These zucchini muffins with chocolate chips are quick, flavorful, and freezer-friendly, perfect for using up extra zucchini. Made with oil, they're soft and moist. No mixer needed: just stir, scoop, and bake.
Perfect Summer muffins
If you're swimming in summer zucchini (it happens every year), these muffins are an easy way to put it to good use.
Moist, tender, and packed with chocolate chips, they're perfect for breakfast or snacks, and they freeze wonderfully.
And as much as I like this easy zucchini bread or this very popular zucchini cake, a good zucchini muffin recipe was needed, especially for breakfast, as it's a meal I'm not great at, as a cup of coffee is the only thing I want when I wake up.
I added chocolate chips just because. Having these to grab on the go is a lifesaver.
- Easy to make: No mixer needed. Just mix, scoop, and bake.
- Moist and tender: Oil keeps them soft for days.
- Freezer-friendly: Great to have on hand for quick breakfasts or last-minute brunch.
Testing Notes
- Grate or shred the zucchini at the last moment so it doesn't start to release liquid. This is important for texture.
- You mustn't over-mix or beat the batter after adding the flour. Simply fold the wet ingredients into the dry ones so you get soft and fluffy muffins (as opposed to dense muffins).
- Using a cookie scoop helps you divide the batter equally among the muffin tins, and the muffins will bake more evenly.
- I don't recommend refrigerating them; I'd rather freeze leftovers. They keep well for about two days in an airtight container, plastic wrap, or a cake dome. The fridge tends to dry and clump them after a few days.
Ingredient Notes
- Zucchini: Use fresh ones that are firm without bruised skins. If not great, peel off the brown or bruised parts.
- Chocolate chips: Use your favorite semisweet chip.
- Vegetable oil: a neutral one, like sunflower oil. Coconut oil, canola oil, and light olive oil also work, but might add a different flavor tone.
- Baking powder and baking soda: Make sure they aren't expired.
Variations & substitutions
- Milk chocolate chips: Use instead of the semisweet ones if you want a sweeter muffin.
- Flour: Use superfine whole wheat flour, almond flour, and coconut oil to make healthier muffins. Substitute between half and ¾ cup of the all-purpose flour. And make sure you break up the clumps that might form (especially with the almond flour) when you incorporate it into the batter. The muffins will be denser and may not rise as much.
- Healthy zucchini muffins: Use coconut sugar and coconut oil, and substitute half the white flour with finely ground whole wheat flour. The texture of these muffins will be more rustic and earthy.
- Butter: These are also amazing with melted butter instead of oil, the same amount.
How to make zucchini muffins
It's easy, and you only need a large bowl and a whisk or spatula to make the muffin batter.
- Whisk together eggs and sugars and add oil in a thin stream.
- Add sifted dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda) and mix a little; it doesn't need to be fully incorporated.
- Add the grated or shredded zucchini and chocolate chips. Mix to integrate. Don't overmix.
- Scoop portions of the zucchini mixture into the paper liners, dividing as evenly as possible.
Baking muffins
Preparing the muffin pan: you can butter or spray (use baking spray) the pan or line it with paper cups (also called paper muffin liners or cupcake liners that are available online). With the second option, there is less mess removing the muffins from the pan and less washing up. But you don't get a crust on the sides and bottom.
When are they done? Zucchini adds moisture to these, so insert a tester and consider that. But you should not have any wet dough clinging to it.
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Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins (easy recipe)
Ingredients
- 2 eggs, at room temperature
- ½ cup white sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 cup oil, sunflower, coconut or olive oil
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, cake flour also works
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups grated zucchini
- ½ cup semisweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
- Have a 12-muffin tin lined with paper cups (paper liners) or buttered. Using liners is very convenient because you hardly have to wash the muffin tin, and the muffins are easier to transport if necessary.
- Grate (with a large-holed grater) or shred the zucchini at the last moment when you have the rest of the ingredients ready so they don't release extra liquid. If watery, blot them with a paper towel to remove excess moisture before adding them.
- Whisk together 2 eggs, ½ cup white sugar and ½ cup brown sugar in a large bowl until integrated and frothy. Add 1 cup oil in a thin stream as you continue whisking. Incorporate it well, but there's no need to beat much. I use a hand whisk, but you can use an electric mixer at the lowest speed for this part.
- Add the sifted dry ingredients: 2 cups all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, ¾ teaspoon baking soda, ¼ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon and ½ teaspoon vanilla extract; mix a little with a spatula. It doesn't need to be fully incorporated before you add the rest of the ingredients. You can have the dry ingredients measured and sift them directly over the oil batter (like I do) or sift them in a medium bowl first and then add to the muffin batter.
- Add 2 cups grated zucchini and ½ cup semisweet chocolate chips. You will see that the moisture in the zucchini loosens the batter up. Mix with a spatula just until it's all incorporated. You mustn't over-mix or beat the dough after adding the flour to keep the muffins as soft and fluffy as possible.
- Scoop portions into the paper liners dividing as evenly as possible.
- Bake for about 20 minutes, until golden brown, domed, and a cake tester or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Let cool on a wire rack (cooling rack). Store at room temperature for two days and then refrigerate or freeze, always well wrapped.
angiesrecipes says
Love the classic combination of chocolate and zucchini in these beautiful muffins. You are truly an excellent and inspiring baker, Paula.
Paula Montenegro says
Oh, thanks Angie!