Crazy delicious, these healthy chocolate chip zucchini muffins are a hit with both kids and adults. Bake these chocolate chip zucchini muffins for breakfast, lunch boxes or a quick snack. This recipe uses whole wheat flour, applesauce, and greek yogurt to lighten up a more traditional zucchini bread recipe while still creating an easy and delicious muffin.
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Healthy Zucchini Muffins With Chocolate Chips
There are two times that these yummy zucchini muffins always seem to call from the oven.
Drizzly days always make me think of delicious zucchini muffins coming out of the oven. Warm and slightly crumbly. Baking warm muffins is a way to make your home instantly feel cozier.
This deliciously sweet zucchini muffins recipe always comes to mind in the middle of summer. The zucchini is rolling in from the garden and the farmer’s market in literal droves.
Have lots of Zucchini? These delicious crispy parmesan zucchini fries are a great way to eat your zucchini! For a sweeter twist try my Lemon Zucchini Loaf Cake With Sweet Lemon Glaze. Or try a more classic chocolate chip zucchini bread or zucchini banana bread, yum!
Really this chocolate chip zucchini muffins recipe has been made so many times… I like that I only need one bowl to whip up these healthy zucchini muffins.
We just moved across the country from Ohio to Arizona I needed something to help us feel a little homier… AND zucchini is rolling in. It sure felt good to have something homemade in our kitchen, especially something homemade and healthy!
But it did heat up the house using the oven. It’s over 90 degrees here in Arizona and I made these muffins in the middle of the day. Oops… Next time, I bake these muffins in the morning when it’s cooler… but they were awful delicious and worth it this time!
Blueberries are also in season and plentiful in summer. Try this delicious Blueberry Bread Loaf. It’s just like a blueberry muffin, except you can slice a little piece off the end when no one’s looking!
Are These Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins Good For Kids?
Muffins were just made for breakfast and make great snacks! Try these muffins with your kids, they will love them!
These chocolate chip zucchini muffins work well in lunchboxes. If you put them frozen in your child’s lunch they will usually be defrosted by lunchtime. Depending on when lunch is, I leave them frozen on the counter overnight before packing them in lunchboxes.
This also recipe can be a great way to start helping picky eaters with vegetables. I don’t hide vegetables in my kid’s food purposefully, but I also don’t see a problem with boosting our muffins with vegetables and fruit.
How Do I Make Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins?
Making healthy chocolate chip zucchini muffins is fast and delicious when you follow these simple steps!
Start making this recipe by shredding your zucchini on a cutting board (or in your food processor) and patting it dry well with a towel.
Then mix your wet ingredients into a bowl including your unsweetened applesauce, brown sugar, egg, Greek yogurt, and vanilla extract.
Once the wet ingredients are mixed well, add the dry ingredients to the bowl. This includes mixing in the whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Gosh do I love cinnamon, it just makes baked goods feel cozy! If you love cinnamon too you should check out my applesauce walnut cake recipe too, it’s yummy!
Then mix in your zucchini into your batter, easy peasy!
Lastly, fill your muffin cups, add chocolate chips and bake. Gooey and delicious chocolate chip zucchini muffins. Yum!
These muffins are delicious and much healthier than most store-bought muffins. I hope your family enjoys this recipe and starts sniffing around the kitchen when you are baking them too!
How Long Do Zucchini Muffins Last?
This zucchini muffins recipe usually last for about 1 to 2 days. If you refrigerate these muffins they can last up to four days. Freezing zucchini muffins makes them last even longer.
What Healthy Swaps Have Been Made In These Zucchini Muffins?
These muffins are made with applesauce and Greek yogurt which keeps them moist and delicious in place of butter and oil. Sugar in this recipe is kept low with only 1/3 of a cup (plus what’s in the chocolate chips.) Whole wheat flour is also used in this recipe.
How Do You Store zucchini muffins?
Store these muffins on the counter inside a container or covered in aluminum foil. You can also store muffins in a large glass or plastic food storage container.
If you are freezing zucchini muffins I recommend storing them in heavy-duty freezer Ziploc-style bags and they are good to go!
When baking zucchini do you peel it?
No you do not need to peel zucchini when you are baking it. Zucchini almost literally melts when you bake it so peeling it is not necessary.
Do rinse and dry your zucchini well before baking it.
Do You Have To Take The Seeds Out Of Zucchini?
With a bigger zucchini that you often find in summer, you may want to scoop the seeds out before your grate or bake zucchini into you recipe. The bigger seeds can add an unpleasant texture to your muffins if you leave them in and can occasionally be bitter.
Some smaller and thinner zucchini can sometimes be grated without removing the seeds. These zucchini tend to be slightly smaller around than the size of a quarter.
Can shredded zucchini be frozen for later use?
Yes, shredded zucchini can be frozen and then used in these muffins. Defrost the shredded zucchini and pat it dry with a kitchen towel to dry it well before adding it to your recipe.
Often in the summer, I shred zucchini when it is plentiful with my food processor to use in other recipes later. Try zucchini in these pork and zucchini meatballs too, they are delicious! You can also stir a handful or two into soups like this supper easy chicken noodle soup.
One Bowl Healthy Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 medium zucchini shredded
- Pan spray
- 1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1 egg
- ½ cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups whole wheat flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a muffin pan by greasing the cups with nonstick cooking spray or lining each cup with paper liners.
- Rinse your zucchini well and pat dry. Shred the zucchini using a food processor or hand grater. Dry the shredded zucchini well with either a clean kitchen towel or several paper towels.
- Combine the unsweetened applesauce, brown sugar, egg, Greek yogurt and vanilla extract in a large bowl. Using a silicone spatula, spoon or whisk, stir until combined well.
- Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon to the bowl. Stir until just combined.
- Add the zucchini and stir to mix with your silicone spatula, spoon or whisk.
- Spoon the batter into the muffin tin, filling each cup 2/3 of the way full. Top each muffin with three chocolate chips… or a sprinkle!
- Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center of the muffin.
- Allow muffins to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes. Remove muffins to a wire cooling rack to cool completely. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Did You Make This?
I would love to see it! Share your thoughts with me in the comments below!
Other Recipes You Will Love:
- Mini Applesauce Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Clementine Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Easy Mini Corn Muffins
- Pancake Mix Muffins– quick and easy, and you can make three flavors in one pan!
Did you make these one-bowl healthy zucchini chocolate chip muffins for your family? Leave a star rating or a comment and let me know how it went! I love to hear from you. 🙂
Comments & Reviews
CoCo’s Mom says
Moist and delicious. Not too sweet. I’ll have to double batch next time. My kids and their friend ate them so quickly. Win!
Carol says
How much in cups is one zucchini? They come in all kinds of sizes.
Kristy Richardson says
This recipe assumes a medium zucchini, which ranges from 1 to 1 1/4 cups generally. They are generally zucchini that is about 6-7 inches long. Hope that helps!
Melissa says
Hi! These look delicious, but we have a milk protein allergy in the family so can’t do Greek yogurt. Would you happen to know what I can substitute that with? Thanks!
Kristy Richardson says
Hi Melissa, I have not tried this specfic combination in this recipee, but I do know that greek yogurt adds moisture to the muffin. You could try swapping more applesauce, which would give you both moisture and the acid needed to make the baking soda rise. You could also try mashed banana for a banana zucchini muffin. Again I can’t say for sure exactly how this ratio will do without trying it, but if I was making that swap this is where I would start. Let me know how it goes! -Kristy
Melissa says
Hi! I swapped the Greek yogurt with 1/2 c of oat milk yogurt. I also used dairy free chocolate chips. Everything else I kept the same. My toddler liked it (which is rare that she likes anything), and I had 3 so far myself lol. Consistency was still great. I probably should’ve left it in the oven for maybe 1 more min. But I will def make again real soon!