Healthy Zucchini Muffins
These healthy zucchini muffins are naturally sweetened and made with whole wheat flour! They're fluffy, moist and absolutely delicious, too.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on August 30, 2024
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I thought I had this zucchini muffin recipe in the bag. Make my favorite zucchini bread batter, divide into muffin cups, bake for less timeโnope. The increased surface area produced slightly dense and dry muffins, which were fine for โhealthyโ muffins. However, I wanted fluffy, moist and thoroughly delightful muffins that just-so-happened to be healthier.
So, I cross-referenced the zucchini bread recipe with my all-time favorite blueberry muffins in my cookbook. I adjusted the leavener, upped the amount of milk and switched to buttermilk for a more tender crumb. Success! These zucchini babes will make everyone happy.
Cookbook launch week has been a thrill. Iโm overwhelmed, honestly. Iโm so excited that youโre excited about the book, flattered by my fellow food bloggersโ kind words, and thankful for friendsย who took the time to say cheers. All that, and Iโm still a little apprehensive about sending my book baby into the world. Is this what it feels like to send a child off on a school bus for the first time?
Thank you for your comments, notes and reviews; they mean so much. I hate to ask for more, but if youโve had a chance to make recipes from the book already, would you mind leaving a review on Amazon to share your experience soon? That might seal the deal for people who arenโt familiar with my blog already.
If you havenโt gotten the book, I have more details about Love Real Food over here. Iโd be glad to answer any questions you might have in the comments. Lastly, I promise I wonโt go on and on about the book forever. โฅ
What makes these zucchini muffins healthy?
Granted, โhealthyโ is a subjective term, but here are a few reasons why I consider these muffins to be more nutritionally redeeming than most:
- Unlike standard zucchini muffins made with refined all-purpose flour, these are made with white whole wheat flour. That means theyโre made entirely with whole grains, but you canโt taste them because white whole wheat flour has such a mild flavor.
- Coconut oil or olive oil replace butter (olive oil is composed of more monounsaturated fat, and is considered to be more heart-healthy)
- Real maple syrup replaces refined sugar, so these muffins are naturally sweetened.
- Combined, you end up with hearty and delicious zucchini-flecked muffins.
These muffins are easily adapted to vegan and gluten-free diets, too! See my recipe notes for details.
Watch How to Make Zucchini Muffins
More Muffin Recipes to Enjoy
- Healthy Banana Muffins
- Healthy Blueberry Muffins
- Healthy Carrot Muffins
- Lemon Raspberry Muffins
- Strawberry Oat Muffins
Please let me know how these muffins turn out for you in the comments! I love hearing from you.
Healthy Zucchini Muffins
These healthy zucchini muffins are naturally sweetened and made with whole wheat flour! Theyโre fluffy, moist and absolutely delicious, too. Recipe yields 1 dozen muffins.
Ingredients
- ยพ cup roughly chopped raw walnuts or pecans (optional)
- โ cup melted coconut oil or extra-virgin olive oil*
- ยฝ cup honey or maple syrup
- 2 eggs
- โ cup buttermilk (or โ cup milk of choice mixed with 2 teaspoons vinegar, allow to rest for 5 minutes before using)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 ยพ cupsย white whole wheat flourย or regular whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ยฝ teaspoon baking soda
- ยฝ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ยผ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 ยฝ cups grated zucchini (youโll need 1 small-to-medium zucchini, about 7 ouncesโworking in handfuls, gently squeeze out excess moisture from the grated zucchini over the sink)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. If necessary, grease all 12 cups on your muffin tin with butter or cooking spray (my pan is non-stick and doesnโt require any grease).
- Toast the nuts (if using): Once the oven has finished preheating, pour the chopped nuts onto a small, rimmedย baking sheet. Bake until the nuts are fragrant and toasted, about 4 to 5 minutes, stirring halfway.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine the coconut oil and honey. Beat them with a whisk until they are combined. Add the eggs and beat well. Add the buttermilk and vanilla. Whisk to combine, and set the bowl aside. (If your coconut oil solidifies on contact with cold ingredients, simply let the bowl rest in a warm place for a few minutes, like on top of your stove, or warm it for about 30 seconds in the microwave.)
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg. Using a big spoon, stir to combine.
- Pour the liquid mixture into the dry and stir just until combined (a few lumps are ok!). Add the zucchini (be sure to squeeze excess moisture out of the zucchini first) and toasted nuts, if using. Gently fold the zucchini and nuts into the batter, being careful not to over-stir.
- Divide the batter evenly between the 12 muffin cups. Bake muffins for 16 to 19ย minutes, or until the muffins are golden on top and a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean.
- Place the muffin tin on a cooling rack to cool. If you have leftover muffins, store them, covered, at room temperature for two days, or in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Freeze leftover muffins for up to 3 months.
Notes
Recipe adapted from my zucchini bread and the blueberry maple muffins in my cookbook, Love Real Food.
*Oil options: I love coconut oil here. I used unrefined coconut oil and can hardly taste it in the final product. Olive oil might lend an herbal note to the muffins, if youโre into that (I tested with California Olive Ranchโs โEverydayโ variety and couldnโt even taste it). Vegetable oil has a neutral flavor, but the average vegetable/canola oil is highly processed, so I recommend using cold-pressed sunflower oil or grapeseed oil if possible.
Change it up:ย Use chocolate chips or small/chopped dried fruit instead of the nuts.
Make it vegan: Use maple syrup instead of honey, replace the eggs with flax eggs and choose non-dairy milk, such as almond milk.
Make it dairy free: Choose non-dairy milk (I used almond milk).
Make it egg free: Replace the eggs with flax eggs.
Make it gluten free:ย Bobโs Red Millโs all-purpose gluten-free mix works well.
Make it nut free:ย Just omit the nuts, and donโt use nut milk.
Make it lower in fat: I would argue that this bread contains a healthy amount of fat, but you can replace the oil with applesauce if youโre following a low-fat diet.
Update 9/23/20: Iโve modified the method slightly, to use two bowls instead of one. The recipe comes together more intuitively this way and bakes up a bit nicer.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionistโs advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
Love it!
Cane sugar is not less โnaturalโ than maple syrup. This health halo around simple sugars like maple syrup is bizarre.
No reason to give this recipe a one star rating for that, just move on to the next recipe if you donโt agree
Man, people donโt realize how hurtful of one star review is. This recipe author is not the one who made everyone think maple syrup is healthier.
These muffins are delicious, just the right amount of sweetness! My zucchini hating husband even liked them!!โ
All she says, if you read the entire article, is that these muffins are more nutritious than a standard muffin recipe because she is using more whole foods than processed. A one star review messes up the overall average and is completely unnecessary. If you donโt like it, donโt make them.
These are five star muffins, your attitude is one star. I agree with Mel and Kristie. Keep this to yourself, no need to be like this. The muffins are delicious, regardless of your cranky feeling about how society has decided that cane sugar is unhealthy.
A favorite of ours! Love getting veggies in different forms like this. These are the perfect amount of sweetness for us. Been making them for years but now our one year old approves too
The zucchini bread recipe came out so delicious! Everyone loves it. I am trying the muffin recipe with a slight modification. Half
olive oil and half applesauce. They taste good but missing a bit of sweetness. Perhaps some brown sugar and cinnamon sprinkled on top next time? Can I use the bread recipe for muffins?
Thank you so much for this recipe! The muffins turned out moist and delicious. Theyโre perfect for a quick breakfast.
Love these recipes
Made these without nuts and subbed the oil for applesauce โ soooo good. Toddler approved too! Will definitely make again. My favorite way to eat zucchini is in bread form
Is it an even swap with the oil to applesauce ratio?
Yes thatโs what I did!
My family loves these!! Also the fact that itโs refined sugar free is awesome! Itโs the perfect amount of sweetness, thank you!
I love all Cookie and Kate recipes. How would the bake time or temp for mini muffins?
Hi Lisa, mini muffin pans usually bake in in 8-10 minutes, Iโd start checking at that point. Just make sure a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, and they are done.
Made this today. Substituted some date paste for some of maple syrup. Used white raisins dried cherries and walnuts. Very moist and delicious. Ground my own soft wheat flour and added some flax. Next time will add a little lemon peel for extra punch. This will be my go to recipe for zucchini muffins!
I made these every week for my kids to eat for breakfast. They are healthy and delicious! They like them more moist so I donโt take any moisture out of the zucchini. I also use gluten free all purpose flour and they turn out great!
Love it! So healthy and tasty as well! Thanks for a wonderful recipe to use up zucchini.
Do you leave the peel on the zucchini?
Hi Linda, yes, you can leave the peel on the zucchini. Itโs a good source of fiber and vitamins.
I forgot the nuts but still wonderful
These muffins are SO good! When summer zuchs are abundant this is a great recipe to use up some extras. I made buttermilk (vinegar/whole milk) and had a huge bottle of agave so used less than the amount of honey called for since its extra sweet. We prefer walnuts and skipped the step of toasting due to pure laziness. Topped them off with a sprinkle of mini choc chips. I think next time I will mix mini chips into the batter as well. Absolutely 5 stars!
This recipie is the best zucchini recipe yet. So moist and flavorful. Will definitely use again!
Love these muffins! Iโve been wanting to make zucchini muffins for a while and finally did it! I make your delicious banana muffins and blueberry muffins all the time. My family loves them!
So, whenever I try a too good to be true healthy recipe that I find on the internet, its usually too good to be true. These zuchini muffins hit the spot! They arenโt too sweet (I used honey). They are dense, or perhaps hearty is a better word. They have just enough moisture combined with the right amount of fluffiness to be texture-perfect. I used Almond Breeze extra creamy unsweetened almond milk with ACV to create the buttermilk and had good success. This recipe is a keeper. Going to make another batch or 2 of these with tomorrowโs zuchini and freeze them up for work.
Making these for a second time tomorrow. Delish and freeze very well
Has anyone used coconut milk in this recipe? Did you also pair it with coconut it oil? Results?
Hi Paula, I havenโt tried that, but sharing in case anyone else has experience.
I used plant yogurt instead of buttermilk, maple syrup, and applesauce for oil. I will make them again.
So delicious! I subbed out the olive oil for the applesauce. The tops of the muffins collapsed a little but the taste was still incredible. Do you know what I could do differently next time to make them not collapse?
Hi Mel, did you open the oven during baking? This can cause them to collapse.
Hi!
Can I use almond or hazelnut flour?
I am gf, and the nut flour would increase protein.
Please let me know at your soonest convenience.
Thank you.
Hi Carla, you would need to adjust the amounts to use a nut-based flour, as they have more weight by volume. I havenโt tested this recipe with alternative flours, but you could make a zucchini version using the proportions from my banana almond flour muffins. If you try Iโd love to hear how it turns out!
I used lemon-infused olive oil and the muffins were fabulous!
I just made these. Used freshly ground hard white wheat, but forgot the nutmeg. They turned out so tender.
I substituted cucuzza (Sicilian) squash for the zucchini and the muffins are delicious. Cucuzza has a buttery flavor so that mixed with the maple syrup made these muffins perfect- light in texture and scrumptious.
Can you use all purpose flour instead of the wheat?
Hi Katie, yes you can substitute with all-purpose flour.