Ever heard the quote, "Feed a woman a fish, she eats for a day. Teach a woman to garden and the whole neighborhood gets zucchini"? If you've been drowning in fresh zucchini in the Summer months, then this is a great way for you to use your garden bounty. These zucchini chocolate chip muffins are moist, tender muffins filled with subtle spices. They taste like zucchini bread in muffin form.
This easy zucchini muffins recipe makes a small batch of just six bakery style muffins. It's one of my favorite easy breakfasts for Summer! The best part about these zucchini muffins is you will never know they're gluten free.
If you still have too much zucchini, you can easily double the recipe and freeze some for later or use that extra zucchini to make a loaf of my gluten free zucchini bread or a batch of my blueberry zucchini muffins.
Ingredient Notes
These delicious muffins use simple ingredients which can be found in any grocery store. It's both gluten free and dairy free as written.
- Gluten-Free Flour Blend - I use Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 gluten free flour for all of my muffin recipes. You can use your own flour blend, but know it may not turn out the same. If you substitute another brand, make sure it contains xanthan gum.
- Egg - I haven't tried this recipe with an egg replacement, but I suspect a flax egg would work great here. If you try it, let me know in the comments.
- Oil - I use extra light olive oil for all of my baking, but you can use whichever light flavored cooking oil you prefer. Melted coconut oil would work great too!
- Unsweetened Applesauce - Applesauce compliments the zucchini and spices in these muffins. Make sure it's unsweetened, or your muffins will end up too sweet. If you don't have any applesauce to hand, substitute with non-dairy milk.
- Grated Zucchini - Shred the zucchini with the large size shreds on a box grater. This recipe used about half of a 10-inch long zucchini.
- Mini Chocolate Chips - I used the Enjoy Life brand because they're allergen free. You can substitute with your brand of choice and if you're can't find mini sized chips, regular chocolate chips will work just as well.
See the recipe card below for full ingredient list with measurements.
Substitutions & Variations
- Make it Vegan / Egg Free - Replace the single egg with a flax egg. All other ingredients are already vegan.
- No Chocolate Chips - replace the chocolate chips with pecans, walnuts or even raisins in the same measure.
- Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins - Replace ¼ cup of the gluten free flour with unsweetened cocoa powder.
How to Make Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins
As with all of my muffin recipes, I use the muffin method for mixing. It's easy and doesn't require an electric mixer. Plus it creates perfectly domed muffins every time.
Before you begin, line a 6 cup muffin tin with paper liners.
STEP 1: Combine the gluten free flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and spices in a large bowl. Whisk until well mixed.
STEP 2: Crack the egg into a separate bowl and whisk until frothy like soap bubbles.
STEP 4: Add the wet ingredients, applesauce and shredded zucchini to the bowl of dry ingredients. Fold together about 10 strokes.
STEP 5: Add the chocolate chips to the muffin batter and continue to fold about 5 more strokes until they are evenly incorporated and all of the dry ingredients have been mixed in.
STEP 6: Portion the zucchini muffin batter into six lined muffin cups. Sprinkle coarse sugar on top of the muffins, if using. Allow the muffins to rest for about 10 minutes then bake.
Expert Tip
To check for done: gently poke the top center of one muffin with your finger. If it springs right back it is baked through. If it leaves an indentation, bake another 2 minutes more and recheck.
Storage
Place leftover muffins in an airtight container lined with paper towels and store for 3-4 days. If your home is especially warm, you may want to refrigerate the muffins. They will last around 5 days in the refrigerator.
Zucchini muffins can also be frozen for a quick breakfast later. Individually wrap each muffin in plastic wrap and place it inside a freezer bag or freezer safe container. Store for up to 3 months. Bring to room temperature before serving.
Recipe FAQs
I leave the skin on mine. Just wash it well to remove any remaining dirt or grime. If you prefer to peel it, that is fine too. If you peel it, you won't see any green flecks in the muffins after baking.
Use the largest size of grating on a box grater. Cut the stem end off of the zucchini and slice it open. Remove the seed area, which contains most of the moisture, and discard it. Then begin shredding it by running the flat end up and down the box grater. Do not squeeze or dry the zucchini after it is shredded.
The larger your zucchini, the more moisture it has inside. The zucchini I used measured about 10 inches long and 2 inches thick. If yours is larger than that, you may have more liquid. You could try squeezing out some of the liquid in a paper towel or you could add a little bit of oat flour (1 Tbsp) to soak up some of the extra moisture in the batter.
More muffin recipes to consider:
If you try this recipe, please leave a 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 star rating and let me know how you liked it in the comments below.
Recipe
Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Gluten Free 1-to-1 Flour Blend I use Bob's Red Mill
- 1 ¼ teaspoon Baking Powder
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon Cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon Nutmeg
- ½ Cup Sugar
- 1 Egg
- ¼ Cup Olive Oil substitute with vegetable oil or melted coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla
- ¼ Cup Unsweetened Apple Sauce
- ⅔ Cup Zucchini shredded
- ½ Cup Allergen Free Mini Chocolate Chips
- Turbinado Sugar optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a 6 cup muffin pan with paper liners.
- In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, spices, and sugar. Stir together until well mixed.1 Cup Gluten Free 1-to-1 Flour Blend, 1 ¼ teaspoon Baking Powder, ¼ teaspoon Salt, ½ teaspoon Cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon Nutmeg, ½ Cup Sugar
- In a small bowl, crack egg. Whisk egg until frothy.1 Egg
- Add the oil and vanilla. Whisk until combined.¼ Cup Olive Oil, 1 teaspoon Vanilla
- Add the applesauce, egg mixture and shredded zucchini to the dry ingredients. Fold about 10 strokes. There will still be some flour visible.¼ Cup Unsweetened Apple Sauce, ⅔ Cup Zucchini
- Add the mini chocolate chips and fold about 5 more times until they are evenly incorporated.½ Cup Allergen Free Mini Chocolate Chips
- Scoop batter into prepared muffin pan, filling to the top of the cup. Sprinkle the tops with a few chocolate chips and coarse sugar. Bake in preheated oven for 28-30 minutes until tops spring back when gently poked.Turbinado Sugar
- Remove from oven to cool. Cool no longer than 10 minutes in the muffin pan before removing them to cool on a wire rack.
Notes
Tiffany is the recipe developer, stylist and food photographer behind Well Fed Baker. As a lifelong baker who had to go gluten free and dairy free in 2016, Tiffany strives to share allergen friendly recipes that never feel like they are free from anything.
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