I never considered myself a big zucchini fan until this summer. Farmer’s market zucchini is what really sold me; before then, I could take it or leave it. I was used to buying small, shriveled up zucchini from the grocery store, so when I tried freshly picked zucchini it was a game changer. My favourite way to prepare it is to sauté green and yellow zucchini with patty pan squash in a bit of olive oil, Herbamare, and pepper. It’s so simple and incredibly tasty.
This morning I took advantage of our holiday Monday and made zucchini muffins for breakfast. I’ve had great luck in the past with oil-free zucchini bread and I hoped these muffins would follow suit. They are fairly low in sugar, completely oil-free, and have a nice dose of crunchy walnuts for healthy omega-3 fatty acids. These aren’t your typical heavy and dense muffins; they are light as a feather and almost cupcake-like in texture. I enjoy them with a pat of soy-free Earth Balance to add a bit of moisture and buttery flavour.
From start to finish, they were ready in 30 minutes flat. Not too shabby!
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Oil-Free Chocolate Zucchini Walnut Muffins
Yield
12 muffins
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Lightly sweet, whole wheat, and oil-free, these muffins make a special breakfast or take along snack. I love them with a pat of soy-free Earth balance to add a bit of moisture. Whole Wheat Pastry Flour works well in this recipe to create light muffins that are still 100% whole grain. You can also use all-purpose flour if that’s all you have on hand. I don’t recommend subbing the pastry flour for regular whole wheat flour as the muffins will likely turn out too dry and dense
Adapted from: Oil-Free Zucchini Bread.
Ingredients
- 1 flax egg (1 tbsp ground flax + 3 tbsp water)
- 1 & 1/4 cup lightly packed shredded zucchini, skin left on
- 1 & 1/4 cup almond milk
- 2 tsp apple cider vinegar (or lemon juice)
- 3 tbsp pure maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (or all-purpose)
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp fine grain sea salt
- 1/2 cup cane sugar
- 1/3 cup dark chocolate chips (I used Enjoy Life mini chips)
- 2/3 cup walnuts, chopped
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and lightly spray muffin with oil or grease with Earth Balance.
- Mix flax egg in a small bowl and set aside. Grate zucchini using a grater box (regular grate size). Set aside.
- Mix almond milk and apple cider vinegar (or sub fresh lemon juice) in a small bowl and set aside. It will curdle, but this is the point as we’re making vegan buttermilk.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix together the dry ingredients (flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar).
- Mix together the wet ingredients (flax egg, almond milk mixture, maple syrup, and vanilla) and then pour over dry ingredients. Stir until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chips, walnuts, and shredded zucchini.
- Spoon batter into prepared muffin tin filling each tin 3/4 of the way full. Bake for about 15-17 minutes at 350°F, or until muffins slowly spring back when touched. A toothpick should come out mostly clean. Cool in tin for 5 minutes. With a knife, loosen around the muffin edge and transfer to a cooling rack until completely cool.
Have a great Civic Day to those of you celebrating the long weekend! I’m off to enjoy the last couple hours of the afternoon by the water. Why does three days of weekend always seem to fly by just as fast?
Haha I have just made a batch of chocolate zucchini walnut muffins myself….oh…they are so tasty!!!! :)
Glad you like them Edith!
Oh Yummy!
I’m hooked on chocolate zucchini bread and would love a batch of these muffins. Great recipe!
Angela, i just made these and followed your directions to a t. SO GOOD! i used to bake all the time before becoming vegan, and these have inspired me to revisit that love. your blog is a huge inspiration, thank you so much!!
I don’t have any zucchinis…do you think I could use carrots instead???
Hi Jess, the zucchini adds quite a bit of moisture I think and I’d be worried the carrots might dry it out, so im not sure on this one. if you do try it, let me know how it goes.
I can’t wait to try your version! I have a similar recipe to this but not exactly so it will be great to try this! I am locked and loaded with zucchini this week too. ;) Thanks Ang.
I made these the other night and they turned out amazing! I am new to vegan baking and I never imagined a muffin could taste so good without any dairy, eggs or oil!
Im so happy to hear that Aimee!
Hi Angela! I want to try these muffins for my kids. I have to sneak veggies into their diet. I’ve been trying to be low sugar for awhile and was using agave. I’ve been reading that this is not a great choice. Can you tell me where I can buy cane sugar?
Thanks! Michele
Hey Michele, I buy organic cane sugar since it’s vegan (while regular sugar is often processed with bone char) and I buy it in the natural food section of most grocery stores. You can find the specific brand and other products on my pantry page: http://ohsheglows.com/2012/04/09/my-vegan-pantry/ hope this helps! Angela
these turned out sooo yummy and chocolatey! threw in some extra zucchini too just to use up what i had, and couldn’t even taste the vegetables ;) instead of walnuts used a mix of almonds, pecans, and pumpkin seeds. thanks for the great recipe!
My parents grow ridiculous amounts of zucchini so I always have some in the fridge during the summer. My favorite way to prepare it is to grate it (small zukes work best because they’re less seedy) and saute it with onions and garlic. It has an almost creamy texture when it’s done. My boyfriend and I have made this at least five times already this summer! Yummy :)
Made these muffins yesterday and love them! I’m going to try a gluten free version next! Thanks for the recipe!
Hi Angela,
I baked these muffins this morning. Yum. Delicious and very light, I am working my way through your recipes and so far success and a feast to my taste buds. So far have made kitchen sink nut better, lentil bake, oatmeal peanut butter smoothy to name a few. It is pleasure to follow your blog, to enjoy coking and sharing in an abundance of healthy dishes. Thank you for all the work that you put into trying your recipes before blogging and also for sharing. Congrats on meeting your challenges this month. You inspired me to meet mine. One was to book a shamanic healing session, which I have been putting off. It will make me move forward in life and put aside self imposed excuses for not having the courage to take that leap of faith in myself that I need to take.
I wish you happiness and success . Happy blogging ..
They’re in the oven now! Can’t wait. I love zucchini anything so this was right up my alley! Thanks Ang!
They puffed up A LOT and look kinda funny but they are delicious! My sister and I agreed they are the perfect breakfast muffin. Thanks again!
Another great post! Thanks Angela!
Perfect timing!! I have zucchinis coming out of my ears right now–they’re everywhere! These muffins will be a great way to get my step-son to eat some veggies, too :) thanks for the recipe!
Chocolate… and healthy… yum, this one got me! Hopefully I can make them this weekend.
I made these last night and they turned out great! I used Ghiradelli cocoa powder and used Bob’s Egg Replacer instead of a flax egg (no flax on hand!). I found I had enough batter to fill most of the muffin tins completely full and a few of them 90% full. The muffins still turned out beautifully and I enjoyed one for breakfast this morning. Thanks for another home run recipe!
I’m new to your blog, but I’ve found that sprouted wheat flour makes absolutely lovely muffins and the like! It is light and fluffy and still whole grain. Have you tried that? I haven’t tried it with this recipe, but have been making a similar blueberry muffin with it and they are really terrific! Hope this is helpful info!
These muffins are fabulous!! I didn’t have cocoa powder so I used organic carob powder instead – that was the only substitution – I didn’t even have to loosen them from the muffin pan, they popped right out! Delicious, moist and sweet with the mini chips! Thanks.
My daughter and I made these a few days ago. Delicious! Thanks so much.
Just wanted to say I’ve already made these muffins five times. My husband loves them and keeps grabbing more zucchini from our CSA so I’ll make more of them. They are a perfect breakfast/snack/dessert!