Wholesome and delicious vegan zucchini muffins. These vegan muffins are soft, moist and easy to make. Serve plain or spread with vegan butter.
So ever since making my vegan chocolate zucchini cake I’ve been super keen to try putting zucchini in other baked goods, and these vegan zucchini muffins are it.
And…they are super good. They taste wonderful while also having a wholesome feel.
And now I’m thinking some vegan zucchini bread is up next because putting zucchini in baked goods is nothing but a very good idea. Update: vegan zucchini bread is here as well as vegan zucchini brownies and vegan zucchini fritters.
And if you’re wondering: why the heck use zucchini in baked goods? Well the answer is – they provide heaps of moisture, without adding flavor.
So you don’t taste any zucchini in the final product, but you get deliciously moist baked goods as a result. The zucchini cooks down so that there’s almost no trace of it in the final product.
Okay, yes you can see a tiny bit of green in these muffins, but trust me, they don’t taste anything like green vegetables.
What You’ll Need To Make These Muffins:
Ingredient Notes
- Walnuts – are optional, but really delicious chopped up in the batter. Add a few more directly to the top of the muffins before baking for a really pretty look.
- Flax egg – this recipe uses 1 flax egg, which is a mix of ground flaxseeds (also called flaxseed meal) with 3 tablespoons of hot water. If you don’t have flaxseed on hand, you can replace the flax egg with 3 tablespoons of applesauce.
- Shredded zucchini – must be fresh. So you must shred it yourself from whole zucchini and use it right away. If it’s pre-shredded it will have dried out too much to provide the moisture we need for this recipe. There is no need to peel the zucchini first. You can just cut off the ends and then shred it, peels and all.
- Soy milk – can be replaced with a different non-dairy milk.
- Apple cider vinegar – can be replaced with distilled white vinegar.
- Canola oil – can be replaced with vegetable oil. Melted coconut oil also works but it does make the batter even thicker so it can be harder to work with.
How To Make Vegan Zucchini Muffins
You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.
- Sift all purpose flour into a mixing bowl and add white and brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Mix together.
- Prepare your flax egg by mixing 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseeds with 3 tablespoons of hot water from the kettle. Let it sit for a minute to become gloopy.
- Add the flax egg, shredded zucchini, soy milk, canola oil, vanilla extract and vinegar to the bowl and mix into a thick batter.
- If you’re finding it difficult to mix then step away from the bowl for a couple of minutes and let the batter rest. The zucchini will release more moisture into the batter so that when you come back it will easily come together into a thick batter.
- Add chopped walnuts and mix in.
- Divide the batter evenly between the muffin partitions of a muffin tray (sprayed with non-stick spray).
- Bake at 350°F for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the muffins comes out clean.
- Let the muffins cool for a few minutes in the muffin tray before transferring them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
- Enjoy right away either plain or spread with vegan butter.
Recipe Tips
Measure the flour correctly. It is super important that you don’t use too much flour and since flour is a tricky measurement, weighing it on a food scale is the best option. If you’re not going to weigh the flour then make sure you use the correct technique for measuring flour which is ‘spoon and level’. You have to fluff up the flour, spoon it into the cup and then level it off with a knife. Use a US cup measure and don’t pack it into the cup, otherwise you can accidentally use much more than required. Which is why weighing is often a very good idea for accuracy.
Shred the zucchini in the food processor. The easiest way to shred your zucchini is to do it in a food processor. You can also shred it in a box grater but it will just take a bit longer.
Don’t squeeze the shredded zucchini. We need all the moisture from the freshly shredded zucchini. If there is water that pools at the bottom of your food processor after shredding then you can leave that behind, but don’t squeeze the moisture out of the zucchini, we need all of it for deliciously moist muffins.
Add on’s. We used walnuts in these muffins, but you could switch it for a different kind of nut or use raisins instead. Vegan chocolate chips would also be a great addition and if you want to use chocolate chips instead of nuts then go ahead and add in up to 1 cup of vegan chocolate chips.
The batter is thick. When you first start mixing the batter you may think I’ve made a mistake with the recipe, there must be more liquid required.
But no, it is supposed to be super thick. You start mixing it, and then you might have to let the batter sit for a couple of minutes and then mix it again, so that the zucchini releases more of its moisture into the batter and somehow it all comes together. It has to be thick, because zucchini is such a moist ingredient that once baked, you have the most perfectly moist zucchini muffins.
You’ll spoon the batter into the muffin partitions, it definitely won’t pour.
Recipe FAQ
For a gluten-free version of these muffins I recommend replacing the flour with a gluten free all purpose baking blend in the same quantity.
For an oil free version you can try replacing the oil with applesauce in the same quantity. It will likely be slightly more dense, but still delicious.
Storing and Freezing
Like all muffins these vegan zucchini muffins are at their absolute BEST on the day of baking. Soft, moist and so delicious. However, they will keep for 3-4 days in an airtight container at room temperature. Or you can keep them in the fridge but let them come to room temperature before serving.
They are also freezer friendly for up to 3 months. Let them cool completely before freezing and ideally freeze them on the day of baking so that they lock in their freshness. Thaw in the fridge and then bring them to room temperature on the countertop before serving.
More Vegan Muffins
- Vegan Banana Bread Muffins
- Vegan Chocolate Muffins
- Vegan Blueberry Muffins
- Vegan Pumpkin Muffins
- Vegan Bran Muffins
- Vegan Carrot Muffins
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan Zucchini Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 cups All Purpose Flour (250g)
- ½ cup White Granulated Sugar (100g)
- ½ cup Light Brown Sugar (100g)
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon Nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 1 Flax Egg 1 Tbsp Ground Flaxseed + 3 Tbsp Hot Water
- 1 cup Shredded Zucchini (140g) Packed cup
- ¼ cup Soy Milk (60ml) or other non-dairy milk
- ½ cup Canola Oil (120ml) or Vegetable Oil
- 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
- 1 Tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar or Distilled White Vinegar
- 1 cup Walnuts (100g) Chopped, plus more to place directly on top of the muffins before baking.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Spray a muffin tray with non-stick spray.
- Sift all purpose flour into a mixing bowl and add white and brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Mix together.
- Prepare your flax egg by mixing 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseeds with 3 tablespoons of hot water from the kettle. Let it sit for a minute to become gloopy.
- Add the flax egg, shredded zucchini, soy milk, canola oil, vanilla extract and vinegar to the bowl and mix into a thick batter.
- If you're finding it difficult to mix then step away from the bowl for a couple of minutes and let the batter rest. The zucchini will release more moisture into the batter so that when you come back it will easily come together into a thick batter.
- Add the chopped walnuts and mix in.
- Divide the batter evenly between the muffin partitions of the prepared muffin tray.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the muffins comes out clean.
- Let the muffins cool for a few minutes in the muffin tray before transferring them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
Notes
- Measure the flour correctly. It is super important that you don’t use too much flour and since flour is a tricky measurement, weighing it on a food scale is the best option. If you’re not going to weigh the flour then make sure you use the correct technique for measuring flour which is ‘spoon and level’. Spoon the flour into your measuring cup and then level off the top with a knife.
- Flax egg – can be replaced with 3 tablespoons of applesauce.
- Shredded zucchini – must be fresh. So you must shred it yourself from whole zucchini and use it right away. If it’s pre-shredded it will have dried out too much to provide the moisture we need for this recipe. There is no need to peel the zucchini first. You can just cut off the ends and then shred it, peels and all. You’ll need about 2-3 small zucchinis for 1 cup of shredded zucchini.
- Don’t squeeze the shredded zucchini. We need all the moisture from the freshly shredded zucchini. If there is water that pools at the bottom of your food processor after shredding then you can leave that behind, but don’t squeeze the moisture out of the zucchini, we need all of it for deliciously moist muffins.
- Walnuts. You can omit the walnuts if you prefer, or use something different like raisins or chocolate chips.
- Gluten-free: For a gluten-free version of these muffins I recommend replacing the flour with a gluten free all purpose baking blend in the same quantity.
- Oil-free: For an oil free version you can try replacing the oil with applesauce in the same quantity. It will likely be slightly more dense, but still delicious.
- Storing: Like all muffins these vegan zucchini muffins are at their absolute BEST on the day of baking. Soft, moist and so delicious. However, they will keep for 3-4 days in an airtight container at room temperature. Or you can keep them in the fridge but let them come to room temperature before serving.
- Freezing: They are also freezer friendly for up to 3 months. Let them cool completely before freezing and ideally freeze them on the day of baking so that they lock in their freshness. Thaw in the fridge and then bring them to room temperature on the countertop before serving.
- This recipe has been updated with new photos and lots of extra tips but the recipe itself is unchanged.
These were delicious!
Awesome!
Great recipe! I got all the curious people trying and loving them! I did what I saw other people did, I halved the sugar doing 50 g of white and 50 of brown sugar. It still came out sweet enough and I would even dare to do about 20g less to see what they taste like then. I also subbed the walnuts for salted white macadamia nuts and they came out so wonderfully rich and buttery to complement the more earthy flavor from the zucchini.
One thing I was so curious about is how well this recipe does with a gluten free flour blend of white rice primarily, tapioca flour and potato starch? I have used this homemade blend and it’s basically an all purpose, but I wonder if the white rice flour would absorb too much moisture making this crumbly? I made a chocolate zucchini bread loaf where this happened. Thank you for great recipes!
Hi Savannah, so happy you enjoyed the recipe! Thanks for the great review! Regarding the all purpose gluten free blend, I would try it as is but if they end up crumbly or dry then increase the oil slightly. All the best!
This is the best baking result I have ever had. I didn’t have a muffin tray so I just baked it like a cake but it turned out so moist and soft, but not doughy. The crust is crispy too. First time using the flax seed replacement and this will be my go to now! Thank you!
Fantastic! So happy to hear that it came out well!
Perfect muffins and just the best thing to do with all those extra courgettes you get from the garden this time of year!
Thanks so much Deborah!
This recipe makes delicious zucchini muffins with the perfect texture. The second time I made these I reduced the sugar by a tiny bit and dropped in some dark chocolate chips – my husband loved it!
Wonderful! Thanks so much for sharing Esther!
it smells so good. it tastes so good. I shared them with friends and family. they all like it. Thank you so much for this wonderful vegan recipe.
What a great recipe! I’ve made it twice now with a few changes. The first time with just a bit less sugar and added a small amount of orange zest. They went great with a flash brewed coffee as an afternoon snack. The second time, I used even less sugar (75g brown and coconut, 20g white) because I wanted to eat them with some jam (how did we end up with so many almost-done jam jars lol). My shredded zucchini came in at 165g. Again, they came out delicious and made for a nice breakfast. Both times I used light spelt flour and a chia seed egg. I’ll have to toss in some chocolate next time. Thanks, Alison!
Awesome! Thanks so much Kay!
These are fantastic,! I made a batch last night when I invited a friend over for dinner and she loved it so much I had to forward her the recipe lol they taste amazing with some pecans!
I made mini muffins (half the recipe made 24 bite sized muffins) and cooked them for about half the time of the normal sized muffins. They were delicious and I served them with a cream cheese frosting. My only comment on the taste is that they were a touch bicarb-y. So I probably would replace the bicarb with baking powder
Substituted applesauce for oil. Used half amount of sugars and salt. Ground walnuts in nut grinder.
Used cupcake paper liners in place of spray. Results were Stellar A+! Thank You for sharing!
It’s Sandra – forgot to say used Flax milk.
Wonderful! Thanks for sharing Sandra!
I just made these but subbed a cup of cooked spaghetti squash for zucchini since I had a lot left over. They came out fabulous!
Great! Thanks for sharing!
Of all the recipes I’ve tried for vegan zucchini muffins, this one is by far one of the best!
Thanks so much Monica!
I’m not vegan but made them to share and they might be the best muffins I’ve ever made! Used almond milk and subbed rice vinegar for apple cider, texture turned out perfect. Baked for exactly 35 mins. Thanks for the great recipe!
So happy to hear that Danielle! Thanks a million!