If you have ever grown zucchini (or have a friend who does), you know that it’s the gift that keeps on giving. And when you have a bumper crop of zucchini, you’ll need a stack of zucchini recipes to use up the harvest. Baked goods like easy zucchini muffins are a fantastic way to turn this savory summer squash into a sweet treat.
This small-batch recipe for zucchini muffins tastes similar to zucchini bread. The moist, flavorful muffins come together in a flash and are perfect for breakfast or an anytime snack.
Zucchini Muffin Ingredients
- Flour: All-purpose flour is the base of this zucchini muffin recipe. For gluten-free muffins, use one of our Test Kitchen’s picks for the best gluten-free flour blends or make your own gluten-free flour mix.
- Sugar: Granulated sugar adds sweetness to the muffins.
- Leavening agents: Baking soda and baking powder help the zucchini bread muffins rise as they bake, creating a light and fluffy texture.
- Ground cinnamon: Cinnamon adds a sweet, warm, earthy flavor to the easy zucchini muffins.
- Egg: An egg gives the muffins structure and helps bind the ingredients together.
- Canola oil: Canola oil is a neutral-flavored oil that adds moisture to zucchini muffins. You can substitute another cooking oil, such as vegetable oil or coconut oil.
- Zucchini: A type of summer squash, zucchini is the star of the show in this zucchini muffin recipe. After shredding the zucchini, squeeze out as much moisture as possible to prevent soggy muffins. For a nifty zucchini trick, try using a French press to remove the moisture!
- Walnuts: This recipe for zucchini muffins calls for chopped walnuts, but you could use other nuts like chopped pecans or hazelnuts. To add depth, toast the nuts before adding them to the muffin batter.
- Dried currants: Currants add a slight tartness, which complements the sweetness of the muffins. If you don’t have currants on hand, you can use chopped raisins instead. (Or skip the currants altogether.)
Directions
Step 1: Prep the muffin tin
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Coat the muffin cups with cooking spray or use paper liners, and set aside.
Step 2: Make the batter
In a bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg and oil. Stir the egg mixture into the dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in the zucchini, walnuts and currants.
Editor’s Tip: Stir the batter just until combined; overmixing will lead to tough muffins.
Step 3: Scoop the batter
Fill each muffin cup three-fourths full with batter.
Editor’s Tip: Use an ice cream scoop to evenly portion the batter into the muffin cups (and to prevent a big mess!).
Step 4: Bake the muffins
Bake the muffins until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, 22 to 25 minutes. Cool for five minutes before removing the muffins from the pan to a wire rack.
Recipe Variations
- Include flavorful mix-ins: Instead of nuts and currants, try using other flavorful muffin mix-ins. Some of our favorites include chocolate chips, flavored baking chips, toasted coconut, or dried fruit like dates, cranberries or blueberries. Any additions should total 3/4 cup.
- Switch up the spice: Try different baking spices in this zucchini muffin recipe. Warming spices such as nutmeg, allspice or ginger play well with zucchini. A pumpkin pie spice or chai spice blend (a mixture of ground cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and black pepper) would also be a tasty addition.
- Add shredded carrots: You can replace up to half the zucchini with shredded carrots.
How to Store Zucchini Muffins
Cool the zucchini bread muffins and store them in an airtight container at room temperature for three to four days. The sooner you eat these muffins, the tastier they will be!
Can you freeze zucchini muffins?
You can freeze muffins for up to three months. Let them cool completely, and freeze them in a single layer on a baking sheet. Then, transfer the frozen muffins to an airtight freezer bag to prevent freezer burn. When you’re ready to enjoy them, defrost the muffins at room temperature and pop them into a 350° oven for a few minutes to toast them up.
Zucchini Muffin Tips
How do you shred zucchini for zucchini muffins?
A box grater is the most common tool to grate zucchini. To make coarsely shredded zucchini, shred the squash along the side with the largest holes. Alternatively, you can use the grater plate of a food processor to shred even the most monstrous zucchini in seconds. If you have a ton of zucchini on hand but no time for baking, you can shred and freeze zucchini to make zucchini bread muffins later.
Do you need to peel zucchini for zucchini muffins?
You don’t need to peel zucchini for this zucchini muffin recipe—or for any shredded zucchini recipe. Zucchini skin is so thin that you won’t even know it’s there.
