the muffins bake, giving them a chemical boost right when the egg-foam structure needs backup.
That's also why these muffins turn dense so easily: if you don't beat the eggs and sugar long enough, or you stir too hard once the buckwheat goes in, you knock most of that air back out before the baking powder even gets a chance to help and there's no gluten network to catch what's left.
How to prepare Coconut Buckwheat Muffins with Chocolate
You can find a printable recipe with a step-by-step description at the bottom of this blog.
- Beat the sugar with the eggs until foamy. Add the melted butter and vanilla extract while mixing.
- Place a sieve over the bowl and add the buckwheat flour, baking powder, and salt. Strain so you don't get lumps. Mix for 5 minutes until well fluffy.
- Add the chocolate and coconut to the batter and mix with a spatula.
- Spoon the batter into the muffin tins. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until the muffins are golden and cooked in a preheated oven at 350 °F (180 °C). Let cool for 5 minutes and then remove from muffin tin. Let cool further on a rack.
Top Tips and variations
- Extra additions: ⅓ cup (50 grams) of pecans, cranberries, or sunflower seeds are delicious.
- Bake the muffins in the bottom third/center of your oven. They are more likely to burn if you bake them at the top of the oven.
- Ovens are inconsistent in heat (sometimes they are colder than the stated temperature, and other times they get hotter).
- And if you're new to your oven, check the muffins for doneness two minutes before the end of the baking time. This can be done in three easy ways:
- Shake the mold lightly. If the tops of the cupcakes move, they need to bake longer.
- Press your finger in the center of a cupcake. If the print springs back right away, the cupcake is ready. If a dimple remains, they need to bake a little longer.
- Stick a toothpick in the center of a cupcake. If it comes out clean and dry, the cupcakes are done.
- Extend the baking time by two minutes if the cupcakes need to be baked more
Frequently Asked Questions
- Why did my buckwheat muffins turn out dense instead of airy? This is the most common issue with buckwheat flour, since it has no gluten to trap air on its own, the muffins rely on beaten egg foam and baking powder instead. Make sure you beat the eggs and sugar until properly foamy before adding the dry ingredients, fold in the buckwheat gently rather than stirring hard, and check that your baking powder isn't old, it loses potency over time, which matters more here than in a wheat-flour recipe with gluten to fall back on.
- Does it matter which type of buckwheat flour I use? In the Netherlands I could only find one buckwheat flour on the shelf, so that's what I develop and test with. If you're outside the Netherlands and only have access to light or dark buckwheat flour, I haven't tested either variety specifically in this recipe, so I can't promise the same result, go with whichever is labeled closest to a standard, all-purpose buckwheat flour.
- Are these muffins really gluten-free, or gluten-free adjacent? Buckwheat itself contains no gluten, but always check your specific bag of flour and your baking powder for a certified gluten-free label if you're baking for someone with celiac disease, since cross-contamination during milling is possible.
- Do they taste like buckwheat? Buckwheat flour has a mild, nutty flavor rather than the earthy, strong taste some people expect. The chocolate and coconut are what you'll notice first.
One reader tried these specifically because she wanted a gluten-free option that still felt like a real treat and she gave the muffins a full five stars.
📖 Recipe
RECIPE CARD
Recipe Help
Two easy tools to make cooking even easier. Cooking mode keeps the screen on. The easy-step recipe displays the recipe step by step, including the ingredients needed. And you can adjust servings easily
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 2 eggs, size M
- 4 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups buckwheat flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 4 oz. dark chocolate chips, or roughly chopped
- 3 tablespoons grated coconut
All my recipes are written both in Metric (gram / ml) and US Customary (cups / pounds). Here you can select which type of amount you would like to see.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to
350 °F (conventional oven) or 320 °F (convection oven with air-fan) - Place the paper baking tins in the baking pan.
- Mix the sugar with the eggs in a bowl.⅓ cup sugar, 2 eggs
- Add the melted butter and vanilla extract while continuing to mix.4 tablespoons butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Place a sieve on top of the bowl, put the solid ingredients, buckwheat flour, baking powder, and salt in the sieve, and shake it on top of the batter.2 cups buckwheat flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, ⅛ teaspoon salt
- Mix the batter for 5 minutes so that it becomes airy.
- Add the chocolate and coconut to the batter and mix well with a spatula.4 oz. dark chocolate chips, 3 tablespoons grated coconut
- Divide the batter between the molds and place the baking tray in the oven.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes until the muffins are well cooked. (check that by inserting a skewer into the thick part of the muffin and removing it. If it is dry, the muffing is cooked).
- Let stand for 5 minutes and then take them out of the mold.
- Let cool on a rack.
Notes
- Shake the mold lightly. If the tops of the cupcakes move, they need to bake longer.
- Press your finger in the center of a cupcake. If the print springs back right away, the cupcake is ready. If a dimple remains, they need to bake a little longer.
- Stick a toothpick in the center of a cupcake. If it comes out clean and dry, the cupcakes are done.
- Room Temperature: Wrap the muffins in plastic wrap or store them in an airtight container for three days.
- Freezer: you can freeze the gluten-free muffins. Wrap them in aluminum foil first and put everything in a bag or airtight container. This way you can keep them for up to two months.
Nutrition
tiannaskitchen says
these look so good i love muffins and a gluten free option is even better