I thought I had this zucchini muffin recipe in the bag. Make my favorite zucchini bread batter, divide into muffin cups, bake for less time—nope. The increased surface area produced slightly dense and dry muffins, which were fine for “healthy” 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. I’m overwhelmed, honestly. I’m so excited that you’re excited about the book, flattered by my fellow food bloggers’ kind words, and thankful for friends who took the time to say cheers. All that, and I’m 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 you’ve 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 aren’t familiar with my blog already.
If you haven’t gotten the book, I have more details about Love Real Food over here. I’d be glad to answer any questions you might have in the comments. Lastly, I promise I won’t go on and on about the book forever. ♥
What makes these zucchini muffins healthy?
Granted, “healthy” 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 they’re made entirely with whole grains, but you can’t 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.
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
- Author:
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 16 mins
- Total Time: 36 minutes
- Yield: 12 muffins 1x
- Category: Baked good
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
These healthy zucchini muffins are naturally sweetened and made with whole wheat flour! They’re fluffy, moist and absolutely delicious, too. Recipe yields 1 dozen muffins.
Ingredients
- ¾ cup roughly chopped raw walnuts or pecans (optional)
- ⅓ cup melted coconut oil or extra-virgin olive oil*
- ½ cup honey or maple syrup
- 2 eggs
- ⅔ cup buttermilk (or ⅔ cup milk of choice mixed with 2 teaspoons vinegar, allow to rest for 5 minutes before using)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 ¾ cups white whole wheat flour or regular whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 ½ cups grated zucchini (you’ll need 1 small-to-medium zucchini, about 7 ounces—working 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 doesn’t require any grease).
- Toast the nuts (if using): Once the oven has finished preheating, pour the chopped nuts onto a small, rimmed 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 19 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 you’re into that (I tested with California Olive Ranch’s “Everyday” variety and couldn’t 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: 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: Bob’s Red Mill’s all-purpose gluten-free mix works well.
Make it nut free: Just omit the nuts, and don’t 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 you’re following a low-fat diet.
Update 9/23/20: I’ve 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.
Vegetable enthusiast. Dog lover. I'm probably making a big mess in my Kansas City kitchen right now. 
jilly
Thank you for your amazing muffin recipes. We have been addicted to them! Lunch boxes, morning tea treats at work… we always have some frozen in the freezer.
The best!!
Kate
You’re welcome, Jilly!
Audrey
I was totally going to use your zucchini bread recipe and just make muffins out of it with a shorter baking time, but fortunately I scrolled down far enough on the bread page to see your suggestion to not do that but to instead use your muffin recipe. The muffins are amazing. Came out perfect. Thanks.
★★★★★
Megan
Perfect recipe! These muffins are amazing. There came out beautiful and delicious. I was worried after reading the reviews, but have always loved everything I’ve made from Cookie and Kate so tried it.
Another amazing recipe , thanks!
★★★★★
Janice Zurat
Going to make these amazing sounding muffins. Can I add some crushed pineapple which I will drain well first.
Waiting your reply
Maggie
I don’t like zucchini much but they grow well in Texas and I have fond memories of my grandmother’s bread. I was excited to see a recipe like this! They are so good and guilt free! Thank you! I have subbed the maple syrup for coconut sugar and they were great still!
★★★★★
Kate
You’re welcome, Maggie!
Remo
Tried it with chocolate chips and it is delicious. Thanks Kate!
★★★★★
Kate
You’re welcome, Remo!
Courtney
Reciepe comment:
I have made your curries, soups and latley a lot of muffins. For this recipe I saw a bit of mixed reviews but so many of your recipes have been awesome so I trusted the recipe. The batter was very thin like pancake bater and I had shredded zucchini left over from your no noodle pad Thai reciepe. Once all in the oven I realized I forgot to squeeze the water out of the zucchini, because they were in the fridge for 3 days I hoped it would be ok. With the forgot squeezing, the loose batter and a comment about burning but still raw I decided to turn the temperature from 400 to 350 about halfway and cooked for 21 minutes.
I have tried your blueberry and strawberry muffins but these are by far my favorite. They made me do a dance in my chair at how good they were. They were the perfect balance of sweetness, moist, and I loved the crunch of the pecans.
A note about the sweetness: I don’t eat refined sugar so I am more sensitive to sweet flavors and found these a perfect breakfast. My husband who does have sugar wished they were sweeter as he is used to those horrible for you coffee shop muffins but even he said they taste good for healthy muffins.
Your blog overall:
You’ve become my go to site to find recipes for everything I cook. I have to follow an anti inflamatory diet which is hard to find reciepes as it’s not as mainstream as other diets. Other reciepes would have something I couldn’t eat (white flour, butter, refined sugars) and changing the reciepe would often ruin the reciepe.
You’ve never let me down and I’m buying your cook for me and a copy for my sister (I rarely ever buy cook books too!) Thank you for all your effort in making these reciepes!
★★★★★
Barbara
I used Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free baking flour and vegan chocolate chips. The muffins came out delicious!
★★★★★
Kate
I’m glad you loved them, Barbara!
Anna G
I’m a competent baker and bake regularly. Sadly, I’ve tried baking these twice and both times I’ve had to leave them in much longer than suggested and still they have been raw on the inside and way too overcooked on top. I’ve had to throw out the whole batch, twice.
★★
Kate
Hi Anna, I’m sorry you didn’t have luck with this recipe. How full are you filling the muffin tins?
Anna Goodman
Hi Kate, I actually used cupcake cases instead of muffins, so I ended up with 24 cupcake-sized portions instead of 12 muffin-sized portions. This should have made them less prone to being undercooked. I’m in the UK and so had to convert 400F to Celcius, which is 205C. That’s a higher temperature than I’ve ever used to do any baking – cake or cupcakes. My suspicion is that if I’d gone for 180C / 360F (and maybe for longer,) then perhaps that would have solved my problem. I just don’t want to risk testing that out since I’ve wasted a lot already! PS. the batter tasted super yummy though!
★★
Isabelle
Soooo, do you put the zucchini in whole? Under “Instructions”, I don’t see a step for grating the zucchini. Nor do I see any mention of approximately how long it takes the little squashes to drain out their bitter liquid. Do you need to hand squeeze the grated veggie? Please. Did you ever actually bake these? One person posted that her muffins were too moist to bake correctly. I imagine that may have been effected by how long her zucchini drained. This is a crucial step in the process. Failure to provide details is really poor.
Kate
Hi Isabelle, I’m sorry you are frustrated. Great question, that’s actually listed in the ingredients: 1 ½ cups grated zucchini (you’ll need 1 small-to-medium zucchini, about 7 ounces—if your grated zucchini is very wet, squeeze out the excess moisture over the sink before stirring it into the batter). I did bake these, several times actually. I do my best to test recipes so you have a great result every time. Sometimes there are differences, which I try to do best understand what may have happened.
Tricia
Her directions are very clear. Fully reading the ingredients will take away ur frustrations! Her recipes are amazing and u can clearly tell she makes these herself even playing with substitutions!!!
★★★★★
Rachel
These muffins were a total disaster. I followed the recipe to a T (except for he walnuts), and the batter came out incredibly wet, almost like pancake batter. Definitely not like any muffins I’ve made before. I squeezed the zucchini before adding it, and I added a 1/4 more flour to try to thicken it a little, but it made almost no difference. It seems like 2/3 cup milk plus a liquid sweetener is just way too much. Most muffin recipes don’t include milk at all?! The coconut oil also separated from the batter no matter how much I whisked or kept the other ingredients warm. I had to bake these for almost 40 minutes just to get them to set, but they were still wet and soggy in the middle. The coconut oil formed little puddles on top that burned, while the center was still raw. So disappointing, as they smelled great while baking! Unfortunately I had to throw the whole batch away.
★
Karen
Just made a double-batch of these muffins for the first time to take on a camping trip this weekend. I used a combination of grated zucchini & carrots and they are SO good! Not sure what happened with some of the other reviewers, but mine came out PERFECT – moist & delicious! Very excited to share them with the rest of our group! Thanks for another winning recipe!
★★★★★
Kate
You’re welcome, Karen! Thank you for your review.
Jackie
I substituted about ½ cup of the ww flour with almond flour. They didn’t rise very high; I could have filled the cups entirely full, but they were light and delicious. I had enough batter left over to bake a small cake-muffin in a pyrex bowl. I wonder if the person writing from the UK was using a British (10-oz) or American (8-oz) cup.
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you for sharing, Jackie!
susan
Great recipe! I used yellow squash since I have a garden full of them. Will try recipe with zucchini as stated but the yellow squash worked out well.
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you, Susan!
Samantha
I made these and followed the directions exactly (didn’t use walnuts). For the honey/syrup option I used 100% maple syrup. For the oil option I used coconut oil. Not only did I end up licking the bowl, they turned out SO good! They smelled SO good too! Highly recommend! I also put creamed cinnamon honey on top too, definitely worth it if you can snag some.
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you for your recommendation, Samantha!
Lauren L
I made these today, and they taste great! Mine took about 24 min to bake fully, and they came out denser than I would like – similar to your whole wheat zucchini bread that I made a couple weeks ago. I would like them to be lighter and fluffier next time – do you have any suggestions?
FYI I used Bob’s Red Mill whole wheat pastry flour, and soy milk with lemon juice for the buttermilk. I had extra squeezed, grated zucchini (maybe 1/4c) and more coconut oil (1/2c) than honey (1/3). I modified by adding 1/4 tsp of cardamom, cocoa powder, and chia seeds. Thanks!!!
★★★★
Kate
Thank you for sharing, Lauren!
Jenna
This recipe was a total miss for me- which pains me to write because I love your blog! Zucchini muffins are a classic summer treat in my house, but my family recipe is very unhealthy so I was excited to try your whole food version. I added half a cup extra flour but the batter was still very thin and it made these almost tasteless. Also the 400 degree baking temp seemed high so I lowered it to 375 and baked the full 19 minutes which yielded barely baked muffins with burned edges. I plan on sticking to your delicious Raspberry Lemon or Maple Banana muffin recipes.
★★
Holly
Kate, these were moist and absolutely delicious! Thank you for the recipe. I made them with olive oil and almond milk and they turned out great. Our whole family loves them, even my picky toddler! I’ll definitely be making more to freeze and have on hand.
★★★★★
Kate
Hooray! Thank you for sharing, Holly. I appreciate your review.
Cathy Costello
I have just made these, I followed your directions, used coconut oil and honey. I did add chocolate chips…… they are delicious!! My husband has ate 2 already! This recipe is a keeper! Thank you!
★★★★★
Kate
Hooray! Thanks for your review, Cathy!
Karen
Made these today… tasty and very moist! Used olive oil, whole wheat flour and added some raisins and flax seed.
Had these warm topped with my strawberry freezer jam, sooo good
Thank you for this recipe!!
★★★★★
Kate
You’re welcome, Karen!
Connie Boulay
So good! I did the pecan option. I’d give it six stars if I could.
★★★★★
Kate
Wonderful! Thank you, Connie!
Mandy
These muffins are absolutely delicious! Made them for the first time today and LOVE the taste! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
★★★★★
Kate
You’re welcome, Mandy!
Donna Weidenfeller
When using grated zucchini in the past, my muffins were wet; however this recipe was accurate and precise and my muffins were delicious. I squeezed zucchini over the sick! Delicious!
★★★★★
Kate
I’m glad you loved it, Donna!
Dorothy P.
I just made these muffins this morning using whole wheat flour and they are wonderful! I made sure to squeeze the zucchini, baked the muffins for 17 minutes and they turned out perfect! I’m always so happy when a healthy muffin recipe is actually delicious! Thank you, Kate, for providing this great recipe!
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you for sharing, Dorothy!
Phoebe
I just made these and they are SO GOOD. Will definitely go in our regular rotation!! Thank you!
★★★★★
Jenny
Can greek yogurt be a substitute for the buttermilk like how it’s used in your cranberry orange muffins? If so, how much would I use?
★★★★★
Catherine M. Dolenc
I love your recipes! I started baking your coconut oil muffin recipes because my husband needed to watch his heart. My son doesn’t do well with milk so I would use your substitutions. Today I am baking zucchini bread and will be using honey and coconut oil. The combination is wonderful. Thanks for all of the options that work so well together! I am able, with your help, to make my family more healthy and happy!
★★★★★
Marisa
Loved this recepie. Used olive oil, pure maple syrup, l also added some raisins
1 cup of all purpose unbleached,3/4 whole wheat flour. I found the batter was a little more wet than usual for muffins,but they came out really fluffy.
I had to bake them for25 min. Thank you for sharing.
★★★★★
Dianamaria Braund
These were great!! I made muffins and 2 mini loaves. Thank you for sharing.
★★★★★
Emily
I made these muffins over the weekend to put in my son’s lunches and was a little worried about the recipe based on the reviews, but they turned out perfect using the recipe as given. I used whole wheat flour, the honey option, left out the nuts, and squeezed my grated zucchini in a paper towel to absorb extra moisture before I put it in the batter. Perfect at 16 minutes in the oven. Looking foward to trying more of your recipes – thanks!
★★★★★
Kate
You’re welcome, Emily! I’m happy you liked them.
Heidi
Was looking for an adaptable recipe that I could make make 1) gluten free and 2) dairy free ( for my daughter) and add additional items to give it more boost: protein…I also use organic veggies in this
My substitutions:
-Almond milk w/ 2 tsp Apple cider vinegar
-Gluten free flour ( King Arthur measure for measure )
-About a TBSP of organic earth balance for a buttery flavor and then the rest of fat in coconut oil
Additional/ add ins:
Finely shredded and gently squeezed CARROT
Raw pecans/ walnuts ( finely chopped)
2 TBSP collagen powder
1 tsp mangosteen powder
2 tbsp finely chopped pineapple ( I used frozen)
Additional tbsp of gf flour
Pinch of clove powder
* I used half raw honey & half maple syrup
Used a silicone muffin pan
Took about 19 minutes
Nice flavor not too sweet
* made up an optional glaze for dipping or spreading on before eating ( my daughter loved that!)
Used organic powdered sugar, a tsp of organic earth balance spread and enough pineapple juice to moisten to the consistency you like – keep in fridge
Ps- I do a lot of baking for family and my clients
★★★★
Kate
We love you cookie and Kate! We wish these were better! Followed the recipe to a T, and they came out the perfect consistency, but no taste. All we taste is flour. Can’t taste any of the other flavors, and no sweetness. Great in all other domains except the taste! :(
★★
Emilia Rodwaign
Yum–these are the perfect after-dinner sweet treat (gotta tame the beast) or for breakfast-on-the-go! I used oat flour since my toddler is gluten intolerant, soy milk & white wine vinegar for the buttermilk, agave instead of maple syrup, sugar-free chocolate chips to top, and a full tablespoon each of vanilla, cinnamon and greek yogurt.
Lightly sweetened, perfectly moist, and a perfect hunger-queller for busy days, these muffins are SURE to make it into my regular rotation ;)
Brittany
I thought this was a really great recipe. I liked it even better as mini muffins. I had to do a little research to convert, so I thought I’d share here that I baked the minis at 375 for 10-12 minutes.
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you for sharing, Brittany!
Brit
I’m curious, what is the purpose of adding vinegar when using a different type of milk?
jennifer
These turned out great! The whole family loved them. I just threw in some flaxseed meal, used almond milk and did half honey, half pure maple syrup. I’m so happy to have another use for this indestructible zucchini plant in my garden!
★★★★★
Kate
Thanks for sharing, Jennifer!
Shannon
These turned out perfect for us! Making them again this week!!
★★★★★
Hannah
Would these be good in mini muffin tin? How long would you bake it for?
Kate
Sure! Cut the baking time in half and keep an eye on them!
Shelley
Today I will make these for the third time in as many weeks. I use the maple syrup version and substitute Almond milk with vinegar for the yogurt. This was a necessity as I did not have yogurt, and it turned out moist and truly delicious. I accidentally left the baking soda out of first batch, and they were small and dense as did not rise like the second batch and I was tempted with the third batch to leave out again. My son recently went on a clean food diet and this meets all the requirements- plus – they are simply delicious! Healthy C
Carrot Muffins
★★★★★
Cherie Yanek
I made this with whole wheat flour and less sweetener than recommended – kind of wish I added recommended, but I think it will be fine, esp toasted w butter, yum.
They came out tasting SUPER healthy (see above) and good. I accidentally quadrupled the recipe (don’t ask) so now I have a stockpile of healthy snacks. Will be freezing most of these and bringing to work. My husband is bringing a dozen or so to his work meeting tomorrow.
Came out perfectly made. A great way to use all the zucchini!
★★★★
Kate
Thank you for sharing your experience, Cherie!
Margaret Warburton
OMG Kate this recipe I devine. I loved your vegan suggestions. I replaced the eggs with 2 flax eggs and the milk with canned coconut milk (I still put 2 teaspoons of cider vinegar in it). I used whole wheat ground fresh from my new mockmill milling machine. Because it’s the entire wheat berry it seems to be a bit dryer, hence I only used 1 and a 1/2 cups flour. I made large breakfast muffins in patty pans lined with brown baking paper. The mixture makes 5. We had one each for breakfast with stewed apples and coconut yoghurt. Fabulous recipe Kate.
★★★★★
Kate
It’s great you found it so helpful! Thanks for sharing how you made this recipe, Margaret.
Ann Helen
I was a little nervous to try these because of some of the reviews, but I followed the recipe exactly, and they were absolutely wonderful! I had a Cookie and Kate day today, as I also made the granola and roasted cauliflower soup today, and all of it was wonderful. Will definitely try out more recipes from this blog. Thank you!
★★★★★
Nikki
Sadly, these muffins didn’t work out for me – like some of the other reviewers said, they just came out way, way too wet (despite cooking longer). As making in the UK, I converted most of the measurements to grams/mls to ensure consistency but it’s possible I forgot with the milk! Shame as they are otherwise tasty!
★★★
Kate
I’m sorry to hear that! Thank you for sharing, Nikki.
JUDY
Hi Kate!
I was glad to see you had the X3. I am doing them morning. I used 1/2 & 1/2 & 2c Honey only because the container had 2c. Perfect!!! Moist!!! Yummy!!! I Thank You I will be making them every Zucchini season.
:) Judy
★★★★★
JUDY
Hi Kate!
I was glad to see you had the X3. I am doing them morning. I used 1/2 & 1/2 & 2c Honey only because the container had 2c. Perfect!!! Moist!!! Yummy!!! I Thank You I will be making them every Zucchini season.
:) Judy
Cookie is Beautiful!
★★★★★
Jen
Just made this recipe again, turned out perfectly. It’s a family favourite. Substituted with soy milk, maple syrup and sunflower seeds. Perfectly cooked after 18 mins in my cupcake pan. It made 16 instead of 12, bonus! Thanks for an awesome recipe, it gets veggies into my veggie hating 5 year old, she LOVES these.
★★★★★
Kate
I’m glad you loved it, Jen! Thanks for your review.
Steph
I’ve made this recipe a dozen times and the muffins were delicious! The last two times, however, I’ve had to throw the entire pan in the garbage. The muffins were perfectly cooked on the outside, and raw in the middle, despite the toothpick coming out clean. I followed the recipe exactly, squeezed out all the extra zucchini juice, even added a little more flour because the batter was so wet. I’m so bummed. I broke my three-year old’s muffin-living heart this morning.
★★
Kate
Hi Steph, I’m so sorry to hear that! Have you started using a new flour recently, baking soda or baking powder? I’m wondering if one of those is old or off.
Carmen Lacy
Can I use oat flour instead of your recommended flour?
Kate
I don’t believe you will get a the same result with oat flour, sorry! I do know a gluten free flour mix will work well.
Holly
Another winner!! I love your recipes and have been baking the Banana muffins for years. Thank you for your thorough instructions and delicious, healthy recipes
★★★★★
Kate
I’m happy you love these, Holly! Thank you for your review.
Claire
I made these with half zucchini half carrot, turned out pretty good!
I could not wait until they were completely cooled I am having one right now. Tasty!
My toddler boy will enjoy it very much when I pick him up from daycare later =)
Thank you Kate
★★★★★
Kate
Fantastic! Thanks for sharing, Claire.
Stephanie
What kind of vinegar am I suppose to use when substituting the buttermilk? Thanks!
Kate
Regular white vinegar will work!
Ilam
I tried making these muffins last night and my batter was super runny and of course they didn’t bake properly. I squeezed the water out of my zucchini so that wasn’t the problem. I did substitute with Bob’s Red Mill GF flour but I don’t usually run into this problem. Any ideas on what happened?
Kate
Hi Llam! I’m sorry to hear that. I wonder if there was still extra water or if you may have over stirred? I don’t tend to have issues with that gluten free flour either.
Ilam
Yes maybe it was the over stirring, will try them again for sure .
Nicole
Oh my goodness, these muffins are delicious! I’m actually not a muffin fan and rarely make them for myself, but I felt inspired today. I followed the recipe and the muffins came out beautifully. I treated myself and added some chocolate chunks too. Thanks Kate!
★★★★★
Alycia
I don’t leave reviews on things but these were amazing!! Sooo moist and tasty and I even over cooked them. I used olive oil and I actually processed the nuts and didn’t roast them as I made these for my toddler so there a just crumb like bits of nut throughout which is safer for him to eat. I have shared the recipe and will definitely re make !!!
★★★★★
Micky
This is a wonderful recipe. Mine came out with perfect peaks and tender crumb. Love the inclusion of buttermilk and the light sweetness from maple syrup. A keeper!
★★★★★
Bee
This is such a great recipe – perfect balance of moist and fluffy! I think the step of squeezing the liquid out of the grated zucchini is crucial to getting the right texture.
Also, I don’t know if I have crazy tastebuds, but these totally tasted like banana muffins to me, which was a pleasant surprise :)
★★★★★
Maggie
These are completely delightful. They came together quickly, and my veggie-resistant one-year-old devoured two of them with great enthusiasm. My husband and I were also really into them. Wholesome, light and fluffy as advertised, oh-so-lightly sweetened, and with that hint of zucchini flavor. Thank you, Cookie & Kate!
★★★★★
Mona
Kate,
Do you have a recipe for a naturally sweetened beet and chocolate muffin?
Kate
Hi Mona, sorry I don’t.
Becky
I can’t believe how amazingly these muffins turned out! I used avocado oil and instead of buttermilk I used two table spoons of full fat plain yogurt thinned with milk. My grater also was very fine making the zucchini too watery so I squeezed all the water out before adding it in… I used a regular 12 cupcake pan and batter seemed too much because it filled to the rim and I was sure it was gonna be a disaster in the oven but they rose beautifully and none of it spread over to the tray! Last but not least, they taste AMAZING! Thank you for this great recipe… It will be a staple in our home
★★★★★
Cydney
I read through some of the reviews for these muffins, but still decided to make these tonight. I’m so glad I did! They are delicious and came out perfect after following the exact recipe, except I didn’t have nuts, but added a few semi-sweet chocolate chips! Even my 10 year old loved them! Will definitely be adding this in my muffin rotation! I’ve made many of your recipes; you never disappoint Kate and Cookie!
★★★★★
Cindy
These turned out great! I used oat milk + vinegar for the buttermilk substitution, added 1/2 c of chocolate chips – yum – & 3/4 c of pecans. I had just bought fresh cans of baking powder and baking soda and they turned out light and fluffy, just as described.I always cut the sugar in a recipe and used 1/3 c of honey but when I make them again I will used the full 1/2 c as I could have used them a touch sweeter. Thanks so much – these were just what I was looking for.
★★★★★
Britt
Can you use regular white flour instead of whole wheat?
Kate
Yes, you can! Enjoy.
Emma
We love these muffins and have made them many times. We may have improved on them today though: we substituted 1/2 cup of the flour for Dutch processed cocoa powder and added mini dairy free chocolate chips and no nuts. When they cooled we couldn’t stop eating them. Thank you for this wonderful recipe.
★★★★★
Lisathedancingchef
So good! I went to a farm last week and had a lot of zucchini. This recipe was so good. Good Vw never used ebook in my baked goods before but I enjoyed the earthy flavor it brought.
★★★★★
Andrea
Yummmmmmm! These were melt in your mouth delicious. I used raw walnuts and got to use up some crystallized honey that had been sitting around for too long. I just placed the honey in the microwave with the coconut oil to melt. Worked marvelously. Bookmarking this one to use it again and again!
★★★★★
Kate
That’s great and sound delicious, Andrea! Thank you for your review.
Linda
Delicious recipe. I will definitely make them again. I made your recipe as printed but did also add some raisins.
Maricruz
These were amazing! Made them with red whole wheat flour, olive oil, maple syrup, and added lemon zest and walnuts. My husband said best muffin he’s ever had.
★★★★★
Tracy Spivack
Hi Kate, what do you think about adding more zucchini? I have them in the oven now. I had four small Zucchini’s so I decided to give it a try. I am reading the reviews that people are saying they are wet in the middle and take much longer to cook. Did you figure out that glitch. I love this recipe and the ingredients so I’m hoping it works!
★★★★★
Kate
Hi Tracy! How did your muffins turn out? If you used extra, it would be a good idea to squeeze out excess moisture over the sink.
Tracy Spivack
Hi! I made two batches. My first batch I used more zucchini then recipe called for and inside of muffin was mushy, however still absolutely delicious. I am crazy about the cinnamon and nutmeg! I made them again and used one medium sized Zucchini. They were light and fluffy. My goal is to try to use more zucchini (I love the flavor and health benefits). What do you think about blending some extra zucchini and adding it to wet ingredients? My first batch I didn’t squeeze out zucchini so I could try that as well. I’m looking forward to my 3rd go with this fantastic recipe. Thank you!!!!!
★★★★★
Kate
Hi Tracey, I’m glad you were still able to enjoy the flavor. Baking is very specific and this one took me several tries to get the ratio down just right. As you indicated, zucchini can be quite watery. I wouldn’t recommend adding more as you would need to adjust other ingredients, which I wouldn’t know without trying. Sorry!
Michele V
I made these tonight and was very impressed. I used olive oil and added chocolate chips. When pouring it into the muffin pan, it did look a little wet to me so I added a tad more flour than called for. They turned out amazing and moist. My 3 year olds loved them and kept asking for more. I will make again!! I always love your recipes Kate
★★★★★
Kate
You’re welcome! I’m happy to hear it worked so well for you, Michele.
Mary Ann
Could you make a “cocoa” variety of these muffins with cocoa powder? So Cocoa zucchini muffins? Perhaps a new twist on this recipe? :)
★★★★★
Kate
Hi Mary! I haven’t tried it, but I believe some other readers have and liked the result.
Gerry
I made your banana muffins with maple syrup, yumm. Can I mix banana and zucchini in one muffin?
Kate
Hi Gerry! That is an idea. I haven’t tried it and wouldn’t know for sure without testing it myself.
Sybil
Love love love these! My toddlers loved them too! It was literally my first time making muffins (I’ve made your banana, zucchini, and corn breads) and they turned out great! Had to leave them in longer (around 22 minutes) I think because my zucchini was too wet. I used maple syrup and dates as my mix in. Thank you for your great recipes-I am slowly working through them all!
★★★★★
Librarybird
These turned out beautifully! My daughter has a dairy intolerance, so I used oat milk instead of buttermilk. I lightly pressed out the zucchini with paper towel. They smell amazing and taste great. 1.5-year-old approves!
★★★★★
Elizabeth
These were the best zucchini muffins my family has ever tasted. They got rave reviews! I made them yesterday and they are almost gone.
I followed the recipe with a few minor alterations… for the sweetener I used half blackstrap molasses and half agave. For the “buttermilk” I used Oat milk with apple cider vinegar. And for the “flour,” I used 1 cup whole wheat flour, 1/2 cup almond flour, and 1/4 cup ground flaxseed.
Thank you, Kate, for another delicious recipe!
★★★★★
Krysti
I want to preface this comment by saying that I LOVE your banana muffin recipe and so does my 5 year old, he can’t get enough of them. We had some fresh zucchini out of the garden so I felt that your zucchini muffin recipe would be awesome just like your banana muffins. I squeezed out all the liquid from the zucchini and everything. And I’ve been baking and baking and baking and the muffins are still wet and gummy inside. I think this recipe needs more testing to be more successful for more of your readers. I would recommend readers keep looking for a zucchini muffin recipe and skip this one.
★
Kate
Hi Krysti, I’m sorry to hear that you were disappointed by my recipe! My muffins were nice and fluffy, so something went wrong with your batch. I’m wondering if you perhaps forgot the eggs, or mixed up the amounts or baking powder/baking soda (or they were expired). All three of those elements work together to produce properly leavened (fluffy!) baked goods. Hope you enjoy your next C+K recipe! I really put a lot of effort into developing each of my recipes, with the goal being that they are foolproof.
Krysti
I actually want to rescind my last comment and rating. I made this recipe with toasted pecans and chocolate chips and the flavor is amazing. I may have zigged when I should have zagged with the zucchini measuring. I squeezed out the moisture and then measured and it took a long time to bake past the gooey stage. I think next time I’ll measure the zucchini and THEN squeeze. It will turn out even better then I think.
★★★★
Cynthia
I have made this recipe a few times, I love the ingredients of this recipe, but the oven temp is too high. The muffins end up over cooked at the bottom and difficult to get out (even with a non-stick pan and cooking spray). I’ve had more success with baking muffins at 350 or even 325.
★★
Ashley Bessette
Perfectly delicious and fairly guilt free! Baked 18 minutes. I sprinkled some raw sugar on top and ate with peanut butter. Kids liked them too! Very moist with a crisp top.
★★★★★
Maddy Richard
This was the first time I’ve made one of your recipes, and I’m sold!
I wanted to find a healthy zucchini muffin and landed on this recipe. I was a bit hesitant after reading some of the reviews, but honestly the muffins are just fantastic.
I squeezed out the zucchini and used pecans, a combo of maple syrup & honey, and subbed in a bit of AP flour as I only had whole wheat flour and wanted to balance the taste. No issues with baking at 400 – they were perfectly done at 16 minutes.
This is probably one of the best zucchini bread/muffins I’ve ever tasted. Can’t wait to make more of your recipes!
★★★★★
Lorry Peterson
I have never commented on a recipe but I use cookieandkate a lot so I told myself if this recipe worked out I would comment. The recipe is FINE! I was concerned about some lower rated comments and a little nervous to use ingredients for something that didnt work out for some people. Took the risk and truly, this recipe is GREAT!
Here’s the thing– you have to add that vinegar to your milk so it curdles/thickens. You have to squeeze all that liquid out of your grated zucchini. You have to fold in the zucchini, flour and nuts just till moist.
Tips for EVERY muffin recipe–
1. Let the batter sit 3,4 minutes to get the soda working.
2. I do 99% of muffin recipes at 375°
3. 99% of muffin recipes take 18 min in my oven. Get to know your oven.
4. I always do one less egg than called for. A heartier, brainier texture.
★★★★★
Emily
I noticed a lot of mixed reviews on this recipe so I thought I’d add to the positive reviews just in case anyone is on the fence about trying this recipe. Do it! It’s not fussy at all. Super simple. I followed Kate’s instructions, adding a bit more cinnamon and nutmeg (as I do with every recipe), forgot to measure the zucchini and put in extra, half-heartedly squeezed the zucchini, and might have left them in a few minutes extra (wasn’t watching the clock very carefully.) All that to say, I think this recipe has wiggle room because they came out wonderfully. Plenty of flavor and great texture!
Thanks for keeping our belly’s full and happy Kate!
★★★★★
Kate
That’s wonderful to hear, Emily! I’m happy to hear it. Thank you for taking the time!
Trista
Amazing finished product. These muffins were SO moist, and just the right amount of sweet (I used honey). I used unsweetened almond milk & also ground cloves. I’m so happy to have found this recipe & I really appreciate your efforts to create healthy & amazing food! I would absolutely make this recipe again! Thank you
★★★★★
Amy
These were great! Thanks for the recipe! I’ve tried several of your muffin recipes and they’ve all been so wonderful.
★★★★★
Kate
I’m glad you loved them, Amy! Thank you so much for your review.
Martochka
The muffins came out perfect, with no modifications.
★★★★★
kjones
I used a small single-serve cup of cinnamon applesauce and 1T of vegetable oil in place of the coconut oil and they came out SO moist and delicious. Thanks, will make these again.
★★★★★
Juliana
Very good texture!! Especially for a healthier muffin!! I was wishing it was just a little bit sweeter, as I’m not really used to healthy muffins, but that was without any add-ins. I might try a pinch of sugar on top for now, but otherwise was super happy with how they turned out for being healthier! And I actually had everything in hand already, which was nice.
★★★★
Magda
Hello,
I am really loving your recipes these days. For this one I wish I had read the comments prior to baking them.. I reccomend updating the recipe to make squeezing the liquid out of the zucchini a must as I used freshly picked garden zuchini and skipped squeezing it because it seemed optional.. I also suggest updating the recipe to lower the temperature and increase the baking time as many reviewers suggested in the comments, which seem to be key steps that helped them succeed.
At 19 minutes my muffins were raw on the inside and more than golden on the outside. I watched them as they lost their height and muffin tops shriveled. When I cut one in half it was raw on the inside (even though I baked them for the maximum time reccomended in a brand new oven). Thankfully I had a second batch that had gone in shortly after the first so I lowered the temperature and increased the time. I had to take them out once they reached the maximum darkness on the edges.. and they are still raw. It’s really discouraging and a sad waste of fine (costly) ingredients.
If many of the commenters that have had success have done so as a result of reading other’s comments and making adjustments I think it would be really worth while to consider updating the recipe above to prevent future failures for those of us who just trust that it will be wonderful (because so many things on your site are).
Looking forward to trying another recipe soon and hoping for a win.
All the best.
★
Kate
Hi Magda! I’m so sorry that you had poor results with this recipe. I will revisit it soon, as well as the zucchini bread. I believe that the varying moisture content within zucchini is the potential culprit—I tested both recipes fully before publishing, but sometimes others have different results unfortunately. I do appreciate your feedback and would love to hear how your other C+K recipes turn out!
Sarah
I love all of your recipes, especially the muffin recipes. I eat your muffins pretty much every day of my life and they are fantastic. It makes me sad to say this, but these are the first ones that I just really didn’t enjoy. They turned out and nothing was a disaster, they just didn’t taste good to me. I found them really bland – like they just really needed something extra. Maybe some almond extract? Gosh, I don’t know. I did throw some chocolate chips in, but it wasn’t enough to save them. Don’t get me wrong, they were fine and the texture was decent and I did eat them, but I was glad when they were gone and I could make a batch of your healthy banana muffins to enjoy. Thank you for your recipes!
★★★
Kate
Hi Sarah, I’m sorry to hear you didn’t love these. Thank you for your feedback.
Hilary S Laing
We have lots of zucchini to use from our garden, so I tried this recipe. I love that the muffins aren’t too sweet. Great texture. I ended up using whole wheat pastry flour for some of the flour because I ran out of whole wheat, and they turned out just fine. I also love the touch of nutmeg flour.
★★★★★
Casey W.
These are such great breakfast muffins! I just made the original recipe without nuts this time, but my 3-yr-old suggested adding raisins next time, so I will try that variation when I have another zucchini.
★★★★★
Kate
Wonderful, Casey! Thank you for taking the time to share.
Lauren
Delicious!! I used olive oil and honey, omitted the nuts, and a mix of gluten free flour and whole wheat flour (totaling the amount in the recipe). Will absolutely be making these again with the bountiful zucchini harvest from my garden. These muffins are light and fluffy, not overly sweet, and a wonderful texture! Thanks for the recipe :)
★★★★★
Kate
You’re welcome, Lauren! Thank you for your review.
Eleni
I’m glad I didn’t read the comments before I made these muffins — they came out perfectly and were absolutely delicious! Perfect for breakfast since they are not overly sweet, and light and fluffy. Can’t wait to make them again!
★★★★★
Marisa
These came out perfect. Very moist. I used 1 and a quarter cup of whole wheat flour, and 1 half cup of all purpose. Used 1 third cup of honey, and added some raisins. Also I added 1 third cup of milk and stirred in the milk 1 third cup of plain yogurt . Thank you Kate.
Marie Pollock
Holy moly. These are amazing. Moist and scrumptious.
★★★★★
Teresa Rhoan-Dvorak
Turned out amazing… we are moving toward a healthier diet and found these were superior to our go to recipe. I used 1/2 honey and 1/2 syrup
★★★★★
Hilary S Laing
These are great- love having a healthy recipe for all of the zucchini coming from my garden!
★★★★★
Emma Wilcox
I dont normally comment on recipes but this one was amazing! My 1 year old loved them and so did my family. Will be a regular in this household from now on. They are moist, springy and sweet but savoury.
★★★★★
Megan
Made these on a whim because we had a zucchini that needed to be used and we are such huge fans of the other muffins on the site. I was nervous after reading mixed reviews, but followed the recipe exactly (left out nuts and used maple syrup) and they turned out perfectly and are so yummy! My toddler loves them.
★★★★★
Melinda Muyargas
These were delicious! Everyone in the house was a fan.
I would probably sub half the oil for applesauce next time, just to be a bit healthier.
It made 15 muffins for me, and needed a few more minutes in the oven because the tops were still gooey.
But again, very yummy and healthy!
★★★★★
Tracy
These are RIDICULOUSLY good! I mixed all the dry ingredients out of habit, so ended up mixing the wets, gently stirred in the flour + other dry ingredients, and then folded in the zucchini and a few chocolate chips. The texture of these muffins is pure perfection – so moist and yummy. Thanks for the wonderful recipe!!
★★★★★
Kate
I’m happy to hear they tuned out perfect for you! Thank you for sharing, Tracy.
Lisa
Delicious! I added chocolate chips to entice my kids. (A little chocolate in exchange for a lot of squash, whole grains and healthy fats! Great trade off!) My 14 year old and 5 of his friends all loved them, and came back for seconds! Thanks for a healthy version of this classic!
Kate
That’s great! Thank you for sharing, Lisa.
Olivia
These are so delicious! Love them & can’t wait to make them again!
★★★★★
Kelsey M
This recipe looks great, but I do not have fine sea salt, how much of kosher salt would you recommend?
Kate
Hi Kelsey, Yes, that should be fine but use a bit more than specified.
Nina
They tasted good on the day of baking, if a bit bitter for my taste, but that’s ok. However, after just over 24 hours in an airtight tin, they started smelling off and I found they had all gone MOULDY inside, and had to throw out over half the batch. This may have been due to my zuchinni being too wet (though I did squeeze out some water before baking), but it was a real shame as I was really enjoying the muffins!
★★