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 were it!
And…they are super good! They taste wonderful while also having this 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 now I’m going to include a batter shot below that is not super pretty looking, but I had to show it so you can see how thick this batter is. I know that if I don’t show it some people will be trying to make this and then saying I must have 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!
It is super important that you don’t use too much flour though, and since flour is a tricky measurement (and cup sizes across the world are different!), 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. Don’t pack it in, it has to be spooned and levelled (and use a US cup measure), otherwise you can accidentally use more than required. Which is why weighing is often a very good idea for accuracy.
If you did accidentally use too much flour then your batter will be too thick to mix and you’ll need to compensate with a bit more liquid, but I’m hoping you’ll weigh the flour so that won’t happen and you’ll get a consistent result.
The zucchini is shredded up before going into the batter and the easiest way to do this is in a food processor. You can grate it by hand but it would take much longer.
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 like green vegetables!).
And then I also used walnuts in these and I really think the walnuts take these muffins to the top levels of deliciousness! Of course if you have a nut allergy you can just leave them out or add in some raisins! I think that would be super good with these too.
I hope you’ll enjoy these vegan zucchini muffins, they are:
- Moist
- Wholesome
- Filling
- Easy
- Super delish!
They are awesome to eat exactly as is, but I’m also a fan of cutting them in half and putting on some vegan butter. Keep them covered at room temperature and they’ll stay fresh for up to 5 days.
What do you think of these vegan zucchini muffins? Let me know in the comments and shoot any questions my way (and rate the recipe too please, thanks!).
For more fabulous vegan muffins, check out these recipes:
- Vegan Banana Bread Muffins
- Vegan Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Vegan Blueberry Muffins
- Vegan Pumpkin Muffins
- Vegan Raisin Bran Muffins
- Vegan Cornbread Muffins
While you’re here, why not sign up to our email list? You’ll get an awesome (free) recipe ebook containing 10 vegan dinner recipes from the blog and you’ll be the first to know when new recipes are posted!
Vegan Zucchini Muffins
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 35 mins
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 12
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeDescription
Wholesome and delicious vegan zucchini muffins. These vegan muffins are moist, filling super easy to make, and fabulous either as is or spread with some vegan butter.
Ingredients
- 2 cups (250g) All Purpose Flour
- 1/2 cup (100g) White Sugar
- 1/2 cup (100g) Brown Sugar
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 1 tsp Cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp Nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1 cup (140g) Shredded Zucchini (packed)*
- 1/2 cup (120ml) Olive Oil*
- 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1/4 cup (60ml) Soy Milk (or other non-dairy milk)
- 1 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 Flax Egg
- 1 cup (100g) Walnuts (broken up)*
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
- Sift the flour into a mixing bowl and add the white and brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.
- Shred your zucchini in a food processor or with a grater and add to the mixing bowl.
- Prepare your flax egg by mixing 1 Tbsp of ground flaxseed meal with 3 Tbsp of hot water and allowing it to sit for a minute to become gloopy.
- Add the olive oil, vanilla, soy milk and apple cider vinegar to the mixing bowl along with your flax egg.
- Mix into a thick batter. If you are finding it difficult to mix it all in properly, then let the batter rest for a couple of minutes and the moisture from the zucchinis will seep through the batter, so when you mix it again it should all come together.
- Add in the broken up walnuts and mix.
- Spray a muffin tray with non-stick spray and divide the batter evenly between the muffin partitions.
- Place into the oven to bake for 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the muffins comes out clean.
- Remove the muffins from the tray and transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool.
Notes
*You’ll need about 2-3 small zucchinis for 1 cup of shredded zucchini.
*I often like using a high quality olive oil in baking but you can switch for a different vegetable oil if you prefer.
*You can omit the walnuts if you prefer, or use something different like raisins (though I haven’t tested this).
- Category: Baking, Dessert, Breakfast
- Cuisine: Vegan
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Muffin (of 12)
- Calories: 284
- Sugar: 17g
- Sodium: 229mg
- Fat: 14.9g
- Saturated Fat: 1.8g
- Carbohydrates: 34.8g
- Fiber: 1.6g
- Protein: 3.8g
Keywords: vegan zucchini muffins
Can you sub besan flour or almond flour?
Hi Barb, no I don’t think so at all. If you want to make them gluten-free then use a gluten-free all purpose baking blend. 🙂
This recipe is superb Alison! Absolutely spot on, and the muffins are delicious. I will definitely be making these again, and trying out some of your other recipes. Thank you! Penny
★★★★★
Thanks so much Penny! So glad they came out well! xo
Can I use apple sauce instead of a flax egg?
Sure! You would need 3 Tbsp applesauce to replace the flax egg.
Do you think I could I use whole wheat spelt flour instead of the all purpose flour because that’s all I have on hand flour wise. Thank you
Hi Lili, I haven’t tried that but it could work.
Made this recipe today it came out beautiful. Use 2 cups wholewheat flour and 3/4 cup brown sugar.
The muffins came out amazing. Next time i will leave out the salt, due to the reduce in sugar i can taste the salt. What can i put in to make it a little more moist? i was thinking more oil or coconut oil.
I served this with coconut cream and it was wow. The flax egg i made as per your instructions with the warm water and for the first time it came out with no lumps. Good tip thanks.
Hi Geraldine, I wonder if it’s due to the wholewheat flour that it wasn’t moist enough? Because they are usually very moist. You can add a little more oil, but just go easy as it can be that a little goes a long way. I would also just be careful with your flour measure (if you weren’t already) because using a little extra flour can of course cause them to be more dry. All the best! 🙂
Hi Aiison, i gave your recipe another try. The reason for the whole wheat is that i am on that bus at the moment. I used 1/2 tsp baking powder, 182g zucchini (i packed the cup tight) and i used 1/2 cup extra milk. I only used 1/2 cup nuts, it came out just the way i like it. Thank you for these amazing recipes. Cant wait to try your other muffins.
★★★★★
Awesome! Sooo happy you were able to tweak it perfectly, thanks so much for sharing and the wonderful review! 🙂
This is a really fantastic recipe. The muffins are fluffy and delicious and I’m able to trick my toddler into eating vegetables. In the past, a few muffin recipes I’ve tried without eggs have been on the dense side but these were perfect. Thanks so much!
★★★★★
Fantastic! So happy to hear this, thanks a million Colleen! 🙂
They were certainly delicious. I used half wholemeal flour & half white flour. This worked very well indeed. Will definately be making these again. As a recent convert to Vegan recipes, this site has proved to be invaluable.
★★★★★
So happy to hear they were delicious! Thanks so much for the awesome review Norma, and so happy you like the blog! 🙂
Hi,
Thank you very much for your prompt reply. I will look forward to making them later today .
I will post how well the turned out.
Hi
I love all your recipes, easy to follow & generally successful for me. But I would like to ask in the courgette muffin recipe you ask for white & brown sugar & I wanted to know if that’s castor sugar & soft brown sugar.
Many thanks
Hi Norma, so glad you like the recipes, thank you! For the sugars it should be white granulated sugar and regular light brown sugar. 🙂
Loved it! I changed it up a bit just based on what I had in the kitchen. Buttermilk instead of nondairy, one cup of whole wheat and one cup of white flour, cinnamon with a sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice instead of nutmeg. Delicious:)
★★★★★
So glad you enjoyed the muffins! Thanks for the great review! 🙂
Oh my, these are delicious! I was hesitant to prepare them because I thought there were just too many ingredients. (I know, lazy! LOL) I am so glad I got over myself and baked these! Yummy! They are moist and flavorful. Thanks for making my transition to vegan eating scrumptious!
★★★★★
Hahaha, so glad you enjoyed them! Thanks so much for the awesome review! 🙂
These were the best muffins I have ever had. I used chocolate chips instead of the walnuts, and they were amazing. Thanks so much for this recipe.
Wonderful! Thanks Kara! 🙂
Made this with chocolate chips instead of walnuts! Also used canola oil. I only had to use one zucchini grated, but it was a big one. And I was also able to make 11 muffins. Thank you for the recipe 🙂
THE best zucchini muffins ever! I added 1/2 cup of raisins to the recipe and had rave reviews. Thank you for sharing!
★★★★★
Yay! So happy they got the rave reviews! Thanks so much for posting! 🙂
Fantastic recipe! Very moist on the inside with a great outside. Made it exactly as written.
★★★★★
Yay! Awesome news Mary! Thanks so much for sharing. 🙂
Super delicious and healthy as well!
★★★★★
Very crumbly. They dont resemble muffins.
Hi Laurie, they are definitely not supposed to be crumbly at all. Off the top of my head I would probably guess that maybe too much flour was used. Sorry to hear they didn’t work out for you.