Our Favorite Healthy Zucchini Muffins
My kids are completely obsessed with these healthy zucchini muffins, and I love that for all of us. ♡
They’re soft, warmly spiced, naturally gluten-free, sweetened with maple syrup, and packed with a full half pound of fresh zucchini. I love knowing there’s that much veg tucked inside, while my kids mostly just care that they taste really, really good.
I tested these a few different ways to get the oat flour and zucchini balance just right. The key is gently squeezing out the excess moisture from the grated zucchini without drying it out completely, then letting the batter rest for a few minutes before baking. That gives you muffins that are tender and fluffy instead of gummy or crumbly.
We all love these muffins exactly as written, but they’re very easy to customize. Toss in some chocolate chips, chopped nuts, berries, raisins, or whatever else sounds good. The recipe is pretty flexible, so make it your own and enjoy!!
Recipe Tips
Oat flour muffins are easy once you know their quirks. Here are the little things I’d pay attention to when making the recipe for the first time:
- Weigh the oat flour if you can. This is one of those recipes where I really recommend using a kitchen scale. Oat flour can pack down quite a bit in a measuring cup, and too much flour will give you dry, heavy muffins.
- Don’t pulverize the zucchini. I like using the coarse side of a box grater. Finely shredded zucchini tends to disappear into the batter and release more water, while the larger shreds give the muffins a nicer texture.
- Squeeze the zucchini, but don’t wring the life out of it. You want to remove the obvious excess liquid, not turn the zucchini into sawdust. Starting with 8 ounces and ending up around 6¼ ounces worked consistently well in my testing. You can use a cheesecloth, clean kitchen towel, or even a few layers of paper towels to squeeze the zucchini.
- Give the batter time to rest. 5 to 10 minutes is enough. Oat flour absorbs moisture more slowly than wheat flour, so this little pause helps thicken the batter and gives the finished muffins a softer, less crumbly texture.
- Add a sprinkle of turbinado sugar if you like some crunch. It’s completely optional, but I love the tiny crackly bits it gives the muffin tops. It makes them feel a little more bakery-ish without adding much extra sweetness.
Variations You Can Try
These muffins are pretty forgiving once you have the base recipe down, so feel free to play around and customize the recipe to your liking.
- Add chocolate chips. Fold in ½ to ¾ cup of semisweet or dark chocolate chips.
- Add chopped walnuts or pecans. Stir in about ½ cup for some crunch.
- Add blueberries. Fold in ¾ cup fresh blueberries just before portioning the batter into the muffin pan.
- Swap the pumpkin pie spice. Use 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon plus a pinch each of nutmeg and ginger if that’s what you have in the spice drawer.
- Swap the almond milk. Use oat milk, dairy milk or another neutral-flavored milk.
- Add coconut. Fold in ½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut for a little extra texture.
- Add raisins or dried cranberries. Add about ½ cup for extra sweetness.
- Make mini muffins. Divide the batter into a greased mini muffin pan and begin checking them quite a bit earlier, around the 10-minute mark.
FAQ
You can make some using old-fashioned oats! Just blend 3 cups (240g) of old-fashioned oats in a high-powered blender or food processor until they reach a very fine, flour-like consistency. The finer you can get the oats, the better the muffin texture will be.
Yes, at least a little. Zucchini contains a surprising amount of water, and leaving all of that moisture in the batter can make oat flour muffins gummy in the center. I recommend gently squeezing out the excess until you have roughly 6¼ ounces of zucchini remaining.
Nope. I leave the peel on. It softens completely as the muffins bake, and I like the little flecks of green throughout.
Store the muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for a day or two, or refrigerate them for up to about 5 days. You can also freeze them in a freezer-safe container or bag for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator or gently reheat straight from frozen. I like warming refrigerated muffins for a few seconds before eating too, which brings that soft texture right back.
More Healthy Muffins To Try!
- 240 g oat flour
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 large eggs
- ¾ cup unsweetened plain almond milk
- 8 ounces coarsely grated zucchini, liquid then squeezed out (~6.25oz yield after straining)
- ½ cup maple syrup
- 3 tablespoons avocado oil, or any mild-flavored oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- optional: turbinado sugar, for sprinkling
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Prep the oven and muffin pan. Heat oven to 375°F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with parchment liners or lightly grease with cooking spray.
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Combine the dry ingredients. Combine the oat flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, and sea salt in a large bowl and whisk until combined.
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Combine the wet ingredients. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, almond milk, maple syrup, melted coconut oil, and vanilla extract until smooth.
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Mix it all together. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Fold in the grated zucchini. Let the batter rest for 5 to 10 minutes so the oat flour can hydrate slightly.
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Divide into muffin cups. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups, filling each until almost full. Sprinkle each muffin with a pinch of turbinado sugar, if desired.
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Bake. Bake for 18 to 23 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the tops spring back lightly to the touch.
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Cool and serve. Let the muffins cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Serve and enjoy!
Let me know how it turned out in the comments below!
