These paleo and gluten free zucchini muffins are the perfect way to use up your summer zucchini bounty! Packed full vegetables and chocolate, this recipe is a huge crowd pleaser for adults and kids alike.
Oh, look: something sweet. I had almost forgotten what that tastes like what with all of the savory that has been going on here. Hot weather not only makes me reluctant to turn on the stove, but also to do all of the general mixing and measuring and washing and digesting that goes along with sweets.
That’s not the whole story, though. I’ve been SA-WAMPED at work, and when you barely have time to chew your food, you’re not even thinking about the luxury of dessert. I didn’t even have the time to stress bake. It was that serious.
Luckily, I had an influx of zucchini and a hankering for a muffin, and it’s only in the low 70’s here, so we’re back in the baking game. Plus: these zucchini muffins technically count as 26.4% side dish since they contain a serving(ish) of veggies in every one!
Speaking of veggies and side dishes, if there is anything I have learned from your incredibly helpful responses to the quick one-question survey (look right!) it’s that so many of you are looking for quick and healthy recipes for family meals. I know most of you probably mean dinner, and I’ll be back with many more of those very soon. But in the meantime, this one is a perfect breakfast option because it can be made ahead, it freezes really well, and it will keep you full for while. And don’t forget that serving of veggies!
Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins
These paleo and gluten free zucchini muffins are the perfect way to use up your summer zucchini bounty! Packed full vegetables and chocolate, this recipe is a huge crowd pleaser for adults and kids alike.Â
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup blanched almond flour
- 1/2 cup coconut flour
- 1/2 cup tapioca flour (starch)
- 1/2 cup granulated monk fruit sweetener, granulated stevia, or coconut sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 Tablespoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 fine sea salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 1/2 cups shredded zucchini
- 3 Tablespoons unsweetened almond milk
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips, plus more for garnish (I used mini chocolate chips but you can use anything you have on hand)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Line 10 compartments of a 12-cup muffin tin with papers and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flours, sweetener, baking soda, spices and salt and set aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk the eggs, then whisk in the oil, vanilla, and vinegar.
- Pour the wet mixture into the dry and stir to combine.
- Fold in the shredded zucchini and stir until the batter loosens up. It should be the consistency of a wet but thick waffle batter, not a cookie dough. If it is more of a dough, add your milk of choice one tablespoon at a time until the batter loosens up.
- Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Use an ice cream scoop to portion the recipe into the 10 compartments of the prepared muffin tin and sprinkle the top of the muffins with more chocolate chips if desired.
- Bake for 20-22 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean.
Tara | Treble in the Kitchen says
These look and sound absolutely fantastic!! I haven’t ever experimented with monk fruit, but I see you use it in a lot of recipes. How did you discover it and why do you love it so much!? I would love to try it 🙂 (is it low FODMAP??)
Nora (A Clean Bake) says
Thanks, Tara! I really love Norbu, the monk fruit sweetener I linked to in the recipe (though I have heard mixed reviews of other brands), and have found that it sweetens really well with no weird bitter aftertaste and is really gentle on my stomach. I no longer follow the low FODMAP diet religiously, but even when I was much more strict I never had a problem with it. I did some quick research and it looks like it is too new to the market for anyone to have a definitive answer on its FODMAP impact. But if you’re ok with granulated stevia, you might consider giving monk fruit a try as well!
Julia says
AH geez, sorry to hear things are so crazy busy at work. Hopefully they settle down and you have a chance to get in some good R&R! These muffins look like perfection! I’m all about zucchini bread and muffins, and those chocolate chips are making my face drool!
Nora (A Clean Bake) says
Eh, thanks. It comes and goes – it’s a crazy job! I am hoping the pace will slow down juuuuuust a little bit so I can breathe and bake more 🙂
Jess @ whatjessicabakednext says
These muffins look divine, Nora! Love the idea of adding zucchini! So good!
Nora (A Clean Bake) says
Thanks, Jess!
Jessi says
I really almost took a bite out of my computer screen ;). These look so amazing!
Nora (A Clean Bake) says
Thanks, Jessi!
Medha @ Whisk & Shout says
Nora, these look delicious! I love the abundant chocolate chips in these 🙂 Pinning!
Nora (A Clean Bake) says
Thanks! Abundant chocolate chips are the only kind of chocolate chips 😉 Thanks for pinning!
Samantha says
I don’t have tapioca flour. Could I use flaxseed meal, or just increase almond flour or coconut flour?
Nora (A Clean Bake) says
You could try replacing the tapioca with half almond and half coconut flour, but I’m not sure what that will do to the texture of the muffins, so substitute at your own risk. The tapioca is what makes the muffins light and fluffy. If you can get your hands on tapioca flour/starch, or arrowroot powder, that would be much better.
Monica says
Yum!! I absolutely love zucchini desserts; they very much encapsulate summer for me (: Your muffins look so moist and delicious…two thumbs up! I hope things at work are going well; don’t forget to make some time for yourself every once in a while and catch a breath from the rush & bustle. Take care~
Nora (A Clean Bake) says
Me too! There’s nothing like a zucchini dessert to say abundance of veggies, which, in turn, says summer!
As soon as things slow down, let’s plan a lunch! Hopefully before zucchini goes out of season 🙂
Traci | Vanilla And Bean says
Nothing like a good zucchini, chocolate muffin, Nora and these look over the top delicious! I can see how packed they are with zucchini! Love the close-up! I’ve not tried either of the sweeteners in your recipe… but I’m wondering how coconut sugar would do?
Hooray for a little something sweet!
Take it easy at work… perhaps things will calm a bit next week? I hope so! Have a restful weekend my dear!
Nora (A Clean Bake) says
Totally! Don’t those two flavors just go together perfectly? You can definitely use coconut sugar. I would suggest using 1.5-2x the amount called for in the recipe since coconut sugar is not as sweet by volume as granulated stevia or monk fruit. Keep your fingers crossed for that slow down! 🙂 Hope you’re having a great week so far!
Erin @ Texanerin Baking says
Your first sentence is funny because when going through the last few pages of your posts, my thought was, “Where are all the sweets?!” 😀 But that’s awesome you’re not baking much (from a health standpoint!)
These muffins look SO good! Nice and moist.
Nora (A Clean Bake) says
A fair question!! I have heard from lots of readers that their first priority is getting dinner on the table and once that is taken care of, a healthy treat is a major bonus. Since lately I’ve been emphasizing entrees in my own kitchen, I’m happy that readers want to see the same thing!
Caitlin says
This looks delicious! the only trouble is that I’m a teacher who needs to adhere to nut free lunches because of anaphylactic students! Is there another flour I can use in place of almond flower?
Nora (A Clean Bake) says
Hi Caitlin! Oh man, that makes things tough! I’m sorry to say that there isn’t a nut-free alternative that would easily substitute in for almond flour. I will keep that in mind though and see if I can come up with a nut free muffin recipe sometime! In the meantime, I’m sorry I can’t help!
Ethna says
I believe oat flour might work.. ill try it today =)
Nora (A Clean Bake) says
I can’t promise it will work but if you do try it, I’m curious to hear how it goes!
Ashley Alandt says
These look so good! I love chocolate chip zucchini muffins. Do you have any advice on what the best egg replacement would be? I’ve had mixed results with things like applesauce or chia/flax eggs…they don’t always hold together well.
Nora (A Clean Bake) says
Hi Ashley! I’ll be the first to admit that I am not an expert on egg replacements since we eat a lot of eggs in my house 🙂 But I would not recommend going the natural route – like chia egg or flax egg. And definitely not applesauce (way too much moisture!). Your best bet will, unfortunately, be one of the store bought egg replacement powders. I’ve heard very good things about Bob’s Red Mill brand, but I haven’t tried it myself. Sorry I can’t give you a more specific answer! If you’re looking for egg free recipes, you can click the egg free button in the right hand side bar near the top to see everything on my site that doesn’t contain eggs!
Kristin Santrau says
This is the first gluten-free recipe I have made out of like 1500 that doesn’t taste absolutely disgusting and doesn’t fall apart when you try to eat it. I was about to give up on all of these alternative flours until TODAY! These taste SO good. I’m a sugar addict so I’m pretty excited right now! Win!
Nora (A Clean Bake) says
Wow! Thank you so much!! That is so wonderful to hear – you have no idea how much this comment made my day! 🙂
Amy says
Great recipe! I used 1/2c prune puree instead of munk fruit, and subbed 1/4c of the the starch for protein powder and they still turned out great. I don’t usually like anything with coconut flour, but these are yummy! My six year old picky eater asked for thirds. Win!
Nora (A Clean Bake) says
I’m so happy to hear that!! Thanks for letting me know those substitutions work!