These zucchini chocolate chip muffins are extremely moist and tender with hints of warm spices and tons of chocolate chips. The recipe is simple to make and perfect for using up your garden zucchini. They’re like a warm slice of zucchini bread and so delicious warm from the oven!
If you love zucchini bread – then these zucchini chocolate chip muffins are the perfect recipe. They’re extremely moist with a hint of brown sugar, cinnamon and vanilla and packed with chocolate chips. The zucchini dissolves as the muffins bake, so there are no chunks or pieces of zucchini and you’re left with extremely moist and tender muffins. These muffins are also a great alternative to making zucchini bread because the make time is much shorter – about 22-25 minutes as opposed to upwards of an hour.
Making Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins
These muffins are extremely simple to make. There’s no need to pull out the mixer and they turn out perfectly moist thanks to the oil, eggs, milk and grated zucchini. Don’t worry – you won’t taste the oil whatsoever because of the warm spices, zucchini and vanilla. The oil helps to keep these moist for longer and means you can make the batter entirely by hand.
- Start by preheating the oven to 375F (190C) and lining a 12-cavity muffin tin with muffin papers. I like to line the muffin tin with papers for this recipe because I find that if I simply grease and flour, the chocolate chips can get stuck to the muffin tin.
- Gently blot the zucchini with a paper towel. You do not need to squeeze out all the liquid – you simply want to get out a little of the excess, especially if your zucchini is very fresh.
- Then in a large bowl, whisk together 2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon nutmeg, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda and ¼ teaspoon salt. Set aside.
- Then in a separate bowl, whisk together ½ cup oil, ½ cup brown sugar (light or dark), ⅓ cup granulated sugar (you could use up to ½ cup for sweeter muffins), 2 large eggs, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract and ¼ cup milk. Whisk the mixture until you no longer see clumps of brown sugar or pieces of egg.
- Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients into that well.
- Carefully stir the mixture together. Make sure to do this by hand – otherwise the muffins can become overmixed.
- Once the mixture looks about 80% combined (you will still see chunks of flour and lumps), carefully stir in the grated zucchini.
- Then fold in the chocolate chips. I used dark, but use your favorite variety.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tin filling each about ¾ full. Because this batter is a little thinner than some muffin recipes, you don’t want to fill the muffin papers to the very top. You should end up with between 12-14 muffins.
- They’ll bake for about 22-25 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. You should always bake muffins in the middle of your oven. When they’re done baking, an inserted toothpick will come out clean or with a few crumbs. If your toothpick has any gooey muffin batter, they aren’t done baking yet.
Pro Tip: You don’t need to peal the zucchini before grating. Simply cut off the ends. For 1 ½ cups grated zucchini, you’ll need 2 small zucchinis or 1 medium zucchini. I recommend grating zucchini with a finer cheese grater to ensure that the zucchini fully dissolves.
I love these muffins because they’re extremely tender, filled with chocolate chips and make for the perfect snack or accompaniment to your breakfast. The grated zucchini is the key for incredibly moist muffins, and the hint of warm spices make these incredibly tasty.
If you have more zucchini in your garden, then be sure to try:
- Chocolate Zucchini Bread
- Zucchini Banana Bread
- Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes
- Moist Zucchini Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins
Equipment
- 12-cavity muffin pan
Ingredients
- 1 â…“ cups grated zucchini
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (250 grams)
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup vegetable oil (120 ml) or canola
- ½ cup brown sugar (105 grams) light or dark
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar (67 grams) use ½ cup if you prefer sweeter muffins
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¼ cup milk (60 ml) I prefer to use whole milk or 2%, but any will work
- ¾ cup chocolate chips (135 grams)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375F (190C) and line a 12 cavity muffin pan with muffin papers. This recipe will yield 12-14 muffins, so you may need 2 pans.
- Lightly blot the grated zucchini with paper towel to remove excess liquid. You do not need to remove all the liquid. Do not try to squeeze the zucchini dry. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- In a separate large bowl, whisk together the oil, brown sugar, granulated sugar, eggs, vanilla extract and milk until there are no lumps.
- Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients into the well.
- Gently fold the mixture together - I do this with a rubber spatula to help avoid overmixing.
- When the mixture is about 80% combined, stir in the grated zucchini. As you stir in the grated zucchini any remaining clumps of flour will stir out.
- Carefully fold in the chocolate chips.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tin filling each paper about ¾ of the way full. You should end up with 12-14 muggins in total.
- Bake 1 tray at a time in the middle of your oven for about 22-25 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean or with a few crumbs. If an inserted toothpick comes out with muffin batter, the muffins are not done baking yet.
- Cool the muffins in the pan for about 10 minutes, then carefully transfer to a cooling rack to continue cooling.
Notes
- Zucchini: You do not need to peal the zucchini first. Simply cut off the ends and grate using a fine cheese grater.Â
- Storage: Fresh muffins are always best. Muffins will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for about 3 days. Muffins can be frozen for up to 2 months. Always thaw in the fridge.Â
- Nutrition: Details provided are an estimate only and based on 1 muffin, assuming the recipe yields 12 uniform muffins.Â
Nutrition
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