Healthy Zucchini Muffins
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Published Jul 08, 2024, Updated Nov 04, 2024
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These delicious healthy zucchini muffins are made with whole wheat flour and naturally sweetened with maple syrup. They’re moist, fluffy and perfect for meal prep!
Every summer I find myself drowning in zucchini thanks to my father in law’s garden (I love zucchini, so definitely not complaining!). I have so much fun making a variety of different recipes from zucchini bread overnight oats and zucchini brownie to turkey zucchini boats and roasted zucchini and squash.
Another zucchini recipe that’s always been a staple in our household every summer is my healthy zucchini bread. And since a few people have asked if that recipe can be used to make muffins, I thought I would just develop a healthy zucchini muffin recipe to share with you!
This recipe is similar to the quick bread recipe, but I reduced the amount of maple syrup, increased the applesauce, used all whole wheat pastry flour and upped the flour amount to fill 12 muffin cups.
Ever since first making these muffins they have been such a hit with my kids, so for all my parents out there, this recipe is a great way to sneak in extra veggies to your kiddo’s diet!
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love These Muffins
- Healthier – Most muffins are made with refined white flour, white sugar, butter or vegetable oil, but not these ones! These muffins are made with whole grain flour, applesauce, heart-healthy olive oil and maple syrup, making these muffins a healthier alternative to traditional baked goods.
- Easy – With simple ingredients and straightforward steps, these muffins come together in about 30 minutes from start to finish.
- Portable – These muffins are easy to eat with your hands on the go. Bonus, silicone muffin cups double as a baking, storage and transportation vessel.
Ingredients Needed
- whole wheat pastry flour – I love using whole wheat pastry flour as a healthier alternative to white flour. It still keeps the muffins nice and fluffy and light. My go-to brand is Bob’s Red Mill whole wheat pastry flour.
- ground cinnamon and ground nutmeg – these spices add such a nice warmth to these muffins.
- baking powder and baking soda – these are musts to help the muffins rise.
- eggs – the eggs are needed to help provide structure for the muffins so they rise and become nice and fluffy.
- pure maple syrup – this is probably my favorite natural sweetener to use in my baked goods. I love that subtle maple flavor it adds to recipes.
- olive oil – instead of using butter or a seed oil, I went with heart-healthy olive oil to help keep these muffins super moist and fluffy!
- unsweetened applesauce – I added applesauce to reduce the amount of oil needed in this recipe. You can make homemade applesauce or use store-bought.
- finely grated zucchini – you can’t have zucchini muffins without the zucchini! No need to squeeze the grated zucchini… the liquid from the zucchini helps keep the muffins moist.
Find the printable recipe with measurements below.
Recipe Substitutions
- Flour: If you can’t find whole wheat pastry flour you can also use white whole wheat flour, a blend of all-purpose and regular whole wheat flour or just regular all-purpose flour.
- Oil: Swap the olive oil with melted coconut oil, butter, avocado oil or any neutral oil.
- Maple syrup: Honey or agave syrup can be used as alternative. I haven’t tried it, but I bet monk fruit maple syrup would work for a low-sugar option.
- Applesauce: If you don’t have applesauce on hand mashed banana or Greek yogurt would be a good replacement for the applesauce.
- Gluten-free: I haven’t tested these muffins with a gluten-free flour mix but you should be able to swap a gluten-free all purpose blend for the flour in this recipe. My favorite is Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Gluten-Free Flour. You can also try my flourless zucchini muffins if you’re looking for a gluten-free option!
- Vegan: I’m not sure how these muffins would turn out as vegan since I haven’t tried it, but you could try my vegan zucchini bread instead.
- Mix-in’s: Feel free to add in your favorite mix-in’s like chocolate chips, blueberries, dried fruit or nuts. I would start with 1/2 cup and add more for topping.
How to Make Healthy Zucchini Muffins
Step 1: Combine your dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
Step 2: Whisk together your wet ingredients in a separate bowl.
Step 3: Add the grated zucchini to the wet ingredients. Stir to combine.
Step 4: Add the dry ingredients into the bowl with the wet ingredients. Stir together until just combined (don’t over mix).
Step 5: Divide the batter evenly in the muffin pan that’s lined with muffin cups.
Step 6: Bake the muffins for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Brittany’s Recipe Tips!
- Don’t over-mix: One of the key steps to achieving fluffy, tender muffins is to avoid over-mixing the batter. Stir until just combined for the best texture.
- Test for doneness: Insert a toothpick into the center of a muffin to check if they’re done. If it comes out clean or with just a few crumbs, they’re ready to come out of the oven.
- Cool properly: Let the muffins cool in the muffin tin for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. This makes them easier to handle and can improve the texture. And you don’t want to let the muffins cool completely in the muffin tin because they could continue to bake as they’re sitting and dry out.
- Use silicone or paper liners: These make for easy removal and less mess. If you don’t have liners, make sure to thoroughly grease the muffin tins. These are my favorite silicone muffin cups.
Storing Zucchini Muffins
- At room temperature: Store cooled muffins in an airtight container on the counter for up to 3 days.
- In the refrigerator: For a longer storage option, place the muffins in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. This helps preserve their freshness and prevents spoilage.
- In the freezer: These muffins freeze well! Simply store them in a freezer-safe bag or container for up to 3 months. Thaw them in the fridge or at room temperature before enjoying.
Frequently Asked Questions
Make sure you grease the muffin liners with nonstick spray before adding the batter, or use silicone muffin liners which are naturally nonstick.
Over-baking is a common reason for dry muffins. Make sure to check them a few minutes before the suggested baking time and remove them from the oven as soon as a toothpick comes out clean.
Yes! I kept these muffins plain, but you can absolutely add mix-in’s to the batter. Some ideas are chocolate chips, dried fruit and/or nuts. I would keep the total amount of mix-ins around 1/2 cup. Add them to the batter last, after you’ve combined the wet and dry ingredients.
No, there is no need to peel the zucchini before grating. The skin is thin and provides additional nutrients to these muffins.
More Healthy Muffin Recipes to Try
- Healthy Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Oatmeal Banana Muffins
- Strawberry Yogurt Muffins
- Chocolate Chip Yogurt Muffins
- Healthy Banana Muffins
- Healthy Carrot Raisin Muffins
- Cranberry Orange Muffins
Be sure to check out the full collection of muffin recipes here on EBF!
If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider leaving a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below.
Healthy Zucchini Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cups whole wheat pastry flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup pure maple syrup
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ½ cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups finely grated zucchini, no need to squeeze liquid
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease a muffin tray with nonstick spray or line with muffin liners.
- In a medium bowl, mix together flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg.
- In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, maple syrup, olive oil, applesauce and vanilla. Stir in grated zucchini.
- Add dry ingredients into the bowl with the wet ingredients and stir together until just combined (don’t over mix).
- Divide batter evenly between 12 muffin cups.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let muffins cool for a few minutes before removing from the pan, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Notes
- Flour: If you can’t find whole wheat pastry flour you can also use white whole wheat flour, a blend of all-purpose and regular whole wheat flour or just regular all-purpose flour.
- Oil: Swap the olive oil with melted coconut oil, butter, avocado oil or any neutral oil.
- Maple syrup: Honey or agave syrup can be used as alternative. I haven’t tried it, but I bet monk fruit maple syrup would work for a low-sugar option.
- Applesauce: Mashed banana or Greek yogurt would be a good replacement for the applesauce.
- Gluten-free: I haven’t tested these muffins with a gluten-free flour mix but you should be able to swap a gluten-free all purpose blend for the flour in this recipe.
- Mix-in’s: Feel free to add in your favorite mix-in’s like chocolate chips , dried fruit or walnuts. I would start with 1/2 cup.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Very tasty muffins. I used gluten free flour and substituted greek yogurt for the applesauce. I found that the mixture was very thick. Therefore I added some water to thin it out slightly. I think that you need a little more moisture in the wet ingredients for a gluten free flour muffin batter. What do you think?
Hi Christine. I am glad you enjoyed these muffins. I haven’t tested this recipe with GF flour so that might have been the reason why your batter was a bit thicker especially since you also subbed the yogurt for applesauce. If I test these with GF flour, I’ll let you know if I had to make any adaptions to the recipe. If you give these another try with regular flour and yogurt, let me know how it turns out for you.