Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins

These healthy, gluten-free chocolate chip zucchini muffins are super light and moist, easy to whip together, insanely delicious, and a great way to use up the last of summer zucchini. 

Hi friends! Sorry for the small hiatus on posting. My husband and I went on a fun getaway to Dublin and London!

During undergrad, I studied abroad in Bristol, England and met one of my best friends. Natalie. She was my roommate during my time abroad and we quickly discovered we were very alike and destined to be forever friends. We have maintained our friendship for over 8 years, traveling back and forth, about once a year to see each other.

She was in my wedding two years ago. And last week, I traveled back to England to stand by her side in her wedding.

Since my husband has never been to the UK, we decided to make a trip out of it. Being Irish, my husband wanted to visit Dublin, Ireland. Then we explored London for a few days. And finally ended the trip with my friend’s very fun and beautiful wedding. It was an amazing trip filled with sight seeing, delicious new foods, and many pints and G&Ts at the pubs.

Although the trip was absolutely amazing, I’m glad to be back home. I really missed home cooked meals and developing new recipes!

The recipe I’m sharing today was actually a treat I brought with us during our trip. When I’m traveling, I always come well-equipped with healthy snacks, like my favorite granola bars, nuts, and some kind of home-baked treat.

These healthy, gluten-free chocolate chip zucchini muffins came in handy during the trip. They were the perfect grab and go nutritious breakfast to help fuel us for a long day of exploring Dublin and London. I also prefer to have my own healthy breakfasts treats as opposed to going out and buying breakfast each day. It helps save money while also allowing me to maintain somewhat of a healthy lifestyle while on vacation.

Plus, these muffins are absolutely delicious, light and moist, and were a little piece of home while we were away.

Let’s get to baking. 

These muffins are super easy to make a come together rather quickly.

First, you mix all of the dry ingredients together: gluten-free oat flour, baking soda and powder, salt, and cinnamon and nutmeg. I used Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free flour and highly recommend it as the muffins turned out light and airy. You can’t even tell they are gluten-free!

I also used cinnamon and nutmeg to add a little more flavor to the muffins. The cinnamon gives the muffins a warm, fall like flavor. The hint of nutmeg makes these muffins taste like they are fresh from the bakery. So good!

Next step is mixing all of the wet ingredients, except zucchini. These muffins are made with maple syrup, coconut sugar, and a hint of brown sugar. It provides the right balancer of sweetness without being too decadent for breakfast.

I also used non-fat greek yogurt and coconut oil. I love using greek yogurt in baked goods. It still keeps them moist but allows you to use a little less oil. Coconut oil is also my oil of choice for baking it is a good healthy fat.

Combine the wet ingredients and dry ingredients and mix until well combined.

Now time for the secret, star ingredient. The zucchini. The zucchini adds moisture and nutrients to the muffins that makes them the perfect, delicious morning treat.

The key to using zucchini in baked goods is to getting out some of the liquid before adding it to the batter. Zucchini has a high water content so helps make the muffins moist, but you do not want the batter to become too wet. Once you shred the zucchini, use a paper bowl or cheese cloth to wring out some of the liquid (about a 1/4 a cup of water). Then fold in the zucchini to the batter.

I also added enjoy life dark chocolate chips. I prefer the enjoy life brand because they are low in sugar and made with natural ingredients. Also, the addition of chocolate chips adds a nice little chocolate burst to the muffins that make them irresistible!

The final step is baking the muffins. I learned that the there are two tricks to getting a nice rise from the muffins. First, let the batter rest for about 10-15 minutes before baking. This allows the flour to absorb some of the liquid, so it swells and develops a thicker, more viscous batter.

Also, bake the muffins at 425 degrees for the first five minutes, then lower the temperature to 350 for the remaining 15-20 minutes. This allows the muffins to rapidly rise the first few minutes of baking to achieve a nice dome top on the muffins.

These muffins were quickly devoured during our trip. They are super light and moist, studded with zucchini and rich dark chocolate chips, have a touch of warming spices, and are perfectly filling and nutritious.

They also freeze well! I made two batches before we left on our trip. I brought one with us and froze the rest. The are definitely coming in handy now that we are back home and recovering from jet lag. I don’t have to worry about making breakfast. I simply take a muffin out of the freezer and pop in the microwave from 45 seconds, and breakfast is done!

Ohh…I also highly recommend adding a smear of almond or peanut butter to the muffins. It just takes them to the next level!

I hope you love these muffins as much as I do and become a staple in your morning breakfast routine!

For more healthy delicious recipes, don’t forget to follow me on Facebook and Instagram, or check out what I’m pinning on Pinterest.

Print

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins

Course Breakfast

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

Servings 10

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup gluten free oat flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 cup coconut sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon maple
• 1/2 cup coconut oil melted
• 1 egg room temp
• 1/2 cup greek yogurt
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice about juice of half of lemon
• 1 cup shredded zucchini about 1 medium sized zucchini
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips + 2 tablespoons for topping I used enjoy life

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Grease a muffin tin.
2. Shred the zucchini and use paper towel of cheese cloth to ring out extra moisture. Set aide.
3. Mix all of the dry ingredients together.
4. In a separate bowl, combine melted coconut oil and sugar and maple syrup. Beat in egg. Add in vanilla, lemon juice, and greek yogurt and stir until greek yogurt is fully incorporated.
5. Combine the wet and dry ingredients until well-incorporated. Fold in shredded zucchini and chocolate chips.
6. Allow batter to rest for 10 minutes (optional but will allow muffins to rise slightly more as it allows the baking soda to activate)
7. Use an ice cream scoop to evenly distribute the batter amount greased muffin cavities. It should make approximately 10 muffins.
8. Bake at 425 for 5 minutes. Lower temperature to 350 degrees and continue to bake from 15-20 minutes or until fully baked (toothpick comes out clean).
9. Allow to cool for about 20 minutes before removing from cupcake tins.
10. Serve and enjoy!

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