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These vegan zucchini muffins are soft, fluffy, and make the perfect breakfast or snack! They are easy to make, ready in 30 minutes, and are kid-approved. These muffins can also be made gluten free, oil free, or refined sugar free!
I'll admit, I don't use vegetables in my baking very often. But when you eat as many cookies and cupcakes as I do, sometimes you just crave something a liiittle bit healthier.
These vegan zucchini muffins are dairy free, egg free, and can easily be made gluten free. They can be made even healthier by using whole wheat flour and sugar substitutes too!
Why These Vegan Zucchini Muffins Work
- The zucchini is undetectable, but it makes the muffins moist and a little healthier!
- These muffins freeze well and perfect for a school snack, breakfast on the go, or even to serve at brunch.
- Ground cinnamon and nutmeg add a delicious warm spice to the muffins!
- The recipe is easy to customize accordingly for different diets and food allergies.
- These muffins are a great way to sneak some veggies into your day (just like these banana carrot muffins!)
Ingredient Notes
- Zucchini: you'll need around 1 cup of shredded zucchini. Note that the zucchini doesn't have to be peeled!
- Flour: I use regular all-purpose flour in this recipe, but you can also use whole wheat flour or even gluten free 1-1 baking flour to make gluten free zucchini muffins.
- Oil: I use canola oil, but you can use any neutral oil! Alternatively, you can use unsweetened apple sauce for an oil free option.
- Flax: Ground flaxseed is used to make the flax egg. It must be ground - whole flaxseed will not work! You can also use chia seeds in place of flax to make the "egg".
- Sugar: The recipe uses regular white and brown sugar, but you can swap for coconut sugar or maple syrup if you want to make these muffins a little healthier. You can also use honey if you don't follow a vegan diet.
Step By Step Instructions
STEP ONE: First, make the flax egg. Mix warm water and ground flaxseed together, then let it sit until the mixture has a gel-like consistency. This takes around 10-15 minutes.
water and ground flaxseed in a bowl flax egg with gel-like consistency
STEP TWO: Preheat the oven and prepare 12 muffins tins with liners.
STEP THREE: Shred the zucchini until you have 1 cup, packed down. Pat it dry with paper towel and squeeze out excess water and set aside.
STEP FOUR: In a medium bowl, whisk the oil, milk, and vanilla together. Whisk in the sugars, then stir in the flax egg. Add the grated zucchini.
STEP FIVE: Add in the dry ingredients and mix until combined. Pour the batter into muffin liners, almost to the top (around ¾ full).
STEP SIX: Bake the muffins for 15 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean from the centre of one of the muffins. Let them cool in the baking tin for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Note: Full ingredient measurements and instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of this page.
Frequently Asked Questions
To grate the zucchini, leave the peel on and use a box grater. You can also use a food processor with the grating attachment.
I like to pat the zucchini dry with paper towels or a clean tea towel and try to squeeze out any excess water. Some zucchini's will have more moisture that others as well, so this step helps avoid too much water in your batter.
Not at all! These muffins are a great way to hide vegetables for kids (or picky adults)! They don't add a flavor to the muffins - all they do is add moisture. You can see a little bit of green in the muffins though so if you really need to hide it be sure to shred the zucchini smaller 😉
Yes! You can add chocolate chips, cranberries, raisins, or nuts to these muffins. ½ of a cup of mix-ins is usually a good place to start.
You can peel the zucchini if you'd like to avoid the little specks of green in the muffins, but otherwise there's no need to peel the zucchini before grating it.
Yep! You can use a 9x5 loaf pan and bake at 350°F for around 45-55 minutes. You can test when it's ready by inserting a toothpick in the middle of the bread. When the toothpick comes out clean, the zucchini loaf is ready!
Expert Tips
- Be sure to only use the flax egg once it has reached that egg-like consistency! If you add it in when it's still fully liquid, it won't act properly as an egg replacer or provide the necessary structure to the muffins.
- Pat the zucchini dry with paper towels to remove some of the excess water. Some zucchini's will be a lot wetter than others. You don't have to pat it completely dry, just squeeze out any extra water.
- Be sure to properly measure your flour. Too much flour will make the batter really thick and can lead to dry muffins.
- I love to add vegan chocolate chips, dried cranberries, or chopped up walnuts to these muffins.
Storage and Freezing Instructions
The muffins will be good for 2-3 days at room temperature in an airtight container, but I actually like to freeze them in a ziploc bag as soon as they have cooled. When I'm ready to eat them, I take one out of the freezer and microwave it for 30 seconds (which makes them taste fresh out of the oven), or let it thaw at room temperature.
Pin it for later!
MORE VEGAN RECIPES YOU'LL LOVE
- Chocolate Coconut Cupcakes
- Wacky Chocolate Cake with Fudgy Buttercream
- Vegan Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Edible Brownie Batter
If you make this recipe, let me know how it went in the comments below, I’d love to hear from you! You can also tag me on Instagram or Facebook so I can check it out!
Vegan Zucchini Muffins
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon ground/milled flaxseed
- 2 cup all-purpose flour (or whole wheat flour or gluten free 1-1 baking flour)* SEE NOTES
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ cup canola oil (or other neutral oil) *can use apple sauce for oil-free
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 cup shredded zucchini (roughly 1 medium zucchini), patted dry
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- ½ cup vegan milk of choice (I use unsweetened almond milk)
Instructions
- Make the flax egg by combining 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed with 2½ tablespoon water in a small bowl. Set aside until the mixture becomes gel-like (around 10-15 minutes)
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a muffin tin with 12 liners.
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg and set aside.
- Shred the washed, unpeeled zucchini and measure out one cup, then pat dry with paper towels to remove some of the moisture. Set aside.
- Whisk together the oil, milk, and vanilla extract. Whisk in the brown sugar and granulated sugar.
- Add in the flax egg, then stir in the shredded zucchini.
- Mix in the dry ingredients until combined, then fill the muffin tins ¾ of the way full.
- Bake 12-15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of a muffin comes out clean. Let cool in the tin for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
Nutrition
The calorie information provided for this recipe is an estimate. The accuracy of the calories listed is not guaranteed.
Larissa
Loved these muffins, fluffy and the perfect level of sweetness. I added chocolate chips to mine and doubled the recipe.
Gabby
Hi Larissa! I'm so happy to hear that you loved the muffins! Thanks for the review!