These Chocolate Cherry Muffins with 3 Ingredients are perfect when you crave a home-baked muffin but are short on time and have limited ingredients at home! This recipe is a lifesaver for busy mornings or afternoon snack attacks. It's a ridiculously simple recipe but makes moist and flavorful muffins packed with bursts of sweet cherries and rich chocolate.
There is something indescribable about that chocolate and cherry flavor combination! Do you love it, too? I've made a few more recipes with simple-to-use cherry pie filling, and I encourage you to try them! This easy chocolate cherry dump cake is a crowd-pleaser. This cherry cobbler made with yellow cake mix is also easy and so delicious!
Table of contents
Why I love this recipe
Crazy Easy: Just three ingredients and a few minutes of your time are all it takes to make a batch of these delicious muffins. No complicated ingredient lists or fussy techniques involved!
Big Flavor: Don't let the short ingredient list fool you. These muffins are bursting with flavor. The canned cherry pie filling adds sweetness, juicy fruit bits, and a touch of cinnamon, while the chocolate cake mix provides a rich chocolate base and fluffy texture.
Kid-Friendly Fun: Baking with kids is a breeze with this recipe. The simple ingredients and easy steps make it perfect for little hands to help out in the kitchen.
Perfect for Sharing (or Not!): This recipe yields a delightful batch of muffins, perfect for sharing with friends, family, or coworkers. My kids' friends used to love being my taste testers and these muffins were a favorite.
Ingredients
Truly, these three ingredients make these easy and delicious muffins!
- Chocolate cake mix - any chocolate cake mix works. I like the chocolate fudge kind, but a German chocolate cake mix or even a yellow cake works if you need something quick and have the cherries.
- A large can of Cherry pie filling (29 oz)—make sure it is the pie filling. You want the yummy sauce for the flavor and moisture.
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a regular 12 well muffin tin with non-stick spray and set aside.
Step 1
Dump the cake mix into a medium mixing bowl. Add the eggs and then mix the eggs into the cake mix. I use an electric hand mixer, but you can also mix by hand. I mix the eggs into the cake mix first so I don't need to mix the batter as much after adding the cherries.
Step 2
Add the cherry pie filling. When you mix that in, it will start to look like muffin batter.
Mix only until well incorporated. You do want some cherry chunks in your batter! Use a scoop to portion the batter neatly into the muffin tin, filling each well ¾ full.
Batter tips - Sometimes, there is a little batter left over. I believe that happens because there can be a varying amount of liquid in the cherry pie filling. I do not make an extra one or two muffins (but you can!). What I do is make sure each muffin well is filled to about ¾ full, then I take any of the cherry chunks from the remaining batter and place on top of my muffin batter.
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Step 3
Bake for approximately 19-20 minutes. Test if done using a toothpick. If toothpick comes out clean, they are done. If not, try again in another 3 minutes.
After baking, they look so delicious!
These are so delicious!
2 Ingredient Chocolate Cherry Muffins
This recipe used to be a 2 ingredient recipe. Although it worked out OK, most of the time the muffins deflated and fell. They tasted fine but didn't look great. Adding the 2 eggs helped with keeping the structure of the muffin. If you don't have any eggs or don't want to add them, using just the chocolate cake mix and canned pie cherries makes a good tasting muffin, but it won't look as nice as these.
Storage
Store in a well-covered container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. The muffins are a little moist from all the cherry pie filling, but that adds to their delicious flavor!
These can be frozen for up to three months, but I find that sometimes the muffins stick to the container when thawed. I would just share these, so there is no need to freeze!
FAQs
Yes, just make sure it goes well with chocolate (most fruit does). Also, make sure it is a pie-filling type of fruit so there is a liquid component. If it's just fruit, there isn't enough liquid to moisten the batter.
Do not overmix the batter. Just mix enough to incorporate all the ingredients. The batter will be lumpy because of the cherry chunks. If overmixed, the muffins won't rise and will be tough and dense (but still taste good).
Other 3 ingredient cake mix recipes
**Originally published Nov. 23, 2013.
Anna
Can this be made into a bread
Susan Moncrieff
If you want to make this into bread, use the time instructions on the back of the box for a baking guideline. Also, I would recommend adding a couple of eggs or it will be too dense to rise into a loaf.
Anna
Can these be frozen??
Susan Moncrieff
I have never frozen these but they should freeze perfectly fine. Make sure they are well wrapped to prevent freezer burn. Also, I would not keep them frozen for longer than 1 - 2 months.
Joy
Awesom:! My schedule is busy always, this makes my baking easier. Thank you.
Lynda
Can I make a 11x13 cake instead of muffins with the two ingredients
momcrieff
Yes you can. I do recommend looking at the mix box to help you figure out how long to bake the cake.
Marti
I will try the pumpkin muffins for Thanksgiving, adding dried cranberries and pecan pieces. But this choco-cherry is making me adventurous: I am going to try a butter pecan cake mix with a caramel-apple pie filling.