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Chocolate Zucchini Muffins are rich, delicious and loaded with flavor. Have ’em for breakfast all week long. Every morning is better with chocolate!
Folks, I feel like we’ve FINALLY made it to summer in Ohio. And get this, we’ve had about 5 days straight without rain!
We took advantage of the gorgeous weather this weekend and set Elle and her friend up with a lemonade and cupcake stand.
I mean, who can refuse a couple of cute kiddos selling adorably packaged chocolate cupcakes with delicious buttercream frosting and lemonade? Clearly, no one because the girls sold out in less than 2 hours.
She earned $20 and I’m pretty sure we’ve ignited her entrepreneurial spirit because we’re already prepping for her next dessert sale! We’re thinking mini cheesecakes and my favorite chocolate chip cookies along with these chocolate zucchini muffins.
TIPS FOR BAKING WITH ZUCCHINI
As soon as the weather warms up, I get way into zucchini. From Lemon Zucchini Cake to Zucchini Cookies, I fully believe zucchini belongs in allllllll the baked goods.
Don’t believe me? Take a look at these 10 Zucchini Desserts and I bet you’ll change your mind.
Zucchini is perfect for adding to baked goods because the delicate flavor allows it to blend in perfectly with sweet cake or bread batters. It also keeps baked goods moist without having to add a lot of extra oil or fat to the recipe.
Everyone has come across a giant zucchini or two during the summer. You know what I’m talking about – zucchini that got left a bit too long on the vine and are a little too fibrous to enjoy on their own.
Those big zucchini are perfect for baking!
Whenever I bake with zucchini, whether it be in a cake or in zucchini muffins, I always grate it super fine because it practically disappears into the batter. Most of the time, you probably wouldn’t even know it’s there if you can’t see it!
My dad, who is not fond of the green squash, noshed down a couple of these Chocolate Zucchini Muffins in a matter minutes, and proclaimed them freaking delicious.
And I have to say, I totally agree with him.
THE BEST DOUBLE CHOCOLATE ZUCCHINI MUFFINS
So let’s talk about these Chocolate Zucchini Muffins. They’re honestly one of the best muffins that I’ve ever made. And that’s a tall order, given I run a baking website.
Chocolate Zucchini Muffins could easily be called “Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins” because the chocolate batter is packed with chocolate chips.
You read that right! They are full of chocolate flavor from using cocoa powder and two types of chocolate chips, and the texture is simply amazing thanks to the zucchini.
They’re absolutely perfect for sneaking some veggies into a chocolate lover.
These Chocolate Zucchini Muffins will last about 3 days at room temperature in an airtight container. You can also freeze them for easy breakfasts later.
When you’re ready to eat one, just pop it in the microwave straight from the freezer for about 30 seconds to 1 minute for a warm muffin breakfast on the go.
I mean, who wouldn’t want a warm, chocolatey muffin for breakfast?
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Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 3 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder I used Hershey's Special Dark
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 cups finely grated zucchini slightly drained
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
- ½ cup mini milk chocolate chips optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray muffin pan wells with nonstick cooking spray or line with paper liners.
- In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat together the sugars, oil, eggs, and vanilla until thoroughly combined.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon.
- Gradually add the dry ingredients into the sugar mixture and mix until just combined.
- Fold in zucchini until it is evenly distributed into the batter. Stir in semisweet chocolate chips.
- Use a large cookie scoop (about 3 tablespoons) to distribute batter amongst the prepared muffin wells.
- If desired, sprinkle mini milk chocolate chips onto the top of each muffin.
- Bake in preheated oven for 18-22 minutes.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I made these today and they were great! Just to pass along my experiment – I used 1/2 whole wheat flour to make them a bit healthier and I was out of chocolate chips so I used peanut butter chips. They were amazing! You can’t tell that they are zucchini or whole wheat at all! And I ended up with 29 muffins! We’re looking forward to eating them for breakfast this week and making them again and again with all the extra shredded zucchini I froze from my garden. :)
So happy to hear you enjoyed them Kim! I appreciate you stopping by and taking the time to leave your feedback. Happy Baking!
-Jamie
Made these today. I cut the recipe in half and still got 14 muffins. I only put 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips in dough. They are excellent.
So happy to hear you enjoyed the muffins, Ruth! Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving your feedback!
-Jamie
I made these with my niece for her dad’s birthday and they were a big hit. I’m making them again today for another birthday. Thanks for sharing this great recipe!
So happy to hear you enjoyed the muffins, Talia! Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving your feedback!
-Jamie
What if if we want to omit zucchini…any other option
Hello! I have not made this recipe without zucchini. If you are not a fan of zucchini, I would look for a regular chocolate muffin recipe, as I don’t know how this would work without the zucchini. Happy baking!
Jamie
These muffins are the BOMB! Completely worth making anytime there’s extra zucchini! The last one just got shoved in a happy mouth – and they’re already asking for more. I’m so glad that I saved this recipe, there’s no need to ever go look for another.
So happy to hear you enjoyed the muffins, Stephanie! Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving your feedback!
-Jamie
They are delicious. I omitted the 1/2 packed light brown sugar and they were sweet enough. Being a large recipe they freezer well.
Thank you for sharing.
So happy to hear you enjoyed the muffins, Sylvie! Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving your feedback!
-Jamie
really good recipe! thank you! I’ve reduced the sugar dose and still are sweet enough for my taste. I’ve also mixed normal flour with coconut one and it gave it nice nutty touch. Also in UK we clearly have bigger cups as I needed to add an extra egg otherwise I had more pastry consistence – maybe a good tip for cookies? :D
So happy to hear you enjoyed the muffins, Michaela! Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving your feedback!
-Jamie
How to adapt for gluten free flour?
Hello! I haven’t attempted this recipe with gluten free flour, so I am not sure of the method or result. If you happen to give it a try, I’d love to know how they turned out. Thanks so much for stopping by.
-Jamie
I found the dough to be very wet even though I drained the zucchini. They also took much longer to bake. Closer to 28 minutes. They were delicious. In my cupcake pan I got 23 muffins.
So happy to hear you enjoyed the muffins, Christina! Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving your feedback!
-Jamie
How could I turn them into mini muffins? What would be the time/temp changes?
Hello! You could definitely try baking these in a mini muffin tin instead. Mini muffins usually take 10-12 minutes to bake, but keep an eye on them. Hope this helps! Happy baking.
Jamie