Print Options

Zucchini Muffins

Zucchini Muffins

Now that we are living in the land of zucchini plenty (our zucchini plant is well along in its mission of total garden domination) we have ample opportunity to try out zucchini recipes. I've been experimenting with muffins and have settled on this one, a riff on our banana bread recipe. Much like the banana bread, these zucchini muffins are insanely good and insanely easy to make. No mixer, wooden spoon only, and two bowls, though you could really even make the batter in one bowl. Very moist. Just sweet enough. I say that the nuts and raisins/dried cranberries are optional because today I watched my favorite 12-year old friend pick out all of them while still declaring how much she loved the muffins. If you like nuts and raisins (or dried cranberries) by all means keep them in.

Print Options

Zucchini Muffins Recipe

For those of you who prefer to use oil over butter, be my guest (use 1 cup vegetable oil instead of the butter) but I have to tell you, I've made these both ways, and the butter version just tastes better.

Ingredients

  • 3 cups grated fresh zucchini
  • 2/3 cup melted unsalted butter
  • 1 1/3 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • Pinch salt
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1 cup walnuts (optional)
  • 1 cup raisins or dried cranberries (optional)

Method

You don't need a mixer for this recipe.

1 Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). In a large bowl combine the sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Stir in the grated zucchini and then the melted butter. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the zucchini mixture and mix in. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Stir these dry ingredients into the zucchini mixture. Stir in walnuts, raisins or cranberries if using.

2 Coat each muffin cup in your muffin pan with a little butter or vegetable oil spray. Use a spoon to distribute the muffin dough equally among the cups, filling the cups up completely. Bake on the middle rack until muffins are golden brown, and the top of the muffins bounce back when you press on them, about 25 to 30 minutes. Test with a long toothpick or a thin bamboo skewer to make sure the center of the muffins are done. Set on wire rack to cool for 5 minutes. Remove muffins from the tin let cool another 20 minutes.

Note, if you are including walnuts and dried fruit, you will likely have more batter than is needed for 12 muffins. I got about 14 muffins from this batch, and that included filling the muffin cups up as far as they could possibly go (above the surface of the muffin tin).

You might also like...

68 Comments

Those look delicious and I've been staring at my enormous zucchini from my organic farm (CSA). Would it taste much different to use whole wheat flour? (trying to keep the Hubby healthy!)

All I can suggest is to try it and let us know what you discover. ~Elise

Posted by: Robyn on June 19, 2008 4:53 AM

I have a question: Approximately how many medium-sized zucchinis would make 3 cups shredded? And could I make this in a loaf pan instead of muffins?

So happy to see this! I've been looking for a zucchini bread recipe since the zucchinis have appeared at my local farmer's market. Can't wait to try it!

Really hard to tell how big is a "medium-sized" zucchini. Maybe one zucchini will make one cup? maybe 1 1/2? For this recipe I used half of a very large garden zucchini, usually the kind so big that you end up stuffing it. ~Elise

Posted by: Ophelia on June 19, 2008 5:19 AM

Can you tell us what the butter measurement is in cups? We don't have sticks over here and I can't bear the thought of scraping out 10 T worth into a cup and hoping it all made it in. But thanks for including the oil replacement. And do you know if I could use applesauce as a 1 to 1 replacement for the oil.

Enjoying your site and recipes as always. Thanks.

Hi G, I decided to change the measure to simply 2/3 cup. Regarding applesauce, personally I never use it as a substitution, though others do. ~Elise

Posted by: G on June 19, 2008 6:38 AM

I like making a variation of zucchini muffins by omitting the cinnamon and nutmeg spices and adding dried apricots, golden raisins and sunflower seeds.

Posted by: mmc on June 19, 2008 6:49 AM

Someone asked about using whole wheat flour. This recipe works, or you can use half and half whole wheat and regular all purpose flous. I use the half and half myself.

Zucchini and Carrot Muffins

3 cups flour (your choice as to the combination)
3 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp cloves
3/4 tsp allspice
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
3 large eggs (see note below)
1 cup honey
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups grated zucchini, well drained
2 cups peeled grated carrot
1/2 cup orange juice
3/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Stir together the flour and spices, baking powder and baking soda. Separately blend the eggs in a blender with the honey, oil and vanilla.

Combine the two mixtures and mix well. Then add the zucchini, carrots, orange juice and walnuts. Stir just until ingredients are evenly distributed. Spoon into greased muffin tins until nearly full.

Bat at 370F for 15 minutes or until a toothpick inverted in the center of the muffin comes out clean. Invert and cool on a rack. These freeze very well.

Makes 16 to 18 large sized muffins or 24 regular sized muffins.

If you wish to bake this as a loaf, put in greased loaf pans and bake at 325F until done. Depending on the size of the loaf pan, they will take anywhere from 30 to 50 minutes to bake.

Note: I always use extra large eggs now. I have noticed large eggs now seem the size of what medium sized eggs used to be and if you just use large, the recipe is dry or tough, just not the same consistency.

Note: You can substitute grated apples or pears for the carrots or use a combination of 3 or 4 fruits. All work well.

Posted by: Jeanette on June 19, 2008 11:31 AM

Ophelia, my experience has been that substituting applesauce for HALF the oil in a recipe works fine. Total substitution makes the muffins way too dense & small.

Posted by: Voce on June 19, 2008 3:44 PM

Hello, Just wondering if there is a way to use less sugar and still have the muffin taste wonderful. Estelle

Why don't you try it and see? For my taste the amount of sugar in this recipe is perfect. Unlike bananas, which are very sweet, zucchinis are not, so if you cut back the sugar, you cut back the sweetness. But it really is a matter of taste. I've seen recipes for savory zucchini muffins with herbs and cheese, and practically no sugar. ~Elise

Posted by: Estelle Rouso on June 19, 2008 3:48 PM

Looking forward to trying these (WITH butter, WITH nuts, WITH raisins). One question: do you squeeze the moisture out of the zucchini before measuring?

Hi Nancy, No, no need to squeeze the moisture out of the zucchini before measuring. ~Elise

Posted by: Nancy on June 19, 2008 4:36 PM

When in college, I experimented with the substitution of applesauce in blueberry muffins for the ( yes, this was an actual food science experiment)
a) all egg
b) all oil or butter (fat)
c) both egg & butter

I think that there was a fourth, but we are talking 15 years ago. I think I threw away that notebook 8 yrs ago, when I got married. However, what I firmly remember is: KEEP THE EGGS!! Substituting the applesauce (or plumsauce) for the oil or butter was okay, but I think voce above got it right, only substitute half the fat for the applesauce. Don't try to do both, the muffins are like little hockey pucks. Substituting the sauce for the oil was okay, but for the eggs was not. Of the experiment, I know we didnt do half oil (there were no second stage experiments), just subst. the sauce for the oil was the best. You really need the lecithin from the eggs, and other egg-leavening properties to get a decent muffin, and don't over stir!

Posted by: Kathy on June 19, 2008 7:31 PM

Elise
Would it be 1 cup or 1/2 cup of oil instead of butter? 1 cup seems like a lot.

The substitution is 1 cup of oil instead of the 2/3 cups butter. If you check other zucchini bread recipes you'll see that those that call for oil, along with the amounts of flour and zucchini that this recipe calls for, use 1 cup of oil. If you try it with less oil, please let us know how it turns out. ~Elise

Posted by: Mar on June 19, 2008 8:38 PM

As soon as I saw this recipe, I knew it was meant to be. I bought several zucchini this week and was worrying about not being able to use them before they went bad. I ran right home last night and made these -- and while many of my culinary undertakings tend to go south quickly, these turned out just perfectly. I'm definitely planning on making these a summer staple.

Posted by: Allison on June 20, 2008 5:53 AM

Robin, Whenever you use whole wheat flour ALWAYS separate your eggs and beat the whites till stiff and fold in. You will be very surprised by the results. Works everytime!!

Posted by: Catherine Lewis on June 20, 2008 10:22 AM

These are really good! I made them last night and my four year old son snuck a half muffin this morning before I left for work and polished off the other half when his dad was not looking! I added pecans cause we are pecan lovers and went with cranberries AND golden raisins which I think added a nice "zing." Thank you Elise for always delivering!

Posted by: Chinya on June 20, 2008 2:46 PM

I have one finicky eater who can spot the slightest bit of green from a mile away. I tried grating the zucchini on the fine side of the grater to eliminate the strand look and added a few mini chocolate chips instead of nuts. I called them chocolate chip muffins. All 3 of my boys gobbled them up and asked me when I'm going to make more! Also one other thing to try from my grandmother: she added a can of crushed pineapple drained of juice and cut the sugar to 1 cup to compensate for the sweetness of the fruit. Oh, yummy!! It was such a delicious and unexpected combination.

Posted by: Melanie on June 22, 2008 6:04 PM

I'm sure this is a huge faux pas, but you did ask for zucchini ideas and recipes. I apoligize profusely in advance if this is a no-no, because I really like this site. :)

Have you tried Heidi's Special Zucchini Bread? I really like baking with veggies like zucchini, carrot, and pumpkin but hadn't found a recipe I was happy with. I made this one on Friday (before I saw this muffin recipe!) and can't stop eating it!

I have pleeeenty of zucchini to use up, so don't worry, I'll be making the muffins as well.

I haven't yet tried Heidi's recipe, but given how great everything Heidi makes is, I'm sure it's fabulous. ~Elise

Posted by: Gloria on June 22, 2008 6:55 PM

Does anyone know if you can use other types of squash in this recipe? Or does zucchini have a special quality that makes it ideal for breads and muffins? Sometimes we have an abundance of yellow squash.

Any summer squash will work fine in this recipe. ~Elise

Posted by: lesterk on June 23, 2008 11:06 AM

Ooooo, I made them, and they were WONDERFUL!

I left out the cranberries, because I don't care for them, but it was a really good recipe anyways! Thanks!

Posted by: samiya on June 23, 2008 3:53 PM

I made these last weekend. They were good but not great- more my fault than the recipe. I like a very moist muffin and mine were more on the dry side. I want to attempt making these one more time; any suggestions on how to make my muffins more moist?

These muffins should definitely not be turning out dry. I suggest taking them out of the oven sooner, or at least checking them sooner. ~Elise

Posted by: Robin on June 24, 2008 8:11 PM

If I made mini-muffins rather than regular, how should I adjust the cooking time/temp?

It sounds great!

Posted by: Marla on June 25, 2008 9:08 AM

These are delicious. I doubled the recipe and it turned out quite well. I used 6 small zucchinis to make 6 cups of shredded zucchini. I was short two tbsp of butter, but it didn't seem to matter. Great with coffee!

Posted by: Natalie on June 27, 2008 9:19 AM

Hi elise,

These zucchini muffins are sooo good! just right on the sweetness. I just made them now and my mom really enjoyed it. I just wanted to thank you for your wonderful blog which help me curb our dining-out habits. Ever since my cousin introduced me to your website, I have resorted to meal planning and almost all recipes are from this site. In fact, my next project is trying the chipotle cake, can't hardly wait!
Thanks again, so very much for bringing the love of cooking back to my life.

Hello Beverly, Wow. I love to hear stories like that. Thank you! ~Elise

Posted by: Beverly on June 28, 2008 12:17 AM

I tried this recipe yesterday. It made one pan of 6 jumbo muffins and one pan of 12 regular size muffins. I used golden raisins in the recipe and they turned out great. I used butter and I agree that using butter gives a great flavor. I will definitely make this recipe often. Thanks!

Posted by: Karin on June 30, 2008 7:40 AM

I tried this recipe a week ago and they turned out pretty good. Even with all of that sugar, they didn't taste too sweet. Though while they tasted good, they turned out pretty dense. I wonder if it was because I forgot to add in the melted butter until after I stirred everything all together? Regardless, these were good enough to try again.

Posted by: Michele on July 5, 2008 8:44 PM

My kids absolutely loved these muffins. The zucchini are so big in the garden right now. This is a great way to use them!

Posted by: chrisg on July 9, 2008 8:09 AM

You are so right, these are extremely easy to make. I've never really baked before, or cooked much at all. I accidentally even bought cucumbers instead of zucchinis and had to run back to the grocery store for the correct ingredient! The muffins were so moist and delicious, thanks for the recipe!

Posted by: Sarah on July 11, 2008 9:30 PM

These muffins were delicious! For anyone who's curious -- applesauce works well enough in this recipe as a substitute for the eggs. I didn't mean to substitute, but discovered at the last minute that I was out of eggs. I made a half recipe (6 super-full muffins), and used 1/4 cup applesauce instead of 1 egg. The only thing I'd change is to cut down on the sugar because the applesauce was sweet -- but it seems like the sugar amount would be perfect in the original recipe with egg.

Posted by: Julie on July 13, 2008 3:26 PM

I made these yesterday, and ate one for dessert last night, one for breakfast this morning, and one for a snack this afternoon. There was a lot of zucchini in my CSA box this week, and I was glad to have a tasty way to use some of it up beyond my usual saute--and-throw-in-pasta-with-other-vegetables routine. The recipe made 16 muffins (filling each muffing cup 3/4 full) for me, so I froze 6, and my boyfriend and I will feast on the rest this week. These were so delicious! Thank you!

Posted by: Amber on July 27, 2008 10:06 PM

Approximately how many pounds of zucchini will yield the required recipe amount? I won't hold you to it. It's frustrating not buying enough or having too much. A general rule of thumb would be great! Thank you!

Great question. I'll try to remember to weigh the zucchini the next time I make it. We just pick the zukes from our garden, so it's never an issue. In the meantime, perhaps someone else making this has access to a kitchen scale and can leave a comment with the weight. ~Elise

Posted by: Debbie on July 30, 2008 9:19 PM

I've been looking everywhere for a volume to weight conversion for zucchini. I just made a double batch of these muffins and they turned out great.

I found that a cup of carrots weighed approx 90 grams. I estimated the zucchini at 50% more than that, due to the additional moisture content, so settled on 150 grams per cup of finely grated zucchini.

It worked great, good texture. I like extra zucchini so I may try 175g per cup next time. Hope this helps!

Posted by: Corey M on August 7, 2008 5:45 PM

Great recipe. I was really happy with the results and I don't bake at all. Very moist and filling! Thanks, Elise.

Posted by: Karen P on August 8, 2008 8:05 PM

I got up this morning and discovered a huge zucchini on my counter (A friend of my husband gave it to him at work) and found this recipe when looking for ideas on what to do with it. These muffins are so delish! I just made them with my two girls (age 5 and 2) and we all enjoyed one warm out of the oven. We strive to eat healthier every day so I made the following changes with perfect results. I used Sucanat as a replacement for the sugar and used one cup all-purpose flour and 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour. We also put in pecans because that's what we had along with the dried cranberries. We will make these again soon with the summers bounty of zucchini. The best discovery by far is your website. I added it to my favs and will use it over and over, as well as the muffin recipe. Thank you!

Posted by: Julamayo on August 22, 2008 5:20 PM

These muffins looked so good, however when I tried them, they were not very flavorful or moist. I followed the recipe exactly. I think they would be better with more spice, brown sugar or honey. A little disappointing.

Sigh. There are so many factors that go into baking that are beyond the reach of the recipe. If they were dry, then they were probably in the oven too long, given your particular oven and your particular muffin pan. If they weren't flavorful enough for you, I suggest upping the spice amounts, also checking the age of your spices. Basically if a ground spice is more than a year old, it should be replaced. Using brown sugar is a great idea. You can also achieve the same effect by adding a teaspoon of molasses to the mix. ~Elise

Posted by: Diane on August 26, 2008 4:16 PM

This recipe is another beautiful example of why I love Simply Recipes. Zucchini bread lends itself to endless variations, all of which are considered and honored. You've presented a strong base and said "go for it". Thank you!

I used what I had on hand--a zucchini that grated to about 2 cups, an added carrot and banana to make it about 3. Reduced sugar to about 2/3 cup (the amount in Chick in the Kitchen's recipe). Some of that was brown, some white. Same with the flour--used up the bag of whole wheat pastry flour and added white to make three cups. Tossed a bit of orange rind in because it was there. Used butter, about a stick (less what I scraped off for something else over the weekend).

And--awesome. This recipe is a fantastic base, and it's hard to go wrong.

Thank you thank you thank you!

Posted by: Melissa (another one) on September 8, 2008 9:48 PM

Great muffins! I love zucchini and this recipe was yummy!

Posted by: Becky on September 9, 2008 4:05 AM

Thanks for this - I usually stick to my tried and true chocolate zucchini muffins but was looking for something a bit different. These are just the ticket - really yummy! Okay, but I am still a chocoholic, so instead of the nuts or raisins I put in chocolate chips.

Posted by: k on September 15, 2008 12:35 PM

This is a great recipe and I like that it has less sugar than many others. I made it today, with lots of modifications, and it still came out fabulously. I substituted a gluten-free flour mix for the flour, used a combo of yellow squash, banana, carrot and apple for the fruit, part coconut oil part butter, and chocolate chips instead of nuts. (I added 1/2 tsp of baking powder to balance the banana, though I'm not sure I needed it). Because of the gluten-free flour I made them in muffin papers (otherwise I find muffins fall apart when I take them out) and somehow I ended up with 2 dozen, but I'm sure they'll freeze well.

Posted by: Lisa S on November 20, 2008 1:35 PM

These muffins are delicious! Not too sweet, and I made an orange juice glaze to drizzle on top. I also used a combination of grated carrot in addition to zucchini and some raisins. I will certainly be making these again, just deliciously moist.

Posted by: Silvertoe on December 10, 2008 12:19 PM

I love, love, love this recipe!

(PS: I find that around 4 medium sized muffins equal 3 cups shredded).

Posted by: Helana on January 12, 2009 7:03 PM

Thanks for the recipe! I just made it (added a little bit of apple) and it's great!

Posted by: Lynn on January 18, 2009 6:15 PM

Ok, everyone is talking about substituting butter for oil and oil for applesauce, but I would like to know how I should modify the recipe for buttermilk?

Posted by: Jeanette C. on February 11, 2009 12:01 PM

Made these today. I have no sweet tooth, so I cut down to 1/2 cup brown sugar. I think I may have twelve muffins all to myself, since they're VERY unsweetened, but the zucchini went in perfectly. I only wish I'd had nutmeg on hand, but I didn't and had to skip it. Next time... and there will be a next time. I used a bit more than half wheat flour and part oil, part butter... the fluffiness definitely suffered, which is fine by me, but I'd probably up it back to what you recommended if I was cooking for anyone other than my chewy-unsweet-muffin-loving self.

Posted by: tangledgray on February 18, 2009 11:30 PM

I made these over the weekend and was disappointed. The muffins came out great moist but I guess I am allergic to the nutmeg and my face broke out. I also didn't like the taste. Will try another recipe that doesn't use nutmeg.

If you are allergic to nutmeg, I suggest leaving it out of this recipe if you make it again. ~Elise

Posted by: Amy on February 23, 2009 12:24 PM

I baked them last nite. Taste good and moist. However, it's a little sweet for me. Is it best to reduce the amount of sugar OR can I use brown sugar instead?

Either one. There is more air in the brown sugar so I'm guessing on a volume basis substituting brown for white will reduce the sugar content. ~Elise

Posted by: Irr1107 on March 2, 2009 10:43 PM

Found this recipe on Google and made it for a brunch party this weekend - OMG! Muffins were DELICIOUS! Got comments like "best muffins in... the world" And they were all gone before supper time.
Today I've cut the zucchinis down to 2 cups and added half a cup each of grated carrot and beets. I also cut the sugar down to 3/4 cup and added flax meal and 1 cup whole oats. Verdict: Less decadently amazing, but still surprisingly tasty and very moist!

Thanks so much for this website!

Posted by: Suzanne on March 4, 2009 7:20 PM

I made these and something went terribly wrong. Is the Baking Soda amount correct? There was absolutely no sweet taste or spice taste at all. They were bad.....I'm sorry. I have double checked to see what I might have done wrong. The only thing I can question is the 2 teas of B Soda

The amount of baking soda is correct. I would check your spices, sounds like they might be old if you cannot taste them in the muffins. The other thing that might be going on is perhaps one of the zucchini you used was unusually bitter. This has never happened to me with zucchini, but it does happen with cucumbers. ~Elise

Posted by: Pauline on June 21, 2009 10:13 AM

You were right about the butter. I made your muffin recipe using butter after making two loaves with oil. The butter has a lot more flavor and the muffins turned out picture perfect. Great recipe!

Posted by: Judy on June 28, 2009 10:20 AM

I made these just now and am munching on one as I type - lol
I left out cranberries and nutmeg - (didn't have any) and FORGOT to put in cinnamon (duh) so it has no spice in it but it's still really good -
I bought three small sized zucchinis at the grocer and only got about 2 cups when grated (with all the water) and used baking powder instead of baking soda...
I love the taste and everything but my muffins didn't brown as nicely as yours did nor did it puff up as pretty - :(
Could it be substituting the baking soda with powder that caused the problem?
Also, how hard do we have to beat the eggs? (stiffness-wise...)
I'll be making these again with spice next time...and hope they turn out as pretty as yours - :)

Basically, never substitute baking powder for baking soda in a recipe, or vice versa, unless you make some other calculated adjustments. First, baking soda is a pure base. It combines with an acid to bubble up (try sprinkling a little baking soda on vinegar). Baking powder is just a combination of baking soda and a dry acid, such as cream of tartar. For this reason baking soda goes old quickly, and loses it's rising power. The leavening in a baking recipe comes from using eggs, and/or baking powder (base and acid together), and/or baking soda (a base which reacts with the acid in a recipe such as buttermilk). This is all to say that you cannot substitute one for the other without consequences, often negative. Regarding the beating of the eggs, just beat them as if you were going to make them into scrambled eggs, so that the yolk and the whites are completely mixed. ~Elise

Posted by: Jee on July 6, 2009 7:55 PM

Wow, thanks for the detailed reply -
I always wondered what the difference between baking soda and baking powder were... thanks for the clarification!!
I'll definitely be making these soon -
with the "correct" ingredients. I'm adding cranberries and walnuts to it - I'll let you know how it turns out!!
Thanks always, for great recipes and great tips - :)

Posted by: Jee on July 9, 2009 1:50 PM

Made this just now with an intimidatingly huge zucc. Very easy to make! I threw in some ground ginger. Delicious. Next I will try some savory zucc muffins with the other half of the squash.

A tip for those with dry muffins: When you go to preheat the oven, put an baking dish of water on the lowest rack. Then put the muffins in when ready on the middle rack. Do not take out the water dish. The water will warm and boil but the condensation and moisture will stay in your baked dish. Wait until the oven is cool after baking to remove the water dish.

Posted by: Lisa D. on July 21, 2009 7:28 PM

Wonderful Muffins! Thanks for sharing such a great recipe... my whole family is enjoying them, and i have linked others to your great muffins via my blog...
http://generallywondering.blogspot.com/2009/07/best-zucchini-muffins.html

Posted by: Mary on July 27, 2009 3:52 PM

From a novice gardener and baker, this recipe was a success! I made a double batch of the original recipe, and added cocoa to the second half. Beautiful muffins!

Posted by: suzyskitchen on July 29, 2009 11:08 PM

These muffins came out beautifully! Only problem is, the nutmeg was somewhat overpowering, but maybe I am just sensitive? I am not sure. I think I will try to make these again tomorrow with a little less spice. Thank you for the great recipe!

Posted by: Carly on August 8, 2009 12:10 AM

Tried these tonight with 100% whole wheat flour(soft white wheat)and I whipped the egg whites before adding, as per suggestion, and they turned out AWESOME! My picky kiddos even thanked me for making them after devouring without complaint. Will definitely be making these again. Thanks a million!

Posted by: Donya on August 11, 2009 11:46 PM

Just made these with a giant zucchini from my CSA bag. I made the recipe as written, except subbed whole wheat pastry flour for one cup of the all-purpose flour, and subbed Penzey's 'cake spice' mix for some of the cinnamon, omitted the nutmeg. Very, very moist and delicious--my 7 year old son also loved them! I plan to make them again (as the zuccs keep rolling in) and may add blueberries next time, maybe some lemon zest? Thank you for sharing your wonderful recipe.

Posted by: Carol on August 15, 2009 10:53 AM

DELICIOUS!

That is all :)

Posted by: Minou on August 23, 2009 10:21 AM

Tried this recipe because of all the raves. Personally, I thought they tasted very plain with an overpowering taste of baking soda. Kept checking to see if I forgot to add an ingredient. Well, I guess you can't win them all.

Posted by: Nancy on August 24, 2009 6:00 PM

I just made these EASY muffins during my lunch hour today! my boss gave him one of those HUGE zucchini's that are the size of an arm (LOL!) and so I have been trying to get creative with it. I must say that I LOVED this recipe. These muffins were just sweet enough, moist, spicy and just overall yummy! I am going to bring some in for my boss so he can see where part of his zucchini went to!

To Minou: I didn't get one hint of baking soda in my muffins. Did you use 2 level teaspoons and not tablespoons? Just a thought...because these truly are delicious!!

Posted by: Stacey on August 26, 2009 10:17 AM

First of all, I love love love this site! Thanks, Elise, for great ideas, recipes, and writing!

I made these muffins a few weeks ago, and used a giant sized muffin tin (it made six muffins). Had to increase cooking time, of course, but they were FABulous. (I sprinkled pumpkin seeds on top--yummy!)

ANYway, I made them today, in a normal muffin tin, and they just didn't get browned on top. They are certainly done (clean toothpick, top springs back) but they are a bit pale.

Any ideas what the problem is? Thanks!
Jane

No idea. Ovens are all so different, half the time I can't figure out why things do what they do in mine. ~Elise

Posted by: Jane on August 27, 2009 2:36 PM

Elise, this recipe has become a favorite of my 18-month old -- as well as my husband and I. Since I have a wheat allergy, I modified it just a bit so that it was wheat/gluten free. I just substituted 3 cups Pamela's Wheat Free Baking mix for the flour and only added 1 tsp baking soda.

With nuts being a choking hazard for young children, I just finely ground the pecans in my food processor (a couple of good pulses does the trick), and added it to the batter.

Adding 2 tablespoons of ground flax meal ups the fiber content and complements the taste of the muffins.

Thank you so much for posting this! YUM! I'm going to link this to my website about healthier baby and toddler finger foods.

Posted by: Erin on August 31, 2009 11:26 AM

OUTRAGEOUSLY delicious! I've been experimenting with sugar substitutes and made this change: I used a scant 1/4 cup xylitol and 1/2 cup Agave syrup - doesn't register on the glycemic index, they say. We're in Mexico at the minute, so Miel de Maguey (Agave syrup) is available readily here - I buy it at regular grocers in the States, too.

I also added an additional 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice just for the allspice and ginger (and I love our fresh spices here).

I took the suggestions of another and beat the egg whites first to soft peaks as I was using 2 cups whole wheat flour and 1 cup white. This helped offset the heaviness of the wheat flour.

These are SOOOOOOO delicious - and you're right the make a bit more than the dozen, even without the cranberries or raisins.

I LOVE THESE MUFFINS. Thanks for the recipe. I'm making another batch tonight for our "language group" meeting tomorrow!!!

Posted by: Andrea on September 7, 2009 5:41 PM

Outstanding recipe!

Of course, I made it with butter, but with equal amounts brown sugar and white sugar. Also tripled the recipe and it worked just as well in both mini and standard sizes. Thanks!

Suggestion- an ice cream scoop is the best way to portion batter into muffin tins.

Posted by: PF on September 11, 2009 9:47 AM

If they taste as good as the batter they will be fantastic. I used dried cranberries, and had no nuts. Though I did not use applesauce, I have used it instead of eggs to reduce cholesterol in other recipes...not to replace oil...at least not in ones I have read.

Posted by: Lorrie Scott on September 11, 2009 7:26 PM

I adjusted this great recipie, by using 2cups organic whole wheat, 1/2cup organic stone ground flour and 1/2 cup organic quick cooking oats. I also added 4 tablespoons of organic milled flax for an omega boost. I substituted 1/2 cup of grapeseed oil, for the butter, to boost "good" fats.I added an extra tsp of dried ginger for its great digestive properties. I only used 1/2 cup organic white granulated sugar and a dropperful full of stevia to cut down on processed sugar. I added extra dried blue berries, cherries and cranberries (mixed equally) 1/2 cup and 1/2 cup rasins and 1 cup dark chocolate chips (as many schools no longer allow nuts of anykind- which sucks in my book because they are soooo good for you). These muffins worked out great and tasty!!! The whole family loved them!!! I'm thinking I'll also add some pumpkin seeds next time (I'll have to check with the school I guess =)

Thanks again!
Chantelle

Posted by: Chantelle Duckworth on September 21, 2009 2:24 PM

I made these today and they turned out awesome. For those of you wondering about whole wheat flour, I used half whole wheat and half white flour and it turned out fine. I used the recommended amount of butter, but I think it could have used a little more... maybe it was because I made my muffins smaller, but for the next batch though, I will probably use close to a cup of butter instead. I also would recommend some orange zest because even with the dried cranberries, there was something fruity missing still. Overall thumbs up!

Posted by: Kayla on September 23, 2009 3:42 PM

This recipe is awesome!! I used chopped rhubarb and flax seeds instead of nuts. Tasty!

Posted by: Naomi on September 23, 2009 11:42 PM

Hi loved this I used probably well over 3cups zucchini and used dried cantaloupe instead of nuts/raisins tastes wonderful. I also made 6 giant muffins instead of smaller ones which I recommend sticking too the dozen smaller ones, the larger ones were dense almost cakey. Thank you so much for a recipe that goes so well with substitutions!

Posted by: Pam on September 24, 2009 4:49 PM

I made these last night. I used whole wheat flour and reduced the amount of cranberries and walnuts to 1/2 cup each. They taste great. This was my first ever attempt at baking something entirely from scratch and now I feel I have the confidence to try more things. Thanks for the awesome recipe.

Posted by: Shaya on November 11, 2009 3:13 PM

I have never made zucchini muffins before. My landlord gifted me a huge zucchini (netted 3 cups grated) and it was a little intimadating. So I made these muffins out of it, without changing the recipe at all. Yummmmmy! And they look just like the picture! I love that the recipe was so detailed, thanks for sharing it.

Posted by: Liz on November 15, 2009 9:20 PM

Post a comment

(Your comment may need to be approved before it will appear on the site. Thanks for waiting. First time commenting? Please review the Comment Policy.)

Link to this recipe

Bookmark this page using the following link: http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/zucchini_muffins/

Do you have a website? You can place a link to this page by copying and pasting the code below.

<a href="http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/zucchini_muffins/">Zucchini Muffins</a>