Healthy Zucchini Muffins
These Healthy Zucchini Muffins are almost too good to be true! They’re tender and fluffy with the goodness of oat flour and plenty of zucchini. These muffins are studded with chocolate chips, made in just one bowl, and they’re gluten-free!
**This recipe was originally published in June 2019. I’ve modified the recipe slightly and also added step by step photos, but the post text remains largely the same.
Happy Monday! I hope you all had a great Father’s Day and that your summer is going well. I’m really enjoying it so far.
I love how relaxed things are when my boys are out of school, but they sure do go through the food faster being at home!
I try to keep homemade breakfasts and snacks in the house at all times, but it’s hard to keep up. These Healthy Zucchini Muffins are almost always on repeat.
Since I can’t tolerate much wheat these days, I’ve been working hard to create a gluten-free version of my favorite Zucchini Chocolate Chip Bread that would be just as appealing to me as well as my family.
I adapted this recipe from my carrot cake muffins, which are made with oat flour. They’re so soft and fluffy that you’d never know they’re gluten-free!
Why you’ll love this recipe:
- These healthy zucchini muffins have a soft, tender texture with a hearty flavor and nutrition boost from the oats. They’re studded with chocolate chips for a bit of indulgence!
- Muffins are whole grain, dairy-free, refined sugar free and gluten-free, with a whopping 2 cups of grated zucchini.
- I’m not a huge fan of gluten-free flour blends on the market, so I worked hard to create muffins using only one type of flour –> oat flour.
- They’re so easy to make and require just one bowl!
Recipe ingredients
These gluten-free zucchini muffins contain wholesome ingredients, most of which may be customized with what you have on hand.
Ingredient notes
- Oat flour. Oats are naturally gluten-free, but some brands of oat flour may contain trace amounts of gluten as they’re processed in facilities that also produce wheat products. If you’re gluten intolerant, be sure that the package states that it’s gluten-free. Pro tip: If you don’t have oat flour, you can make your own with old fashioned rolled oats! See this post on How to Make Oat Flour by Cooke + Kate.
- Rolled oats. I’ve added rolled oats to this recipe for a bit of chewiness as these zucchini oatmeal muffins are very soft in texture. They may be substituted with the same amount of oat flour if you don’t have any on hand.
- Zucchini. Grate your zucchini or process it into small pieces in a food processor if you desire. This recipe does not require squeezing the liquid from the zucchini once is has been grated.
- Almond milk. The almond milk may be substituted with your favorite dairy or non-dairy milk.
- Coconut sugar. If you’re new to coconut sugar, it is unrefined and is not as sweet as other sweeteners on the market. It may be substituted with the same amount of granulated or brown sugar, but I have not tested this recipe with liquid sweeteners such as honey or maple syrup.
- Oil. Use your favorite brand of oil in this recipe, or you may also use melted butter.
- Chocolate chips. I used mini dairy free dark chocolate chips, but use your favorite! They may also be omitted altogether.
How to make this recipe
These gluten free zucchini muffins come together in about 15 minutes in one bowl, so it doesn’t get much easier!
Pro tip: Grate or process your zucchini 1-2 days in advance until you’re ready to get baking. There’s no need to squeeze and excess liquid from the zucchini as well, which is a nice time saver.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line (12) standard muffin cups with paper liners. Melt the coconut oil in a large bowl. Make sure the coconut oil isn’t too hot, then whisk in the coconut sugar and eggs vigorously until frothy, about 1 minute. Whisk in the almond milk and vanilla until combined.
- Add the oat flour, rolled oats, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda and salt, then whisk until combined. Fold in the grated zucchini and chocolate chips until incorporated.
- Divide the batter evenly between the muffin cups and bake for 15-20 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove from the pan and cool completely on a wire rack.
FAQs
If you don’t have oat flour on hand, you can make your own using old fashioned rolled oats. Follow this tutorial for homemade oat flour, or these muffins may be made in a blender.
To prepare in a blender:
Place all ingredients in the blender except for 1/2 cup rolled oats, zucchini and chocolate chips. Blend until smooth, then stir in the oats, zucchini and chocolate chips and follow the recipe as directed.
Oat flour is much more nutritious than white flour as it is 100% whole grain. It contains 3 grams of fiber per serving, 4 grams of protein and vitamins and minerals.
Recipe notes
- Pro tip: I grated my zucchini right into a large measuring cup so that I only needed one bowl. The zucchini may be prepped 1-2 days in advance until you’re ready to get baking. There’s no need to squeeze and excess liquid from the zucchini as well, which is a nice time saver.
- I added the 1/2 cup rolled oats to these healthy zucchini muffins for added texture. If you don’t have any on hand, substitute with an additional 1/2 cup oat flour.
- Top the muffins with walnuts for added crunch!
See all of my muffin recipes for more inspiration.
More zucchini recipes you’ll love:
- Chocolate zucchini muffins
- Chocolate zucchini bread
- Zucchini oatmeal bars
- Zucchini fritters
- Zucchini cake by The View from Great Island
- Zucchini cornbread
If you make this recipe I’d love to hear from you! Leave a comment and rating below, or tag me @flavorthemoments on Instagram!
Healthy Zucchini Muffins
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup melted coconut oil or sub with your favorite oil
- 3/4 cup coconut sugar or sub with granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1/3 cup unsweetened almond milk or sub with your favorite milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups oat flour
- 1/2 cup rolled oats
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups grated zucchini 1/2 lb. zucchini
- 1/3 cup dairy free mini chocolate chips
Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place (12) paper liners in the cavities of a standard muffin pan.
- In a large bowl, whisk the melted coconut oil, coconut sugar and eggs vigorously until frothy, about 1 minute. Add the almond milk and vanilla, whisking well to combine.
- Add the oat flour, rolled oats, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda and salt, and whisk until well combined, then fold in the zucchini and chocolate chips until incorporated.
- Divide the batter evenly between the (12) muffin cups and bake on the middle rack in the oven for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Cool the muffins in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then carefully remove from the pan and allow to cool completely. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Pro tip: I grated my zucchini right into a large measuring cup so that I only needed one bowl. The zucchini may be prepped 1-2 days in advance until you’re ready to get baking. There’s no need to squeeze and excess liquid from the zucchini as well, which is a nice time saver.
- I added the 1/2 cup rolled oats for added texture. If you don’t have any on hand, substitute with an additional 1/2 cup oat flour.
- Top the muffins with walnuts for added crunch!
Nutrition
Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.
36 Comments on “Healthy Zucchini Muffins”
Marcie, these zucchini muffins look fabulous! I’m always trying to get in more oatmeal and these are perfect! Hope you have a lovely summer and enjoy cooking lots of yummy things for your boys. This is what memories are made of!
Thank you so much Kelly…it is all about making memories! I can’t get enough oatmeal so I love using oat flour…it’s got such great flavor! 🙂
Oh my!! These muffins look wonderful.. I have started using oat flour in baking now a days. Shall try soon.. ❤️
Thank you Arpita! Oat flour is so wonderful in baked goods!
These muffins looks heavenly awesome marcie
Thank you Priya!
I love the idea of baking with zucchini but feel like I don’t do it as much as I should. These muffins need to happen!
Also, did I mention that I made your easy granola bars that you recently posted? My hubby devoured them!
These muffins might make you bake with it more — they certainly do that for me! I’m so glad to hear that he liked them! We all devour them over here. 🙂
I LOVE baking with oat flour! And I just bought a huge bag so I’m thinking I need to whip up some of these muffins! They look AWESOME.
I love using oat flour so much more than GF baking blends! I hope you get to make some Ashley. 💚
I often cook for a gluten-free friend, so I’m always interested in good recipes. Thanks!
You’re very welcome! 🙂
These muffins looks soo delicious Marcie…and this beautiful with more healthy muffins as well….i will tying to make it from your recipe & tips..Thanks for shared an amazing muffins..!
Thank you Macy!
These turned out like soup. A lot of ingredients wasted and very disappointed!!!
Hi LeAnna. I’m really sorry to hear that these didn’t turn out for you, but I’ve made them countless times with no problems, and know others that have as well. Did you modify the recipe at all?
These turned out beautiful and delicious. I used extra thick gluten free oats and blended them in a food processor and then added just 1/2 a cup of gf quick oats. The batter was a little watery so I did 24 muffins and only filled the batter half way. I cooked them also for an extra 10 mins. They are crispy on the outside and so soft and yummy on the inside. A big hit in our house, I will definitely make them again.
these turned out perfect, so happy to have discovered this recipe. I ended up making 18 muffins as I only fill 3/4 of the way up and don’t use liners. adding to my favourites. thank you!
I’m so glad that you enjoyed the recipe Candice, and thank you for the feedback!
Bummer, these turned out like soup for me, as well! I’ve done quite a bit of gluten free baking as well as oat flour baking. I was concerned about the amount of liquids, knowing that the grated zucchini would also add moisture! I’ve never seen gluten free zucchini muffins this watery and I’m trying to fix that. Bummer! I did add avocado oil instead of melted coconut oil. I have not had a problem with that substitution before- any thoughts or tips?
I would add more oat flour! I tried this many times as is and they turned out fine every time. I will revisit the recipe and see if I should make some modifications since you’re the second person that us had difficulty.
I was able to add about a cup of tapioca starch and 1/4 cup of almond flour and it is fluffy and tender like you shared in your post. Because I added all of that, it cut the sweetness though! Anyway, I think it would be awesome if you had a video so we could make sure we are doing the steps correctly and see what it looks like when it comes together! Thanks so much, Marcie! Looking forward to checking out your other recipes!
I’m so glad your adjustments worked! I really appreciate your feedback and and will keep a video posted in mind for sure!
Hi Lina — I just wanted you to know that I modified the recipe today to include 1/3 cup milk instead of 3/4 cup. While the recipe worked for myself and others before, I decided to try it with less milk and it was great. I will also be adding step by step photos very soon as I took them today. Thank you!
Hi! These are perfect for us! I sub 1 1/2 banana, and a little unsweetened applesauce for the sugar- my kiddos love these! I love using oat flour instead of regular especially for my 1 year old! Thanks so much!
Hi Kate! I’m so glad you enjoyed the muffins and thanks for sharing your modifications!
I love baking with zucchini as it makes everything so light and airy! And pairing zucchini with choc chips is the best. I love the ingredients in this recipe, Marcie. Hope you’ve been well.
I agree — zucchini really does lighten things up! Thanks Katerina and I hope you’re doing great as well!
Now I’m in the mood for zucchini muffins! 🙂 I’m staying down the shore next week and like to bring a few healthy homemade snacks – think I’ll make these babies! I wonder if they’ll work with flax eggs – any idea?
I have never tried using flax eggs in my oat flour baking. I think it should work but I really can’t say for sure and don’t want you to waste ingredients!
These were so delicious! I made them for my preschoolers lunches.
I’m glad you like them Jennifer! 😃
This recipe is a keeper!! It is so easy (I don’t have to sweat and squeeze the zukes!! That calls for a little happy dance!), and they are delicious! Not too sweet, perfectly moist, and gluten free which is a win for our family.
Thank you so much!!
I hate squeezing the liquid from the “zukes” too! Lol. Thank you for the feedback and I’m so glad you love the muffins!
If you are using the zucchini freshly grated, do you suggest squeezing out the water? The pro tip noted placing in the fridge for 1-2 days,
There’s no need to squeeze the water after you grate it. If you grate it ahead of time and excess liquid is visible, just drain it real quick. Hope that helps!