These flourless chocolate zucchini muffins are gluten-free, grain-free, oil-free, dairy-free, and refined sugar-free, but so soft and chocoately that you’d never be able to tell they’re healthy! Whipped up in the blender in under 5 minutes flat, they make a delicious breakfast or snack!
This probably isn’t the best time to admit that I’m not a fan of zucchini.
And when I say “not a fan,” what I really mean is that I hate it with a vengeance. As in… it’s on my hit list, and you will be too if you try to feed it to me. So please don’t.
I have a feeling that my disdain for the squishy summer squash has something to do with the handful of really bad experiences I had with things like zucchini noodles and soggy baked zucchini “fries” that I experimented with back in the day before I had any sort of idea as to what I was doing in the kitchen. Those recipes should come with warning labels. Seriously.
Needless to say, zucchini and I didn’t start off on the right foot and I’ve been giving it the stank eye ever since.
That’s why I’ve never been able to understand why people would put it in things like loaves and muffins. Never. Like… why on earth would you ruin a perfectly good dessert by lacing it with a squishy squash?
Well, friends, I think I’ve figured out why…
Say hello to the newest batch of flourless muffins to grace my kitchen counters — flourless chocolate zucchini muffins. Yes, zucchini.
I can’t really tell you what prompted me to throw a zucchini into these guys, other than the fact that: a) I believe in second chances, b) we’re going into summer and zucchini is in season, and c) I wanted to see what all the fuss was about.
Well… I get it. I do. And I’m, quite literally, eating my own words…
These may just be some of the softest muffins I’ve ever had the pleasure of eating.
And the best part is that they’re loaded with chocolate flavour without even a hint of zucchini. Trust me. I was looking for it. I wanted to be all “HAHAHAHA! I knew it! It tastes like squishy squash!” But nope. Not a trace. Heck, I couldn’t even see it in there, which means you could easily sneak some extra veggies into someone’s diet by feeding them some of these delicious muffins…
That being said, I don’t recommend being sneaky. I mean, you’re looking at a girl who still has trust issues stemming from the fact that the cookies her mom told her were chocolate chip actually turned out to be raisin. Mmm hmm. Like I wasn’t supposed to notice that one… I know it’s hard to get kids to eat healthier and all, but you don’t lie about chocolate. You just don’t.
Then again, I’m probably not one to talk, seeing as I may have omitted the ‘zucchini’ part when I told my taste-testers what I was giving them, but that’s only because I wanted to see if it really was as undetectable as I thought. And it was.
These muffins are super soft and super chocolatey. They’re a little denser and fudgier than your average muffin because of the fact that they don’t have any flour to fluff them up, but that just puts them somewhere between a muffin and a brownie, which is never a bad thing in my books.
They’re gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free, oil-free, refined sugar-free, and 100% crazy delicious. And the best part is that you only need about 5 minutes and a blender/food processor to whip them up, followed by 20 minutes of delicious smells wafting out of your kitchen.
So whether you’re looking to get some more veggies into your diet, or you’re just in desperate need of a soft and chocolatey muffin, then I definitely recommend giving these flourless chocolate zucchini muffins a try!
I’d love to know if you make this recipe! Leave a comment and rating down below to let me know what you think, and subscribe to our mailing list to receive new recipes in your inbox!
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Flourless Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
- Total Time: 25 mins
- Yield: 9 muffins 1x
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (128 g) almond butter*
- 1 ripe medium-sized banana (100 g or 1/2 cup mashed)
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup (80 g) honey
- 1/4 cup (20 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 Tbsp (14 g) ground flaxseed
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 cup (100 g) zucchini, shredded and squeezed of excess liquid
- 1/4 cup (60 g) chocolate chips, plus more for sprinkling on top
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F and prepare a muffin pan by spraying 9 cavities with cooking spray. Set aside.
- Add all ingredients except for zucchini and chocolate chips to a blender and blend on high until batter is smooth and creamy. Stir in shredded zucchini and chocolate chips by hand.
- Pour batter into prepared muffin pan, filling each cavity until it is about ¾ full. Sprinkle with additional chocolate chips, if desired.
- Bake for 20 minutes, until the tops of your muffins are set and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Allow muffins to cool in pan for ~10 minutes before removing. Store in an air-tight container for up to a week.
Notes
* You can sub almond for your favourite nut butter, OR use a sunflower seed or soy nut butter to make these nut-free.
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
Looking for more flourless muffin recipes? Try one of these!
Flourless Banana Bread Muffins
Flourless Double Chocolate Chip Muffins
Flourless Apple Cinnamon Muffins
Flourless Vegan Banana Muffins
Banana Oat Greek Yogurt Muffins
I doubled this recipe first then I only had baking powder so I doubled that twice and they are perfect! So good! And I bagged them up and got as much air out as possible. I really need my two year old to eat as little sugar as possible but still have something I don’t have to cook in the AM. These are perfect and fluffy and sweet. Yum.
Are these freezer friendly? I am thinking a nice batch in the freezer!
They definitely are! I freeze my muffins all the time with no problem.
These are our new favorite way to use frozen shredded zukes from the garden (we squeeze out the liquid after defrosting) and very ripe bananas while making sure our GF/DF friends can enjoy in the yum along with the rest of us. Thank you for sharing it.
Thank you for sharing your review, Diane! I’m so glad you like them 😀
I made these muffins this morning and ate over half the batch by lunchtime… they are amazing! I used peanut butter (didn’t have almond) but otherwise followed the recipe exactly. So moist, so tasty – thank you for the awesome recipe!
Do you peel the zucchini before shredding or not?
I didn’t peel mine, Wanda.
I’m allergic to bananas as a few other posters mentioned also. I was thinking of subbing in puréed carrots for the sweetness. There is a frozen version of these by Garden Delights that uses carrots so I thought it’d be worth a shot. Cup for cup how much is a medium ripe banana? Like half a cup? Anyone else find a good sub for the banana yet?
Yep! 1 mashed banana is about 1/2 cup, Kristin. I’d love to know if pureed carrots work if you end up trying it! And I’ve had a couple of readers say they subbed it with yogurt and that that worked fine as well.
Thank you for making an OAT FREE version of your amazing muffins! I’m on an elimination diet and can’t have oats! 🙁 I’ve tried your other muffin recipes before, and I love them. Way to go! 🙂
These muffins seriously rule. Thank you 🙂
These are amazing!! Just took them out of the oven! I can’t eat gluten, and I happened upon these. WOW!
I made these today and they are incredible!! So light and fluffy and they taste delicious! I will definitely make these again! Thank you for the recipe!
Thanks! I ended up using peanut butter, which worked well and because it’s soooo chocolatey, you couldn’t taste the PB at all. My kids enjoyed these as well.
Think regular butter work in place of nut butter? I have peanut butter, but I’m not sure I want PB flavor today.
Unfortunately, butter wouldn’t work. The nut butter helps maintain the shape and add a little bit of bulk to the muffins — butter is too oily.
This sounds great and will try but have a question for anyone….I do not have flaxseed…any subsitutions or will I be ok just leaving it out. thanks!
You can sub it with chia seeds if you have those. I’ve had some readers say they made it without flaxseeds with no problem, but it might alter the texture slightly.
Thank You!! Just found this site and appreciate your timely response–I have chia seeds so will try that! What a great site ya have and I luv luv luv the “running with spoons” name .
Could I use earth balance olive oil butter instead?
No, unfortunately — it’s too oily and wouldn’t help the muffins hold together. Nut butters work because they have not only the nut oil but the flesh of the nut as well.
These are delicious! Super cakey and fudgey. I skipped the chocolate chips and added nuts for texture.
Do you think peanut butter would work in place of almond? Nut butters aren’t in my budget, unfortunately.
Peanut butter would work just fine, Beck.
Can the egg be subbed for a flax or chia egg? Just wondering cause these look divine but I’m vegan.
That should be fine, Julia! I’ve had a few readers tell me they subbed in a flax egg with no problems.
These are absolutely delicious and they freeze well too! Just wondering if you’ve ever doubled the recipe?
Thanks, Laura! I haven’t, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work!
Absolutely fantastic recipe!
Delicious – and I just used the flax seeds whole.
And soooo easy. And soooo moist.
Laura
Any substitute for the banana? I absolutely hate bananas!
Is it just the taste? Because the chocolate does a pretty good job at covering it up. But if you absolutely hate it, then 1/2 cup of applesauce should work as well!
Amazing!!! I made a double batch last night…my cat was even begging for crumbs 🙂
these are awesome! so light and spongy.
I just want to thank you SO MUCH. For the past 6 weeks I have been trying to adjust to my new dairy free, nut free, egg free, grain free diet. The positive is I’ve lost a lot of weight, the negative is, I love food and this diet/lifestyle is boring. I am sick of eating veggies. And I miss desserts terribly. I adjusted this recipe slightly, using a flax egg, dairy free chocolate chips and sunflower butter and they are amazing!!! Finally cakey, chocolaty goodness I can eat!!!
These muffins turned out great! Super simple to make and extremely moist and very chocolatey! Wouldn’t change a thing about the recipe; will make again.
These look amazing!!! Wondering what the calories & fat grams are on these?
Sorry Shelly, but I don’t calculate the nutritional info of my recipes. If you really need to know, you can plug the ingredients into a calculator like this one to figure them out — http://www.myfitnesspal.com/recipe/calculator
Just made these to bring into the office tomorrow (we have someone with Celiac on staff, so i like making GF treats). They were so easy and turned out exactly as pictured. I had to sneak one to make sure it was good – delicious! I’ll be making these again.