These Healthy Chocolate Zucchini Muffins are made with whole grains, naturally sweetened, and packed with zucchini, yet are still super soft, tender, and delicious!
1 ½cupswhole white wheat flouror all-purpose flour
1teaspoonbaking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼teaspoonsalt
½cupcocoa powder
½cuphoneyor maple syrup
2tablespoonscanola oil
½cupunsweetened applesauce
¼cupmilkany variety
1egg
1 teaspoonvanilla extract
1cupzucchinishredded, and squeezed dry
½cupchocolate chipsoptional, and divided
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare a muffin pan by lining it with paper or silicone liners or greasing the muffin cups really well with butter or nonstick spray.
Wash and dry the zucchini. Cut off the stem of the zucchini and using a box grater or food processor fitted with a grating blade, shred the zucchini. Remove excess moisture from the zucchini by placing the shredded zucchini into cheesecloth or a clean kitchen towel and squeezing it firmly over the sink. Alternatively, place the shredded zucchini into a fine-mesh colander and use your hands to really press down hard on the zucchini to remove the excess liquid.
Using a fine-mesh strainer, sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt over a large mixing bowl. Alternatively, whisk the ingredients together, just be sure to remove any lumps.
In a separate smaller mixing bowl, whisk together the milk, oil, egg, applesauce, honey, and vanilla extract until well combined.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined, careful to not overmix, as this can result in tough muffins.
Fold the shredded, drained zucchini and ⅓ cup of chocolate chips into the batter.
Scoop out ¼ cup of batter into each muffin cup. Sprinkle each muffin with a couple of chocolate chips if desired.
Bake for 18-22 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in middle comes out dry.
Place the baked muffins on a cooling rack and allow them to sit in the muffin tin for 5-10 minutes, before removing them from the tin. Allow the muffins to cool fully before enjoying.
Video
Notes
Storage: Store zucchini muffins in an air-tight container at room temperature for 24 hours and then store in the refrigerator for 4 days or freeze for up to 3 months. Gluten-Free Chocolate Zucchini Muffins, use an all-purpose gluten-free 1 to 1 baking flour. Dairy-Free Zucchini Muffins: Be sure you use dairy-free chocolate chips and use your favorite non-dairy milk in place of milk for this recipe. I tend to use unsweetened plain almond milk when making these muffins dairy-free.Egg-Free Zucchini Muffins: A flax egg substitute can be made to keep these muffins egg-free with great success. Simply mix 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseed with 2 tablespoons of water and let sit for 5 minutes before adding to the muffin batter.Vegan Modifications: Use a flax egg to replace the egg, use maple syrup in place of honey, and use non-dairy chocolate chips and milk. Canola Oil Substitutes: Melted and cooled butter or coconut oil can be used in place of canola oil.