Healthy Zucchini Muffins

Name: Healthy Zucchini Muffins
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 17 min
Total time: 27 min
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

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by Marcie // July 7, 2021

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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!

Gluten-free zucchini muffin with paper liner partially removed

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.

How to make healthy zucchini muffins collage

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

Can rolled oats be used instead of oat flour?

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.

Is oat flour healthier than white flour?

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!

Healthy zucchini muffin cut in half on wire rack

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!