Copycat Costco Chocolate Muffins taste just like the amazing double chocolate muffins from Costco. Easy chocolate chocolate chip muffin recipe that everyone loves!
Recipe Highlights
- Family favorite: Makes about 24 muffins—perfect for sharing, meal prep, or freezing.
- Bakery-quality at home: These muffins are soft, moist, and loaded with chocolate chips, just like the giant ones from Costco’s bakery section.
- Easy ingredients: Using a Devil’s Food cake mix and instant pudding keeps the recipe simple while giving rich chocolate flavor.
- Double the chocolate: Chocolate cake base + chocolate chips = every bite is indulgent.
- Versatile treat: Great for breakfast, after-school snacks, or a sweet dessert with milk or coffee.
Ingredients in Copycat Costco Chocolate Muffins
- Eggs – 3 eggs might sound like a lot for a muffin recipe, but this recipe makes a lot of muffins!
- Milk – You can use any kind of milk. We always use 1% because that’s what we keep in the fridge, but you can use almond milk, 2%, whole milk, skim milk…it all works just fine!
- Oil – You can use vegetable or canola oil for the muffins. I like to use coconut oil in baked goods and it works beautifully in this recipe.
- Water – Just adds a little bit of extra moisture for the muffin recipe.
- Vanilla extract – Just a little bit of vanilla adds that extra richness and flavor to the batter.
- Sour Cream: Adding 3/4 cup of sour cream into the batter will thicken it up, but help the muffins to turn out light and fluffy. You can swap this out with plain or vanilla Greek yogurt.
- Devil’s Food cake mix – Any chocolate cake mix will work fine, but we like to use the Devil’s Food cake variety.
- Chocolate pudding mix – Just a small box of instant chocolate pudding mix adds a lot of moistness and chocolate flavor!
- Cinnamon – Seems a little weird to add cinnamon to chocolate, but I promise it’s good! You can leave it out if you prefer, but I really like it in there. It’s very subtle in the muffins – you may not even really notice it!
- Semi-sweet chocolate chips – You’ll need 2 cups of semi-sweet chocolate chips for this recipe. Most of them get mixed right into the muffins, but you’ll save some to sprinkle on top as well. Makes the muffins look like they came straight from the bakery!
Helpful Tips for the Best Muffins
- Freeze for later: These muffins freeze beautifully for up to 3 months.
- Don’t overmix the batter: Stir until ingredients are just combined—this keeps muffins tender instead of tough.
- Use room-temperature ingredients: Eggs, sour cream, and milk blend more easily when not cold, creating a smoother batter.
- Add extra chips on top: A handful of chocolate chips sprinkled before baking makes them look bakery-perfect.
- Test for doneness early: Every oven is different—check your muffins at 15 minutes to prevent overbaking.
- Try mini muffins: Great for kids or portion control—bake for just 12–15 minutes.
Storage Instructions
- Room Temperature: Store muffins in an airtight container for 2–3 days to keep them soft and moist.
- Refrigerator: For longer freshness, place muffins in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 1 week.
- Freezer: Once cooled completely, transfer muffins to a freezer-safe bag or container and freeze for up to 3 months.
- Thawing: Let frozen muffins sit at room temperature for 30–60 minutes, or microwave them briefly to warm.
- Make-Ahead Tip: You can also freeze the baked muffins individually wrapped for easy grab-and-go breakfasts or snacks.
Copycat Costco Chocolate Muffins Recipe
Copycat Costco Chocolate Muffins taste just like the amazing double chocolate muffins from Costco. Easy chocolate chocolate chip muffin recipe that everyone loves!
Print
Pin
Rate
Servings: 24 muffins
Calories: 246kcal
Ingredients
- 3 eggs
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/2 cup oil
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 3/4 cup sour cream
- 1 Devils Food cake mix
- 3.4 oz pkg instant chocolate pudding
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips divided
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375° and line muffin tins with liners. (Should make about 24 regular sized muffins).
- In a large bowl, lightly beat eggs. Add oil, milk, water, vanilla and beat again.
- Stir in sour cream, and then add the cake mix, pudding mix and cinnamon, just mixing until barely combined. Do not over mix.
- Stir in 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips and then fill muffin liners 3/4 full. Sprinkle remaining chocolate chips on top.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove immediately from muffin tins and let cool.
Nutrition
Calories: 246kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 26mg | Sodium: 223mg | Potassium: 179mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 91IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 54mg | Iron: 2mg
📫 Save this recipe! Send it to your email! 📩
I consent to receiving emails from this site.
Tried this recipe?Mention @jessicalovesbutter or tag #jessicalovesbutter!
FAQs
Can I make these as mini muffins?
Yes! This recipe makes about 48 mini muffins. Bake 12–15 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.
Can I freeze double chocolate muffins?
Absolutely. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature before serving.
Do I have to use sour cream?
No, plain or vanilla Greek yogurt works great as a substitute. Avoid regular yogurt—it’s too watery.
Why add cinnamon to chocolate muffins?
The cinnamon is subtle, but it enhances the chocolate flavor without making the muffins taste spiced.
What’s the best way to store leftovers?
Keep muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for 2–3 days, or refrigerate up to a week.
MORE MUFFIN RECIPES TO TRY:
- Lemon Raspberry Muffins are bursting with fresh raspberries, a hint of lemon, and a buttery streusel topping that makes them ideal for breakfast or a sweet snack.
- Moist and flavorful, Copycat Costco Pumpkin Muffins are topped with crumbly streusel and powdered sugar, making them one of the best fall treats you can bake at home.
- Soft and fluffy, these Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins are packed with juicy blueberries and hearty oats, perfect for breakfast or a midday snack.
- A delicious blend of sweet bananas and rich chocolate chips makes Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins a satisfying option, whether warm from the oven or on the go.
- Made with oats, buttermilk, and plenty of chocolate chips, Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins deliver a soft, from-scratch recipe that’s always a crowd favorite.
Copycat Costco Chocolate Muffins are soft, moist, and packed with double chocolate flavor — perfect for breakfast, snacks, or dessert!
Lisalia says
All the flavor of those yummy Costco chocolate muffins – without that HUGE serving size… my kids usually have a couple bites then throw the rest away. Next time I’m going to try your recipe in mini-muffin liners… I think that would be absolutely perfect for my little ones! Thanks for such a yummy recipe!
Marsha says
My absolute favourite chocolate muffins. SO GOOD!
Mayra says
They are good but they are very fluffy and not as dense of the ones from Costco.
Kathy says
Mayra it is the sour cream that makes it fluffy leaving out the sour cream and its dense when I make a chocolate cake I like a dense rich moist cake and I add warm water instead of cold it brings out the cocoa flavor and I add a stick of butter in addition to the oil that the cake box instructs and 3.5 oz choc instant pudding I also discovered if you put the the chips in the food processor and chop them into small pieces when the cake bakes they melt making your cake rich and full of flavor. Then I refrigerate the cake or muffins overnight and oh so good ! I usually go with a choc butter cream frosting. Just a couple tips I learned over time I also discovered if you put a small can of water next to the pans of cake you are baking there will not be any dome or dried crusty edges your cake bakes evenly and no cake to waste.
Andrea Holmes says
Could the recipe be turned into a 9×13 cake? How long to bake?
Nicole says
It would bake for about 30-35 minutes
Michele says
Perfect. I can’t believe they came out perfect My family kept eating them before they could even cool down. Thank you both for the recipe!
Nellie says
I’m so glad you loved the muffins as much as we do!
Michele says
I believe im a little late or a lot late to your posting of this recipe, i just had to let you know its your tried & true recipe. I made these Costco Coypcat cc muffins they turned out better then Costco’s muffins. Myfamily ate those up so fast bugging me to make more. Thanks for the delicious recipes.
Arwa Yousuf says
Is there any substitute for instant pudding mix, as it’s not available in our region
Jessica says
Absolutely. Instead, I’d put in 1 TBSP cornstarch + 1 TBSP cocoa powder + 3 TBSP sugar. : )
Boymom says
I processed about a cup of zucchini, reduced the oil and milk to a splash and skipped the water. They turned out beautiful, moist and delicious! I took them out at the 15 mark. Thanks for the great recipe!
Nellie says
I love the idea of adding zucchini to the recipe! Thanks for sharing!
Judith David says
I made these this morning. I made them gluten free and dairy free. I used oat milk and King Arthur cake mix. They had to bake a little longer but came out delicious. Very moist and fluffy. Not at all dense like some gluten free recipes. Thank you for the recipe. Easy to adapt. I just had to keep testing for the correct timing. It could also be my oven.
Nellie says
I’m so glad that the gluten and dairy substitutes worked well! We always love to hear how these recipes adapt to different dietary needs and preferences.