Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins are made with no flour or added oil, and they taste like a brownie! They are a delicious way to sneak more veggies into your life.
Why You’ll Love These Muffins
They’re flourless. If you need a gluten-free recipe, or are just trying to cut back on white flour, this recipe is for you. The combination of almond butter and eggs give these treats a magical structure, without any flour required.
They’re oil-free & dairy-free. This muffin recipe requires no added oil or butter, thanks to the sneaky vegetables hidden inside. The zucchini adds all the moisture you need.
They’re nourishing. Because these muffins are made with nutrient-dense ingredients, they pack 6 grams of protein and 3 grams of filling fiber in each muffin!
They’re easy to make ahead. These chocolate zucchini muffins will keep well in the fridge for up to 5 days, or you can freeze them for up to 3 months. They make an easy breakfast or snack on the go!
Ingredients You’ll Need
The almond butter and eggs work together to make this flourless recipe have an authentic muffin texture. (Similar to my Banana Snack Cake… this combination is like magic!)
You can use cocoa powder or cacao powder with similar results, and I love adding in some mini chocolate chips for a double chocolate zucchini muffin, but that is totally optional. Either way, you’ll enjoy a delicious chocolate flavor.
How to Make Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
1. Prepare the zucchini.
Shred the zucchini using the largest holes of your box grater. (No need to peel them first!) Then place the zucchini in the center of a thin dishtowel, or cheesecloth, and gather the towel so you can squeeze-out the excess moisture.
Zucchini are very hydrating, so there should be quite a bit of liquid released!
Measure out 1 cup of the strained zucchini for this recipe. You can use any leftovers in a bowl of zucchini oatmeal, or in a zucchini smoothie later this week.
2. Mix the batter.
In a large bowl, combine the almond butter, eggs, coconut sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, vanilla extract, and salt. Stir well, until the batter looks thick and glossy.
Fold in the squeezed zucchini and mini chocolate chips, if using.
3. Bake.
Line a standard muffin tin with 12 muffin liners. Then use a 1/4 cup measure to scoop the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle a few extra chocolate chips on top of each muffin, if you’d like.
Bake the muffins in an oven preheated to 350ºF for 25 minutes, or until the tops feel dry to the touch.
Your kitchen should smell like brownies when they are done cooking!
4. Enjoy!
Let the muffins cool in the pan for at least 30 minutes, and then the chocolate chip zucchini muffins are ready to serve. (They should firm up as they cool.)
Enjoy them lightly warm from the oven, or at room temperature for the best flavor and texture.
Storage Tip: Leftover muffins can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Frequently Asked Questions
I’ve only tested this recipe with a granulated sugar, so using something like brown or white sugar should work just as well. (They will just be slightly sweeter, FYI.) If you want to experiment with using honey or maple syrup, I’d start with just a 1/4 cup, since liquid sweeteners tend to be more concentrated in flavor.
Flourless baking does not do well with egg substitutes, like a flax egg. I’d recommend trying an egg-free recipe that has already been tested, such as my vegan carrot cake muffins, as a jumping off point.
You can use any other nut or seed butter that you have on hand, such as peanut butter, cashew butter, or sunflower seed butter. For the best results, it should be an all-natural nut butter that has a drippy consistency.
Looking for more zucchini recipes to try? Try it in my Vegan Chocolate Cheesecake, Zucchini Lasagna, or Zucchini Pesto for more ideas.
Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 cup shredded zucchini
- 1 cup raw almond butter
- 3/4 cup coconut sugar
- 1/4 cup cacao powder
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF and line a standard muffin tin with 12 baking cups. Place the shredded zucchini into the center of a thin dish towel, and squeeze out as much moisture as possible.
- Transfer the squeezed zucchini into a large bowl, and add in the almond butter, coconut sugar, cacao powder, eggs, baking soda, salt, and vanilla. Stir well until the batter looks thick and glossy.
- Fold in the chocolate chips, if using, and then use a 1/4 cup to scoop the batter into the 12 baking cups. Top with a few extra chocolate chips, if desired.
- Bake at 350ºF until the muffins have risen and feel firm to a light touch in the center, about 25 minutes. (Your kitchen should smell like brownies when they are done!)
- Remove the pan from the oven and let the muffins cool for at least 20 minutes before serving. You can serve them warm or cold, but I think they have the best flavor when they are at room temperature. Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
If you try these double chocolate zucchini muffins, please leave a comment and star rating below letting me know how you like them.
Made these with the Neat Egg as a replacement and my kids love them! Delicious!
I made this tonight and my whole family LOVED it!! I’m always trying to give them healthier options and usually they somewhat begrudgingly go along with it. But, everyone actually loved these, including me! My daughter just told me at bed time she can’t wait to eat one for breakfast. Perfect!!!!
I made these with a couple substitutions and they were awesome! I used peanut butter instead of almond butter and only 1/3 cup honey instead of coconut sugar. To half of the batter I also added 1 scoop chocolate protein powder and a little bit of almond milk to add extra protein and I love them even more with the protein in them. It makes it a little bit different consistency which I really like and would recommend!
These are delicious! I ended up swapping 2 eggs for 2 flax eggs, mostly because our grocery store is limiting the amount of eggs a customer can buy at a time. The result was exactly as imagined – pretty fudgy, and delicious! I’m not allowed to call them muffins, but rather zucchini ‘brownies’ in my house.
Unbelievably delicious. I used my silicone egg mold and should’ve baked longer than 20 minutes but they were still delicious. Highly recommend this recipe.
This is my second batch in less than a week because they’re ridiculously good! However, my second batch, I forgot to add coconut sugar. Thankfully, I added some beautiful raspberries I thought we be a great complement. I also had added dark chocolate chips. It didn’t turn out terrible! Original recipe is next to perfect but if you have a brain lapse and forget the sugar, do not fret. EXCELLENT recipe Megan!!!
I just discovered your website when I was looking for a healthy zucchini bread recipe. This recipe turned out great! I did two different versions, one with peanut butter and one using Tahini. In both versions I also used a 1/2 cup of dates (that I processed into a paste) instead of the coconut sugar. They both turned out great! Although I liked the tahini version better.
This recipe is so fabulous, my family couldn’t tell it was flourless. We make it at least once a month, if not twice and eat the muffins for breakfast. Because we have them so often, I do reduce the sugar by half (sometimes more) and it’s still delicious. If you make these as regularly as we do, then you might try using a Vitamix to blend the zucchini chunks with the eggs and I add the sugar and pour this over the other ingredients. It makes a denser muffin – not quite as light and fluffy as the method posted, but if you’re pressed for time, it does the trick. Thanks for the amazing recipe!
Megan, these muffins are outstanding!!! (As usual!) Question: When I try to pull up your recipes on my phone, I sometimes have problems with the recipe coming up all the way. I have tried not using the “jump to recipe” button & it stills won’t go to the recipe. It ends up being blank all the way down. But, I don’t always have that problem – sometimes, it will go to the recipe all the way down plus works with the “jump to recipe” button. I am wondering if it makes a difference in how it was inputted on website (i.e. laptop vs. an i-phone maybe). I have been wanting to ask for awhile. Usually, my husband gets up early & ends up making breakfast (he loves to make your pumpkin donuts!). Today, I got up early & had seen this on facebook so thought I’d surprise him……it wasn’t working. I was able to pull up where it was on internet showing all ingredients (I thought – but only showed up to vanilla–missed the chocolate chips inside. I used a few mini ones on top though.) I didn’t want to bring up laptop. I am on laptop now & it shows whole recipe no problem. So my only guess is the possibility of how the recipe is inputted.??? (My husband tried on his phones – android as well and did the same thing.) Any other ideas??? Thanks!
Would frozen zucchini work, if it’s defrosted and drained?
I made a bunch of alterations (1/2 total of maple syrup and honey in place of the coconut sugar, around 1 cup total of pecan butter and crunchy natural peanut butter, and at the end the batter was a bit runny so I added some Flourish pancake mix! Also 1/4 cup yogurt and half a mashed banana in place of the eggs) and the recipe turned out amazing! Very fudgy and less a muffin, more a brownie lava cake. Amazing.
These cupcakes were so incredible. I made it with peanut butter and it tasted great. Everyone I have given it to had no idea it was a healthy recipe.
Thank you so much!
I wasn’t sure what to expect with the texture, since I’ve had mixed results when making flourless things that relied on eggs and nut butters in the past, so I made sure to follow the recipe exactly, but the texture was so light! My boyfriend and I both enjoyed them a lot.
ive made these 5 times now and they never cease to amaze me. so deliciously fudgy and moist! i prefer them the next day, straight from the fridge.
Mine are in the oven now and looking and smelling delicious. I used brown sugar instead of coconut sugar due to my son’s coconut allergy. I’ll update on taste soon!
I made these today and they are absolutely delicious. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
These are to die for!! What an amazing recipe. Perfect for my way of eating, and they taste just like lovely cake. You wouldn’t think it is Keto! I have loved it so much, I’ve made it 4 times since I discovered this last November. I’ve even shared it with my sister who cooks for someone on a gluten free diet. Thank you so much!
Ok, so I didn’t read all the details before starting this recipe and started with my zucchini in the food processor (oops!). BUT I continued and used 2 cups of nuts (1 walnut, 1 cashew RAW) instead of the nut butter and kept all the rest same. Turned out so good. Just smoother than picture but delicious. I also added a 3cm piece of cocao paste to the mixture while in food processor instead of chocolate chips (not buying anything pre-processed). These were a huge hit. I just made them, took them out of the oven, went for a walk and when I got back my partner already ate 3 of them!!
Can I just say, your recipes have been my saviour this year. Truly empowering recipes. Thank you thank you thank you!!
I baked these yesterday and we love them! My 5-year-old has no idea there’s zucchinni and my husband said they taste like cake. (They really don’t; he hasn’t had real chocolate cake in years.) But they are absolutely delicious and I will be making them again very soon!
Great recipe! Doubled the recipe, used 1c peanut + 1c almond butter bc that’s what I had on hand. Turned out delicious. Baked some in a mini muffin tin and still baked for 20 min. I overfilled the regular sized muffin tins, so baking time was 25 min. Thank you for a great recipe!
These are scrumptious; thank you!
I used less sugar by a third and they are still sweet enough for me.
I did find they took more time to bake. I think I had added an extra 11 minutes before they were cooked through. Though, my muffins were slightly bigger than yours (I only got 9 from a batch) and I expect that added some time.
I would love to see more zucchini recipes on this (my favorite!) blog. According to my CSA box zucchini season is upon us again… I used a bit of this week’s zucchini in these muffins and stirred the rest into the red beans & rice recipe from your instant pot cookbook. Yum!
These turned out great! I used organic white flour, 1/2 cup maple syrup instead of coconut sugar and only 3 tablespoons cocoa powder & only a few chocolate chips on top not inside. (Substitutions we’re mainly because I didn’t have the other ingredients) and they turned out excellent! Very rich and decadent.
Can I use almond flour instead of butter? Or do I need to try and blend it to butter? Also, the 2 nutrition areas at the bottom of the recipe have different grams for protein, one is 5 and one is 6….do you know which it is? Thanks!
Could you swap coconut sugar with monk fruit sweetener?
I am so going to try making your date paste! Since I’m prediabetic do you think that would work in these instead of the coconut sugar?
Made these with shredded summer squash and chunky almond butter. Amazing!! I added chocolate chips to the mix and on top. Dare I say that was maybe a bit too much chocolate 😉
Thanks…a great treat!
Unbelievable! So delicious. My 9-yo son made these for us. Definitely going on our family rotation.
Do you think these would be good without chocolate? Would any alterations need to be made? Reminds me of your pumkin snack cakes which I love! Thank you and a wonderful trip.
My family of 5 all loved these muffins. They are light and fluffy without being dry. I accidentally doubled the recipe twice and ended up making 48 muffins, but my family still ate them in no time. This may be our number one favorite muffin recipe of all time! Thank you, Megan!
I have been wanting to make these all week! Finally got the chance and they did NoT disappoint! So good, everyone who ate them loved them, even the daughter who rolls her eyes when I make something healthy. I will definitely be making these again!
Delicious! These taste like a brownie.
I can’t eat eggs. What can I use to replace them?
I don’t have a tested egg replacement for this recipe yet. Flourless recipes are the hardest ones to make egg-free! I’d suggest looking at my vegan muffin recipes for ideas if you want to experiment with it.
How long do they keep if they are frozen? 🙂 LOOOOVE the recipe !
I have made this 3x since I found it always making 2 batches. Absolutely amazing. i cut 1/4 c sugar on 2 batches and the sweetness was fine. The 3rd time around I ran out of mini milk choc chips so I substituted with what i had 1/3 c each of regular dark choc chip, butterscotch and white Choc and just 1c of sugar. Also ran out of cupcake liners so put a thin coat of coconut oil on pan and still good. Kids loved them. I’ve shared them at work and everyone was surprised with ingredients. I have shared your site recipe with them. Thank you so much for this recipe. i also used the zucchini juice and included with your no tomato marinara this too was great and so no waste.
Those muffins are amazing!!! They taste really good and are really easy to do, I lol do them again soon! I followed the recipe and it came out delicious!
Good, nice light airy. Could use some cacao powder and hint more maple syrup in my opinion.
So good! Just made a half batch with a flax egg to have a gooey brownie treat right out of the oven. Topped with unsweetened chocolate chips.
That sounds SO good. Glad you enjoyed them, Caren!
Just made these according to the recipe and love them! They are moist, chocolatey and delicious. Kids and husband agree.
These are amazing! My husband and I need to watch the carb/sugar load. I reduced the sugar to 1/4 cup and used monk fruit equivalency of another 1/4 cup. I also forgot to add the chocolate chips, but these are still so delicious!! Thanks for all you do in creating these recipes.
These are so good! They definitely taste like brownies, but very healthy brownies 🙂
These are my absolute favorite. Such a fantastic recipe and a true staple in our house! Whenever I go anywhere that requires me to take something, these are the go to!
My kids love it! So good!
I have made these several times. This time I am sharing with family over the holidays. They can’t stop raving about these muffins. Thank you for such a great treat.
Wanted to mention that we did use 1 tbsp brown rice syrup and then date paste for total of 3/4 cup sweetener per original recipe. I only mention because this alternative still resulted in 5 star muffins. Yum
I make these once a month an freeze them! So delicious, fresh or defrosted for 25 seconds in the microwave, thank you for an amazing healthy treat!
These are a breakfast staple for me… love them! I bake a double batch, freeze 1/2 of them and refrigerate the other 1/2 in a ziplock bag. Being prediabetic I use sugar free choc chips and about twice a week enjoy 2 of them! thank you for such a great recipe!!
😢 I don’t what happened, the middle of the muffins are sunken, please help. Could it be too much liquid? By the way, can I use tahihi butter instead of almond butter next time?
I can’t do nuts or nut butters, is there something I could use to replace that? They do sound delicious
It’s the nutty flavor I can’t do so I don’t think seed butters will be good in this recipe for me either🙄
Absolutely delicious. No one would ever know there’s no flour. I didn’t have almond butter so I used raw walnut butter and added chopped walnuts. This is my new go to recipe for zucchini muffins. Thank you!
Just Desserts!!! I just sampled one, and they remind me of Molten Chocolate Cake. I used Almond Butter and will definitely keep these decadent treats in the freezer for a gluten free company dessert. Thank you Megan
My husband loves these!