With an easy method (no squeezing zucchini required!) and super moist results, these healthy Zucchini Muffins are a yummy breakfast or snack (that you’ll enjoy, too!). They happen to be vegan, and they store well for days.
We almost always have a batch of toddler muffins in the rotation since they make such easy meal and snack components. My kids love these vegan Zucchini Muffins. My favorite part about them is that you don’t have to grate the zucchini and squeeze it dry like you usually do for zucchini bread usually. The method is much easier than you might expect!
These healthy muffins for kids are made without eggs and dairy—so they’re vegan—which makes them great if you are out of eggs or milk or if your kids have food allergies. They’re one of our favorite muffin recipes, especially since they’re super moist and don’t need any special ingredients. And, of course, they taste delicious.
These are perfect for summer when there is a load of zucchini at farmer’s markets and in gardens, or any other time of year when you pick some up at the store.
(You may also like my Banana Zucchini Muffins and my Zucchini Cake.)
Table of Contents
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Ingredients You Need
Here’s a look at the ingredients in this healthy zucchini muffin recipe so you know what you’ll need to have on hand.
- Zucchini: I use classic green zucchini in this recipe. You could also use yellow summer squash if that’s what you have.
- Rolled oats: We add rolled oatmeal to the recipe to add fiber and whole grains to the mix for added nutrition.
- Cinnamon and vanilla: Cinnamon and vanilla extract add pleasant flavor in the mix with the rest of the ingredients in this muffin recipe.
- Baking powder and baking soda: A mix of these two leavenings ensures the muffins bake up tender and moist and all the way through.
- Applesauce: I use unsweetened applesauce to add flavor and natural sweetness to the base of this recipe. You can use homemade applesauce or store bought. If you don’t have applesauce, you can use an equal amount of mashed very ripe banana.
- Neutral oil: Avocado oil, melted coconut oil, vegetable oil, or melted unsalted butter can all be used in this recipe.
- Maple syrup: A little maple syrup adds a hint of sweetness in conjunction with the applesauce. You can also use honey for kids over age 1 and regular sugar if you prefer.
- Whole wheat flour: I use whole wheat flour in this recipe since it’s great at absorbing liquids and there is a lot of moisture in the mix from using the whole zucchini.
- Chocolate chips, optional to top the muffins.
Step-by-Step Instructions
The process for making these healthy zucchini muffins is really easy and the batter comes together in the food processor, so you don’t have to grate the zucchini. Scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full recipe.
- Add the zucchini to the food processor. Process to grind well.
- Add the rest of the ingredients except the flour and chocolate chips, if using.
- Pulse in the flour and chocolate chips. Divide among a mini muffin pan greased with nonstick cooking spray or greased silicone baking liners.
- Bake until just golden brown around the edges and a cake tester or toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
TIP: The moisture in the zucchini is part of what makes these muffins have such a great final texture, so no need to squeeze it out like in most other zucchini muffins recipes!
Chocolate-Zucchini Muffins
You can add chocolate chips to these muffins if you’d like. I usually do half of the batch with them and half without so I have some that are less sweetened for my youngest and some with chocolate to entice my oldest kiddo to eat them.
(My Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins are yummy, too!)
Baby Muffins
These can be a wonderful recipe to share with a baby or 1-year-old. I’d recommend dicing the muffins up and serving slightly warm to ensure they are easy to chew.
TIP: Find my ABC Baby Muffins recipe, which is also a great option for little ones.
How to Store
Store any leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Warm slightly if desired before serving. Or serve at room temperature. You can also freeze leftover zucchini, in chunks or grated zucchini, for future recipes.
Best Tips for Success
- To make these gluten-free: Use cup-for-cup gluten-free flour blend in place of the whole wheat flour and certified gluten-free rolled oats.
- Dice these to serve to babies or 1-year-olds to ensure they are easy to chew.
- Serve plain, topped with butter or nut/seed butter, jam, or a little applesauce.
- Use honey instead of maple syrup if you prefer.
- Add chocolate chips, golden raisins, chopped walnuts (or other chopped nuts), or dried cranberries as desired.
Related Recipes
I’d love to hear your feedback on this recipe if you try it, so please comment below to share!
Healthy Zucchini Muffins (Vegan)
Ingredients
- 2 cups roughly chopped zucchini
- ½ cup rolled oats
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup unsweetened applesauce
- ¼ cup melted coconut oil (or avocado oil, vegetable oil, or melted butter)
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1½ cups whole wheat flour
- ½ cup mini chocolate chips (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and grease a 24-cup mini muffin tin.
- Add the zucchini to the bowl of a food processor and process until well grated, about 30 seconds.
- Add the rest of the ingredients, except the flour and chocolate chips, and process for about 30 seconds.
- Add the flour and chocolate chips, if using, and pulse to just combine. (The batter will be thick.)
- Divide batter among the prepared muffin tin, using a heaping tablespoon batter per muffin cup, and bake for 12-14 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Remove from oven and let cool in the pan for about 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Serve warm or store for later.
Notes
- Store any leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Warm slightly, if desired, before serving.
- To make these gluten-free: Use cup-for-cup gluten-free flour blend in place of the whole wheat flour and certified gluten-free rolled oats.
- Dice these to serve to babies or 1-year-olds to ensure they are easy to chew.
- Serve plain, topped with butter or nut/seed butter, jam, or a little applesauce.
- Use honey instead of maple syrup if you prefer.
Nutrition
This recipe was first published May 2018.
This recipe is so delicious! My kids loved them. Instead of using applesauce I used 2 eggs and they were perfect. I’m sure they would have had some more sweetness had I used applesauce, so maybe add a little more of whatever sweetener you decide to use. They were perfect for us without the extra though.
Ok, these are amazing!!! I grated carrots and an apple instead of zucchini cause zuc’s are expensive atm and my husband (the chef) would lose his mind if i used one in baking. But they turned out so good! I also added some choc chips cause why not?
The batter was so thick and i checked twice to see if I’d missed an ingredient, but I hadn’t. Glad i didn’t add milk or anything cause the consistency turned out perfect. Almost pudding like.
I can forsee these being a staple for our whole family going into the winter months, esp with the ease of variation for ingredients! YUM!
My one year old have been having two (standard size!) of these muffins for breakfast everyday for the last week. He just loves it and actually expresses that he wants them! I can’t help but to steal a piece when I give it to him, it’s really tasty!
I’m so glad!
This recipe’s been really turned into my go-to recipe for toddler muffins! I’ve made them with zucchini and carrots (half and half), and with sweet potatoes without changing anything and both turned out super yummy 🙂 I even tried baking with half whole wheat flour and half oat flour and it’s still turned out perfect!!
Happened to have zucchini on-hand so I decided to make these with the help of my two-year-old and four-year-old. They are so good! Would definitely make these again. And very straightforward ingredients – which I always appreciate. Thanks!
I’ve made these, along with several others from your site, for my 2 year old many times now. He loves them! I’m so thankful I stumbled upon your website. I refer you often to friends with littles and have been using it myself since we started table foods. I’m so happy to be able to offer him healthy, unprocessed, and YUMMY (most important!) snacks and foods. 🙂
I am so glad!
Love this recipe! Made it with zucchini the other day and my daughter and I ate them up so we made a summer squash version this morning. I’m not a huge fan of cinnamon+chocolate combo so I did 3/4 tsp of cinnamon and it made a big difference for me. Gonna freeze some for a road trip we have in a few weeks!
Loved this recipe! Muffins were so moist and just sweet enough 🙂 great for the whole family
I’m so glad!
These were great! The kiddos each had 2 already – did not use the chocolate chips and it was still sweet enough for them. Thank you for the great recipe!
I’m so glad!
Excellent recipe! I swapped King Arthur measure for measure flour for the whole wheat flour and 1/4c Amaranth flakes and 1/4c quinoa flakes for the oats due to food allergies. The amaranth and quinoa are a little stronger flavor, but we’re used to it. It would likely be covered up more with the chocolate chips which I did not use. Thank you!
That sounds delicious!
Wondering if I could make these as regular cupcake size? We only have those types of pans. We LOVE all your muffins, so excited to try this one!
I haven’t tried these as full size, but if you do, I’d fill about 1/2-3/4 full (so not up to the edge) and you’ll need to bake longer. Sometimes muffins without eggs can take a while to bake in the center. I don’t really expect that to be the case given how well these bake as minis, but it’s possible. I’d guess you’d want to bake 22-24 minutes, but test the centers with a cake tester (you want it to come out cleanly) to be sure! I’d love to hear how they go if you try them that way!
If I wanted to make these with no maple syrup/honey/sugar, would I have to change/add anything to the recipe?
You could try milk in place of it, but they will not be very sweet at all and may be a little bland. Maybe add more cinnamon?
Is there anything to substitute the applesauce? I find that when I’ve used banana or applesauce to bake your muffin recipes they always come out raw. Not sure if I’m doing something wrong.
I’ve done it with yogurt, but I made them twice this past week as written and had no issues with them baking through baked as directed as mini muffins. Which muffins have you had issues with?
What can I use as a substitute for the flax seeds, and how much? Also, I have some grated zucchini that I’d like to use for this recipe-will the amount still be the same, 2 cups? Thank you!
I haven’t made it with anything other than flaxseed but you could try instant oats or oat flour if you have either of those. Is your grated zucchini already squeezed dry? If so, you’d probably use about a cup and you might need to add 1/4 cup milk or water to make the batter moist enough.
wow – 2 tablespoons of baking powder? is that meant to be 2 teaspoons? haven’t made them yet – but seems like a lot. great looking recipe !
Yes, two teaspoons, sorry!
Could you change the recipe to reflect this? How frustrating to waste good flour and ingredients during coronavirus lockdown! Thanks for the generally awesome toddler-friendly recipes.
I’m sorry that I missed that! Have you tried one? They might still be okay. (Again, I’m really sorry I didn’t update that immediately.)
Would I run into any issues if I didn’t use a food processor? Standard hand grater and good old fashioned elbow grease okay?
That will work fine. The food processor makes the batter a little more uniform but it will still work this way.
Is it possible to substitute the maple syrup/honey for a sugar of some sort?
Yes, honey should work just fine!