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Yes, this is a pumpkin chip mug muffin, but it’s not just any pumpkin chip mug muffin. This soft, cakey bowl of chocolate-studded yumminess happens to be part of my recent foray into egg-free baking experimentation. Thankfully it turned out better than yesterday morning’s waffle….
Don’t you dare tune out because it’s egg free, peeps! (It’s also dairy free, just in case you need to know that.) I don’t have any egg sensitivities, but I’ve come to actually prefer some of my recent egg-free muffin trials over more traditional muffins-in-a-mug! I use ground chia seeds as the binder in the EF versions which gives me a soft, moist muffin – not eggy and dense as some mug muffins can be. It’s a unique texture that took me by surprise at first, but now I’m hooked and I have tons of ideas for variations both for here on the blog as well as in future publications. (Yes, that may have been an example of literary foreshadowing, but you’ll have to wait a few months to find out.) Aldi carries chia seeds, FYI, and of course you can find them at Walmart, health food stores, and online. I’ve only tried black chia seeds so far and they work great but can give baked goods an odd color, not gonna lie. My mom took one look at my breakfast one morning and said, “NO ONE is going to make that.” 😛
The chia seeds tend to mask flavor, so you may need to oversweeten and overspice just a bit, hence why there is a 3/4 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice in one muffin. (Pumpkin pie spice can be expensive to buy, so we make our own in bulk. It lasts for years. Here’s a recipe.) If you don’t like the texture of the muffin when it’s piping hot, let it cool a bit before digging in. I haven’t been able to restrain myself long enough to refrigerate it and try it cold, so if you make it ahead and do that, please let me know what the texture is like!
This muffin is a fairly light THM:S (with small amounts of fat from the chia seeds, baking mix, and chocolate chips). You can eat it as a dessert with a meal or add a little extra protein on the side to turn it into a snack or breakfast. A scoop of collagen in your coffee or tea would take care of that.
Please don’t leave the chocolate out of this muffin. I’ve never been a huge fan of pumpkin and cream cheese (despite the vast array of such recipes here on my website), but I’ve found my groove with pumpkin + chocolate. In fact, I just made some awesome THM:E pumpkin chip muffins yesterday that will be making their debut here on the blog in about 3 weeks (because I have other stuff to post before then, and we can’t be all pumpkin, can we?). I know sugar-free chocolate chips – such as Lily’s brand – are expensive, but ask for them for birthdays and Christmas! Perfect gift idea. You can always chop up 85% dark chocolate for a more economical option. The chocolate chips really are the star of this muffin.
Maybe some of you have seen this already, but I’ve been tweaking and expanding the “Starting THM” page here on my blog recently. (You can find this page in the menu right below the logo at the top of the page – or just CLICK HERE.) This page includes a brief synopsis of THM, a quick checklist of some of the best things you can do to get started, lots of helpful links, and direct links to THM-friendly products from various online stores so you can shop around and get the best price. I’ve also included descriptions of many of these items (in case you’re wondering what on earth glucomannan is!). This page can always be at your fingertips if you need help finding information or a product, so bookmark it!
I also wanted to let you guys know about one of my favorite online stores – Swanson Vitamins. Swanson often runs good sales and it always offers free shipping on orders of $50 or more. This is where I get protein powder, THM Super Sweet Blend, and other staples. They carry nearly all the THM products; click here to see them. Over on my Starting THM page you can see a huge list of the products Swanson Vitamins offers.
You may also enjoy:
- STARTING THM
- my recipe index
- my recipes grouped by fuel type, allergy info, and theme
- my pumpkin recipes
- 5 Ingredient White Cake
- Cinnamon Roll Single Muffin
As always, check out the Notes section of the recipe for extra info. Check out the links in and below the recipe to see the products I use and recommend. Some of the links included in the recipe and blog post are affiliate links, which means that if you make purchases through these links, I make a small commission to help defray the costs of running this blog (at no extra charge to you). Thanks for your help!
You can pin this recipe here:
- 2 tsp chia seeds
- -
- 3 T. Briana's Baking Mix
- ¾ tsp. pumpkin pie spice
- ½ tsp. baking powder
- 5/32 tsp. (5 doonks) THM Pure Stevia Extract Powder
- Dash salt
- -
- 5 T. water
- 3 T. plain canned pumpkin puree
- ½ tsp. maple extract
- -
- Sugar-free chocolate chips or chopped 85% dark chocolate
- Grind the chia seeds to powder in a coffee grinder.
- Whisk the ground chia and the rest of the dry ingredients together. Add the water, pumpkin, maple extract, and a few chocolate chips and stir with a spatula to mix well. The batter will be very thick, so just smash it against the side of the bowl with the spatula to combine the ingredients evenly.
- Spread the batter into a small ceramic or glass ramekin (I didn't need to grease mine), top with some additional chocolate chips, and microwave for 3 minutes or until the top center looks mostly done.
As always, feel free to add more sweetener than I did! I found that stevia worked well in this, but you could always use a few teaspoons of THM Super Sweet Blend in its place. Check out this sweetener conversion chart for help converting.
Don't have my baking mix on hand? You could probably use an equal amount of THM Baking Blend in this recipe since it's such a small amount.
These are delicious! Love that there’s no egginess. I was amazed at the long cook time but that really is what it takes; mine maintain more moisture on the bottom so it’s like a muffin/pudding cross. 😄 Also delicious with a few cranberries stirred in with the chocolate chips. 😋 Thank you for these!
I just made the pumpkin chip muffin in a mug….by far the best muffin in a mug recipe ever. I may let it in the microwave another minute or so. Thank you so much for taking the time to care about THM mommas…they should actually pay you royalties for your work. Blessings in a mug to you!
I’m so glad you liked it, Carole! Thank you for your sweet comment. Blessings right back atcha!
Hey! I can’t eat chia seeds. Okra ect..any suggestions?
No, I’m afraid I don’t have any direct substitution suggestions for the chia, but you could try adapting one of my other mug muffin recipes for a pumpkin chip version. 🙂 You can find them in my Desserts recipe index: https://www.briana-thomas.com/indexes/complete-pictorial-recipe-index/desserts/
Maybe use pumpkin for part of the liquids/conditioners in this recipe and add extra sweetener, pumpkin pie spice, and chocolate chips: https://www.briana-thomas.com/5-ingredient-white-cake/
Do you call for canned pumpkin on purpose ,or can one use cooked pumpkin purée?
If your homemade version is the same thickness as the canned kind, that should be fine.
This is great. Is it possible for you to convert this to a family size version? Many thanks.
I’ll write it on my ideas list. 🙂 I probably won’t get to it very quickly, so feel free to experiment on your own as well. I would definitely like to have some full size egg free recipes available in my next cookbook.
Hello, did you ever get the chance to convert this into a family size recipe? I know you are a super busy gal! Just thought I would check as I think this is one my husband and children would love!
Not this particular recipe, no, but I do have this THM E pumpkin chip muffin recipe. 🙂 https://www.briana-thomas.com/pumpkin-chip-muffins/