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4.72 stars (89 ratings)Jul 10, 2017108
Get ready for the best zucchini muffins ever! So light and fluffy, these whole grain muffins are quick, easy, and delicious (especially with thosechocolate chips!).
I hinted at these glorious muffins on Instagram a while back.
And even though it may not be zucchini season for everyone right now, before some of us know it, we’re going to have the humble, green vegetable coming out of our ears and piling up on our kitchen counters.
Bookmark this recipe. Print it out. Sleep with it under your pillow.
You’re going to want it close by, because these muffins are the best zucchini muffins of my life.
As much as I love this older zucchini muffin recipe, today’s recipe is my favorite of the two. So light and fluffy (even with 100% whole wheat flour!), they are ridiculously delicious.
The first time I made them several months ago (purchasing zucchini at the store in April is painful, but someone’s gotta do it in the name of recipe testing), I forgot the salt.
Ew. Don’t do that. Unless you want a significant and impactfulreminder how important a little bit of salt is to a baked good.
It reminds me of the time I forgot the salt in a whole batch of homemade bread (five loaves!), and I cried buckets of tears (and still made my family eat it – the longest week of our lives).
If you remember the saltANDdecide you have about 20minutes (so fast!) to dedicate to the zucchini muffin cause, I have a good feeling you’ll adore these little muffins.
Whether you choose to add chocolate chips or not is up to you.
And while we are talking about important life choices in regards to muffins, another super yummy variation is to use one cup of shredded apples in place of one cup of shredded zucchini! Fantastic.
The recipe really has all the details you need. I note this below, but I love sprinkling a tiny touch of coarse sugar over the top of the whole grain zucchini muffins before they bake.
It adds the most delightful crunch and hint of sweetness! If adding chocolate chips, I usually skip the itty bits of sugar on top, but you could certainly do both. You wild one, you.
JUST A FEW EXTRAS:
{Affiliate links for products below that I’ve bought from Amazon}
-I used this Farberware and this USA muffin tin for this recipe (both great; the USA pan, while a bit more expensive, makes the best muffins with perfectly domed tops – nothing ever sticks)
-These are my favorite nonstick parchment muffin liners
-I usually use my box grater or food processor for shredding; make sure to use the small/fine side or blade
I hope with zucchini season almost upon us (and some of you in the full throes already) that you find time to make these tasty muffins!
What are your other favorite ways to use up zucchini?
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Four Years Ago: Zucchini Lasagna
Five Years Ago: No-Bake Peanut Butter Chocolate Bars
The Best Whole Grain Zucchini Muffins
Yield: 12 muffins
Prep Time: 20 minutes mins
Cook Time: 20 minutes mins
Total Time: 40 minutes mins
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Ingredients
- ¾ cup (159 g) granulated sugar (can use 1/2 cup for a less sweet muffin)
- 2 large eggs
- ⅓ cup canola, avocado, vegetable or melted coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cups (178 g) white whole wheat flour (can sub all-purpose)
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups (about 283 g) finely shredded zucchini lightly squeezed of excess water, measured after wringing (see note)
- ½ cup (85 g) milk chocolate, semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips, (plus more for tops of muffins, if desired), optional
- Raw or coarse sugar for sprinkling on top, optional
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a standard 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners or grease with nonstick cooking spray.
In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, eggs, oil, and vanilla until well-combined.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and stir with a wooden spoon or spatula3-4 times until the batter starts to come together but there are still streaks of flour throughout.
Stir in the shredded zucchini and chocolate chips, if using, until the batter is just combined. Don’t overmix! It’s ok if the batter is still slightly lumpy.
Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin tin. Add a few chocolate chips to the top of each muffin for a prettier chocolate chip appearance (totally optional). If making the batter without chocolate chips, sprinkle a bit of raw or coarse sugar over the top of the muffins (again, optional, but super delicious).
Bake for 17-22 minutes until the tops spring back lightly to the touch.
Let cool for a few minutes in the muffin tin before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. These taste best once cooled, in my opinion (and are delicious the next day, as well).
Notes
Zucchini: you don’t need to go crazy wringing the water out of the zucchini here. I simply shred the zucchini finely and then take handfuls and give the zucchini a good squeeze over the kitchen sink (with no extra tools like a kitchen towel, etc). A good, healthy squeeze will do just fine. No need to squeeze the guts out of the zucchini for this recipe. I’ve given a weight and general cup measure for the zucchini once it is lightly squeezed.
Variation: want another delicious variation? Sub in 1 cup finely shredded apple (Granny Smith or Honeycrisp are tasty here) for 1 cup of the zucchini (no need to squeeze water out of the apple). So yummy!
Author: Mel
Course: Bread
Cuisine: American
Method: Bake
Serving: 1 Muffin, Calories: 186kcal, Carbohydrates: 26g, Protein: 3g, Fat: 9g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Cholesterol: 29mg, Sodium: 206mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 16g
Recipe Source: from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe
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posted on July 10, 2017 (last updated April 20, 2024)
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108 comments on “The Best Zucchini Muffins {Whole Grain}”
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Annie — Reply
Buckets of tears reference- I got that one (if you’re referring to 7Bf7B). Can’t wait to make these muffins! We’re having a muffin feast today for conference- zucchini, blueberry, and pumpkin!
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Janna — Reply
My toddler devoured these. And me too 🙂
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Rebecca — Reply
I’ve made this several times now-it’s a keeper! I’ve made it with honey instead of sugar for my non-processed eating friends. I’ve made it with and without chocolate chips. And this morning I made it with added milk and made zucchini waffles. There are never any that go bad-we always eat them all. Even my zucchini-aversive nephew ate the muffins and wanted seconds! Thank you for this recipe!
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Rachel M. — Reply
These muffins were SO simple and yummy! I made them with the “help” of several little hands. We tried two different variations: coconut & cocoa powder and pumpkin pie spice & chocolate chips. My mini helpers and I loved both! The whole wheat flour plus zucchini makes them guilt-free and a great snack. I’ll definitely be making these again, likely with all sorts of experimentation of fun mix-ins. Thanks for the recipe!
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vgreen — Reply
I added 1 of cooked quinoa, 1/2 -1 ish tsp cloves and doubled the cinnamon. YUM!
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Bethany — Reply
I know you have a “best zucchini bread” recipe, but I love the unfussiness of the zucchini for this recipe. Do you think this recipe would make a good loaf?
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Mel — Reply
Yes, I think it would!
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Michelle — Reply
A mom friend just made these for play group of toddles and they gobbled them up! My very selective eater actually had 2 so I asked for the recipe. I’m going to try it with paleo baking flour to make it gluten free. Happy to have a delicious zucchini muffin recipe!
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Michelle — Reply
Success! Paleo baking flour worked. I also switched the sugar for just less than 1/2 cup of coconut sugar. The texture is not quite as soft, but still good and tasted great!
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Melissa — Reply
Best zucchini muffins ever!
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Laurel — Reply
The consistency of these muffins was quite a bit different than your other zucchini muffin recipe. I personally loved it. With my kids it was half and half. Today I made them again and added 1/3 c cocoa powder to make chocolate muffins. I kept everything else the same. I didn’t adjust the flour because the first time I made them the batter was quite runny. They were delicious and the texture was awesome! Definitely a keeper!!
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Mel — Reply
That’s awesome, Laurel – a chocolate version sounds delicious!
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Kelsey — Reply
Made these yesterday and they were yummy! Everyone commented that they had a nice texture. I thought the flavor was just slightly bland – maybe I’ll add a touch more salt next time. I used mostly white whole wheat with a little all purpose (I was making them for company and wanted to make sure they were nice and soft and fluffy, but I think next time I’ll try all wheat flour). And I was going to try subbing half the zucchini with apple, but my husband brought home the world’s largest zucchini, so I needed to use it up. 🙂 But next time I’ll try some shredded apple, and maybe I’ll like that taste better. But overall yummy!
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Chava — Reply
Mel, I have to tell you a funny story with these muffins.
I made them with my kids, ages 5 and 7. They watched me peel Zucchini, process it (I don’t have a small grater so I used the s blade on my food processor), squeeze it, and mix it into the batter. The next morning when they tasted them, my 7 year old was convinced that I was lying when I called them zucchini muffins!
I understand where he’s coming from – the zucchini bits melted into the muffin. They were amazing! Moist and delicious. We’ve already finished the first batch I made and my kids are begging me to make it again.
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Mel — Reply
That is awesome! I’m so happy your kids loved them even if they did feel like you pulled a fast one on them!
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Julie Wheatley — Reply
These are fantastic! I made them in a mini muffin tin, so they were perfect for the kids. We ate them for breakfast, and then I packed them in lunchboxes. Even my child who doesn’t typically eat vegetables gobbled them up.
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