Wholesome Vegan Zucchini Muffins

These easy Vegan Zucchini Muffins are well-spiced, moist, and made with wholesome ingredients. You can’t go wrong!

Life is full of sacrifices. When I got married, I sacrificed half of my closet space and learned to make room for shaving supplies in the medicine cabinet. When I had a baby, I sacrificed the luxury of a relaxed shower.

Now that Meghan is almost 3 and still clinging to the finicky, I-only-like-vegetables-when-there’s-a-full-moon attitude she developed about 6 months ago, one sacrifice I’m making is that sometimes, one serving of her daily vegetables is going to come in the form of a muffin.

If she’s going to eat a muffin, it’s going to be a wholesome muffin. Don’t you just love that word? 🙄

By wholesome I mean it’s made with healthy ingredients. Healthy is a relative term, but for me, that means it can’t be made with refined, white flour, it needs to be lower in sugar and made without refined sugar, AND it has to have some extra goodness (in this case we’ve got zucchini, flax seeds, and coconut oil).

Then I can feel good when she scarfs one down and promptly asks for another. And it doesn’t even feel like a sacrifice! You’re going to love this healthy muffin recipe and so will your kids!

Edited to add: I’m updating this recipe post 10 years later and Meghan is 13 and we’ve added a son to the mix, too! I couldn’t resist keeping this cute toddler photo in my post. The nostalgia is strong!

Even with a teenager and tween in the house these days, I still worry if they’re eating enough vegetables. Some things don’t change!

Recipe Ingredients–What You Need

• 2 cups flour

I have tested this recipe with whole wheat pastry flour and an all-purpose Gluten-free flour blend. Both worked well. I like this GF flour blend because it’s made with whole grains and is less refined than other brands. You could also use 1 cup whole wheat flour and 1 cup all-purpose flour. I haven’t tried oat flour, but it may work as well.

• 1/2 cup ground flaxseed meal

Flaxseed meal adds fiber, omega 3 fatty acids, and a little bit of protein.

• 2 teaspoons each baking powder and baking soda

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 2 teaspoons cinnamon

Cinnamon adds flavor as well as health benefits. Cinnamon has anti-inflammatory effects and can help keep your blood sugar levels stable.

• 1 tablespoon ground ginger

Yes, 1 tablespoon. This gives a spicy, incredible flavor to these healthy zucchini muffins.

• 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted

You can also use avocado oil if you prefer. I don’t recommend using canola oil, sunflower oil, or vegetable oil as they are more inflammatory.

• 3/4 cup pure maple syrup

Other liquid sweeteners like honey or agave nectar also work here.

• 3/4 cup almond milk

I use unsweetened vanilla almond milk, but any non-dairy milk will work fine (If you don’t need or want these to be vegan, you can also use cow’s milk)

• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Pure vanilla extract brings more flavor to the muffins.

• 2 cups shredded zucchini

Fresh zucchini adds moisture and nutrition to the muffins! Zucchini also is a great way to add moisture–you won’t have dry muffins!

Optional:

• I have added vegan chocolate chips to these muffins and it’s a delicious addition!
• Serve with a smear of vegan butter or almond butter or your favorite nut butter!

How to Make Vegan Zucchini Muffins

These healthy muffins are easy to make and are a perfect way to use your summer zucchini!

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper or silicone liners. You can also oil the muffin tins and add a sprinkle of flour if you don’t have any muffin liners.
2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, flax meal, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and ginger.
3. Add the wet ingredients (the oil, maple syrup, milk, and vanilla) to the dry ingredients and stir until the batter is just combined. Do not over mix.

1. Gently fold in the zucchini just until it is evenly distributed throughout the mixture.
2. Scoop 1/3 of the muffin batter into each prepared cup. Bake the muffins on the center rack for 18-22 minutes, rotating the pan 180 degrees after 10 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
3. Store any leftover muffins can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3-5 days.

FAQs

How to you shred zucchini?

If you have a food processor with a shredding attachment, that is a quick and easy way to do it. You can also use a box grater to shred your zucchini. I use the large side so it’s shredded, not grated zucchini.

Can I make these vegan zucchini muffins with no oil?

Yes, you can omit the oil and add the same amount of unsweetened applesauce in its place. The texture will be different, but they still work without oil.

Can I make these chocolate?

You can add dark chocolate chips or try these Chocolate Zucchini Muffins for a different option!

When it’s zucchini season, we need allll the zucchini recipes! If you love baking with it, try some of these:

Keto Zucchini Bread

Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

Double Chocolate Banana Zucchini Bread

Zucchini Chocolate Chip Baked Oatmeal

Zucchini Oatmeal Snack Bars

Make sure to check out this list of 75 Healthy Zucchini Recipes!

These delicious muffins are moist, spicy, and just sweet enough.  Although life is full of sacrifices, having to eat these is not one of them.

You just have to make these Vegan Zucchini Muffins and let me know what you think! Share a pic and tag me on Instagram and I’ll feature you. If you try them, remember to leave a star ratings! Those ratings help other readers so much as well as help my recipes get found more easily. I appreciate you!

Vegan Zucchini Muffins

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• Author: Maryea Flaherty of Healthy Happy Mama
• Total Time: 32 minutes
• Yield: 12 muffins 1x

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Description

A delicious way to get some extra veggies into your diet, these Vegan Zucchini Muffins are a healthy treat.

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 2 cups flour*
• 1/2 cup ground flaxseed meal
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon ground ginger
• 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
• 3/4 cup maple syrup
• 3/4 cup almond milk
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups shredded zucchini

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Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.  
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, flax meal, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and ginger.
3. Add the oil, maple syrup, milk, and vanilla to the dry ingredients and stir until the batter is just combined.  Do not over mix.
4. Gently fold in the zucchini just until it is evenly distributed throughout the mixture.
5. Scoop 1/3 of the batter into each prepared cup.  Bake the muffins on the center rack for 18-22 minutes, rotating the pan 180 degrees after 10 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
6. Let the muffins stand  in the tin for 15 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. Muffins can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3-5 days.

Notes

*I have tested whole wheat pastry flour and a 1-to-1 GF flour blend with these. Both work well.

Recipe adapted from babycakes by Erin McKenna

• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 22 minutes
• Category: Dessert
• Cuisine: American

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 muffin
• Calories: 294
• Sugar: 17.4g
• Sodium: 49.6g
• Fat: 13.1g
• Carbohydrates: 43.5g
• Protein: 4.75g

This post was originally published July 2011. I tested the recipe with gluten-free flour and updated to reflect a few recipe tweaks were made and new photos added in July 2022. Enjoy this oldie, but goodie! 

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