Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins {Whole Grain}
A one bowl wonder, these whole grain double chocolate zucchini muffins are incredibly soft, incredibly easy and incredibly delicious.
Even though I already have a plethora of zucchini baked goods recipes around here, I can’t believe it’s taken me over 11 years of blogging to solidify a best-ever chocolate zucchini muffin.
I mean, shouldn’t a chocolate version have been the tippity top of the priority list of all zucchini muffins ever?
Who am I? I’m slightly disappointed in myself, I’m not going to lie.
But let’s let the past stay in the past and focus on the future. The future is definitely these double chocolate zucchini muffins. A one bowl wonder, they are easy and absolutely incredible.
One Bowl Muffins
One bowl, a few measuring cups, and some stirring devices, and you’re good to go.
It’s pretty straightforward:
- Mix the sugar, buttermilk*, oil or butter, and eggs.
- Add the dry ingredients (no need to sift or mix them beforehand)
- Stir in the zucchini and chocolate chips
*An easy sub for buttermilk is half milk, half sour cream.
Wringing out zucchini
For this recipe, you’ll want to shred 1 1/2 cups zucchini. I like it finely shredded.
After shredding, grab handfuls and lightly squeeze the handfuls of zucchini over the sink. No need to employ a towel or special liquid extracting device. A quick squeeze is all you need.
I’m sure there’s some scientific evidence somewhere that zucchini juice takes years off your hands.
After squeezing you’ll have a little over a cup of shredded zucchini. More or less. It doesn’t need to be exact.
Fill the muffin cups (liner, optional) and bake! My favorite muffin tin in all the world is the USA brand aff. link (not sponsored; just love it).
It’s a “standard” size, but I think the muffin cups are ever so slightly deeper than my old muffin tins which means slightly taller muffins and less overflowage.
And it makes me happy to have slightly taller muffins and less overflowage, what can I say.
I get an even 12 muffins out of this recipe, but you might get upwards of 16 out of the batch depending on the exact size/brand of your muffin tin. No muffin tin shaming, I promise. Whatever kind you have will work great (take note in the recipe for oven temp if using a dark coated muffin tin).
all-purpose flour vs whole wheat flour
I’ve made separate batches of these muffins with all-purpose flour and whole wheat flour.
The whole wheat lends a nuttier taste and slightly heartier texture, but both types of flour work great and produce a fantastic muffin.
No matter which flour you use, make sure not to pack the flour into the cup or the muffins will be dry and dense. My method for flour measuring if I’m not using a scale is:
- fluff…and then fluff again
- scoop
- level
Judging by the fact that we’ve made these muffins every week for the last month and a half (excluding RV trip week) speaks to how much we love them.
And also judging by the fact that Brian has yet to taste them because they are wolfed down long before he gets home from work is another testament (sorry, Bri).
My squash bugs are threatening to destroy my zucchini plants this year, and the main reason I’m sad about that is because it means less double chocolate zucchini muffins in my immediate future.
Also, squash bugs might possibly be the worst invention ever. I hate them so much.
One Year Ago: Zucchini Banana Bread
Two Years Ago: One Pot Creamy Tomato Basil Pasta
Three Years Ago: The Best Energy Bites {Master Recipe: Tons of Add-In Options!}
Four Years Ago: Cookies and Cream Chocolate Chip Cookies
Five Years Ago: Grilled Chili-Lime Chicken with Strawberry Avocado Salsa
Six Years Ago: Creamy Peanut Butter Pie with Chocolate Cookie Crust
Seven Years Ago: Amazing Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake with Whipped Chocolate Frosting
Eight Years Ago: Creamy Peanut Butter Tart
Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
Ingredients
- ¾ cup (159 g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup buttermilk, or half milk/half sour cream
- ¼ cup neutral-flavored oil or melted butter
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup (142 g) all-purpose or whole wheat flour
- ½ cup (43 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 ½ cups (about 283 g) shredded zucchini
- 1 ½ cups (255 g) chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. (If using dark coated muffin tins, preheat to 325 degrees F.) Add liners to 12-cup muffin tin or spray muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the granulated sugar, buttermilk (or sour cream/milk), oil or butter, eggs, and vanilla until well-combined. Add the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, and baking powder. Stir until just combined and a few dry streaks remain.
- Lightly squeeze zucchini over the sink by handfuls to wring out excess water. Add to the bowl with the chocolate chips. Stir until the zucchini and chocolate chips are evenly mixed (but try not to over mix or the muffins might be dense instead of light and fluffy).
- Portion the batter evenly into the muffin tin, filling the cups about 2/3 full. Depending on the size of the muffin tin, you may need to bake a second batch (the recipe makes between 12-16 muffins).
- Bake for 17-19 minutes until the tops spring back lightly to the touch. Let the muffins cool for 2-3 minutes in the pan before removing them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe
68 Comments on “Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins {Whole Grain}”
I am here to say that vanilla yogurt is a wonderfully acceptable substitute for the buttermilk/sour cream.
Is your preference to typically use butter or oil? I’m curious about that.
Sorry about the squash bugs. I despise those things! They are so grody and it’s infuriating when your plants die. My grandma taught me to spray my zucchini plants down with water and a little bit of blue Dawn dish soap in it. I haven’t had issues with the bugs since.
Thanks for the tip! I probably use butter half the time and oil half the time. Butter gives a slightly richer flavor.
Absolutely loved them, thank you
Everything you’d want in this muffin is there! Yum
I made these tonight and they turned out beautifully! Do you measure/weigh the zucchini before squeezing the water out?
I measure out the zucchini and then squeeze out the water.
I made these and they sunk! What do you think I did wrong?
It sounds like they might have needed a few more minutes of baking time.
I tried making these a bit healthier and they turned out great. I subbed a 1/4 cup of whole wheat flour with chocolate protein powder, reduced sugar to 2/3 cup and used whole milk yogurt for the buttermilk. Also only about a cup of chocolate chips. Plenty sweet. Actually tasted like cupcakes to me.
Awesome!
My kids referred to these as “muff-cakes”. They were so good. And, I used applesauce instead of oil. I did wonder why you suggested switching the amounts of baking soda and baking powder if using dutch processed cocoa? I always use dutch processed cocoa and have never done that.
Hi Doris, Dutch-process cocoa reacts better to baking powder whereas natural, unsweeteened cocoa powder usually needs baking soda. Often times it will work out to switch the cocoa powders without messing with the leavening (baking soda or baking powder) as long as both b. soda and b. powder are present in the recipe, but I’ve noticed that I get a better rise if I use more baking powder/less baking soda with Dutch-process cocoa (and vice versa with unsweetened cocoa).
These are so perfect and easy!! Super delicious.
Thank you!
Gluten-Free & Dairy Free SUCCESS!
Substituted 1 cup of gluten free (Pamela’s Bread blend) mix for the flour and dairy creamer (Nut Pods, unflavored) for the buttermilk. I put 1 1/2 teaspoons of lemon juice in a 1/2 cup measuring cup then filled it up rest of the way with the dairy free creamer and in 10 minutes it had curdled just like buttermilk.
These were sooooooooooo delicious! The moisture of the zucchini really works well to take away any grainy texture from the gluten free flour.
Thank you Mel 🙂
Thanks for the report, Kari! That’s awesome!
Made these yesterday and they turned out wonderfully. They have such a great texture and we’re perfectly moist—even the next day. As a personal preference I decreased the chocolate chips a bit and they were perfect.
Thanks, Annie!
Hey Mel. I’m baking these muffins today and can’t wait to try them! I have a quick question for you. How do you feel about powdered buttermilk (vs. milk and sour cream) as a substitute for fresh? Thanks!
I haven’t used it other than making a dry pancake mix with it. BUT, I have friends that use it and love it (mixing it up for recipes that call for buttermilk) so I definitely think it’s worth a try!
Just came back to report that the powdered buttermilk worked great. I didn’t even mix up the buttermilk. I added the buttermilk powder to the dry ingredients and water to the wet ingredients. The muffins were delicious even though I goofed and used dutch cocoa powder without switching the amounts of baking soda and powder. They rose fine!
Thanks for reporting back, Melissa! That’s awesome!
These muffins just melt in your mouth with chocolately richness! AH-MAZZZZING!
Thanks for all your hard work perfecting recipes and sharing them with us. You truly have a gift I love to cook now because of you.
You make the world a better place, Mel! With your passion for food, teaching others, and helping them be successful in the kitchen, as well as your desire to build up your local library with authentic literature from a variety of cultures…and the many other things you do. You are an inspiration and such a blessing! 🙂
Thanks for such a sweet, heartfelt comment, Jill. In all the chaos of the world right now, you have no idea how much it means to me. Thank you!
Delicious! Love the single bowl and whole wheat flour!
Thanks, Sharon!
These look delicious! We thought squash bugs were our issue, but turns out it was actually vine borers killing them. Might be something to look into also!
Thanks for the tip!
My kids say these taste like cupcakes- needless to say, they are a hit!
Yay!
Can’t wait to try this! And I hate squash bugs as well. I’ve lost 2 of my 4 zucchini plants so far to squash bugs.
Ugh, I’m sorry!
Do you have any suggestions to turn this into a loaf instead of muffins?
I’d probably just toss the batter into a large loaf pan (9X5) – judge it by eye, if it’s too full, maybe divide between smaller loaf pans – and bake for 55 minutes or so?
Our zucchini plant suddenly succumbed to squash bugs. I was bummed! I hate those bugs soooo much! These muffins were soooooo good! I used half white, half whole wheat, and doubled the recipe. My kids were in heaven! We’ll definitely be making these often. Thanks again for a great recipe!
Always love your reviews, Aubri – thank you! (sorry about your zucchini plant though!)
Planting more zucchini this weekend and will bookmark this recipe.
To fight squash bugs, we sprinkled diatomaceous earth around the plant trying to avoid the blossoms, planted basil and marigolds in front of the plants (but love the dill idea too) and spray neem oil once per week. We had a good crop until the heat of July out powered the plants. We also let our chickens free range each afternoon to cut down on the bug population.
These are so tasty! I am trying to convince myself they’re healthy since they have zucchini in them so I don’t feel guilty for eating so many. YUM!
Haha. Yeah, they definitely aren’t health food!
Thanks for the wealth of info, Sheila!
I made these today! I sprinkled coarse sugar on top before baking like I do for most muffins I make. Bad idea for this recipe though. The sugar kind of melted into the muffin and the tops looked wonky. Tasted amazing though!
I’m glad you liked the recipe, Rikki (bummer the sugar trick didn’t work so well)
Suggestion on squash bugs is to plant dill around your zucchini. It attracts a beneficial bug that feeds on the squash bug eggs and nymphs. I did this 2 years ago and didn’t have any squash bugs. At that time I planted the dill to pair with my cucumbers. I didn’t plant it this year, not thinking much of it and lost both my zucchini and cucumbers. Luckily I ended up with some zucchini that I shredded and froze for baking. These muffins were delicious and a nice change from my usual zucchini bread!
Thank you for the tips, Vickie! So helpful. I had no idea about dill. I’m definitely trying that next year.
Thanks for the recipe! Yummy!
Squash bug really is awful. One thing I’ve tried the last couple years is pruning the squash plants (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mqkpifoEUfc). When the plants are still little we look for and kill buds and eggs but as they have grown and we just don’t seem to have the time to fight that battle, pruning really seems to help. I haven’t lost any plants to squash bug since I tried it. Maybe worth a try 😉
So many helpful ideas about squash bugs! I had no idea that pruning the squash plants was a thing. Thank you for the resource! Totally worth a try!
SO sorry about the squash bugs… they’ve ruined lots of pumpkin and squash plants for us too over the years. I’ve declared war on them. We were determined to not lose everything this year.. our local nursery gave my husband something to spray and it’s worked wonders. I usually don’t spray much pesticide, but I had spent so many hours out in the garden trying squish them and scrape eggs off the leaves into soapy water.. the spray was been awesome.
These muffins look delish!
One way I have loved zucchini this summer is slicing it up, covering the slices with marinara sauce and mozzarella and baking it until they’re tender. So yummy!
Your pigs are SO cute! We raise pigs as well but ours are the normal kind that are cute when they are little but then get big, hairy and ugly!
I love the zucchini + sauce + mozz. YUM! Great, simple idea. What’s the name of the spray you’ve been using?
Love your site and I will add this recipe to my collection of you others.
I garden and have great success cutting the squash bugs out of the stem at the first sign of the plant drooping/in distress. If you can stomach it, you can save the plant.( may be too late for this season but there always next)
Thank you for the help, Lori!
Lori, these would be squash vine borers, not squash bugs. Maybe it’s just a semantics thing with the similar names. We thought our issue was the squash bugs on the plant, but it was actually the vine borers. We noticed the sawdust frass and then figured it out.
Squash bugs are the absolute worst. Now I need to track down some zucchini. These look great and so do all your other zucchini recipes. I might need to try them all.
I hope you can find some zucchini! Should be fairly easy this time of year. 🙂
Sometimes I wish I was taller with less overflow. I’m excited to try these.
Hahahahahahaha. You’re funny. 🙂
I made these tonight! So super yummy and kid approved! I went ahead and doubled the batch. Glad I did. Now there is a slight chance my husband will get one.
You are amazing for making them so fast!! Haha, I guess if I doubled (ok, tripled) the recipe, Brian might actually taste one. 🙂
Just put the pans in the oven! My toddler and I kept dipping spoons in the batter, it was too good! I grated a bunch of zucchini yesterday to make your zucchini pizza crust, and I was debating on making cookies, cake, or brownies…but muffins always win the day for me! Perfect timing with this recipe!
Oh my goodness, when you gals make recipes within literally minutes of me posting, it just makes me so happy. Muffins are the best! Hope you love the finished product!
Hallelujah! This is the first year my zucchini have cooperated and now I have 12 frozen cups of zucchini in my freezer. Hello muffin city.
Yay!
What’s your opinion about silicon, silicone muffin cups?
I’ve never used them, but I know a lot of people swear by them!
I have 9 zucchini on my kitchen table right now. THANK YOU. I made zucchini muffins this morning, but not chocolate zucchini muffins. I can’t wait to try it!
These are a VERY worthy purpose for zucchini (although you have so many, you don’t have to be that selective – haha!)
Squash borers are evil. I’ve given up growing anything related to zucchini. Fortunately others grow them and I’m happy to pay. Especially when I can use them for chocolate purposes!
Absolutely! I’ve heard squash bugs come back year after year which is super depressing.