The Best Zucchini Muffins {Whole Grain}
Get ready for the best zucchini muffins ever! So light and fluffy, these whole grain muffins are quick, easy, and delicious (especially with those chocolate chips!).
I hinted at these glorious muffins on Instagram a while back.
And even though it may not be zucchini season for everyone right now, before some of us know it, we’re going to have the humble, green vegetable coming out of our ears and piling up on our kitchen counters.
Bookmark this recipe. Print it out. Sleep with it under your pillow.
You’re going to want it close by, because these muffins are the best zucchini muffins of my life.
As much as I love this older zucchini muffin recipe, today’s recipe is my favorite of the two. So light and fluffy (even with 100% whole wheat flour!), they are ridiculously delicious.
The first time I made them several months ago (purchasing zucchini at the store in April is painful, but someone’s gotta do it in the name of recipe testing), I forgot the salt.
Ew. Don’t do that. Unless you want a significant and impactful reminder how important a little bit of salt is to a baked good.
It reminds me of the time I forgot the salt in a whole batch of homemade bread (five loaves!), and I cried buckets of tears (and still made my family eat it – the longest week of our lives).
If you remember the salt AND decide you have about 20 minutes (so fast!) to dedicate to the zucchini muffin cause, I have a good feeling you’ll adore these little muffins.
Whether you choose to add chocolate chips or not is up to you.
And while we are talking about important life choices in regards to muffins, another super yummy variation is to use one cup of shredded apples in place of one cup of shredded zucchini! Fantastic.
The recipe really has all the details you need. I note this below, but I love sprinkling a tiny touch of coarse sugar over the top of the whole grain zucchini muffins before they bake.
It adds the most delightful crunch and hint of sweetness! If adding chocolate chips, I usually skip the itty bits of sugar on top, but you could certainly do both. You wild one, you.
JUST A FEW EXTRAS:
{Affiliate links for products below that I’ve bought from Amazon}
-I used this Farberware and this USA muffin tin for this recipe (both great; the USA pan, while a bit more expensive, makes the best muffins with perfectly domed tops – nothing ever sticks)
-These are my favorite nonstick parchment muffin liners
-I usually use my box grater or food processor for shredding; make sure to use the small/fine side or blade
I hope with zucchini season almost upon us (and some of you in the full throes already) that you find time to make these tasty muffins!
What are your other favorite ways to use up zucchini?
One Year Ago: Chocolate Fudge Brownie Cupcakes
Two Years Ago: Simple Thai Beef Satay
Three Years Ago: Simple Skillet Green Beans {The Best Fresh Green Beans Of Your Life}
Four Years Ago: Zucchini Lasagna
Five Years Ago: No-Bake Peanut Butter Chocolate Bars
The Best Whole Grain Zucchini Muffins
Ingredients
- ¾ cup (159 g) granulated sugar (can use 1/2 cup for a less sweet muffin)
- 2 large eggs
- ⅓ cup canola, avocado, vegetable or melted coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cups (178 g) white whole wheat flour (can sub all-purpose)
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups (about 283 g) finely shredded zucchini lightly squeezed of excess water, measured after wringing (see note)
- ½ cup (85 g) milk chocolate, semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips, (plus more for tops of muffins, if desired), optional
- Raw or coarse sugar for sprinkling on top, optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a standard 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners or grease with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, eggs, oil, and vanilla until well-combined.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and stir with a wooden spoon or spatula 3-4 times until the batter starts to come together but there are still streaks of flour throughout.
- Stir in the shredded zucchini and chocolate chips, if using, until the batter is just combined. Don’t overmix! It’s ok if the batter is still slightly lumpy.
- Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin tin. Add a few chocolate chips to the top of each muffin for a prettier chocolate chip appearance (totally optional). If making the batter without chocolate chips, sprinkle a bit of raw or coarse sugar over the top of the muffins (again, optional, but super delicious).
- Bake for 17-22 minutes until the tops spring back lightly to the touch.
- Let cool for a few minutes in the muffin tin before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. These taste best once cooled, in my opinion (and are delicious the next day, as well).
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe
108 Comments on “The Best Zucchini Muffins {Whole Grain}”
Buckets of tears reference- I got that one (if you’re referring to 7Bf7B). Can’t wait to make these muffins! We’re having a muffin feast today for conference- zucchini, blueberry, and pumpkin!
My toddler devoured these. And me too 🙂
I’ve made this several times now-it’s a keeper! I’ve made it with honey instead of sugar for my non-processed eating friends. I’ve made it with and without chocolate chips. And this morning I made it with added milk and made zucchini waffles. There are never any that go bad-we always eat them all. Even my zucchini-aversive nephew ate the muffins and wanted seconds! Thank you for this recipe!
These muffins were SO simple and yummy! I made them with the “help” of several little hands. We tried two different variations: coconut & cocoa powder and pumpkin pie spice & chocolate chips. My mini helpers and I loved both! The whole wheat flour plus zucchini makes them guilt-free and a great snack. I’ll definitely be making these again, likely with all sorts of experimentation of fun mix-ins. Thanks for the recipe!
I added 1 of cooked quinoa, 1/2 -1 ish tsp cloves and doubled the cinnamon. YUM!
I know you have a “best zucchini bread” recipe, but I love the unfussiness of the zucchini for this recipe. Do you think this recipe would make a good loaf?
Yes, I think it would!
A mom friend just made these for play group of toddles and they gobbled them up! My very selective eater actually had 2 so I asked for the recipe. I’m going to try it with paleo baking flour to make it gluten free. Happy to have a delicious zucchini muffin recipe!
Success! Paleo baking flour worked. I also switched the sugar for just less than 1/2 cup of coconut sugar. The texture is not quite as soft, but still good and tasted great!
Best zucchini muffins ever!
The consistency of these muffins was quite a bit different than your other zucchini muffin recipe. I personally loved it. With my kids it was half and half. Today I made them again and added 1/3 c cocoa powder to make chocolate muffins. I kept everything else the same. I didn’t adjust the flour because the first time I made them the batter was quite runny. They were delicious and the texture was awesome! Definitely a keeper!!
That’s awesome, Laurel – a chocolate version sounds delicious!
Made these yesterday and they were yummy! Everyone commented that they had a nice texture. I thought the flavor was just slightly bland – maybe I’ll add a touch more salt next time. I used mostly white whole wheat with a little all purpose (I was making them for company and wanted to make sure they were nice and soft and fluffy, but I think next time I’ll try all wheat flour). And I was going to try subbing half the zucchini with apple, but my husband brought home the world’s largest zucchini, so I needed to use it up. 🙂 But next time I’ll try some shredded apple, and maybe I’ll like that taste better. But overall yummy!
Holy cow. These are a crowd pleaser. Everyone at my family dinner (4 children ages 2-7) loved them. Never have I seen kids love something “healthy” like this before. It’s a win.
Mel, I have to tell you a funny story with these muffins.
I made them with my kids, ages 5 and 7. They watched me peel Zucchini, process it (I don’t have a small grater so I used the s blade on my food processor), squeeze it, and mix it into the batter. The next morning when they tasted them, my 7 year old was convinced that I was lying when I called them zucchini muffins!
I understand where he’s coming from – the zucchini bits melted into the muffin. They were amazing! Moist and delicious. We’ve already finished the first batch I made and my kids are begging me to make it again.
That is awesome! I’m so happy your kids loved them even if they did feel like you pulled a fast one on them!
These are fantastic! I made them in a mini muffin tin, so they were perfect for the kids. We ate them for breakfast, and then I packed them in lunchboxes. Even my child who doesn’t typically eat vegetables gobbled them up.
These muffins are delicious! Made them a second time today (a triple batch because that’s how much zucchini I needed to use!) and they are perfect! I didn’t have white whole wheat flour so I did about half all purpose and half whole wheat and they are great! I also only had a little canola oil left so I topped it off with grapeseed oil and couldn’t tell any difference. My husband who hates zucchini enjoys these! (Although he really doesn’t understand the reasoning behind adding a veggie to a baked good. At least he’s helping me get through the mounds of zucchini from my garden!) Thanks for another delicious recipe, Mel!
I’m glad they worked out so well! And good luck using all that zucchini :).
So this is happening right now… My 15 yr. old son has three friends over after school, and they descend on the kitchen where I just happen to have a freshly made batch of these out on the counter. They all have one (or two, or three… I think they are actually all gone now ) Overheard: “Dude, these are zucchini and they’re actually really good.” And, “Never thought chocolate would work with zucchini.” Well done, Mel. You are indeed a rockstar in the kitchen.
Haha, that was the best! Thanks for sharing!
Do these muffins freeze well and if they do is there a special trick to freezing them?
Yes, they freeze great! I let them cool and then slide several into freezer ziploc bags and freeze that way.
First time trying a baked good with zucchini in it, and it was a total success! I only had one zucchini so I added a banana to make up for the remainder (give or take since I didn’t measure). Loved how it turned out! such a tender crumb, you wouldn’t even know it was made with all whole wheat flour. I also took note and used 1/2 cup sugar and still turned out plenty sweet, especially with that banana. Thanks for another hit!
Santa brought me some USA muffin tins and I’m so excited to try them. Do you always use muffin liners? I noticed on the packaging it recommends not using cooking spray. I almost always used cooking spray rather than liners with my old pans. I’m cheap I guess. I did just purchase the liners you recommended but am wondering if you truly use liners every time.
Love your blog Mel! You truly are a wonder!
Hey Toni! I use liners maybe half the time. And I’m really bad at reading package instructions, apparently, because I use cooking spray with my USA pan. Oops!
My kids adore these muffins! I made them for breakfast they all ate two then wanted one for their lunch. They have been renamed to Zuffins in our house!
One of our very favorite muffin recipes! I’ve made a double batch of these every week since zucchini season started hoping to stock my freezer for snacks and quick breakfasts. I just can’t get ahead though, my kids eat them way faster than I can make them.
Hi Mel, have you ever added cocoa to these to make them chocolate zucchini muffins? If so, how much cocoa did you add? If you haven’t, I’ll just have to experiment!
PS.. thank you for taking the time to share all your wonderful recipes. Your site is my go-to when I want to try something new. I have tried many of your recipes on my family at our monthly family dinners and my family always raves about them. They make me look like such an amazing cook/baker!!
Thanks, Stacey! So happy you are enjoying the recipes! I haven’t added cocoa to these muffins – I’m guessing you could experiment by decreasing the flour and adding cocoa? Let me know if you try it!
Made 12 muffins this morning. Only had 4 left by 3pm. I think they were a hit!
I’ve always used zucchini in soup or pan-fried dishes. This is the first time I’ve used them in the muffins and they’re so good. Adding the chocolate chips and the sugar on top bring these muffins to greater heights.
Just made this recipe… delish! The batter was thicker than your banana bread recipe, so I was nervous that I made a mistake, but I just went with it and it turned out amazing! It did only make 2 mini loafs, so I will definiately double this next time. Also, I had to add about 10 min to baking time before they were done (probably due to mini loafs vs muffins?)… regardless I will be making these again. Fyi, I used coconut oil and it’s my new fave. Thanks!
Hi Mel, we just finished off an apple muffin apiece. We both LOVE these muffins!
One large Granny Smith was enough grated apple. I didn’t put chips in the batter, only a few milk chocolate chips on top of half the muffins (for hibby). I used 3/4 cup of sugar in the batter. The raw sugar on top made for a nice crunch.
A real winner, and you helped me use up much of the rest if my whole wheat flour.
Thanks gor amother yummy recipe! It made for a great snack.
Ps. I had to add a few TBSP of flour to make a batter. It must be a lot less humid in So Cal than where you are baking! They baked in 15 minutes
Oops. I added water!!!
I’m confused about the flour weight – King Arthur says that 1 cup of their White Whole Wheat flour weighs 4 oz, so 1.25 cups would be 5 oz… Can you clarify? Thans!
http://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/ingredient-weight-chart.html
I use 5 ounces for each cup of flour (similar to the recommendations by America’s Test Kitchen). There are a lot of varying sources, anywhere from 4 ounces to 5 ounces per cup.
Should I include the chocolate chips if I use apples instead of zucchini?
You certainly can – the muffins are delicious either way.
These muffins need to be listed under the best recipe category! They are fantastic made with the lesser amount of sugar and my favorite of all the wonderful recipes I have tried from this website.
I thought they were already! Thanks for the heads up. I’ll put them in the Best category for sure (because I agree with you!).
Whats the volumn of a cup or spoon to measure the ingredients please?
You had me at zucchini! I can’t wait to try these with the 2 zucchini and 2 yellow squash on my counter. Also, if you like those muffin cups you have to try these babies, they are such a good price on subscribe and save and bulk in Amazon is necessary for muffins in my humble opinion 🙂 https://www.amazon.com/If-You-Care-Unbleached-Baking/dp/B00KQ17X6C/ref=pd_sbs_79_1?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B00KQ17X6C&pd_rd_r=JCVPECC8V11AE2Y5PPC5&pd_rd_w=LkqrT&pd_rd_wg=7sLgo&refRID=JCVPECC8V11AE2Y5PPC5&th=1
Also, they are so amazingly non stick and awesome.
Just made this recipe! Have to say it is EXCELLENT!! These muffins are moist, and taste … oh, so good!
Jen
PS we doubled the semi-sweet choco chips … ’cause that’s the way we roll… :))))))
They truly are fluffy and light. My kids enjoyed eating the muffins that I sprinkled a few chocolate chips on the top. The plain ones were for me, but I liked them both ways.
The Zucchini were the best I have ever made my daughter agrees.
Made with one third whole wheat/two thirds unbleached all purpose flour and they were moist, fluffy yet hearty, and delicious!
Glad you liked them, Chelsea! Thanks for letting me know!
My kids love these! Especially when they get to pick and use the zucchini out of our garden! Thanks for another muffin win =)
First off, your recipes are very good. I love the healthy ingredients that you use so thank you very much! We have recently switched to the Mediterranean diet, or lifestyle, so all your recipes really are intriguing. I must have done something wrong because my zucchini muffins were wet at the bottom. The flavor, even with only a half a cup of sugar, was amazing! I didn’t mind the dampness but my husband sure did. That’s okay, more for me to eat. Do you think I just didn’t ring the water out enough? Or possibly maybe a little too much zucchini?
Hi Jayna – if the muffins were really wet on the bottom, it’s probably because of too much zucchini. Do you have a kitchen scale so you can weigh it for accuracy? If not, next time, I would add less and wring it out fairly well.
Victory! Yep, too much zucchini in the first batch. BUT, the second batch was spot on light & moist. Keep the recipes coming Mel & God bless!
Very delicious! I failed to read your note on squeezing the zucchini, and I squeezed the smitherines out of mine until I got 10oz of dry zucchini. They needed to bake a little bit longer than the time listed as a result because there was so much zucchini in them, but they taste spectacular! I only used 1/2 cup sugar, and that was plenty in my opinion. Thanks Mel for the great recipe! Keep those zucchini recipes coming…
Yay! Glad you loved these, Melanie! I have a few more zucchini recipes up my sleeve. 🙂
Looks like I will be making a lot of these since the 10 cucumber plants I planted ended up being zucchini
LOL!! That’s a LOT of zucchini!
Hahahahaha. Sorry, Aunt Laurie, but this made me giggle!
Are these ratios correct? Not enough liquid, is 1/3 c oil enough? I added the flour and its more like dough than muffin mix, what gives?
Yes, the recipe is correct. Any chance you may have added too much flour?
It is on the thick side of muffin batters but it shouldn’t be as thick as a yeast bread dough. The eggs lend moisture, as does the zucchini. It’s similar in consistency to the batter of a quick bread.
Did you complete the recipe? Hopefully next time you could finish & taste it before giving a rating 🙂
I made these today. So so good!! I used half whole wheat flour and half all purpose since I don’t always have very good luck using all whole wheat. They were delicious!! Thank you for another great recipe!
Thanks for reporting back, Sharon – glad you loved them!
You listed 4 different kinds of oil that could be used, but which do you recommend/use yourself?
I’ve used all of them, but I usually prefer avocado oil.
Hi Mel –
My one year old has an egg allergy so I’ve been trying to figure out replacements in baked goods – one article I read said it depends what the eggs job is. So would you say these eggs are for binding, moisture, rising, combo?
Thanks !
Ps I’ve really been enjoying all your family friendly recipes!
Probably for binding/moisture. I think the flax substitute might work here!
I’ve made a lot of zucchini muffins and was honestly skeptical that this would be any different. Well, I’m glad to say I was proved wrong. These are amazing! Not sure what makes them so much better than all the other recipes, but it’s a keeper! Thanks, Mel!
Thanks, Jen! That’s kind of how I felt about them, too! 🙂
I found not quite a cup of frozen zucchini in the freezer? The apple added to these muffins sounds great? Do you peel the apple first? My box grater turned it to mush. May have to use the food processor. How fine does it the apple need to be?
I usually peel the apple first. The softness of the apple might be due to the variety – what kind did you use? I find firm apples like honey crisp or gala will shred best.
Can’t wait to put these in the oven tonight! What book are you starting??
I started “When I’m Gone” by Emily Bleeker – and also Mists of the Serengeti.
We made these today and they are perfection! Have you had much luck doubling or tripling this recipe?
I’ve doubled and it’s worked great!
My son spent 7 months of his mission in the Victor/Driggs/Jackson Hole area! He loved it! I want to visit that area someday, for sure! He’s in Rexburg now and comes home (to Mesa, AZ) in 8 weeks. I can’t wait!! Thanks for all your awesome recipes, Mel. You are a household word around here 🙂
Oh, so exciting, Sheree! It is a beautiful area.
These look so good! I can’t wait for our Zucchini to come in so we can make some!
Paige
http://thehappyflammily.com
My whole family loved these! They disappeared very, very quickly. Next time I am going to have to double them. We just did chocolate chips in them. So yum! Looking forward to making more as the zucchini becomes more plentiful!
So happy to hear this, Jen! Thanks for leaving a comment.
Where do you get your white whole wheat flour? I would like to buy it in large quantities, but have a hard time finding it in more than 5 or 10 lbs.
I buy the white wheat berries and grind them myself (lately I’ve been buying the bags at Winco). I haven’t seen white wheat flour (already ground) in larger quantities, at least in my area.
I just returned from a trip too and I found our first zucchini in the garden. Perfect time for this recipe. I can’t wait to try this one. And back to reality for me too. Just 4 more weeks of summer vacation and my kids head back to school.
Mel, I love your other zucchini muffin recipe, but I had to try these today. I haven’t done a lot of baking yet this summer so I was excited to try these. They are really so delicious–we loved them–and I did add the chips and sugar. My favorite way to use up zucchini (other than desserts!) is to lightly brown it in a pan with some onions, fresh corn, halved cherry tomatoes, fresh basil, butter, and s&p. Or your little baked zucchini bites–those are awesome! Next up are those amazing looking peanut butter chocolate squares you posted last week.
I love your favorite savory zucchini recipe – yum! And I’m glad you loved these muffins. Thanks, Teresa!
My very favorite way to use zucchini is sliced with onion,garlic and garden tomatoes. Sauté with olive oil and serve with fresh basil, crumbled croutons and grated Parmesan cheese. You can serve it over spaghetti or just as is. Summertime heaven on a plate!
Holy yumminess, Lisa!
These look fabulous. And zucchini is definitely in abundance here in South Carolina!
Love you Mel! These are awesome! Safe travels!
Thanks, sweet Jill!
We are growing yellow squash in our garden. Do you think it would work in this recipe instead of the zucchini? Thanks!
You know, I’m honestly not sure but it could be worth a try! I think I’ve heard of people subbing yellow squash for zucchini in recipes like this but I’ve never tried it.
Yes, yellow summer squash and zucchini can definitely be swapped in any recipe.
I used yellow squash and they were great!
Nice! Thanks for the report back, Kelsey!
I know the pain of leaving salt out of homemade bread. I also made my family endure the week of bland bread not wanin all my hard work go to waste!
Thanks for this recipe! Been waiting for it ever since I saw it on instagram.
Haha, glad you understand!!
LOVE those Bar J Wranglers!
Hope to make these later.
These look delicious. I do love a good zucchini chocolate chip muffin. Apple sounds good too.
We stay in Driggs for a week every summer. It is so beautiful over there!! This recipe is exactly what I was looking for this morning! Thanks, Mel!
You visited my home of Victor! That would of been so great to run into you! I told my husband the other day I feel like you’re my best friend even though I’ve never met you! My family and I are huge fans of your recipes! Thanks for everything and I’m glad you had a good time!
I’d love to hear what you did in Victor. My family is going there later this month. Maybe we’ll take some muffins with us.
Hi Dee! We have an old family lodge up there, so we stayed put at that location mostly and played games, did family olympics, ate our body weight in treats. 🙂 You know, that kind of stuff. But there’s a lot to do in that area! Tablerock is one of our favorite hikes in the Tetons and we always try to swing by Jackson Hole to go to the Bar J Wranglers. Have fun!
All amazing things! I want to hike Tablerock with my husband and kids. I’ve only done it once for cross country camp, but I loved it!
Is it possible to sub Splenda or stevia for the sugar?
I imagine that would work just fine! (Haven’t tried it myself though)
I’ve done that for other recipes, but only for a portion (no more than 1/3 of the sugar) or else the texture of the baked good can be weird.
Thanks for weighing in on this, Alicia!