Healthy Chocolate Lava Cakes (Vegan, Gluten Free)

These mini lava cakes are fluffy on the outside and melty on the inside! They're vegan, gluten free, and healthy, and make for the perfect dessert.

I've been on a chocolate kick lately so this lava cake is just what I need. It's cakey and rich, with a melty chocolate filling that's just heavenly.

There's just something so satisfying about sticking your spoon into your single-serve cake (this recipe makes 4 servings but each in an individual cup!) and watching the chocolate flow onto your spoon and all over the fluffy cake. And then you get to eat it!😝

Like all my recipes, it has the perfect balance of indulgence and nutrient density that makes you feel good. 🙂 There's no dairy, no eggs, and no gluten so you can enjoy this dessert even if you're vegan or gluten intolerant!

We've also got the healthy swaps going to make your dessert as satisfying, filling, and nutritious as possible, plus my favorite trick for a fluffy cake with a super melty and flowy chocolate filling. So be sure to read on for that!

If you plan to make this later or want to be able to find it again (it's just so annoying when you're looking for a recipe you saw & just can't find it!), be sure to click here to save the recipe on Pinterest!📌 That way, you'll always be able to come back to it 😉

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Ingredients in Healthy Chocolate Lava Cakes

The first question that most people think of for a gluten free recipe is "what's the flour substitute?" Since regular wheat flour has gluten, most cakes are not gluten free.

But luckily, there are such things as gluten free flour blends that exist! This is the one I use and it works pretty well. No, it's not exactly the same, but it definitely works and results in a fluffy and delicious cake! The blend is made of mostly rice flour, both brown and white, but it's got some binders too.

With that said, if you do not have a sensitivity to gluten I would recommend regular all purpose flour or white whole wheat flour, just because it's closer (or, is) to the real thing.

So that's how we do gluten free. Now how is it vegan? No eggs or dairy allowed 🙂

For the dairy, that's simple. Just use plant milk! Oat milk is my favorite, but you can use literally any kind you like (even dairy milk if that's not important to you!). For the chocolate, there are tons of vegan chocolates out there so that shouldn't be an issue to find.

Now onto the eggs. The main purpose of eggs in baked goods is to make it rich (the yolks) and fluffy (the whites). So naturally, we have two ingredients to replace it.

For richness, we're using avocado oil. So yeah it's acting as a double since we were going to put oil anyways (sorry, but oil free baked goods are just not it...). Avocado oil is my favorite because of it's healthy unsaturated fats and omega-3 fatty acids. It's basically got the same nutritional profile as olive oil but with a completely neutral taste! It's my go-to for all cakes and bakeries.

This is the avocado oil I use; it's the best price for it's value since it is a big size (buying in bulk is the way to go!). I use it for literally everything, including stove-cooking since it has a higher smoke point than olive oil 🙂

And for the fluffiness (egg white replacer) we're using apple cider vinegar. No, you can't taste it and we're using very little. But, when the acidity of the vinegar reacts with the basic baking soda, it results in more structured air pockets and a lighter texture. You can get some here!

Finally, the sugar replacement. Regular sugar is vegan anyways, but this recipe uses coconut sugar for the extra vitamins, minerals, and lower glycemic index. This is my favorite brand of coconut sugar (yes, I have tried many but this is the clear winner). However, if you want to use regular sugar that's totally fine!

Click here to save this recipe on Pinterest so you can always come back to it!📌

I really hope you like this recipe! If you decide to make it, be sure to post a picture/story and tag me @nutritiousdelights on Instagram–I’d love to see!💕

Also, don't forget to leave a comment if you make this so everyone knows how it goes 🙂 You can also feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions about the recipe!🥰

More recipes you might love:

No Added Sugar Brownies (Healthy, Vegan, Gluten Free, Paleo)

Healthy Vegan Heart-Shaped Strawberry & Chocolate Rolls

Vegan Vanilla Bean Bundt Cake (Healthy)