Zucchini Muffins (Easy + Vegan)

You will absolutely love zucchini muffins because they are soft, moist, light, and really tasty. This recipe is very easy to make with simple pantry ingredients.

Make them in less than 30 minutes (baking included) and enjoy them as a quick breakfast on the go, or as a healthy snack.

Zucchini has 3 superpowers that make it particularly good for muffin recipes:

1. High water content. When the zucchini cooks it releases water and the muffins get pleasantly moist. And they stay like that for days, which is awesome, cause no one likes dry muffins.
   
2. It acts as a binder. This means there is no need to add eggs or any other egg replacement. The muffins are going to be lighter without eggs, healthier, and IMHO much more delicious.
   
3. Neutral flavor. This allows you to customize this zucchini muffin recipe with your favorite add-ins. We use dark chocolate chips and walnuts, but you can go crazy with your favorite ingredients, including spices, nuts, and dried fruit.

From our recipe, you can expect zucchini muffins that are really easy to make, and also moist, light, and super tasty.

Ours is basically a fool-proof quick bread muffin recipe that you can even turn into a loaf of deliciously moist zucchini bread. Let's see how they are made!

Ingredients

Zucchini

Use green zucchini. No need to peel them, squeeze them, drain them, or remove seeds (unless you have huge zucchini with hard seeds). Just grate them with the large holes of a box grater. Shredded zucchini is perfect for muffins because they release moisture while binding the batter.

We haven't tried other zucchini varieties, so we cannot (yet) advise on such a recipe.

Flour

We like to use a mix of all-purpose flour and whole wheat flour. If you don't have whole wheat, don't worry, and just go for all-purpose flour. Whole wheat flour makes the muffins a little tastier, airier, and healthier.

For gluten-free zucchini muffins, we recommend using a 1:1 gluten-free flour substitute for wheat flour.

Sugar

We use brown sugar, but any other granulated sugar would do, including white sugar, coconut sugar, and palm sugar. We do use less sugar than most other recipes online, however, we do think that some sugar is required to make zucchini muffins that taste great.

We have not tried replacing the sugar with maple syrup or vegan honey. Let us know in the comments below if you try.

Oil

We use neutral vegetable oil, such as canola oil or sunflower oil, instead of olive oil or melted butter. We find the olive oil has too much flavor for our taste. Coconut oil works too.

In general, we don't put much oil, but some is required to achieve perfectly soft and moist vegan zucchini muffins.

If you are on an oil-free diet, then replace the oil with applesauce (or unsweetened applesauce) in the same amount.

You can also use vegan butter if you want. Just take our oil measurement and multiply by 1.2 to get the butter amount.

Plant milk

Pick one of your choice. We tried almond milk, soy milk, oat milk, and rice milk, and they all worked perfectly.

Spices and Aromas

We use cinnamon and vanilla extract. Other spices that go well in zucchini muffins are grated nutmeg, ginger, and cardamon.

Baking powder and baking soda

To help the muffins rise, and get light and airy. If you don't have baking soda, just double the baking powder amount.

Salt

Just a little to help bring out the taste of the other ingredients. If you are on a low-sodium diet you can omit the salt.

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F or 180°C. Line a 12-muffin tin or two 6-muffin tins with muffin liners or with parchment paper.

To do that, cut twelve 5-inch (13 cm) squares of parchment paper, and fit them into the muffin tin. You can add a drop of oil to the muffin pan to make the parchment paper stay in place.

To a large bowl, add plant milk, sugar, oil, and vanilla extract. Mix well with a silicone spatula or with a wooden spoon.

Grate the zucchini with the large holes of a box grater. Add the grated zucchini to the wet ingredients and stir until well combined.

There is no need to peel, squeeze, or drain the zucchini.

Add the dry ingredients: all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, cinnamon, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.

Mix by hand with a spatula or spoon (we don't recommend using a whisk) to incorporate the ingredients. Do not overmix. Overmixing will result in dense, gummy zucchini bread.

You should get a dense, thick batter, almost like a loose dough. We want the batter to be dense because the zucchini will release moisture when cooking.

Add dark chocolate chips and chopped walnuts (or your favorite add-ins). Give another quick mix to incorporate them into the batter.

With the help of two tablespoons, fill in the muffin tins, and bake at 350°F or 180°C for 20 minutes on the middle rack of the oven.

To make sure the zucchini muffins are fully cooked, poke them in the center with a toothpick. If the toothpick comes out dry, the muffins are ready. If not, keep baking in increments of 2 minutes.

Variations

Vegan zucchini bread

Same recipe, slightly different measurements, and a different shape. Our vegan zucchini bread is a great alternative to the muffins if you don't have muffin tins or if you want to try something different.

This recipe makes a perfectly moist vegan zucchini bread, that is soft, light, and not soggy in the center.

• Oat muffins for a healthier and meal-prep-friendly breakfast option.
• Sweet potato muffins: with 10 pantry ingredients and ready within 30 mins.
• Quick vegan french toast with fresh berries, butter, and syrup on top.
• Vegan crepes with a (generous) drizzle of hazelnut spread and banana slices.
• Fluffy pancakes with apple compote and cinnamon.
• Vegan cinnamon rolls with an indulgent frosting for special occasions.

Or check out our vegan brunch collection for more ideas.

If you're loving these zucchini muffins, you might also like our other zucchini recipes:

• Sauteed zucchini: the best basic recipe for zucchini, ready in just 10 mins.
• Zucchini frittata: an egg-free frittata perfect for brunch, and lunch.
• Zucchini pesto: a vibrant green condiment with plenty of good fats. A great addition to pasta and your favorite vegan salads.
• Roasted zucchini easy baked zucchini in 2 ways that you can serve as a side or appetizer.
• Zucchini risotto: a creamy and indulgent dinner idea perfect for guests or romantic dinners at home.
• Air fryer zucchini: make easy and juicy zucchini bites in the air fryer in just 15 mins.