Protein-Packed Chocolate Lentil Muffins with Hazelnuts

These delicious lentil muffins are packed with protein and fibre, making them a perfect nutrient-dense healthy dessert. The recipe contains no flour, relying on lentils, eggs, and hazelnuts as the primary sources of protein, while linseeds, chia seeds, psyllium husks, and cacao add a good dose of fibre.

Protein-Packed Chocolate Lentil Muffins with Hazelnuts

Ingredients:

• 150g cooked lentils (When I have no time to cook lentils, I purchase steamed lentils ready to use- this one is available to buy in Estonia)

• 3 eggs

• 40g of butter

• 20g psyllium husks

• 20g crushed linseeds

• 20g chia seeds

• 20g cacao powder

• 50g dark chocolate, chopped (I use Bitter chocolate (with 87% cacao content), but you can use also with 70% cacao content- dark chocolate is healthier).

• 1 medium banana (about 120g), grated

• 1-2 tbsp honey (this depends whether you like a bit sweeter batter)

• 40g hazelnuts, chopped

• 1-2 tbsp coconut sugar (this depends whether you like a bit sweeter batter)

• 1 tsp baking powder

• ½ tsp baking soda

• ¼ tsp salt

• Vanilla extract to taste

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners or use silicon muffin cups (I use the latter ones as they are easy to pop the muffins out, don't require greasing)

2. In a large bowl, grate the banana and mix it with melted butter, honey and coconut sugar until smooth.

3. Add the cooked lentils and eggs, and blend together using a hand mixer or blender until well combined.

4. In a separate bowl, mix the psyllium husks, crushed linseeds (I use coffee grinder for grinding the seeds), chia seeds, cacao powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

5. Gradually fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until well incorporated.

6. Gently stir in the chopped hazelnuts and dark chocolate pieces.

7. Spoon the batter into muffin tin or silicon muffin cups.

8. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

9. Let the muffins cool for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack or plate to cool completely.

Enjoy these nutritious lentil muffins as a fibre-rich and protein-packed dessert! ​

You can find more healthy muffin recipes in my blog.