Gluten Free Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
These Gluten Free Chocolate Zucchini Muffins are incredibly soft and fluffy! They are bursting with chocolate. These Paleo chocolate zucchini muffins are great for an easy and healthy breakfast or snack!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- These grain free chocolate zucchini muffins are loaded with nutrients.
- They taste like a chocolate muffin, but they are secretly healthy.
- Great for a quick breakfast, on the go snack, or even dessert.
- Both kids and adults love them.
- Great for back to school and school lunches.
- They are made without butter, without oil, and without dairy.
- Check out this Gluten Free Chocolate Zucchini Bread and this Healthy Zucchini Bread for another fun recipe.
- This recipe is Paleo, grain free, gluten free, oil free and dairy free.
Ingredients & Substitutions
The grated zucchini is obviously very important! Grate zucchini finely for best results.
Almond flour, coconut flour, and tapioca flour are used in combination to achieve the perfect light and fluffy texture. Feel free to substitute cornstarch or arrowroot powder for tapioca flour. There are no great substitutions for the almond flour and coconut flour.
Cocoa powder is used to make these muffins extra chocolaty! I typically use Hershey’s dark cocoa powder for even more chocolate flavor, but feel free to use your favorite brand of cocoa powder.
The pinch of sea salt can be omitted if desired.
The eggs are vital to the height and rise of these muffins. I do not recommend using flax eggs, chia eggs, or any other egg replacement.
Pure maple syrup is a great liquid sweetener for Paleo baked goods. If desired, use honey or date syrup in its place.
The dark chocolate chips add more chocolate and sweetness to these gluten free double chocolate zucchini muffins! I use Enjoy Life dark chocolate chips because they are both gluten free and dairy free.
How to Grate Zucchini
Grating the zucchini is an important step in this recipe. There is no need to peel the zucchini before grating. In fact, the skin of the zucchini is packed with nutrients and adds texture.
To grate zucchini, use a cheese grater. For best results, grate zucchini as finely as possible. Large chunks of zucchini are not delicious!
Once grated, place zucchini in the middle of a towel, paper towel, or cheesecloth. Wring out all excess water and moisture from the zucchini. Then, measure zucchini.
For this recipe alone, I squeezed out about 1/4 cup of water from the zucchini!
How to Make
Step 1
First, preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a muffin pan with paper liners.
Step 2
Grate zucchini. Squeeze out all excess liquid using a towel or paper towels.
Step 3
In a mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients.
Step 4
Then, add in eggs, mashed banana, maple syrup and vanilla extract. Stir to combine.
Step 5
Add in grated zucchini. Fold in chocolate chips.
Step 6
Use ice cream scoop or large spoon to add batter to muffin liners. Fill almost to the top.
Step 7
Bake for 15 to 16 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Step 8
Finally, remove from oven. Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
Expert Tips & Tricks
Grate zucchini finely. This ensures there will be no zucchini flavor in the muffins. Large chunks of zucchini will not taste good!
As mentioned above, fully squeeze out all excess liquid from zucchini. This is VERY important!
Use a ripe banana for added natural sweetness.
Use an ice cream scoop or large spoon to add batter to muffin liners. Fill almost to the top since these muffins do not rise much while baking.
Do not over bake! Once muffins look set in the middle, test for doneness by inserting a toothpick into a muffin. If it comes out clean, then muffins are done.
How to Serve & Store
These grain free chocolate zucchini muffins can be enjoyed hot from the oven or cooled to room temperature.
Store covered at room temperature for up to 3 days. Store in the fridge for up to 5 days.
These muffins can be frozen and thawed later if needed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you need to squeeze the water from the zucchini. Otherwise, the batter will be too runny.
No, do not peel the zucchini before grating.
No, this recipe will not work without eggs.
I do not recommend other flours.
Zucchini muffins taste like regular muffins with a little extra texture. They are moist, soft and fluffy!
You May Also Like
If you make this recipe, I would really appreciate a review! You can find me on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. I would love for you to follow along! For more ideas, check out this Breakfast Recipes page.
Get the Recipe: Gluten Free Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups grated zucchini
- 1 ½ cups almond flour
- 2 tbsp coconut flour
- ½ cup tapioca flour
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- pinch sea salt
- 3 eggs
- ½ cup mashed banana, about 1 banana
- 3 tbsp pure maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup dark chocolate chips
Instructions
- First, preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a muffin pan with paper liners.
- Grate zucchini. Place grated zucchini on a towel or paper towel and wring out all excess water.
- In a mixing bowl, add almond flour, coconut flour, tapioca flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and sea salt. Stir to combine.
- Then, add in eggs, mashed banana, maple syrup and vanilla extract. Stir to combine.
- Add in grated zucchini. Stir to combine.
- Next, fold in dark chocolate chips.
- Use an ice cream scoop or large spoon to add batter to muffin liners. Fill almost to the top.
- Bake for 15 to 16 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the muffins comes out clean.
- Remove from oven. Allow muffins to cool in pan for 10 minutes. Then carefully transfer to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
Notes
- Finely grate zucchini. I use the smaller holes in a cheese grater.
- Fully squeeze out all water from zucchini.
- I do not recommend trying to replace the eggs in this recipe. They are vital to the fluffy texture!
- I use an ice cream scoop to add batter to muffin liners. A large spoon works well too.
- Bake until muffins are set in the middle and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Do not over bake!
- Store muffins covered at room temperature for up to 3 days.
- If needed, store in fridge. Once chilled, they are more firm. Allow them to thaw slightly before eating.
- Freeze muffins for up to 1 month if desired.
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One Comment on “Gluten Free Chocolate Zucchini Muffins”
I love healthy muffins! These look so moist, a great way to hide veggies in baking weets