Combine three types of produce in a batch of Banana Zucchini Muffins with Blueberries. It’s the best of all the baked goods in one convenient (and nutritious) package! P.S. They store well for days, so they’re a great make-ahead option.
When my middle kiddo was one, she struggled with bread—which means she had a hard time chewing sliced bread as well as muffins and pancakes. I worked hard to make her nutritious, moist options to help her practice and these toddler muffins were one of our favorites.
They are super moist and our whole family loves them all these years later.
These muffins have a base of whole wheat flour and get their moisture and flavor from three types of produce. Combine that with low added sugar and protein from eggs and milk and you have a healthy muffin for kids that’s great any time of the day.
You can serve these muffins for kids as an easy toddler breakfast. They also work as a Cold Lunch Idea for Kids. And you can freeze muffins once they are cooled, so they are perfect as a way to meal prep breakfast.
(You may also like Banana Yogurt Muffins, Blueberry Banana Muffins, Blueberry Yogurt Muffins, and Blueberry Yogurt Cake.)
Table of Contents
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Ingredients You Need
To make these muffins you’ll need to have these ingredients on hand and ready to go.
- Very ripe banana: You want the bananas to have lots of brown spots, which indicate ripeness.
- Zucchini: Any variety or size of classic green zucchini works.
- Milk: You can use dairy or nondairy milk here.
- Unsalted butter: I use this for baking so I can control the salt.
- Whole wheat flour: This helps absorb some of the moisture in the produce and adds nutrients.
- Brown sugar: I use brown sugar here for added flavor, though you can use maple syrup or honey if you prefer.
- Baking powder: This helps to ensure that the muffins bake through properly.
- Fresh or frozen blueberries: Either option works here. And you can use regular or wild blueberries, too.
(My Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins are another yummy zucchini recipe, too.)
Step-by-Step Instructions
Here’s a look at the process of making these banana zucchini muffins for kids. Scroll down to the end of the post for the full recipe, including the timing and amounts.
Step 1. Grate the zucchini into a wide bottom plate or bowl. Squeeze dry and measure.
Step 2. Mash banana and stir together wet ingredients.
Step 3. Stir in the dry ingredients. Fold in the blueberries.
Step 4. Portion into a muffin tin and bake until a cake tester comes out dry.
TIP: Squeeze the zucchini really well to ensure that the batter isn’t too wet. You can even squeeze it with a towel after you get most of the moisture out if you want.
Frequently Asked Questions
Sure, just use cup for cup gluten-free flour instead of the whole wheat flour.
Yes. Use plain unsweetened nondairy milk instead of dairy milk and melted, slightly cooled coconut milk (or canola oil) instead of butter.
Yup! Just omit the eggs and add an additional ¼ cup milk and ¼ teaspoon baking soda.
If you’re making these for a baby who’s eating finger foods or just want to reduce added sugars, you can skip the brown sugar. Be sure to use very brown bananas though since they will be the main source of sweetness. With the sugar, each muffin has about 3 grams of added sugar, which is a low amount for a healthy snack.
You can use fresh blueberries or frozen blueberries, depending on what you have access to and the time of the year. Either way, stir them into the batter gently to avoid breaking them up.
How to Store
Store the cooled Banana Zucchini Muffins in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days or in the freezer in a zip top freezer bag for up to 3 months.
Best Tips for Success
- Gluten-free: Use cup for cup style of gluten-free flour blend.
- Dairy-free: Use nondairy milk and melted coconut oil instead of butter.
- Egg-Free: Omit the eggs, add an additional ¼ cup milk and add ¼ teaspoon baking soda.
- Use very ripe bananas with brown spots for the best flavor.
- Squeeze the grated zucchini VERY well with your fingers to release as much liquid as you can.
- Use fresh or frozen blueberries. Fold them in gently to the batter.
- You can substitute ½ cup chocolate chips for the blueberries!
- If you prefer sweeter baked goods, consider using ⅓ cup brown sugar or topping with a drizzle of honey.
- Find all of my best muffins for kids and if you have more blueberries to use, try my Banana Blueberry Baked Oatmeal.
Related Recipes
I’d love to hear your feedback if you try this recipe, so please comment below with feedback!
Banana Zucchini Muffins with Blueberries
Ingredients
- 1 cup mashed banana (from about 2 very ripe bananas)
- ½ cup grated zucchini, packed and squeezed very dry (about 1 medium zucchini; grate, squeeze dry, then measure out ½ cup)
- ¼ cup milk (dairy or nondairy)
- ¼ cup butter (melted and cooled slightly)
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1½ cups whole wheat flour
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and grease a standard muffin pan well with nonstick spray.
- Add the mashed banana, grated zucchini, milk, butter, eggs, and vanilla extract to a medium bowl. Stir gently with a spatula.
- Add the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. Stir gently to combine.
- Stir in the blueberries gently.
- Divide the batter among the prepared muffin tin. You’ll use about a heaping ¼ cup in each muffin cup.
- Bake for 20-26 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out cleanly and the muffins are golden brown around the edges. (Try not to put the cake tester directly into a berry—the juices from the berries will stay moist.)
- Let cool in the pan for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely, running a knife around the edges to loosen if needed.
- Serve at room temperature, warmed slightly, or chilled.
Equipment
Video
Notes
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days or in the freezer in a zip top freezer bag for up to 3 months.
- Squeeze the zucchini really well to ensure that the batter isn’t too wet. You can even squeeze it with a towel after you get most of the moisture out if you want.
- Gluten-free: Use cup for cup gluten-free flour blend.
- Dairy-free: Use nondairy milk and melted coconut oil instead of butter.
- Egg-Free: Omit the eggs, add an additional ¼ cup milk and add ¼ teaspoon baking soda.
- Use very ripe bananas with brown spots for the best flavor.
- Use fresh or frozen blueberries. Fold them in gently to the batter.
- If your family prefers chocolate you can substitute ½ cup chocolate chips for the blueberries!
- If you prefer sweeter baked goods, consider using ⅓ cup brown sugar or topping with a drizzle of honey.
Nutrition
This post was originally published July 2017.
This is my favourite muffin recipe, the addition of zucchini is brilliant. We couldn’t even taste the zucchini in them.
Plus My picky eater 4 years old daughter enjoyed it & my 9 month old baby loved it too. Thank you Amy.
If I could add a photo that would have been great.
Regards Jelita
I’m so glad to hear that!
These have become our favorite, my toddler and I make them together and then enjoy them together. 🙂 Thank you!!!
You’re so welcome and I appreciate you letting me know!
Made these last weekend. I love them, my husband loves them, and my 15 month old just tried to shove an entire mini muffin into his mouth (lol!) then smiled at me while trying not to let any of it fall out. So I think it’s safe to say he likes them, too! I love that this is a tasty muffin packed with so many different fruits and veggies. Great for breakfast or snack. I will be making these again! Thank you!
Hi Amy,
I’m glad I found your website. I made this last night and my toddler loved it, as did my husband. I followed the recipe exactly and it turned out great. I used a nut milk bag to strain the grated zucchini and it was perfect. The muffins came out soft and chewy.
Thank you!
Adriana
Is it meant be 1 cup of zucchini after squishing the water out? Or one cup, and THEN you squish the water out? I did it with 1 cup after squeezing the water out, and the muffins ended up all wet instead muffiny.
It’s one cup after squeezing them very dry. Did you make any changes to the recipe?
Thanks getting back to me. I used white flour instead of whole wheat, and was 1/4 cup short on the flour so substituted with 1-1 gluten free flour mix. I wonder if I mistakenly put a total of 1 cup of flours instead of 1.5 cups. It’s possible. That could be explain it
Could be. They will be moist for sure, but they shouldn’t be soggy!
I’ve made this recipe many times and love it but I just noticed it changed. You replaced the coconut oil with butter and i remember using flax seed and make syrup before. Is there a way for me to see the old recipe again? I don’t remember how much of these ingredients I need to use. Thanks!
I’m really sorry, but I didn’t keep a copy of it (which was really dumb of me!). This recipe is similar and more reliable. The old one had a buckwheat flour option, maple syrup instead of the sugar (same amount), and 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed. You could use maple syrup and the flaxseed in this version too and I bet they’d come out well!
I was really excited to try this recipe out as well but just like a couple of the other people that tried, my muffins didn’t cook all the way through. I tried cooking them twice as long and still didn’t fully cook. Oh, well, at least I tried them. Was a good idea of a combo but maybe I’ll try them again a little different next time.
I love your website and many of your recipes are staples in my house! Thank you! But these are not turning out well. I followed the instructions to the letter and like the previous commenter, the batter was completely liquid. I don’t think I should have used all that milk.
I’m really sorry! This is on my list to retest.
Update: I ended up baking it for about twice the recommended time, then leaving it out for a few hours, and actually, they turned out pretty good–very moist, which is not a bad thing. Between my two year old and the rest of the family, we ate them all and enjoyed them. Not my favorite of your recipes, but still good. 🙂
Could these be made WITHOUT the blueberries?
I would think so!
Followed the instructions perfectly and the batter was completely liquid. Is this accurate? They are not baking well… added more flour to the next batch to see what happens. Any suggestions? Everything looked good until I added the milk
Hmmm, the batter shouldn’t be completely liquid. I hope that the second batch was better!
Making this now and instead of blueberries I added mini chocolate chips. They are in a mini muffin pan. I filled to the top so I hope they don’t overflow! Thanks for the recipe!
That sounds yummy. I hope they turned out well!
Can I leave out the flax seed, or substitute an egg? No allergies to flax here, I just rarely have it handy. Thank you!
You can just leave it out!
You mention 2 tablespoons of coconut oil in the ingredients but don’t list when to add it in the instructions! What do you recommend?
Add it to the batter with the liquids! (Sorry;)
My batter and muffins turned out super dark. Is it the buckwheat flour? I’ve never baked with it before….
Yes, it’s often a much different color than wheat flour. It can vary in color depending on the brand too.
What baking time would you recommend if I were to make these as mini-muffins?
I’d check them starting at about 18 minutes!
Thank you! Will do that 🙂