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This healthy mug cake is rich, moist, and full of chocolate flavor. Low in calories, it’s made with no eggs or butter and ready in under a minute!
Love mug cake recipes? Try my peanut butter mug cake, coffee mug cake, and protein mug cake next.
Watching my calories doesn’t mean I say goodbye to sweets. Quite the contrary, actually.
My low calorie mug cake has been a staple in our house for quite a while. It’s easy to make and allows me to satisfy my chocolate cravings without going overboard.
Table of Contents
Why I love this recipe
- Microwave and oven instructions. I prefer the microwave method since it’s quick, but if I’m making 2-3 mug cakes at a time, I’ll typically use the oven. So, I included instructions for both.
- Secretly diet-friendly. Without even trying, this mug cake is dairy-free, vegan, AND easy to make gluten-free or low-carb if needed.
- It’s just so easy. Just mix all the ingredients together and pop it in the microwave. One minute later, and voila! A mini chocolate cake all for yourself.
- Customizable. This recipe has plenty of wiggle room to swap the ingredients or change the flavor.
★★★★★ REVIEW
“Wow, this turned out so good! Perfect dessert to help with a sweet tooth when you are dieting and so easy!” – Casha
Ingredients needed
- All-purpose flour. Also known as plain flour. Be sure to sift it thoroughly if your flour has clumps.
- Sugar OR sugar substitute. To keep the calories super low and the mug cake sugar-free, opt for a sugar substitute (granulated). If you are fine with some sugar, any works- brown, white, coconut sugar, etc.
- Cocoa Powder. To give the mug cake the chocolate flavor, use good-quality cocoa powder to really bring out the flavor.
- Baking soda. To give the mug cake some rise and texture!
- Salt. Brings out the sweetness, especially in cakes.
- Oil of choice. For the rich texture of the cake. Oil also replaces the need for any butter or margarine.
- White vinegar. It acts as a leavening agent, especially when mixed with baking soda.
- Vanilla extract. A must for any baked good or cake!
- Water. To bind the ingredients. I also tested using unsweetened almond milk, but I didn’t notice a big flavor difference, so I used water to keep the calories lower.
- Espresso powder. Optional, but I find it enhances the chocolate flavor without imparting strong coffee flavor.
- Mini chocolate chips. Another optional mix-in, but as you can imagine, chocolate chips make everything taste better!
How to make a low calorie mug cake
I’ve included step-by-step photos below to make this recipe easy to follow at home. For the full printable recipe instructions and ingredient quantities, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Step 1- Prep. Grease a microwave-safe mug or ramekin with cooking spray.
Step 2- Make the batter. Combine the dry ingredients. Add the rest of the ingredients and whisk until smooth. Stir in chocolate chips if using.
Step 3- Microwave. Microwave for 1-2 minutes. Remove from the microwave and let sit for 30 seconds before enjoying.
How to make this in the oven
If you’d rather make the healthy mug cake in the oven, you certainly can. Simply grease an oven-safe ramekin or small baking dish (4 or 6 inches) with cooking spray. Make the cake batter and pour it into the ramekin. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until a toothpick comes out mostly clean. Let it sit for a minute before enjoying.
Arman’s recipe tips
- Avoid overcooking. Everyone’s microwave models differ, so I suggest microwaving the mug cakes in 30-second intervals. After a minute, if the cake feels slightly soft, let it sit for 30 seconds and see if it firms up. If not, continue microwaving in 15-second intervals until done.
- Use a bigger mug or cereal bowl if you’re worried the cake will overflow as it expands.
- If the batter is too thick, add a splash of milk.
Variations
- Make it extra gooey. Add an additional 2 tablespoons of water and reduce the cooking time to 45 seconds or until the tops are just barely done.
- Cut the carbs. Use a keto brown sugar substitute and sugar-free chocolate chips.
- Make it fat-free. Swap the oil for unsweetened applesauce.
- Enhance the flavor. Fold in ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract or top the cake with a pinch of flaky sea salt.
More low calorie desserts you’ll love
Healthy Mug Cake (Low Calorie)
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon all-purpose flour gluten-free, if necessary
- 2 tablespoon granulated sweetener of choice sugar or sugar substitute
- 2 teaspoon cocoa powder
- 1/16 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon espresso powder optional
- 1 teaspoon oil of choice vegetable, sunflower, coconut, etc.
- 1/2 teaspoon white vinegar scant 1/2 teaspoon * See notes
- 1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoon water
- 1-2 tablespoon chocolate chips of choice optional
Instructions
- Grease a microwave-safe bowl or ramekin generously with cooking spray.
- Add your dry ingredients and mix well. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix until fully incorporated. If using chocolate chips, fold them through.
- Microwave for 1-2 minutes, or until done. Remove from the microwave and let sit for 30 seconds, before enjoying.
Oven Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Grease an oven-safe dish or ramekin (4-6 inches).
- Add your dry ingredients and mix well. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix until fully incorporated. If using chocolate chips, fold them through.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until the cake looks done. Remove from the oven and let sit for 30 seconds, before enjoying.
Tried and amazing, you can vary with flavours of protein powder.
Quite sweet! I will reduce the amount of sugar next time but nice recipe! Kids loved it and it’s just the right amount. Thanks!
So welcome, Kerry!
Taste is good!
This was so yummy!
judging off of the reviews and the texture i got after mixing everything, it’s probably a good recipe, but i put it in the microwave for 1:30 minutes and it came out like a line of rubber. i will try again tommorow for 30 seconds!
Amazing! My go to mug cake recipe
Wow this turned out so good! Perfect dessert to help with a sweet tooth when you are dieting and so easy!
This was AMAZING! I loved the taste of this so much. I used granulated Swerve as my sweetener, and I broke up, into small pieces, a few squares of plant based Hershey’s bar and used those as my chocolate chips! I can’t believe how good this tasted. And it really satiated my craving for dessert.
Lovely recipe! Perfect when you are craving something sweet but aren’t wanting to commit to full on baking! Thank you!!
SO GOOD!!! I was skeptical but holy cow… I replaced the granulated sugar with maple syrup and omg I am probably going to make this every single night for the next month straight lol I’m amazed at how good it is!
Haha thanks Kris!!
This is such a good dessert!
This is the best thing on the internet
Oh my gosh, this is so good that I had to make an account just to rate it. I had no vinegar so I used baking powder, put it on for 1:10 (although 1 minute would’ve had my perfect texture) and it was sooo delicious. I’m in disbelief this is 100 calories but the ingredients don’t lie! Thank you! This is my new favorite recipe lol!
OMG! This is so good. I didn’t use vinegar, espresso or chocolate chips but I did use regular sugar and it is AMAZING!!!! Next time, I will try using Stevia. Highly recommend and will be making again. Cooked it for 1 1/2 minutes in my microwave and it was perfect.
The best single serving mug cake ever!
Hi, I made the chocolate cake mug this evening. we like the chocolate taste, but it lack some moisture.
I will make it again, maybe i will add a teaspoonof applesauce.
DELICIOUS. I didn’t think it was going to taste this good. 10/10 recommend.
😀 thanks Rose!
I tried this recipe today and I am so happy with the result. It was so soft and fluffy. From now on I will be following this recipe IN SHA ALLAH.
I made the chocolate mug cake in the microwave, it was a really nice gluten free treat. I used Bob’s Red Mill flour and coconut sugar for the sweetener. It came out really good.
Absolutely lovely!! Recommending to all my friends 🙂
I was wondering how you work out the nutritional value of your recipes, especially the calories?
The recipe card calculates it.
Hi there,
The taste was pretty good but mine turned out gummy and chewy. Any idea what I did wrong?
Hi Matt- sounds like you’ve over-microwaved it- you must have a high energy microwave. Reduce the microwave time for 20 seconds.
Loved this recipe! Perfect for late night chocolate cravings
The only mugcake that is actualy good
Delicious! Best mug cake recipe I’ve tried!
I like the recipes, because I’m living alone and there’s no need to bake or cook much food. Thanks.
literally the best mug cake ive ever had. not even exaggerating, normally mine are super dense. this wasnt!! i cooked mine 1:45 and it was perfect!! thank you omg this is so good
You are a gem!
This was the best “mug” cake I’ve ever had!! I made mine in a bowl, as I tripled the recipe (I really wanted cake, okay?). Other recipes I’ve tried turn out dry, flavorless, or had terrible textures despite following the recipe perfectly. This one though, has a great taste and texture! Since I made it at midnight I didn’t have the proper measuring tools ready, so my measurements were slightly off. I also did not have vinegar and only had baking powder rather than soda. Normally I would have waited until I had everything right, but I was desperate for some chocolate cake. It paid off, because despite all of this, the cake came out amazing – and goes to show that this recipe is so good that it still tastes great even if you mess it up. Would DEFINITELY reccomend this.
I just made this. It was so so good moist and full of flavor. I used apple cider vinegar I didn’t have white. All I can say this takes care of my sugar and chocolate cravings. Thank you so much for this recipe. Do you have any more low calorie flavors like cinnamon or vanilla?
This is soooo delicious! Are the chocolate chips included in the calorie count? I am assuming not.
So delicious. Seriously one of the only good low calories mug cakes online. I topped it with a low cal chocolate pudding and removed the vinegar to make it fudgy 🤤
Bro this is so good its better then a normal cake im the friend of Marcel this isnt spam💀
This recipie is the best mug cake we have ever tried. All of your recipies that I have tried are awesome! 😀💜
Thank you .
Super easy and really hits the Spot!
Of course you can taste the difference between this and a cake filled with butter and milk, but for the time, ingredients and calories, it doesn’t get better than this!
Insanely good. My sister sent it to me and said I have to try. Made twice in one day. I only added 1 tablespoon of sweetener and second time round cooked for 1.30 minute which was even better! Thanks so much
Great tasting – lots of ingredients but worth the extra fuss for low cal tasty outcome 🙂
Another banger! This is PERFECTION. I didn’t have chcolate chips but had a bit of left over vanilla icing in the freezer. Shaved off a bit and let it melt on top after the microwave. *chef’s kiss* amazing! This is my go to recipe! Thank you!
This was delicious! Tastes so decadent.. but it’s not!
This is going to be my new go to recipe for a mug cake. I used 1/4 tsp of rice vinegar and it turned out fine (couldn’t taste the vinegar).
Omg this recipe hit the spot. I’m on the WW program & my traditional cake in a mug recipe uses oil. I bake often so I wanted To find something to satisfy my chocolate cravings that also involved my oven safe ramekins. I followed All the instructions but do live in high altitude so I did Have to leave it in the oven for 18 minutes vs 10. Next time, my plan is to reduce the water by 1 Tbs because of the altitude & see if that’s better. Thank you so much. It was perfect & I linked your recipe to share with my weight watchers connect group.
Hands down delicious!!! Put a fresh sliced strawberry on top.
Really good! But calorie count is way misleading and off.
2 tbsp of flour is 50 cal
2 tbsp sugar is at least 50 cal
1 tsp oil 41 cal
Cocoa powder is ~40
If you add chocolate chips that’s 160 for the ones I used.
Not correct- we used sugar substitutes which is 0 calories and 1 teaspoon of oil is 30 calories. Cocoa powder is 7 calories (1 tablespoon is 10 calories). Looks like your calorie calculator is off.
This is actually amazing! So quick and easy. Might have this every night!
Hot damn. Hot damn. HOT DAMN.
Seriously amaaaazing. After a long day with a teething baby, this is exactly what momma wants and NEEDS! It’s gonna be hard not to eat this every night…or like 5 times a day haha thank you for this!!
Is it 100 calories using real sugar or the fake sweeteners?
It is using the sugar substitutes.
I made a big batch of the dry ingredients. Now I just use 2 heaping tablespoons of the dry and add my wet ingredients. Takes seconds and is delicious. Thanks for sharing.
SO GOOD!!!! I didn’t have vinegar so substituted for water, submerged a piece of chocolate in the batter to make lava cake, and incorporated chopped almonds for texture 🙂
THE BEST mug cake! Thank you.
I prefer my mug cakes to be more gooey and brownie-like, but for a cake-like consistency, this was really good! I added two tablespoons of chocolate chips, and would definitely recommend at least that for texture. I microwaved just 1 minute, and would probably do a little bit less next time so that it’s gooey-er. The portion size was also really small!… which I guess is because it’s only 100 calories haha…
Love, love, love the flavor! OMG! Used gf flour (cup 4 cup) and Stevia and it tasted amazing. I can’t figure out what I’m doing wrong, though, because it didn’t rise at all. I tried it a second time and followed the directions word for word and it still didn’t rise. What am I doing wrong?
I’ve been making mug cakes for a long time. Always looking for that perfect small cake, but it always alluding me. Well, I’m happy, and sad (it’s become somewhat of a hobby looking) to say I’ve found it! Perfect, tender, not dry, fluffy, flavorful, I can go on and on, but I won’t. Simply, Thank you!
Such a yummy recipe! Definitely doesn’t work with almond flour, had to toss my first attempt out. Best incarnation I had was using coconut oil for the oil component and subbing cold brew coffee for the water. Delicious!
My new guilt free go to!! Absolutely in love with this recipe. I use coconut oil and replace 1 Tbs 9f the water with leftover coffee (from the morning). After a hard day I also pair the warm cake with coffee chocolate chip gelato! Absolutely delicious! Thank you!
I didnt have a lot of hope but I made this and it turned out to be amazing!! Ready in less than 5 minutes. It was fluffy, moist and delicious.
I was sceptical as I’ve never had much luck with mug cakes.
This was amazing! Yum!
This is the first recipe of yours I ever tried and I keep coming back to it. I’ve made so many of your recipes but this one is just outstanding. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Forgot the rating. It’s really a 10 but only could go to 5
You are a gem.
I needed this in my life.
Great recipe! So easy and comes out perfect!! Thanks for sharing ❤️❤️
This would also make it 96 cals as opposed to slightly higher with plain flour!☺️
I only have self raising flour – could I use this?
Not that I’ve tried!
Hi . This resepy is perfect . I love it so much 🤩
Can you upload a vanilla low calorie mag cake recipe too?
so easy to make and tasted soooo gooood!
I used 1 tablespoon of regular sugar. After mixing it all up, it looked like a tiny amount of batter, so i kept expectations low as I popped it in the microwave.. but i didn’t have to! Because the cake is amazing!!! It rose beautifully and is soo fluffy and moist. Thank you so much for the recipe x
I absolutely love this low calorie mug cake! I eat it whenever I’m craving for sweets and the portion is just perfect!!
I only add 1tbsp of sugar when I’m adding chocolate chips and it’s sweet enough for me! Lol..
Thanks for sharing!! 😀
You are so welcome!
No matter how many new recipes I try, I still go back to this one.
Soooooo gooodd!
I did make a few minor changes: I
1. I doubled the recipe and used a bowl instead of a mug since I have a HUGE sweet tooth
2. Used ACV instead of white
3. Used a bit of baking powder since the first time it didn’t rise as much as I would have liked the first time around 🙂
Bonus step: I tend to reserve a tinyyy bit of the batter (around a tsp or so) and used it on top of the cooked cake as chocolate syrup. Makes it so much better! Love it!
Wow!! So chewy and rich and delicious, I adore this recipe!!! Thank you 🥲
Thank you, Charlotte xxx
OMG! Absolutely amazing!! Like others have said, I’ve tried sooooo many mug cake recipes and they either end up dry or a weird texture. This was heavenly! I topped mine with coconut reddi whip. 😋 I used King Arthur gluten free flour, monk fruit for the sugar, applesauce for the oil and Enjoy Life dairy free dark chocolate chips. Everything else was the same. So good that I dropped some on the floor and I actually ate it. Haha 🤷♀️ I can’t have gluten or dairy and this is such a nice healthy treat for me. Thank you so very much!
DELICIOUS!!!!! amazing! Would totally recommend this to others, so fudgy and tasty! YET SO FEW CALORIES!!! HANDS DOWN THE BEST MUG CAKE EVER!!!
Seriously life changing mug cake right here 🤤
Thank you, thank you!
I recommend making a quick icing with powdered swerve almond milk and vanilla- give it a bit something extra and is reminiscent of an Oreo! Yum! Delish! 😋
Wow! I’m blown away by how wonderful the texture of this mug cake is, and it’s only ~150 calories with chocolate chips! This is a game changer
This UNDER 100 CALORIE…yes i confirmed 😉 mug cake was simply delicious!! I topped it with a little bit of whipped cream and a sprinkle of mini chocolate chips! Thanks for coming up with a mug cake that didn’t taste like cardboard!!
Well… totally delicious, but I made and ate this mug cake before actually realising that you absolutely must omit the optional ingredients (choc chips) and use sugar substitute unless you want a regular calorie mug cake… my bad, guess I’m skipping dinner today! 😆
Side note though, I didn’t add lemon or vinegar and it worked out great – didn’t feel like it was missing anything!
Hello! I followed the recipe exactly as it says, I used almond flour and I just added a little extra water so it was a little more fudgy but when I put it in the microwave the batter raised too much and went everywhere. Is this normal?
This recipe doesn’t use almond flour 🙂
Not at all. This is under 100 calories so no idea how you get that figure- likely you are not using the recommended ingredients.
Enjoy this under 100 calorie mug cake.
Oh my goodness. Best mug cake ever! I almost don’t want to tell anyone. It’s my secret! But I can’t keep my mouth shut! Hahaha
This turned out fantastic!! Such a yummy portion controlled treat without the guilt. I will definitely make this again. I appreciate all of your wonderful recipes.
So good!
Probably have made this around 20 times- it’s so satisfying. I mix a little plain yogurt with powdered sugar as a light icing on top (with some sprinkles on top of that) and it’s the exact treat of my dreams. Thanks for a great recipe!
Love that idea!
The taste is delicious! I think I overdid it in the microwave at 1 min 30 seconds, so it became a little spongy. I think I would’ve added a little more water and a little less time in the microwave and it would’ve been perfect. Will definitely make again!
The flavor of this was honestly SO good! I topped mine with a little bit of coconut whip and it was delicious! Thanks so much for a quick, low calorie dessert option 🙂
Sounds perfect! 🙂
Yummy! I added only 1 TBS of sugar and 1/2 TBS mini chocolate chips. I’m wondering if you meant to put 2 teaspoons of sugar instead of 2 tablespoons as this was plenty sweet with 1 TBS and would make more sense for calories.
Hi Avi! It would depend on the brand of granulated sweetener you use 🙂 You can always adjust it to taste 🙂
Is it still 100 calories with the chocolate drops? Or do those add extra calories?
Extra 🙂
Not misleading at all, I used a sugar substitute.
I have tried a few mug cake recipes but this one is by far the best! And it doesn’t even have any milk eggs or butter, I will definitely make this again
it was…AMAZING?? I have tried so many mug cakes and they have all had a weird texture or whatever, but this one is fluffy heavenly goodness, and it’s only 100 calories!! would absolutely make again.
Thank you so much 🙂
super good! i tried your 4 ingredient one with bananas it was super good! and so was this one! i cooked it a little too long so it was crunchy but thats on me i just put a bit of ice cream on top and it was amazing! the cake isn’t too sweet but its super chocolaty and full of amazing flavor totally recommend
Turned out perfect. I am the type to always want a “little something” after dinner without breaking the calorie bank. I love that this is a quick, single serving recipe. I used a sugar sub and apple cider vinegar, 1 min in the microwave and sprinkled a few chocolate chips on. Might undercook it a little next time for some gooeyness, but it wasn’t dry at all. Just the recipe I needed!
I have tried so many recipes to find the perfect chocolate mug cake and OH MY GOD here it is. By far the best one I have made! Thank you so much!!!!!!!!!!!!!
😀 You are so welcome!
OMG! This is to die for! I mixed chocolate chips in the middle, and sprinkled some on top. It was moist and had gooey chocolate in the center. Yum! Thanks, Arman!
Do I have to add vinegar?
Yes, or lemon juice.
Really great recipe! I have not had a good mug cake in a long time so I was very excited to see it come out so fluffy. Also great not using so much oil and using the magic of vinegar and bicarbonate!
This. Was. Delicious.
This recipe was delish! I didn’t cook it all the way through so there was a little of the mixture left gooey, was soft and chocolatey and one of the best mug cakes I’ve tried. Thank you!
😀 Fabulous! Thanks for the feedback
Youv’e cracked the code. Now this is a mug cake. Real tasty and real cake. Baked from the Netherlands:-)
Omg I tried it this morning and it was so good!! I’m usually really skeptical when it comes to mug cakes…but THIS was definitely worth making AND eating!! If your in the mood for chocolate cake and want a quick chocolate fix, I recommend making this!! Guilt free and tastes so good. (I put some expresso in as well) I’d definitely make this again.
You are the best, Alima- Thank you for the feedback!
Will this work with Apple cider vinegar?
I don’t see why not!
I usually never leave reviews or comments but I couldn’t with this one. I’ve never tasted anything better bro, especially that I’m on a sugar free calorie deficit this was literally heaven after a long time of not having regular brownies/ cookies etc. Not dry, very moist in-fact & rich in flavor.
Note that did not leave the espresso powder out, I added a big tablespoon of cacao powder, substituted white vinegar for apple cider and used a sugar free syrup instead of a granulated sugar substitute. Will be definitely making this a lot as a snack!
Thanks, Sam!