This Healthy Zucchini Muffins recipe is the best!! It’s quick and easy to make, totally comforting and delicious, and it’s made healthier with a few simple ingredients.
These last few weeks have felt like a whirlwind.
Between two trips back home to Wichita to be with family, deadlines and projects galore due for work, and a host of morning coffee dates, impromptu lunches, margarita happy hours, evening grill-outs and late-night front porch talks filling just about every little hour in between…I feel like I have barely blinked…and the summer is already half over.
Poof.
How does that even happen?
Well, I guess the old saying explains it all. Time seems to be flying while having lots of fun, with lots of dear people in my life, and lots of fun memories already being made. All the better, of course, with that heavenly warm summer sunshine covering it all. Definitely a full but good start to my favorite season of the year. So as Tim Riggins would say, “no regrets.”
That said, though, as much as I love the time spent with my people, my little introverted heart has been waving the red flag this weekend, ready for some r&r. So in small and long stretches this week, I’m scheduling some much-needed downtime into the agenda, starting this afternoon on a lazy Sunday. Feet are up, glass of iced tea is in hand, pup is curled up by my side, sunlight is streaming in through the windows, and a nice weekend nap is just 10 minutes away. And my goodness, I can already feel my little heart re-charging. It’s almost as though we were designed to need rest or something. :) So good.
Anyway, on this note of time zooming by, somehow it’s already zucchini season. And anyone with a garden knows what that means: so much zucchini. Like, SO MUCH. It happens to be one of my favorite seasonal vegetables, so I’m always happy to saute and add it to just about any dish that I’m having for dinner. But for anyone looking to mix things up and maybe even incorporate it into breakfast, I thought I’d share my recipe today for these healthy zucchini muffins.
I’ve made three batches of them in the past two weeks, and still don’t seem to get tired of them. They’re made with white whole wheat flour, naturally-sweetened, deliciously spiced with cinnamon, easy to freeze, and — even though you won’t taste it — they are chocked full of fresh shredded zucchini. I think you’re going to love them.
Healthy Zucchini Muffins Recipe | 1-Minute Video
Healthy Zucchini Muffins
- Prep Time: 14 minutes
- Cook Time: 16 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 12 servings 1x
Description
This healthy zucchini muffins recipe is made with whole wheat flour, it’s naturally sweetened with maple syrup, and it’s a delicious way to use up extra zucchini!
Ingredients
- 1 2/3 cups white whole wheat flour (or all-purpose flour)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 1/2 cup plain milk (dairy or non-dairy)
- 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) grated zucchini (no need to squeeze out excess liquid)
- 1/3 cups old-fashioned oats
- turbinado sugar, for sprinkling
Instructions
- Prep oven and muffin pan. Heat oven to 350°F. Prepare a 12-cup muffin pan by either greasing it with cooking spray or lining the cups with paper liners.
- Mix the dry ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, ground ginger and salt until combined.
- Mix the wet ingredients. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together egg, maple syrup, milk, coconut oil and vanilla extract until combined. Pour this mixture into the dry ingredient mixture and stir with a spoon until just combined. (Do not overmix.) Stir in the zucchini and oats until just combined.
- Bake. Portion the batter evenly between the 12 baking cups. Sprinkle the top of each muffin with a pinch of turbinado sugar, if desired. Bake for 16-18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the muffin comes out clean. Transfer pan to a wire cooling rack for at least 5 minutes to cool.
- Serve. Serve warm and enjoy!
These are so good and great with a green smoothie to get veggies in for breakfast! I used a 1/4 cup of maple syrup because that is all I had and they were great! Thanks for the recipe!
Thanks Erin, we’re so happy you enjoyed these!
I’ve been trying all kinds of healthy muffin/bread recipes for pre-workout and haven’t found the right one yet. Fingers crossed this does the trick! They look delicious. For anyone curious, approx. macros- 153 calories, 5g fat, 24g carbs, 3g fiber, 9g sugar and 4g protein.
Thanks Robin, we hope you love these!
Hi these look great! Could you substitute applesauce for the coconut oil? Or any other type of oil? Thanks!
Thanks Amanda! We haven’t tried that, but we suspect it would work well!
I made these this morning with my kids and we are making a second batch this afternoon! Really, really yummy. I’ll be freezing these (if we can stop eating them) and using this school year! Thanks!
Thanks Erin, we’re so glad you and your kiddos liked them! :)
i just ate two of these warm out of the oven (with a little butter). Delicious! Thanks for a great recipe. My kids are going to love them for breakfast tomorrow.
Thanks Danielle, we’re so happy you enjoyed them — thanks for giving the recipe a try! :)
So I made them with the honey instead of the maple syrup (hey – I had to use up the rest of the zucchini)! WOW! These actually turned out better than the first batch. There was just that little extra bit of sweet and flavor.
That’s great to know Cat, thanks for sharing! We’re happy you liked these! :)
I made these today (in 105 degree heat here on the east coast!) and they turned out yummy! Although I think next time I am going to try honey instead of the maple syrup. Thanks for the awesome recipe!
Oh my gosh, it’s SO hot, right?! (I’m in N.C.) We’re glad you liked these (you were brave to turn on your oven today!) ;)
If you want to use agave instead of maple syrup, would the amount still be the same?
Hey Liz! Yes, it would be the same amount. We hope you enjoy!
I LOVE zucchini bread, zucchini muffins sound even better!!!
Jessica
Made these today. Thanks for a great, healthy recipe. It was easy to make & a great way to use zucchini. I replaced a couple tbsps of the flour for ground flax seed. I didn’t have real maple syrup, so I used fake maple syrup. These are not very sweet, so if I made them again I would add a little more sweetener. I wonder if I could sub honey?
Hey Deb, we’re happy you liked these! Yes, you could definitely sub honey!