Super moist and packed with zucchini, these Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins are great for breakfast or snack. We love them when we have too much zucchini on hand—or when we just need a dose of chocolaty goodness.
Whenever our garden explodes with zucchini, I see some at the grocery store or farmers market, or we’re just in the mood, we make these Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins. This is such a perfect recipe to add a veggie to a toddler breakfast or kids snack and is one of our very favorite zucchini recipes.
These muffins for kids are super moist, super fluffy, and a great mix of nutrients and flavors. They have a full cup of zucchini, plus whole grains, proteins, and healthy fats.
They’re great on their own or topped with cream cheese, peanut butter, or almond butter. You can make them with chocolate chips or blueberries too. My kids love them as much as I do!
(You may also like Spinach Muffins, Healthy Zucchini Muffins, Banana Zucchini Muffins, and Chocolate Muffins.)
Table of Contents
Ingredients You Need
To make this chocolate chip zucchini muffin recipe, you’ll need to have the following ingredients on hand and ready to go.
- Whole wheat flour: This flour absorbs moisture well and has fiber and nutrients, so it’s a great option here.
- Cocoa powder: I usually use Hershey’s Special Dark for flavor that’s not bitter.
- Baking powder and baking soda: These help the muffins rise nicely.
- Zucchini: Any variety of green zucchini works here.
- Sugar: A modest amount of sugar adds sweetness. You can sub maple syrup or honey if you prefer.
- Milk: Dairy or nondairy milk works in this recipe.
- Eggs
- Melted butter: I use unsalted butter in my baking so I can control the salt. If you only have salted butter, just skip adding the salt in the recipe.
- Vanilla extract
- Chocolate chips or blueberries: You can choose to add one or the other, or add some of each.
TIP: I coat my muffin pan with nonstick classic Pam spray. There is not enough fat for these to come out cleanly from paper cupcake liners, so spray them lightly with nonstick spray if you want to use them.
Step by Step Instructions
Here’s a look at the simple process involved in making this chocolate chip zucchini muffin recipe so you know what to expect. Scroll down to the end of the post for the full information, including the amounts and the timing.
Step 1. Grate the zucchini. Squeeze it very, very dry with your hands. Measure it out.
Step 2. Whisk together the wet ingredients.
Step 3. Stir together the dry ingredients. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet.
Step 4. Add batter to a muffin pan and bake.
TIP: You can make these Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins ahead of time and then store them in the fridge or freezer and serve them on busy mornings.
Frequently Asked Questions
To make this easy muffin recipe, stir together the wet ingredients, add them to the dry, then mix your uniform batter. Bake the batter portioned into a muffin pan.
If you freeze shredded zucchini, thaw and make sure it’s totally squeezed dry, then add it to the recipe the same as fresh.
Yes, just use a mini muffin tray and bake for 10-12 minutes.
How to Store
Store fully cooled Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 days or in the fridge for up to 5. Freeze cooled muffins in a zip top freezer bag with as much air removed as possible for up to 3 months.
Best Tips for Success
- Serve Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins at room temperature, warmed slightly, or chilled. (They may firm up a bit if chilled.)
- If using blueberries, expect the muffins to be super moist.
- Mini Muffins: Cook for 12-14 minutes in a 24-cup mini muffin pan.
- Dairy-free: Use melted coconut oil in place of the butter and plain nondairy milk.
- Gluten-free: Use cup-for-cup style gluten-free flour in place of the whole wheat.
- Egg-free: Use a store bought egg subsitute or omit the eggs, increase the milk to 1 ½ cups, and increase the baking soda to 1 teaspoon. Bake for 18-22 minutes and check for doneness with a cake tester. (I tested them and it worked well, though they are moister than the regular recipe so they take a little longer to bake.) Let cool fully before eating for the best texture.
- If you have more zucchini, try Zucchini Fries, Zucchini Tots, and Baked Zucchini Fritters.
Related Recipes
Desserts
Easy Zucchini Cookies
Breakfast
Fluffy Zucchini Pancakes
Breakfast
Healthy Chocolate Chip Muffins
Breakfast
Banana Baked Oatmeal with Zucchini
I’d love to hear your feedback on this recipe if you make it for your family, so please comment below to share!
Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins
Ingredients
- 1¼ cups whole wheat flour
- ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ¼ cup sugar (or maple syrup; up the sugar to ½ cup for a more conventionally sweet muffin)
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup grated zucchini, squeezed very dry and packed tightly (measure after grating and squeezing)
- 1 cup milk
- 2 eggs (lightly beaten)
- ¼ cup unsalted butter (melted, or use canola or avocado oil)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ cup chocolate chips (or 1 cup blueberries; you can also use up to 1 cup of chocolate chips if you prefer)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Coat a standard size muffin pan with nonstick spray.
- In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Grate the zucchini with a box grater and squeeze as much liquid out as you can with your hands. (I usually place it onto a clean kitchen towel and roll up to remove excess moisture, too.) Measure out 1 cup after this process.
- To a medium bowl, add the squeezed zucchini, milk, eggs, butter, and vanilla. Whisk to combine.
- Gently stir in the flour mixture. Gently stir in the chocolate chips (or blueberries).
- Divide batter among the prepared muffin pan, using a heaping ¼ cup in each. Bake for 16-18 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of each muffin comes out clean.
- Let cool for a minute or so in the pan, then transfer to a wire rack to cool to room temperature.
- Serve muffins slightly warmed or at room temperature.
Notes
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 days or in the fridge for up to 5. Freeze cooled muffins in a zip top freezer bag with as much air removed as possible for up to 3 months.
- Serve at room temperature, warmed slightly, or chilled. (They may firm up a bit if chilled.)
- If using blueberries, expect the muffins to be super moist.
- Use ½ cup sugar if you prefer your muffins to be sweeter. These are very lightly sweetened as written.
- Mini Muffins: Cook for 12-14 minutes in a 24-cup mini muffin pan.
- Dairy-free: Use melted coconut oil in place of the butter and plain nondairy milk.
- Gluten-free: Use cup-for-cup style gluten-free flour in place of the whole wheat.
- Egg-free: Use a store bought egg subsitute or omit the eggs, increase the milk to 1 ½ cups, and increase the baking soda to 1 teaspoon. Bake for 18-22 minutes and check for doneness with a cake tester. (I tested them and it worked well, though they are moister than the regular recipe so they take a little longer to bake.) Let cool fully before eating for the best texture.
- Use the same amount of honey or maple syrup in place of the sugar.
- Use white whole wheat or all-purpose flour if desired.
Nutrition
This recipe was first published July 2021.
Great recipe! Easy and tasty
These Muffins are great. However, I used the metric measurements instead of us metrics and the batter was a disaster. Turns out the conversion was incorrect. I added more flour to the second batch and that seemed to do the trick.
These were a hit with my picky toddler!
Hi,
The batter I made came out watery . is that ok? I used 3/4th cup maple syrup instead of sugar
I can’t say for sure since I’m not in the kitchen with you (would be great if I was!) but you could add 2 more tbsp of flour to be sure it will be okay.
Hi! We love your muffin recipes and I want to make these for my son’s bday snack in preschool! We need gluten and egg free- do you think gluten free flour and your increased milk/baking soda trick will be ok together? Or I could try applesauce instead of the egg? Let me know what you think would work best? Thank you in advance!!!
I would use 1.5 cups all purpose gf flour and the egg free option in the Notes. The added flour will help ensure they are not too moist. I hope the kids enjoy!
The easiest way for me to extract liquid from grated zucchini is to put it in a sieve and press a bowl on top to “sandwich”. Voila!
I replaced the eggs with flax eggs. I rebranded these as “chocolate mini cakes” to my 4year old after he said no to chocolate muffins. He really likes these mini cakes!
Delicious and super easy to make! Perfect way to use up my zucchini before a trip.
Really good!
Delicious! I doubled the recipe and used 2 banana instead the butter. And it turned out perfectly soft and very chocolately. You converted my husband to zucchini in muffins. He was very skeptical before he ate one.
So glad to hear that!
Can I use sweetened bananas instead of maple syrup to make it with a bit less sugar?
Also this sounds delicious. I haven’t tried it yet.
I haven’t tried it but I think that will work just fine. Enjoy!
Easy recipe, taste great! Sweet treat that you don’t feel so guilty eating. Toddler approved
Not as chocolaty as in the picture although I put the same amount of cocoa powder. Moist but too much zucchini for me.
The darkness of the color may vary based on the brand and type of cocoa powder you use. Feel free to use less zucchini if you prefer!
Oh yes, these are brilliant – *everyone* loves them, and they are getting requested by my 3-year-old, partner and neighbour alike 😅👌So chocolatey, without needing a lot of product or preparation. Thank you for sharing another great keeper 😊🙏
Can I sub plain yogurt for the oil component?
I haven’t made them that way so I can’t say for sure, but let me know if you try it!
6 month pregnant lady here who can’t get enough of a chocolate fix, and I can honestly say these are better than the best homemade fudge brownie. I substituted apple sauce for butter/oil and they came out absolutely divine. Superb recipe!!
Thanks for the great recipe – these were perfect. I loved that you including a range of sugar and chocolate chips so you know if you are starting from the low or high end of sweetness.
I’m excited to try this but I don’t have chocolate chips or blueberries on hand. Would diced strawberries work? Or just skip that altogether?
You can add diced strawberries!
Perfect! I used 1/2 cup sugar and the sweetness was the right amount for me. I was worried they would be a little heavy or overly hearty with 100% whole wheat flour, but they aren’t at all. So moist and delicious. (My toddler is so-so about all muffins right now, but he loved helping me make them, and I’m excited to eat them for my breakfast all week)
Great recipe! Not dense, not flat, just sweet enough. I also added 1/2 cup of chickpeas and 1 tablespoon of chocolate sun butter.
Went on a baking bender today. Since Both my muffin tins were in use , I ended up making this in a 9×13 pan. Baked at 350F for 22 mins. Came out perfect! Kids loved the “chocolate cake” they got to eat for lunch!
We make these once a week because we love them so much! They are a hit with baby, toddler, and teenager. Not too sweet, which I love! I use all-purpose flour and soy milk because that’s what we keep in the house, and the always turn out fine other than having to increase the cooking time by a few minutes.
Every recipe is always a hit for my toddler! This one is delicious although I feel it could have been sweeter for my taste buds. I used 1/2 cup of maple syrup and 1 cup of blueberries. I thought the batter was liquidy so I added a bit more flour to thicken. Will definitely make again with either more maple syrup, more blueberries or just try chocolate chips next time!
I made this for my kids. They love it. I love it! I used 1/4 cup sugar and stevia to taste. I always double this batch and keep it in the fridge. They are so yummy!
Just made it today with my LO. They loved it!
Made with over 1/4 cup sugar but under 1/2 cup.
Used sunflower oil instead of butter
Used half and half instead of milk because that’s what I had left
Baked in a mini muffin tray for 13 min
Leftover batter I put in 1 mini loaf pan that baked for an extra 3-4 min on top of the mini muffins.
“If using blueberries, expect the muffins to be super moist.” would using the toothpick test on the muffins still work or should I expect to see some batter on the toothpick?
You should not expect to see raw batter but you may see some blueberry
My kids favorite, only way they would eat zucchini! Whole wheat works great with this recipe. Muffins are intentionally on the small side for the kids so I up ingredients by 50% to make a regular muffin size I use the smaller grater holes which releases more water. I have also tried the larger holes for grating but I find it makes the batter is too watery but the recipe still works out either way. Amy, you are one of the few people who mentions pressing the water out of the zucchini and how much you should have for the recipe after this is done. Thanks!!!
My kids favorite, only way they would eat zucchini! Whole wheat works great with this recipe. Muffins are intentionally on the small side for the kids so I up ingredients by 50% to make a regular muffin size I use the smaller grater holes which releases more water than the larger holes, I find the batter is recipe still works out either way. Amy, you are one of the few people who mentions pressing the water out of the zucchini and how much you should have for the recipe after this is done. Thanks!!!
Followed recipe exactly and they are so yummy! Toddler and adult approved!
Hi! Cant wait to try to make these. Can I add greek yogurt to the recipe for more protein? If so how much should I add? Thank you
Who knew how little grated zucchini one zucchini makes 😳. So I grated up our carrots and also ran out of those so I finished the rest of the cup with applesauce. They’re great and everyone in the house loves them!
Toddler-approved! Made some mini muffins with what didn’t fit in my muffin tray and he devoured four after not eating his lunch. Felt good knowing he got some veggies in.
Is it okay to use bananas instead of eggs? 1 large banana instead of 2 large eggs?
I haven’t done that with this recipe but it might work okay.
Not just for toddlers! I made these for my husband for Father’s Day since he likes healthy treats. We loved them. I doubled the batch and put chocolate chips in one and blueberries in the other. I used Truvia baking sugar and 2% milk. Both tasted great and were super moist.
So glad to hear it!
Loved this recipe. My daughter made them fit my toddler grandson, and I loved them so much, I came home and made a batch. I am on a low cal, healthier whole food eating plan and this is perfect for my snack, or better yet, dessert!
I used almond flour and it came out too wet. Any suggestions for this particular flour? Will cooking it longer or adding more AF make a difference next time?
Hi- almond flour is never a good direct substitute for wheat flours as they work entirely differently in how they absorb moisture. I have a great almond flour muffin recipe that is designed for that flour though. https://www.yummytoddlerfood.com/almond-flour-muffins/
Love these muffins! I made them gluten free and added collagen peptides (extra splash of milk to balance it), coconut, pecans, and hemp hearts. They came out so good!
Fantastic! This recipe is awesome. I added 1 teaspoon of white vinegar to the milk to make buttermilk, and the result turned out amazing. Thank you for a great recipe!
kids love these yummy ‘cup cakes’!
I actually FORGOT to the add the sugar in my last batch, and the kids still gobbled them up none the wiser!
This is a great recipe. It can be hard to balance “healthy” with “tasty” and this recipe nails it. It freezes well and you can also make it with frozen grated zucchini in case you’re overloaded with zucchini at some point.
ahhh thanks!
good to know! I was wondering about the freezing of the zucchini!
We loved this! I made half into mini muffins, and half into a sort of loaf. I used all purpose and added a couple tablespoons of hemp hearts. The batter was pretty wet since I didn’t use whole wheat, but it cooked up nicely. My 10 month old ate four mini muffins on his own, and my toddler even ate two! It was a hit.
Hi I tried this with regular flour and the muffins were too wet… how much flour would I need if using regular white flour? Thanks
1.5 cups would be my guess.
Thank you. I also used AP flour and it was a bit wet, but they were still delicious! Will add this to one of my healthy regulars. No toddlers here but healthy eating is good for everyone!
I have a bunch of cubed frozen zucchini (not squeezed before freezing). Could I use that in place of the grated squeeze-dried zucchini? If so, how much should I use? Thanks!
I ended up thawing 1/2 lb of frozen zucchini, drained some of the water, and chopped it in a food processor. The muffins came out great!
These muffins are soooo good. I was searching for a healthy chocolate zucchini muffin recipe and stumbled upon this one. I love it is low sugar and feel like it’s perfectly sweet with the 1/4 cup recommended amount. It’s on a recipe card and in my box for future use. Thanks for sharing this delicious recipe!
We’re not a gluten free family but a sneak in protein bc my son isn’t a fan of the obvious options so I make these in the blender with a can of rinsed black beans instead of flour and they’re great!
These are the best muffins! We’ve been buying zucchini at the farmers market every week just to make double batches of these muffins so we have enough to eat for breakfast and snacks and then freeze the rest. They’re so good!
A big hit in our house! Thank you for all the great recipes. It really helps this mama out.
I’m so glad and you’re welcome!
Love the simplicity of this recipe. I made it with 1/2 cup sugar and did 1/4 cup white sugar and 1/4 cup brown sugar and it was great. Excited to have my son try them as he’s been on a chocolate muffin kick lately.
Can an 8 month old baby enjoy these as well?
We’ve always waited a little longer to offer chocolate and I love my super moist baby muffins for that age https://www.yummytoddlerfood.com/baby-muffins/
My kids typically dislike zucchini muffins, but they loved these. I subbed oat flour/GF 1-1 flour, almond milk, coconut oil, and coconut sugar and they still turned out fluffy, with a great consistency and flavor. Thanks!
Delicious! I wanted to mix up my sweet treat for both myself and my toddler. I couldn’t ask for a better recipe with all things I already had in my house.
Double the recipe. Sub 1 can pumpkin for the zucchini. Delicious!
So yummy! A definite keeper – moist and lightly sweet and fluffy. For add-ins, I used a 1/2 cup frozen blueberries and 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips, then baked for 19 minutes.
Love this! Children and husband devour these. Yummy toddler is our favorite. Thank you for this delicious way to give zucchini
Really enjoyed this recipe! I made these muffins with cup-for-cup gluten free flour, nondairy milk, and nondairy butter. I don’t own a grater, so I used a veggie peeler for the zucchini.
My oldest child picked out a few of the bigger pieces of zucchini, but enjoyed the flavor. My younger child and I both loved the muffins and are excited to try them with blueberries too!
Awesome!
These disappeared quickly at snack time! Will make again for sure.
These muffins are fantastic! Fluffy AND moist. Enjoyed by 3yo, 33yo and 40yo alike. Thank you for the recipe!
Hi Amy, this recipe really turned out great. I have a couple of beets with me. Do you think it would work out the same with beets as well??
Thanks, Sush
Hi-
I think you could use beets, though I might blend them in with the eggs and milk I think. I feel like that work work fine, though I haven’t tested it so it’s my best guess. Let me know if you try it!
Yes, let me get back to you with feedback for beets tomorrow 🙂
Thanks for the suggestion
These are the best!! I make muffins for my son’s preschool class once a week and I’ve made almost every one of your muffin recipes. These are one of the top ones for sure. Thank you for being my go to choice.
I’m so glad to hear that!
I just made these as I had some zucchini to use up and wow, are they ever good! Super moist without being overly sweet. I used a gluten free all purpose flour cup for cup, subbed coconut sugar, and omitted vanilla simply because I had run out. I realized when they were in the oven I forgot the cinnamon. But still so good! I will be making these again for sure!
These are delicious and easy to make. Even with grating the zucchini it’s still a fairly quick recipe. I wasn’t sure how to squeeze the water out of the zuchinni so I just wrapped it in a dish towel and squeezed it out that way. The kids thought it was fascinating!
Hi Amy! Would oat flour work with this? You have the best muffine recipes, by the way!
Hi- I haven’t tried this recipe that way, but it might work! (They may be a lot moister than they’d be with wheat flour though.)
Amy’s muffin recipes are always a go-to for my kiddos. I have yet to be disappointed and they always turn out perfectly. I tried this for my very veggie-averse 4-year-old and he told me that they were his favorite muffins ever! I thought I was sunk there for a minute bc he spotted a piece of zucchini in the muffin. Is that expected? Thank you Amy for all the wonderful recipes! I’m so grateful.
These muffins are now my favorite on the site! Really great moist texture and just the right amount of sweetness. Picky 4 year old approved. I will definitely make these again!
Great recipe- I also got almost 48 mini muffins. My almost 3 year old had fun helping me mix all the ingredients. Love all of your recipes.
Could I make this in a cake pan, like 8×8?
That should work. The timing might be a little longer so keep an eye on the center of the pan since that’s the part that will take the longest to cook through.
Made these muffins this morning and the whole family loved them – even my 3 year old son who hates nearly everything. Thanks for a great recipe! And for anyone’s reference I made these with flax meal and olive oil (instead of eggs and butter) and they came out just great.
So glad to hear it!
I made these today and my toddler ate 4 as soon as they cooled. She also loves your banana spinach muffins which are in our regular rotation. I love your site so much! In full disclosure, my picky toddler has not loved every recipe off this site, but I have and I happily add them to my lunch to eat, when she doesn’t. This one definitely gets 5 stars from us both. Yum!!
Delicious and it 2 thumbs up from my veggie-hating preschooler! Just one thing to note-I actually got 48 mini muffins! 2 full pans worth. Maybe my pans are small, but be ready with the second pan if you’re doing mini size.
I made these egg-free & dairy-free with homemade oat milk & followed the egg sub directions. It definitely needs to be fully cooled. We tried them warm, cooled at room temp, and refrigerated. Refrigerated was the best texture. The flavor is delicious & I’m happy to have an option for a vegetable my 3yo wouldn’t normally eat. We made these together & thoroughly enjoyed them.
I made these tonight exactly as the recipe outlined and with chocolate chips.
The flavour is great. Not too sweet, but just sweet enough.
The only issue i ran into was the inside being what i intially thought was undercooked. I baked for another 6 minutes but it didnt change much.
Amy specifically mentions to squeeze the zucchini very very dry. I thought I did, but wondering if maybe it still wasnt enough.
My toddler still ate 2 right away (and so did I).
I will try these again and see if i can figure out what i did. But otherwise, it’s a great recipe!
Do you think they were undercooked after they cooled? Sometimes the melted chocolate can make it a little hard to tell.
I am not sure how to edit my original review above. (Amy perhaps you could email so i could adjust it?) But I’d like to change it to 5 stars from 4. After letting the muffins sit for awhile longer, the texture improved and they are perfect now!
Oh, I’m glad to hear that. I’ll just remove that rating and will leave this one. Thanks for coming back to do that!
Amazing recipe once again Amy! My toddler always asks for chocolate cake, and I always say no, but then I saw this and decided to give it a try. So now I give him “chocolate cake” when he asks and he has no idea he’s eating healthy zucchini muffins. Muhaha so sneaky, I love it. Thank you.
I cook gluten free in our house for items that I too want to eat, this is one of them. Since I want to try this, how can I make it with the almond flour? Do I need to let it sit for sometime? If so how long? Thank you!
Almond flour is usually not a good substitution for wheat flour, so I don’t recommend swapping it in. A 1:1 style gluten-free flour is a better option if that might work for you.
Thank you so much for this ! Yes, I’ll use GF flour
Can I sub for all purpose flour using the same amount?
Yes, that should work okay.
Full disclosure, I bumped the sugar up to 1/2 cup after trying one of the other muffin recipes on this site and finding it too much like a bran muffin for my tastes, but these came out DELICIOUS! Approved by 1 out of 2 toddlers and a big thumbs up from Me 😊
Would they still come out if I sub the eggs for applesauce when I make them gluten and dairy free? 😳
I would recommend using 1 1/2 cups plain nondairy milk and 1 teaspoon baking soda (the rest of the ingredients the same) for the egg and if you use a 1:1 GF flour like the one from King Arthur, I have high confidence that they would turn out very similarly! Let me know if you try it!
I love courgette, and thanks to making things like this, so does my daughter!!
Just the right amount of sweetness with a hint of cinnamon! This Mom will definitely be making these for herself again! Thank you!
I’m so glad!