Easy Orange Chocolate Chip Muffin Recipe (So Good!)

This Orange Chocolate Chip Muffin Recipe is super simple to bake! These muffins get their tangy orange flavor from plenty of fresh orange zest and fresh orange juice – perfect for citrus season! Throw in some mini dark chocolate chips for an extra sweet treat. And the best news of all, is that freezing these Orange Chocolate Muffins is so easy to do!

Creating these Orange Chocolate Chip Muffins

I love the combination of orange and dark chocolate together! When we were kids we used to always get one of those chocolate oranges in our stockings for Christmas. And I love candied orange peel dipped in chocolate.

That perfect combination of flavors is what inspired this muffin recipe creation, but it took me a few times of baking this recipe to get the photos because that’s just how quick these Orange Chocolate Chip Muffins were gone.

These orange-chocolate chip muffins are perfect for a morning treat or afternoon snack. They’re so good, you’ll find just about any excuse to enjoy them

Tools for Making Chocolate Orange Muffins

Here’s a quick list of some of the different kitchen tools you’ll need to prepare this easy recipe for orange muffins with dark chocolate:

• Measuring Cups and Spoons – to measure the ingredients.
• Mixing Bowl – use a large bowl to combine all of the dry ingredients.
• Smaller Mixing Bowl – you will combine the wet ingredients in a slightly smaller, separate bowl.
• Wire Whisk – sift the dry ingredients together and combine the wet ingredients using a wire whisk.
• Wooden Spoon – a wooden spoon is used to gently fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.
• Paper Bake Cups – I like to lining muffin tins with paper muffin cups so these orange chocolate muffins don’t stick.
• Muffin Pan – this chocolate orange muffin recipe using standard sized muffin tins, but you could use a mini muffin tin if you want to make mini muffins (bake time will be much shorter)
• Wire Rack –a wire rack is great for cooling the muffins.

Ingredients for this Recipe for Orange Muffin with Chocolate Chips

Here is the ingredient checklist to make these Orange Chocolate Chip Muffins are pretty simple and available at any basic grocery store. You’ll need the following:

• Orange Zest
• Fresh Orange Juice
• Vanilla Extract
• Semi-Sweet or Dark Chocolate Mini Chips
• Granulated Sugar
• Butter
• Eggs
• Buttermilk
• Baking Powder
• Baking Soda
• All-Purpose Flour

For the complete ingredient list and detailed instructions to make this chocolate and orange muffin recipe, scroll to the bottom of this post for the FREE printable recipe card.

How to Make Orange Chocolate Chip Muffins

These muffins come together so quickly you won’t believe it! The amazing flavor means they won’t last long, either!

1. To make these tasty orange chocolate muffins, first prepare a 12 cup muffin tin (either by greasing it or lining it with muffin liners). Then, set aside the prepared muffin tin and heat oven to temperature.
2. Next, beat sugar, orange zest, vanilla, and butter until light and fluffy and light yellow. Then, beat in the eggs.
3. Then, add the buttermilk and juice. Batter will be very liquidy.
4. Combine the flour with the baking powder and baking soda. Mix well.
5. Sprinkle flour mixture and then chocolate over the batter. Fold in gently using a wooden spoon.
6. Divide the muffin batter between the prepared muffin cup.
7. Lastly, bake the chocolate orange muffins until done. The muffin tops should be light golden brown.

The above is simply a quick summary of how to make these chocolate orange muffins. Check out the full recipe in the free printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for all the detailed instructions.

Tips for the Best Ever Orange Chocolate Chip Muffins

• Collect all of your ingredients to prepare for the recipe.
• Bring the Eggs to Room Temperature before starting.
• Make sure you Soften the Butter before beginning.
• Use a Microplane to zest your oranges. (Related: The Many Uses of a Microplane). Orange Zest is a key ingredient for that fresh orange flavor, so don’t skip this!
• Use good quality chocolate chips. I like dark chocolate better than milk chocolate in this recipe!
• Reserve a handful of chocolate chips and sprinkle a few chocolate chips on top of the batter before baking.
• Stir in the flour by hand using a wooden spoon. Muffins batters should not be beaten; this can lead to tough muffins.

What to Serve with these Chocolate Orange Muffin Recipe

Homemade muffins are wonderful for a weekend brunch. Here are some of my suggestions for serving alongside these tender muffins:

• Arugula and Chive Baked Egg Cups
• Easy Peel Boiled Eggs
• Fresh Bacon (check this out: How to Bake Bacon)
• Citrus Salad with Poppyseed Dressing
• Crustless Broccoli Quiche

Can I Make this Orange Chocolate Muffin Gluten-Free?

Yes, you can totally make this orange muffin recipe gluten-free!

When I want to convert a muffin recipe to gluten-free, the method I use is to replace half of the flour with Almond Flour and the other half of the flour with Cup for Cup Multi-Purpose Gluten-Free Flour.

TIP: Make sure your almond flour and chocolate chips are certified gluten-free.

Substitution Suggestions for this Chocolate Orange Muffin Recipe

• Chocolate Chips: If you don’t have chocolate chips, you can substitute a chocolate bar that has been chopped into bite sized pieces.
• All Purpose Flour: You can substitute a whole wheat baking flour for all purpose flour if you prefer.
• Buttermilk: Don’t have any buttermilk? Check out by tutorial on How to Make Buttermilk.
• Butter: You can substitute ghee for butter in this recipe. You may be able to substitute canola oil, however I have not tested that in this recipe.
• Orange Zest: for a completely different flavor profile, try using lemon juice and lemon zest in place of the orange. With this substitution, however, I recommend using white chocolate chips instead of dark chocolate because I think it pairs better with the lemon flavor.
• Chocolate: You could easily substitute dried cranberries or dried cherries for the chocolate in this recipe if you don’t like chocolate or don’t have any.

How to Store these Orange Chocolate Chip Muffins

If you’d like to make a double or triple batch to have on hand throughout the week, these muffins will store fine at room temperature for a few days. I like to use an airtight container.

Here are my storage instructions for this Orange Chocolate Chip Muffin recipe.

STEP ONE: First, transfer the muffins to a cooling rack and allow them to cool completely. Storing warm muffins will leave you with a lot of excess moisture on your muffins due to condensation (and this causes muffins to get soggy AND moldy).

STEP TWO: Next, place a sheet of paper towels on the bottom of a large, lidded storage container. You can also use gallon sized ziptop bags with a sheet of paper towel inside.

The paper towel layers will help absorb any excess moisture that is released from the muffins and help prevent them from becoming soggy.

STEP THREE: Transfer the muffins to the paper towel lined container or bag.

STEP FOUR: Lay another paper towel on top of the muffins.

Depending on how deep your container is, you may be able to fit more than one layer of these orange chocolate chip muffins. In this case, repeat the process – always end with a paper towel on top of the last layer of muffins. A bag will likely fit only one layer.

STEP FIVE: Lastly, place the lid on the container (or zip the bag) and store the muffins at room temperature.

Freezing Instructions for this Orange Chocolate Chip Muffin Recipe

These Orange Chocolate Chip Muffins work great stored in the freezer! You can freeze them for up to 3 months in a freezer bag or freezer-safe container.

When ready to eat, place the muffins on the counter to thaw. I don’t recommend thawing them in the microwave due to the chocolate, but you can slightly warm them after thawing if you’d like

For detailed freezing instructions, check out this post: How to Freeze Muffins (+15 Easy Muffin Recipes to Try!).

Try these Easy Orange Muffins!

Next time you’re looking for a delicious recipe for muffins, give this chocolate and orange muffins recipe a try!

Did you think the chocolate and orange combo was delicious? Leave a comment below and give it a review for others to see what you thought of this muffin recipe.

On Instagram? Share your photo and tag me with @goodlifeeats and #goodlifeeatsrecipes. I’d love to see your photo of these orange chocolate muffins!

More Orange and Chocolate Recipes:

If you love the orange and chocolate flavor combination like I do, here are a few other recipes to try!

• Dark Chocolate Orange Pudding
• Chocolate Covered Blood Orange Popsicles
• Frosted Chocolate Orange Brownies
• Chocolate Orange Bread

More Easy Muffin Recipes

Here are some of our favorite easy muffin recipes! Don’t see what you’re looking for here? You can always head over to check out the recipe index to look for more muffin recipes.

I think that this recipe for Strawberry Oatmeal Muffins is the best strawberry muffin, and they are the perfect healthy breakfast muffin treat. 

Apple Cranberry Oatmeal Muffins are the perfect hearty, fall muffin to enjoy on a cold morning.

These Zucchini Apple Spice Muffins are perfect for the transition space between summer and fall. 

This Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins recipe makes just the right amount to feed two people. Perfect for those moments when you just want a single muffin!

These Pumpkin Cornbread Muffins offer a fun fall take on the traditional Honey Cornbread Muffin. Infused with real pumpkin puree, brown sugar, and fall spices, these Pumpkin Cornbread Muffins are the perfect contrast to a bowl of savory chili.

With dark chocolate and dark chocolate cocoa powder, these Dark Chocolate Muffins with Cinnamon Streusel are rich without being overly sweet. This is a delicious muffin recipe on its own, but they pair quite well with a cherry jam too.

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