Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
These chocolate zucchini muffins are extra moist with a rich chocolate flavor. The batter is mixed with double the chocolate, using both cocoa powder and dark chocolate chips, so you never even taste the zucchini – but still get the benefit of the added richness! So whether you’re here for the zucchini or not, this will definitely be your new favorite chocolate muffin recipe.
How to make chocolate zucchini muffins
What I love about this recipe is how quick it is to whip up. The batter is mixed by hand all in one bowl, making this a really easy but delicious muffin recipe. And although it may be easy, here are a few things to keep in mind to ensure your chocolate zucchini muffins turn out just right:
- Zucchini – Make sure you grate the zucchini using the fine holes on a box grater. This allows the zucchini to blend seamlessly into the batter, going nearly unnoticed in these muffins.
- Sugar – We’re using a mix of both brown sugar and pure maple syrup in these muffins. The combination adds the perfect amount of sweetness, rich flavor, and moisture. Swapping out either of the two will result in a different outcome so stick with what’s instructed!
- Cocoa Powder – For bold flavor, use Dutch-processed cocoa powder. It’s not as acidic as natural cocoa powder, so it provides a smoother finish. Plus, the darker color really makes these muffins look rich and indulgent – as they are!
- Flour – If you can, weigh out the dry ingredients to ensure accuracy. Otherwise, spoon the flour into your measuring cup and level it off with a flat edge. Don’t shake or pack it down and do not scoop directly into the bag. This will leave you with additional flour that gets compacted down into your measuring cup.
- Dark Chocolate Chips – These muffins are sweet enough on their own, so dark chocolate chips are key here. They add delicious melty pockets of chocolate while balancing out the overall flavor of these muffins. I don’t recommend subbing in semisweet or milk chocolate.
Now that you understand the ingredients, it’s time to bring them all together. To put it simply, this batter consists of two parts: wet ingredients and dry ingredients.
The dry ingredients, including the brown sugar, are whisked together in the main mixing bowl. Once combined, most of the wet ingredients are added in, minus the coconut oil. We’re mixing this in last to prevent it from hardening back up in the batter. Once it’s nice and fudgy, give the batter a couple folds to distribute those delicious dark chocolate chips.
What makes this chocolate zucchini muffin recipe so good?
Don’t be fooled by the vegetable in these muffins. They are just as indulgent as chocolate cupcake, but with the added bonus of a bit of fiber. Here’s what makes these chocolate zucchini muffins so dang good:
- Zucchini – This is a no brainer, but the majority of this batter is made up of zucchini. It’s the perfect vessel as it has a very mild flavor but provides SO much delicious moisture to these muffins. Plus, who doesn’t love sneaking vegetables into their food? Especially when they can go completely undetected.
- Pure Maple Syrup – Make sure you use PURE maple syrup, not pancake syrup which is basically corn syrup disguised as maple syrup. This delicious syrup adds so much rich flavor AND moisture to these muffins.
- Egg Yolk – Adding one extra egg yolk to this batter makes all the difference. It enhances that rich and moist texture without creating an overly-mushy muffin.
- Milk – Whole milk, almond milk, skim milk, it’s whatever milk you’ve got! This extra kick of liquid allows these muffins to rise beautifully – creating a crumb that’s super rich but not too heavy.
- Coconut Oil – Refined coconut oil will provide the best results. It’s flavorless, so you get all the benefits of this fat without disrupting the delicious chocolate flavor. You could swap in vegetable or canola oil, but I prefer the clean flavor of refined coconut oil in these muffins.
- Dark Chocolate – These are the best chips to use in muffins because they bake nice and melty. Semisweet can sometimes remain solid, so you get firm chunks of chocolate rather then ooey gooey pockets. I don’t know about you, but I prefer the pockets!
Chocolate Zucchini Muffins FAQs
Absolutely! Just sub in a cup-for-cup gluten-free baking flour. I like Bob’s Red Mill (the blue bag), or King Arthur measure for measure. Also make sure your chocolate chips are gluten free.
Absolutely! Use whichever plant-based milk you prefer and make sure the chocolate chips are diary free.
Sub in 1 1/2 flax eggs! This is 1 1/2 tbsp of ground flaxseed mixed with 4 1/2 tbsp water. Stir in a small dish and let it sit for a few minutes to gel before use.
I wouldn’t recommend subbing the dark chocolate chips with anything else as their deep flavor helps balance out these sweet muffins. However, you can leave them out if you like! The batch will just make about 9 muffins instead of 11.
Store these in a container at room temperature and they’ll last for about 4 days. They remain nice and moist during that time. You can also store them in the refrigerator to get about a week out of them.
I haven’t tried this so it would be a risk! If I did bake it as a loaf cake, I would use a 9×5 pan and bake at 350F for about 50 to 60 minutes.
For more classic chocolate chip recipes, check out my:
- Chocolate Chip Banana Bread (one of my most popular recipes!)
- Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread
- Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
- BEST Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Double Chocolate Chip Muffins
Make sure to tag me @butternutbakery on Instagram and leave a review below if you make these Chocolate Zucchini Muffins. To pin this recipe and save it for later, you can use the button on the recipe card, the buttons above or below this post, or on any of the photos above. Happy baking!
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Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 11 muffins
- Diet: Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free
Description
This chocolate zucchini muffin recipe is the perfect way to use up that fresh summer zucchini! They’re so incredibly moist and packed with double chocolate flavor. With how easy these are to bake, you have no excuse NOT to make them!
Ingredients
Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
- 1 1/2 cups (192g) all-purpose flour or 1-to-1 gluten-free baking flour, spooned and leveled
- 1/3 cup (30g) Dutch-processed cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup (100g) light brown sugar, packed
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1 cup (130g) packed finely grated zucchini (about 1 medium zucchini)
- 1/2 cup (150g) pure maple syrup
- 1/4 cup (60g) milk of choice
- 1 large egg + 1 egg yolk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup (112g) refined coconut oil, melted
- 3/4 cup (140g) dark chocolate chips
Instructions
Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
- Preheat the oven to 350F and line a cupcake tin with 11 paper liners.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Then add in the grated zucchini (no need to squeeze), maple syrup, milk, egg, egg yolk, and vanilla. Whisk to roughly combine, then add in the coconut oil and fully whisk to bring the batter together.
- Switch to a silicone spatula and fold in the chocolate chips to evenly distribute. Divide the batter between the 11 cups (using a large 2 oz ice cream scoop helps here) so that each cup is completely filled.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until well puffed and the center feels bouncy to the touch. Allow to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.
- Enjoy while they’re still a bit warm or at room temperature – they’re delicious either way!
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cooling Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
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Meet Jenna
I’m the creator, baker, and photographer behind Butternut Bakery. Here I share desserts for every diet because I believe everyone should have a chance to indulge!
How many cupcakes does one batch make?
Thank you
Regards
Dortha Warner
It makes 11 muffins. The yield is at the top of the recipe card 🙂
I’m so glad I tried this recipe. These muffins are delicious! They have an amazing moist texture, a perfectly chocolate flavor and are not overly sweet. This will be my go-to muffin recipe when I need to use up some zucchinis! (Just make sure to squeeze the water out of the zucchini first. I did not realize this on the first batch but did for the second and they came out perfect).
AMAZING!!!! I was truly shocked by how good these turned out, as the greenish-brownish batter that I had while I was filling the cups had me sweating haha. The texture is superb; not too mushy and not too dry. It’s a little spongier than your typical muffin, but I loved it nonetheless. The taste is great! You really can’t taste the zucchini, I promise. Definitely add extra chocolate chips on top for extra fun! Can’t wait to make a monthly bake in my kitchen 🙂
amazing! these were so easy to make and delicious i ended up using regular milk and they still turned out great.
These are so moist and so good! I used an egg instead of a flax egg, just because I had a ton that needed to gwt eaten. 2 days later they still taste so delicious, straight from the fridge! I have to say, I was a little skeptical about not squeezing out the zucchini, but it just works. Thanks for the recipe!
Girl!
This recipe is DELIGHTFUL!
Mmmmm. So moist. So chocolatey!
Making another batch today and all the days!!
Hi!! Can I use honey instead of maple syrup? I live in Perú and natural maple syrup it´s hard to find.
Can I use regular flour and 2% milk?
So gooey and chocolatey! Loved them! Doubled the recipe and I’m glad I did!
Yum! Can’t wait to make this for my daughter. Can I use rice milk? As she can’t have almond milk? As she can’t have nuts nor soy.