This Healthy Zucchini Muffins recipe is the best!! It’s quick and easy to make, totally comforting and delicious, and it’s made healthier with a few simple ingredients.
These last few weeks have felt like a whirlwind.
Between two trips back home to Wichita to be with family, deadlines and projects galore due for work, and a host of morning coffee dates, impromptu lunches, margarita happy hours, evening grill-outs and late-night front porch talks filling just about every little hour in between…I feel like I have barely blinked…and the summer is already half over.
Poof.
How does that even happen?
Well, I guess the old saying explains it all. Time seems to be flying while having lots of fun, with lots of dear people in my life, and lots of fun memories already being made. All the better, of course, with that heavenly warm summer sunshine covering it all. Definitely a full but good start to my favorite season of the year. So as Tim Riggins would say, “no regrets.”
That said, though, as much as I love the time spent with my people, my little introverted heart has been waving the red flag this weekend, ready for some r&r. So in small and long stretches this week, I’m scheduling some much-needed downtime into the agenda, starting this afternoon on a lazy Sunday. Feet are up, glass of iced tea is in hand, pup is curled up by my side, sunlight is streaming in through the windows, and a nice weekend nap is just 10 minutes away. And my goodness, I can already feel my little heart re-charging. It’s almost as though we were designed to need rest or something. :) So good.
Anyway, on this note of time zooming by, somehow it’s already zucchini season. And anyone with a garden knows what that means: so much zucchini. Like, SO MUCH. It happens to be one of my favorite seasonal vegetables, so I’m always happy to saute and add it to just about any dish that I’m having for dinner. But for anyone looking to mix things up and maybe even incorporate it into breakfast, I thought I’d share my recipe today for these healthy zucchini muffins.
I’ve made three batches of them in the past two weeks, and still don’t seem to get tired of them. They’re made with white whole wheat flour, naturally-sweetened, deliciously spiced with cinnamon, easy to freeze, and — even though you won’t taste it — they are chock full of fresh shredded zucchini. I think you’re going to love them.
Healthy Zucchini Muffins Recipe | 1-Minute Video
Healthy Zucchini Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 2/3 cups white whole wheat flour (or all-purpose flour)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 1/2 cup plain milk (dairy or non-dairy)
- 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) grated zucchini (no need to squeeze out excess liquid)
- 1/3 cups old-fashioned oats
- turbinado sugar, for sprinkling
Instructions
- Prep oven and muffin pan. Heat oven to 350°F. Prepare a 12-cup muffin pan by either greasing it with cooking spray or lining the cups with paper liners.
- Mix the dry ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, ground ginger and salt until combined.
- Mix the wet ingredients. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together egg, maple syrup, milk, coconut oil and vanilla extract until combined. Pour this mixture into the dry ingredient mixture and stir with a spoon until just combined. (Do not overmix.) Stir in the zucchini and oats until just combined.
- Bake. Portion the batter evenly between the 12 baking cups. Sprinkle the top of each muffin with a pinch of turbinado sugar, if desired. Bake for 16-18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the muffin comes out clean. Transfer pan to a wire cooling rack for at least 5 minutes to cool.
- Serve. Serve warm and enjoy!
Did you make this?Let me know how it turned out in the comments below!
Do I need to squeeze the grated zucchini or put everything in?
I’ve always made these without squeezing the extra liquid out of the zucchini, and they turn out great! :)
Great recipe! Made these with minor alterations — replacing the maple syrup with molasses* and using buttermilk instead of milk. Delicious, moist and perfect for my morning “grab and go” breakfast. Next time I’ll add plumped raisins for a treat. (*I always use blackstrap molasses in place of syrup or honey since it has such a high calcium content — got to get it where I can!)
Awesome, sounds delicious!
I’m not much of a recipe rater, but hey–three for three–these muffins are great! I’ve made them with different flour combinations, all to good success and tonight I added nuts and blueberries. This recipe is going in my “family approved” cookbook. Thanks and I will be checking out more of your recipes.
Awesome, so happy to hear it!!
I totally love these muffins and have made them multiple times! Do you think I could make them apple muffins instead of zucchini? Would that throw off the moisture?
So glad you love them! I haven’t tried them with apples yet, but imagine the substitution would be about equal. (Report back if you do!) ;)
My husband and I just tried making these zucchini muffins this afternoon, and they are great. Even our two-year-old, who is a very picky eater, ate one whole muffin and didn’t seem to mind the visible zucchini pieces in it. Our batter didn’t turn out as moist as it looks in the photos, maybe because we only put a 1/3 cup of maple syrup and added a handful of sliced almonds, but the muffins were still very tasty. We will certainly be making them again soon. Thank you for this recipe.
Awesome, so happy to hear it!
Can I substitute almond flour for the flour?
These look so good!! I was wondering as to how many zucchinis would make the required 1.5 cups of grated zucchini.
These were really good! My 3.5 year old and 17 month old gobbled them up! I love that there is no refined sugar. The maple syrup adds just the right amount of sweetness. I need sprinkle some mini chocolate chips into the batter though :)
Wonderful, so happy to hear it!
I had an abundance of zucchini this season and spent a day making these muffins, a traditional bread and a vegan bread. The muffins by far were the best of the 3. My daughter just came down and said ” the muffins are gone!”.
So now I need to make another batch. These were great for breakfast and also a snack in the afternoon.
Awesome!! :)
these are absolutely wonderful!! moist, not sweet, and good for you. what’s not to like ;)
oh, used more than the recommended amount of zucchini; Bob’s Red Mill whole wheat pastry flour.
Awesome, glad to hear it!