Healthy Zucchini Muffins
These healthy zucchini muffins are naturally sweetened and made with whole wheat flour! They're fluffy, moist and absolutely delicious, too.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on August 30, 2024
I thought I had this zucchini muffin recipe in the bag. Make my favorite zucchini bread batter, divide into muffin cups, bake for less time—nope. The increased surface area produced slightly dense and dry muffins, which were fine for “healthy” muffins. However, I wanted fluffy, moist and thoroughly delightful muffins that just-so-happened to be healthier.
So, I cross-referenced the zucchini bread recipe with my all-time favorite blueberry muffins in my cookbook. I adjusted the leavener, upped the amount of milk and switched to buttermilk for a more tender crumb. Success! These zucchini babes will make everyone happy.
Cookbook launch week has been a thrill. I’m overwhelmed, honestly. I’m so excited that you’re excited about the book, flattered by my fellow food bloggers’ kind words, and thankful for friends who took the time to say cheers. All that, and I’m still a little apprehensive about sending my book baby into the world. Is this what it feels like to send a child off on a school bus for the first time?
Thank you for your comments, notes and reviews; they mean so much. I hate to ask for more, but if you’ve had a chance to make recipes from the book already, would you mind leaving a review on Amazon to share your experience soon? That might seal the deal for people who aren’t familiar with my blog already.
If you haven’t gotten the book, I have more details about Love Real Food over here. I’d be glad to answer any questions you might have in the comments. Lastly, I promise I won’t go on and on about the book forever. ♥
What makes these zucchini muffins healthy?
Granted, “healthy” is a subjective term, but here are a few reasons why I consider these muffins to be more nutritionally redeeming than most:
- Unlike standard zucchini muffins made with refined all-purpose flour, these are made with white whole wheat flour. That means they’re made entirely with whole grains, but you can’t taste them because white whole wheat flour has such a mild flavor.
- Coconut oil or olive oil replace butter (olive oil is composed of more monounsaturated fat, and is considered to be more heart-healthy)
- Real maple syrup replaces refined sugar, so these muffins are naturally sweetened.
- Combined, you end up with hearty and delicious zucchini-flecked muffins.
These muffins are easily adapted to vegan and gluten-free diets, too! See my recipe notes for details.
Watch How to Make Zucchini Muffins
More Muffin Recipes to Enjoy
- Healthy Banana Muffins
- Healthy Blueberry Muffins
- Healthy Carrot Muffins
- Lemon Raspberry Muffins
- Strawberry Oat Muffins
Please let me know how these muffins turn out for you in the comments! I love hearing from you.
Healthy Zucchini Muffins
These healthy zucchini muffins are naturally sweetened and made with whole wheat flour! They’re fluffy, moist and absolutely delicious, too. Recipe yields 1 dozen muffins.
Ingredients
- ¾ cup roughly chopped raw walnuts or pecans (optional)
- ⅓ cup melted coconut oil or extra-virgin olive oil*
- ½ cup honey or maple syrup
- 2 eggs
- ⅔ cup buttermilk (or ⅔ cup milk of choice mixed with 2 teaspoons vinegar, allow to rest for 5 minutes before using)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 ¾ cups white whole wheat flour or regular whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 ½ cups grated zucchini (you’ll need 1 small-to-medium zucchini, about 7 ounces—working in handfuls, gently squeeze out excess moisture from the grated zucchini over the sink)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. If necessary, grease all 12 cups on your muffin tin with butter or cooking spray (my pan is non-stick and doesn’t require any grease).
- Toast the nuts (if using): Once the oven has finished preheating, pour the chopped nuts onto a small, rimmed baking sheet. Bake until the nuts are fragrant and toasted, about 4 to 5 minutes, stirring halfway.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine the coconut oil and honey. Beat them with a whisk until they are combined. Add the eggs and beat well. Add the buttermilk and vanilla. Whisk to combine, and set the bowl aside. (If your coconut oil solidifies on contact with cold ingredients, simply let the bowl rest in a warm place for a few minutes, like on top of your stove, or warm it for about 30 seconds in the microwave.)
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg. Using a big spoon, stir to combine.
- Pour the liquid mixture into the dry and stir just until combined (a few lumps are ok!). Add the zucchini (be sure to squeeze excess moisture out of the zucchini first) and toasted nuts, if using. Gently fold the zucchini and nuts into the batter, being careful not to over-stir.
- Divide the batter evenly between the 12 muffin cups. Bake muffins for 16 to 19 minutes, or until the muffins are golden on top and a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean.
- Place the muffin tin on a cooling rack to cool. If you have leftover muffins, store them, covered, at room temperature for two days, or in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Freeze leftover muffins for up to 3 months.
Notes
Recipe adapted from my zucchini bread and the blueberry maple muffins in my cookbook, Love Real Food.
*Oil options: I love coconut oil here. I used unrefined coconut oil and can hardly taste it in the final product. Olive oil might lend an herbal note to the muffins, if you’re into that (I tested with California Olive Ranch’s “Everyday” variety and couldn’t even taste it). Vegetable oil has a neutral flavor, but the average vegetable/canola oil is highly processed, so I recommend using cold-pressed sunflower oil or grapeseed oil if possible.
Change it up: Use chocolate chips or small/chopped dried fruit instead of the nuts.
Make it vegan: Use maple syrup instead of honey, replace the eggs with flax eggs and choose non-dairy milk, such as almond milk.
Make it dairy free: Choose non-dairy milk (I used almond milk).
Make it egg free: Replace the eggs with flax eggs.
Make it gluten free: Bob’s Red Mill’s all-purpose gluten-free mix works well.
Make it nut free: Just omit the nuts, and don’t use nut milk.
Make it lower in fat: I would argue that this bread contains a healthy amount of fat, but you can replace the oil with applesauce if you’re following a low-fat diet.
Update 9/23/20: I’ve modified the method slightly, to use two bowls instead of one. The recipe comes together more intuitively this way and bakes up a bit nicer.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
These came out perfectly for me! I’ve also made your healthy blueberry muffins, and they were delicious. Tender, fluffy, and just sweet enough. So many muffins are overly sweet, but these are perfect.
I should have read the comments before I made these! Baked for more than 30 minutes, they never really browned, and they were still raw inside. Your recipes are always great but this one just didn’t work.
Hi Gen, I’m sorry to hear that. Did you squeeze any excess water out?
I made these last night 7/21/21 and they were delicious! Also made the blueberry muffins and those were good too! Next ill be making the chocolate chip ones! So
excited. Thanks for sharing!
You’re welcome, Jenny!
These turned out yummy, soft and moist! I goofed up the recipe and was still able to make it work. I have powdered buttermilk on hand always, but had made homemade yogurt the day before and decided to use this in lieu of the buttermilk. However after measuring out the 2/3 cup I realized that I had grabbed a half cup measuring cup and put in a full cup of yogurt instead. So I adjusted the whole wheat flour to a full 2 cups to compensate for the extra liquid. These turned out beautifully!
delicious! Cut honey in half because I replaced nuts with dark chocolate chips. Used Kamut flour.
These muffins are a summer staple in my house. Such a great way to use the abundance of summer zucchini and they always turn out super moist and delicious. When people hear “zucchini muffin” they think of some gross dry healthy cardboard flavor… and then absolutely love them!
I love that! Thank you for sharing.
Made these muffins, as directed, from the abundance of zucchini from my garden. Turned out wonderfully and taste amazing! Found a great, easy hack online for removing moisture from the grated zucchini – a coffee press!! Thanks for sharing your recipes Kate – love how delicious and nutritious they are.
I made these today changed up a couple things like the flout. I used sprouted spelt and bobs red mill gluten free flour. They came out nice and tender. For me they need a bit more cinnamon. I will definitely make these again.
I just made these and they were DELICIOUS. So moist and fluffy! I was almost scared off by some reviews below, but I’ve probably made a dozen Cookie and Kate recipes and loved them all. I think the buttermilk may be key. I even used low-fat (since that’s what my husband brought home from the store). They’re almost savory, just a little sweet. I added some turbinado sugar on top for a little crunch. Can’t wait to feed these to my kids tomorrow morning!
Okay, Im finally leaving a comment because I have been using your healthy muffin recipes weekly for at least a year and absolutely love all of them! And every time I look for a new healthy muffin, yours comes up. Your healthy muffin recipes are perfect!
I love that, Angela! Thank you for your review.
These are wonderful! I used the grater on the food processor and then squeezed out all the liquid I could. Used coconut oil, apple cider vinegar and milk for the buttermilk, and chocolate chips instead of nuts so my kids would like them :) thank you!!
Kate, these are great! I like that they are not very sweet. I have made your blueberry muffins from your cookbook, and really like those also.
I followed the directions except that I toasted my nuts on the cooktop; I like the control I have when I do that.
I had some batter left over after filling my muffin cups, so I put it in a 6 oz ramekin and baked it for 2 minutes longer than the muffins.
I will defintely make these again!!
Wonderful! Thank you for sharing, Connie!
These were lovely! I made the vegan version, using olive oil, date syrup as my sweetener, a half teaspoon cardamom along with the cinnamon, and an extra teaspoon of baking powder to get a better rise. I also reduced the walnuts to about 1/2 cup (just toasted them a bit as the oven preheated) and added another 1/2 cup of raisins. They were nicely browned and cooked through after 19 minutes, and are delicious with just the right amount of sweetness.
Thank you for sharing, Zoe!
I made a double batch and they were delicious. I didn’t want to drain my zucchini so I decreased my buttermilk. I also decreased my sweetener by 1/4 as I added Blueberries to half and chocolate chips to the other half. Looking forward to trying the recipe again with my abundant zucchini crop and freezing away the muffins for busy school mornings.
I made these muffins today. I substituted applesauce for oil, I don’t have white whole wheat flour so I added a heaping 1/2 cup of wheat bran to white flour, shredded zucchini then measured 1 1/2 cups slightly packed – then I squeezed out the juice as good as I could then spread out on paper towels. For the buttermilk I put the juice I squeezed out of the zucchini into a measuring cup, added 2 tsp lemon juice and then added milk to make 2/3 cup. I didn’t want to waste the juice from zucchini. Baked in 375 degree oven for 16 minutes. Rose really nice and were baked just right inside and out. These are really, really good muffins. Thanks for the recipe. I have a great crop of zucchini this year so will be freezing it for these muffins.
I love this recipe and have made it several times. Best results come from simplifying the recipe: ‘mix dry ingredients and set aside’, ‘ mix wet ingredients, drain zucchini, and add all to dry ingredients without mixing too much’, ‘add 1/2 c chopped walnuts (no need to roast)’. Using an ice cream scoop, divide batter among 11 – 12 muffin tin lined with muffin wrappers. Bake at 350 deg for 10 min., turn for another 10 min.
First time making these, they turned out awesome and I’m glad I doubled the recipe. I used raw walnuts without roasting and they are good so they don’t need to be, if you are worried about burning them. Instead of honey I used an equal amount of brown rice syrup and they are SO GOOD! Not too sweet, actually the perfect light sweetness. I did the milk with vinegar for buttermilk, 100% whole wheat flour, and made sure to squeeze the zucchini really good. I GENTLY packed it into the measuring cup and it turned out perfect. Also, I added in some shredded coconut and dried cranberries. Amazing!
Thank you for letting me know you loved them, Carly! I appreciate your review.
I made this sans the walnuts because I was making them for my little kids who tend to choke on air. A total win for all. I like them, my kids love them, and even my husband who gets upset when I make healthy foods enjoys them. Try this recipe if you’re on the fence! I used olive oil and whole wheat flour as well. Thanks for another winner, Kate!
I’m glad you enjoyed them, Nic! Thank you for your review.
We’ve made this recipe several times with different variations, and all were delicious! For the first batch, I didn’t have nutmeg so added cardamom instead, which was yummy. (Then when I made them with cinnamon and nutmeg, I missed the cardamom, so now I add all three!) I use only 1/4 cup maple syrup since we like muffins just slightly sweet. The gluten-free suggestion of Bob’s Red Mill mix works really well. And yes to adding chocolate chips! Kudos on a great recipe with plenty of options for changing it up!
You’re welcome! I’m glad you loved it.
Bland & sadly disappointing!
I was excited to make these because I have loved every other recipe on your website, and I’m drowning in zucchini.
While the texture was fine and they rose nicely, they lacked flavor – even though I added extra spices (cinnamon, nutmeg & some clove).
I won’t be making these again.
I’m sorry you didn’t love this one, Marie.
I’ve made many of your other muffins and this one was also a winner! I even used a medium zucchini and it did not turn out mushy at all. I think what helped not getting mushy like others is using the thicker grater. I use your other healthy blueberry muffin as a base for many muffins a few times a month. My kids love it. Love your cookbook too!
Wonderful! I’m happy you love this recipe and my cookbook. I appreciate your review.
These make a lovely little healthy spice muffin. I followed the recipe, toasting the nutson silicone mat, for 8 minutes maybe, with a stir halfway thru. Didn’t have quite enough coconut oil, made up the difference with sunflower. The maple syrup adds a nice flavour with just the right sweetness. Next time might add cacao nibs too.
If there is an option to print your recipe, I can’t find it.
Hi Maureen, It’s currently not working. But, I’m trying to get it back as soon as possible. I appreciate your patience!
My 14 year old son made these with me, and everyone loved them. They were moist with a nice tall, golden top. We swapped a half cup of mini white chocolate chips for the nuts, but otherwise followed the recipe as written. We’ll keep them in our muffin repertoire. Thanks!
You’re welcome, Kate! Thank you for your review.
I just made a dozen of these delicious muffins for the second time in 5 days because the first batch was so good they were devoured within 48 hours :-) . I made them exactly as your recipe reads and had no issues either time as some reported (by the way, I can’t imagine blaming the recipe author, especially on her own website, if mine hadn’t come out right; seriously?). I used your milk and vinegar option vs. buttermilk since I like keeping food light, and used skim milk both times with great success. Used your maple syrup option for the sweetener both times. Your recipe makes the most tender, delicious zucchini muffins I’ve ever tasted, and I really appreciate you sharing it. I’ll be making the carrot muffins next as well as many others you’ve shared. Thanks so much for this wonderful recipe, and take good care! :-)
I made these to use the whole wheat flour and the zucchini I had. They were moist, fluffy and delicious! (I did throw in some chocolate chips instead of nuts). I baked only 15 min in my oven. I did not squeeze the zucchini too much, as it was already grated, in the fridge, from days ago. I think I over-squeezed my zucchini to make zucchini loaf previously and it was not as moist. Perhaps with all the factors (oven temp, altitude etc) there is a certain amount of squeezing of zucchini that has to be done? I appreciate Kate blending the two recipes together, as I would assumed I could have followed zucchini loaf and just made it into muffins!
These came out great! I used oat milk, as my son has a dairy allergy. No other subs. Thanks for a great recipe!
You’re welcome, Erin! I’m glad you loved these muffins.
These are absolutely the best muffins I have ever had !!! I added a bit of poppy seeds, replaced regular eggs with flax eggs, and used macadamia nuts instead, also left out the nutmeg and vanilla extract. Turned out absolutely amazing, loving them. Thank you so much for this recipe! :)))
Another amazing recipe. My 2.5 year old loves these and always asks for more. I use plain yogurt instead of buttermilk because I always have it in the fridge, and maple syrup instead of honey. They were light, fluffy, not too sweet, and absolutely delicious. Also thoroughly dried my zucchini and didn’t have any trouble with them not cooking. They were completely done in 16 minutes
Thank you for sharing, Lynn!
The muffins are amazing. Came out perfect. Thanks.
You’re welcome, Tahmid!
Wonderful recipe! I usually don’t comment, but since so many people seem to be having trouble with this one, I wanted to say that as someone who has worked in industrial and fine dining bakeries, this recipe worked perfectly as written. American measurements can vary so drastically from person to person, unfortunately. I used honey and EVOO :)
I’m excited to try this recipe! I wanted to give you a heads up that whatever you’re using to allow Print Options isn’t working correctly. I clicked the option to exclude the image and nutritional information, but they’re still showing up (along with the actual print options menu and recipe scale buttons).
Hi Kira, thank you for letting me know. I don’t see an issue, but will take a look!
Extremely good. 7oz by weight of zucchini is right on. I did not toast nuts. Great texture. Fluffy and moist i used 4T applesauce 2T oil. Added 1tsp maple extract in addition to vanilla.
I used olive oil, milk with the 2 tsp vinegar, almond flour, and I squeezed out the excess water from the zucchini with 3 separate towels. Same issue, they didn’t rise and the dough was still raw after 20 min. I’ve never used almond flour before, maybe that was the issue?
Hi Justine, yes almond flour isn’t a great 1:1 substitute as it requires a lot of adjustments if it will work. It would be a new recipe. You can try a gluten free flour blend like Bob’s Red Mill.
These are SO FLUFFY AND YUMMY! If you are thinking of making these but don’t know if you’ll like them, just DO IT they are perfect every time and have an unreal flavour profile. Thanks Kate! All your muffin recipes are amazing – trying pumpkin muffins next :)
Thank you, Clem! I’m glad you tried another one and loed it.
I am a beginner. I found your recipes to be foolproof. Great tasting as well. Thank you, Kate.
Made these with almond flour (which I think absorbed some of the excess moisture from the zucchini and they turned out AMAZING!!
I don’t know which muffins I like the most; these ones, the carrot ones, the apple ones or the blueberry ones! I made these with melted butter, maple syrup, pecans, regular whole wheat flour and milk w/vinegar. The batter was very wet, even after I added the super-squeezed zucchini. However, they baked up perfectly in 19 minutes. Thank you for all the amazing muffin recipes!
Can’t they all be your favorites? Thanks for your review, Karen!
Very very good! Made as directed, except for adding 1tsp of almond extract in place of 1 of the vanillas.
Could I substitute half of the zuchinni for shredded apple? I’m looking for a healthy apple muffin recipe to use up some mealy apples. Your apple muffin recipe has dairy and we are dairy free so I thought these zuchinni muffins might work! Your banana muffin recipe is a staple in our house, so I know your recipes are fantastic!
Hi Linday, I haven’t tried it so I can’t say for sure. If you try it, let me know what you think!
These muffins are fantastic!! I have made them six or so times now and they’re always are a crowd pleaser. While the ingredient list is very healthy, these muffins have a great texture and flavor. Perfect for a healthy breakfast snack.
These came out beautifully! The sub-par reviews, in my opinion, are from cooks who did not squeeze out the extra liquid.
I used syrup and olive oil and added cranberries for a delicious treat. I only made 10 as I prefer a high rise muffin. I have a hot oven that baked them perfectly at 16 mins. I will make them again doon.
I’m happy it turned out so well for you, Martha! I appreciate your review.
Loved these and so did my youngest! Based on comments I did grate the zucchini first and let sit and drain while I prepped everything else. Skipped the nuts, subbed whole Greek yogurt for the buttermilk, used 2 tbsp of coconut sugar instead of the honey. 19 minutes and they came out perfect!
Hooray! I’m happy they were a hit with you and your kiddo. Thanks for sharing.
These are our favorite muffins. They have perfect texture and flavor. Can’t imagine how someone could have a problem with the results if they followed the directions properly. We rely on you for good recipes as you do a thorough job of testing We are so appreciative. Congratulations on the arrival of your precious new baby!!!
These are so good! I was a little wary with a few bad reviews but srsly every recipe I’ve made of yours turns out SO DELISH so I went for it. I’m thinking maybe people didn’t wring out the zukes or used AP flour or something less absorbent? I went with using mostly honey with some sugar. I also used about 1/3c of the liquid squeezed from the squash (yellow and zucchini) in place of some of the milk (i used oat milk w ACV). I also added 2T chia seeds. Thanks for another great recipe that is less sweet, healthier, and somehow still yummier than the classic.
I just made these muffins using the recipe as written and they were yummy, still warm from the oven with a pat of butter. Along with my healthy banana muffins, this will be in my rotation of low suger, high fiber baked goods. Thank you!
You’re welcome, Victoria! I’m glad you loved them.
Excellent recipe! I used my own GF flour blend and subbed chocolate chips for the nuts. I used half coconut oil and half butter. I also only had about 1 cup of zucchini shreds, but it turned out just fine. The muffins were done in 17 minutes and were perfectly moist and airy on the inside! I’m bookmarking this one! Thanks Kate!
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Nicki! Thank you for sharing how you made it.
These were great.
I substituted date sugar, sweet rice flour, added 1 teaspoon ground flax seed and added another egg.
17 minutes at 375, yielded 6 dozen mini muffins.
I made these for snacks for the grandchildren.
They love them. And the big kids did too.
Made these with half the amount of honey, 100% whole wheat, vinegar/milk, olive oil, no nuts (allergy in the family) but added in about ¼ cup of crushed flax seeds. Cooked perfectly in 15 minutes at 200°C in a convection oven. Not super sweet (my preference especially when feeding my toddlers, but a nice healthy muffin! Kids approved! (Next time I would use coconut oil, if I have, but didn’t have it today. Can taste the olive oil a little, but since it’s not a super sweet muffin, it’s ok.)
I omitted the nuts and used regular lactose-free milk, I also used regular whole wheat flour. They turned out great despite my oven being a little off in temp, perfectly moist and not too much of a “healthy” taste like many whole grain muffins have. Thanks!
I’m glad you enjoyed them, Jess! Thank you for your review.