Vegan Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins
Fluffy, moist, and healthy vegan zucchini muffins packed with chocolate chips, whole wheat flour, nut butter, and just the right amount of sugar!
Why We Love These Vegan Zucchini Muffins
- Healthy and Delicious: These muffins are made with a whole large zucchini (or two small), whole grain flour, peanut butter, and no oil. They are so soft, moist, and delicious, you wouldn’t think they are secretly healthy!
- Not Too Sweet: Chocolate chips, peanut butter, cinnamon, and applesauce add lots of flavor and sweetness, so just 1/3 – 1/2 cup of sugar total is needed.
- Easy to Make: No need to blot or squeeze water out of the zucchini! Everything comes together in one bowl with about 15-20 minutes of prep time.
Key Ingredients
- Zucchini ⟶ One whole large zucchini, or about 2 small, goes into these muffins. Please use gram measurements! If you don’t have a kitchen scale, it’s about 2½ cups, but gram measurements will give you the most accurate results.
- Applesauce ⟶ This adds extra moisture and natural sweetness, so we don’t have to add so much sugar. You can also use the same amount of mashed banana.
- Peanut Butter ⟶ I like to use nut butter instead of oil for more flavor and nutrients.
- White Whole Wheat Flour ⟶ White wheat is much softer and milder in flavor than red wheat (what’s used in whole wheat flour), so it’s a good whole grain alternative to all purpose flour.
- Ground Flaxseed ⟶ To help bind the batter. You can omit it, but your muffins might be a bit more crumbly.
- Chocolate Chips ⟶ Dairy-free if necessary. I like to use Trader Joe’s dark chocolate chips, but they are pretty big. Mini chips would be great too!
- Baking Powder + Baking Soda ⟶ These are the leavening agents that make the muffins rise tall and fluffy. I find adding some baking soda helps the muffins brown better, especially when they don’t contain a ton of sugar.
Tips for Success
Start baking at a high temperature ⟶ Bake the muffins for 5 minutes at 425°F, then drop the heat to 350°F for the rest of the bake time. The high heat activates the leavening agents (baking powder and baking soda), giving the muffins an initial boost to help them rise up tall.
Expect a thick muffin batter ⟶ The batter should be scoopable but thick, not runny. The zucchini will release liquid as the muffins cook, so you’ll end up with moist and fluffy muffins.
Test for doneness ⟶ Oven strengths differ and your muffins may take longer than 20 minutes to bake. They should be firm on top (but not too hard), and a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin should come out clean or with a few moist crumbs (but no wet batter!).
Vegan Zucchini Muffins FAQ
More Vegan Muffins
- Healthy Zucchini Oatmeal Muffins
- Japanese Sweet Potato and Sesame Muffins
- Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins
- Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins
- Pumpkin Nut Muffins
- Snickerdoodle Banana Muffins
If you try out this recipe, don’t forget to leave a comment/rating down below and tag me in your photos on instagram @ellielikes.cooking. I love seeing all of your tasty recreations!
Vegan Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins
Ingredients
Wet
- 240 grams (1 cup) applesauce
- 65 grams (⅓ cup) brown sugar
- 80 grams (⅓ cup) peanut butter or walnut butter
- 4 tsp ground flaxseed
- 2 tbsp non-dairy milk
- 1½ tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 300 grams zucchini shredded
Dry
- 240 grams (2 cups) white whole wheat flour or all purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ¼ + ⅛ tsp baking soda
- ¾ tsp cinnamon optional
- pinch of salt optional
- ⅔ cup dairy-free chocolate chips
Instructions
- Prep oven and muffin pan: Preheat oven to 425°F/220°C. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners, or grease well with vegan butter or oil.
- Combine wet ingredients: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together applesauce, brown sugar, peanut butter, ground flaxseed, milk, vinegar, and vanilla extract. Whisk in shredded zucchini.
- Add dry: Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt on top and fold until just combined. Add chocolate chips and fold a few times to distribute (but be careful not to over-mix).
- Fill muffin cups: Transfer batter to the prepared muffin pan, filling about ¾ of the way full.
- Bake: Place in the middle rack of your oven and bake at 425°F for 5 minutes, then lower the heat to 350°F/180°C and continue baking another 15-20 minutes until firm and a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.
- Cool: Place the muffin pan on a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes, then carefully remove the muffins from the pan and place directly on the wire rack to cool completely.
- Store: These muffins will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days, in the fridge for 5 days, or in the freezer for 1 month.
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