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These Healthy zucchini muffins are light, fluffy and so moist! They are made with simple ingredients like, zucchini, almond flour, oats, egg and almond butter. Pretty much the BEST gluten free zucchini muffins ever!
Healthy Zucchini muffins that taste just like warm zucchini bread straight from the oven are a new favorite in our house. It really doesn’t get any better than a moist and fluffy, perfectly sweet muffin alongside a nice steaming hot cup of coffee.
These incredible zucchini muffins are packed with flavor, healthy fat from the almond butter and a hint of vanilla and cinnamon. Add in the fact that there is an entire cup of shredded zucchini baked right into them and they are basically the perfect treat all wrapped up into one amazing healthy muffin recipe.
Check out these chocolate zucchini muffins for a more decadent version of this recipe!
Are zucchini muffins healthy?
Yes! Zucchini muffins can be healthy as long as you don’t load them up with unhealthy ingredients like loads of butter and sugar. Here are a few reasons why this MUFFIN recipe is HEALTHY!
- It contains 1 cup of freshly shredded zucchini.
- Has NO refined sugar or refined flour!
- Almond flour and oats take the place of the white flour in this recipe and also make these muffins lower in carbs and gluten-free!
- The extra moisture from the shredded zucchini keeps these muffins super moist without adding any butter or oil.
- They contain lots of nutrients like fiber, protein and vitamin C!
How do you grate zucchini for muffins?
Here are a few tips for grating the Zucchini for delicious, moist and fluffy healthy muffins.
- You can leave the peel on the zucchini when you grate it. This also gives the muffins a nice green marble look when you bite into them. So pretty!
- Do not squeeze out the water from the zucchini. The extra moisture in the zucchini is the magic that creates this amazing moist and fluffy texture that is everything in these zucchini muffins.
- Use a box grater to grate zucchini. I used the larger grate side and I was able to grate the zucchini in under one minute. So easy, peasy. You can also shred it easily in a food processor.
Ingredients for healthy zucchini muffins
Here are the simple ingredients you will need to make this muffin recipe.
- Zucchini – about 1 medium zucchini will work
- Oats – I used gluten free, organic oats
- Almond flour – fine, blanched almond flour works best in this recipe, you can substitute gluten free all purpose four.
- Almond butter – I used organic creamy almond butter, you can substitute sunbutter if you need to keep this recipe nut-free
- Egg – one large egg to help bind everything together
- Maple syrup – to add a little sweetness to the muffins
- Vanilla extract – pure vanilla extract works best
- Cinnamon – ground cinnamon adds so much flavor to this muffin recipe
- Baking powder – I used gluten free baking powder
- Kosher salt – to help enhance all the flavors in these muffins
How to make healthy zucchini muffins
- Grate the zucchini. You will need about 1 cup of shredded zucchini. You can use a box grater, hand grater or food processor to shred the zucchini.
- Mix up the dry ingredients. Add all of the dry ingredients to a medium size mixing bowl and mix to combine.
- Mix up the wet ingredients. In a separate mixing bowl, combine the wet ingredients.
- Add it all together. Then add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix well until it forms a nice smooth batter. Fold in the shredded zucchini and oats.
- Fill and bake. Spray 10 cavities of a 12 cup muffin pan and evenly divide the batter between 10 muffin cups, filling them about 3/4 of the way full. Bake at 400 degrees F for 16-18 minutes. Until the edges and top are nice and golden brown.
- Serve. Let the healthy zucchini muffins cool for a few minutes and enjoy with a pat of butter or almond butter and a drizzle of honey. Yum!
Recipe Substitutions
- You can swap the almond butter with sunbutter or a mashed banana for a nut-free version of this recipe.
- Add some shredded carrots to this recipe. I like to use 3/4 cup of shredded zucchini and 1/4 cup shredded carrots to add even more color and nutrition. This is also a great option if your zucchini is small and you need to add more bulk to this recipe. You can also use a little shredded apple.
- Add in some chopped nuts like pecans or walnuts.
- Sprinkle in some mini chocolate chips for a hint of chocolate the kids will love!
- Use flax egg to replace the egg and make this healthy zucchini muffins recipe vegan.
- Swap the maple syrup with coconut sugar or honey.
FAQs for making healthy zucchini muffins
You do not need to squeeze the water out since the extra water in the zucchini helps keep these muffins super moist, even the next day.
You do not need to peel the zucchini. The skin adds great nutrition and color to this recipe.
These healthy zucchini muffins contains only 160 calories for one muffin.
If you follow this recipe then these muffins should not come out dry at all. If they do come out dry then you may have squeezed the water out of the zucchini, which you do not need to do. Or you may have allowed the muffins to cook too long, which can dry them out.
These muffins can be covered and stored at room temperature for up to 2 days or in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
More healthy zucchini recipes to try
- Easy Air Fryer Turkey Zucchini Meatballs
- Best Healthy Shrimp Scampi With Zoodles
- 15 Minute Air Fryer Zucchini Fries
- Air Fryer Zucchini
- Healthy Zucchini Pizza Boats
More healthy muffin recipes!
- Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Healthy Apple Muffins
- Gluten Free Cranberry Orange Muffins
- Healthy Pumpkin Protein Muffins
Did you try this healthy zucchini muffins recipe? If you did then please leave a rating and comment below. I would love to hear how your’s turned out!
Print
Healthy Zucchini Muffins – Gluten Free
- Total Time: 26
- Yield: 10–12 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
These Healthy zucchini muffins are light, fluffy and so moist! They are made with simple ingredients like, zucchini, almond flour, oats, egg and almond butter. Pretty much the BEST gluten free zucchini muffins ever!
Ingredients
- 1 cup shredded zucchini – about 1 medium zucchini
- 1 cup blanched almond flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 large egg
- 1/3 cup maple syrup
- 1/3 cup creamy almond butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup rolled oats
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and spray 10 cavities of a 12 cup muffin pan with cooking spray. Set aside.
- Mix dry ingredients. Combine the almond flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt into a mixing bowl and lightly whisk to combine.
- Mix wet ingredients. In a seperate mixing bowl, combine the egg, maple syrup, almond butter, and vanilla extract.
- Combine. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix to combine into a smooth batter. Fold in the shredded zucchini and oats. This is also where you would fold in the nuts and chocolate chips if using.
- Fill and bake. Evenly divide the batter between 10 muffin cavities and bake in the middle rack of the oven at 400 degrees F for 16-18 minutes, until the tops and edges are nice and golden brown.
- Remove, let cool for a few minutes and enjoy with a soft pat of butter or almond butter.
Notes
- You do not need to squeeze the moisture out of the zucchini after your shred it. The extra water in the zucchini helps keep these muffins super moist, even the next day.
- Out of zucchini? Use shredded apple or shredded carrots in place of the zucchini in this recipe.
- Want to make this recipe vegan? Swap the egg with 1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce or flax egg.
- Out of maple syrup? You could also use honey or coconut sugar in place of the maple syrup.
- Add in some extras. You could add in some toasted nuts or chocolate chips for added texture. Just make sure to toast the nuts a bit before folding them in to bring out their flavor.
- To store: These muffins can be stored covered at room temperature for up to 2 days and covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 16
- Category: Healthy desserts
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: zucchini muffins, zucchini, gluten free muffins, almond flour recipes
Do you need to refrigerate these after making? THANK YOU
Hi Kathy, you can cover them and store them at room temp for up to 2 days or in the refrigerator for 4 days. Thank you for asking. I will add this as a note in the recipe card.
Soooooo delicious!!! Thanks so much for replying! I will absolutely be making these again,
★★★★★
These are amazing! SO good!!
Thank you Kat!
Hey there, can I bake this recipe in an 8″ x 4″ loaf pan? Thank you in advance!
Hi Emily, while that may work, this recipe was only tested as a muffin recipe using a muffin pan. I think it should also work as a cake so try it out and let me know!
Hi! Do you mix the rolled oats with the dry ingredients? Thank you!
Hi Sylvia, you fold in the oats after you have combined the wet and dry ingredients.
If I can’t have oats what can I sub ?
Hi Laura, Cooked quinoa should work in place of the oats but will change the texture slightly. I haven’t tried this recipe using quinoa but I have replaced oats with cooked quinoa in other recipes and it worked great!