Mini Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins Recipe
These zucchini chocolate chip muffins are the perfect mix of nutritious ingredients and classic, bakery-style muffin texture! (It’s very similar to my mini chocolate chip muffins but with the addition of fresh zucchini!) The muffins are light and fluffy – with a few nutritious ingredients thrown in there – and of course, mini chocolate chips for fun. These muffins are perfectly sweet (lightly) and utterly delicious, I find myself popping one out of the pan to munch on every time I walk by. ๐
Everyone knows that little muffins are more fun than big ones, but really the main motivation behind the mini size is that they are so easy to pack in lunches or serve as part of a breakfast or a quick snack, which is how we tend to use them most. Once I started making mini muffins, I haven’t looked back. For a sweeter treat, try my mini cupcakes.
Estimated reading time: 10 minutes
- What You'll Love About Delicious Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins
- Ingredients
- How to Make Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins
- FAQs
- Storage Instructions
- What to Serve with Mini Zucchini Muffins
- How to Feed Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffin Recipe to the Whole Family
- Want More?
- More Easy Muffin Recipes
- Let me Meal Plan for you!
What You’ll Love About Delicious Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins
- Fluffy bakery-style muffin texture
- Lightly sweetened
- CHOCOLATE chips!!!
- Mini so they are automatically fun
- Made with basic ingredients (mostly pantry staples)
- Prep in just 10 minutes + bake in 15
- Perfect as a part of breakfast, lunches, or snacks
- Perfect recipe for garden zucchini
Ingredients
- Zucchini – Look for a small or medium zucchini without any bumps and bruising, though because we’re shredding and baking with it, it is actually a great use for zucchini that is not quite perfect.
- All-purpose flour – Use your favorite all-purpose flour.
- Whole wheat flour – You can use traditional whole wheat flour or a white whole wheat flour.
- Oats – Use old fashioned oats or quick-cooking oats, not steel cut oats.
- Sugar – I’ve used regular granulated sugar, but you can also use your preferred granulated sugar alternative.
- Baking powder + baking soda – The combination of both helps give the muffins a good rise so they are nice and fluffy and not overly dense.
- Sea salt
- Milk – I’ve used whole milk, but you can use whatever type you use at home. You could also use a milk-alternative like soy milk, almond milk, etc.
- Butter – Use high-quality butter for best flavor. Many muffins are made with vegetable oil, but I love the flavor that butter gives them. You could also use a vegetable oil like canola oil or avocado oil if you prefer.
- Egg – Use a large egg.
- Vanilla extract – Use a high-quality vanilla for best flavor.
- Mini chocolate chips – I love mini semi-sweet chocolate chips in little muffins, but you could also use regular size chocolate chips or white chocolate chips. Feel free to add in extra chocolate chips if desired.
How to Make Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins
This is an overview on how to make zucchini muffins with chocolate chips, the detailed instructions can be found below in the recipe card.
FAQs
Are chocolate chip zucchini muffins healthy?
The term “healthy” is pretty relative, but I consider them to be a nutritious and delicious little bite. These muffins walk the line of utilizing nutritious ingredients (oats, whole grain flour, zuccchini), while still keeping a light, bakery-style muffin texture. It’s lightly sweetened, but has just the right amount!
Can I change the flours?
I played with the ratios of all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, and oats to end up with the best chocolate chip zucchini muffins that are made with whole grains, but are still light and fluffy. You can use all all-purpose flour, but I wouldn’t recommend using all whole wheat flour or the texture won’t be light and fluffy, they’ll be super dense.
Are chocolate chip zucchini muffins gluten-free?
No, they are not naturally gluten-free, but you could swap out the flours for your favorite gluten-free flour alternative (use all all-purpose gf flour) and make sure your oats are certified gluten-free.
Storage Instructions
Store the healthy zucchini muffins in an airtight container with a piece of paper towel at the bottom at room temperature for 2-3 days. The paper towel helps to absorb any excess moisture from the muffins so they don’t get soggy.
Can you freeze zucchini muffins?
Yes, if you aren’t going to eat them in 2-3 days, freeze them in an airtight container like a stasher bag or freezer bag (so you can remove as much air as possible) for 2-3 months. Take out to thaw before eating.
What to Serve with Mini Zucchini Muffins
It depends on how you are serving these muffins, so I’ll share a few ideas:
- Breakfast – Add these mini zucchini muffins to a breakfast board for kids or serve them with some air fryer turkey bacon, breakfast sausages, hard-boiled eggs, and of course some coffee for the adults (try my lavender latte, dirty chai, or sweet cream cold foam).
- Lunch – I pack this as a “fun/starch” component in lunches (grab my 100+ ideas for lunch list here). Pair with a main/protein, fruit, veggie, and a side and you’ve got yourself a balanced and nutritious meal.
- Snack – Similar to breakfast and lunch, I like to pair this with a protein and something fresh (not always, but in an ideal world) so serve with apple and peanut butter; cheese stick and crackers or nuts; or with a glass of milk.
How to Feed Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffin Recipe to the Whole Family
I get it, feeding kids can be tough! But following the Division of Responsibility and knowing your job and your childโs job makes it SO much more enjoyable. Youโll be able to feed your kids any meal, which will help ensure that they are eating a variety of nutritious foods โ with plenty of play food sprinkled in.
Fun story. We made these once when my daughter had a friend over and she was not thrilled about the zucchini – and my response was just to say “you can decide if you want to eat them or not!” – I didn’t try to convince her that they were actually really good, you can’t taste the zucchini, etc.
And when they came out of the oven, she tried them on her own and liked them. ๐ So offer them up without any pressure or convincing with a few other snack options if you’re serving them at snack time.
More Easy Muffin Recipes
If you like this recipe for zucchini chocolate chip muffins, you might also like some of these other muffin recipes:
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This done-for-you plan can easily be customized and your grocery list is made with the click of a button โ all while you sit in the school pick up line.
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Mini Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins Recipe
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 24 mini muffins 1x
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Bake
Description
This EASY mini zucchini chocolate chip muffin recipe is made with basic ingredients and is perfect for kids’ breakfasts, lunches, and snacks.
Ingredients
- 1 cup shredded zucchini (about 1 small)
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup old-fashioned oatmeal
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. sea salt
- 1/2 cup melted butter
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Shred zucchini with a box grater and squeeze out any excess liquid.
- In a large bowl, add all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, sugar, oats, baking powder, baking soda, and sea salt and stir together.
- In a medium bowl, melt butter. Add in milk, egg, and vanilla. Whisk until smooth.
- Toss shredded zucchini into dry ingredients to coat. Pour in wet ingredients into dry ingredients and stir just until combined, being careful to not over-mix. Fold in chocolate chips.
- Divide mixture into mini muffin tin, filling each muffin well almost to the top,ย and bake for 8 minutes, then lower heat to 350 degrees and bake for 6-8 more minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of a muffin comes out clean.
Notes
- If using a traditional, metal muffin pan, use liners or spray generously with cooking spray so they donโt stick to the pan.ย
- Sometimes we add sprinkles on the top for fun.
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Yum! These are sooooo good. I’ve added these to my summer rotation. They are perfect for a quick summer breakfast on the way to camp.
I’m so glad to hear this, Krista! And wish I had made some for my kids to take to camp this week!
SO good. These do not taste like โhealthy muffinsโ. I love eating them and giving them to my kids knowing there is some vegetable in there plus lots of other nutrients. I made regular sized muffins and just baked them longer. I will be making a double batch next time!
YAY! That is just how I wanted them to be, nutrients with yummy flavor and texture. ๐ Thanks for sharing