Fluffy chocolate chip zucchini muffins are a great way to use up zucchini from your garden! These are soft, moist, and slightly sweet with a sprinkling of sugar on top. Recipe includes a how-to video!
Got Zucchini? Make Muffins!
These chocolate chip zucchini muffins actually debuted on the blog years ago. Today, I’m slightly adjusting the recipe to make an even dozen muffins (with just a bit more chocolate!) and sharing some new photos, too. If you were a fan of the old recipe, you’ll like this one just as much!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Flavor: chocolate chips, a touch of cinnamon, brown sugar, and vanilla add lots of flavor to this seemingly veggie-centered muffin. I promise, you do NOT taste the zucchini!
- Texture: While zucchini muffins are generally very dense, mine are lighter and fluffier. Thanks to the zucchini, they are also soft, moist, and tender.
- Appearance: We’ll get tall, bakery-worthy muffin tops using my special baking technique. Don’t worry, it’s simple!
- Ease: No mixer (please don’t use one!) and only 15 minutes to prep before they go in the oven.
Ingredients
Each ingredient in this recipe was carefully selected for the tastiest and most tender results. I’ll review a few you might have questions about before we get started.
- Zucchini. I always shred my zucchini in a food processor. I find that when I try to do it by hand (with a box grater), I end up with either zucchini shreds that are far too thick or zucchini that is so finely grated, it’s essentially mush. Maybe you have a better hand grater at home, but for me, using my food processor gets the job done quickly and correctly, providing perfectly grated strands. This is the food processor that I use (affiliate); I use this tool for shredding carrots for my carrot cake, too!
- Cinnamon. Optional, but I think it’s the perfect accent to the chocolate and the zucchini!
- Sugar. We’ll use three types of sugar today; granulated, light brown, and turbinado (for sprinkling on top). Despite three sugars, these muffins aren’t overly sweet (they’re a bit less sweet than my chocolate chip muffins, if you’re familiar with them) and they’re a perfectly acceptable breakfast option. Honestly, I feel that way about every single one of my muffin recipes though, even my chocolate cheesecake muffins 😜
- Milk. I typically use whole milk when I bake, but any kind should work here. Non-dairy milks will also be fine in this recipe.
- Oil. Use your neutral oil of choice. Lately I’ve been preferring avocado oil in my cakes and muffins, but canola or vegetable will also work.
SAM’S TIP: There’s no need to peel your zucchini before shredding–you won’t be able to detect the peels in the final product.
As always, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins
Prepare the Zucchini
If you’ve made any of my recently shared zucchini recipes (like my chocolate zucchini bread!), you’ll be familiar with this process. It’s easy, and it creates the perfect texture and size, so no one bites into a chunk of zucchini!
- Shred the zucchini with the shred blade of your food processor first, then switch to the normal blade. Pulse a few times to chop the zucchini into fine bits.
- Blot the zucchini with paper towels until you’ve removed most of the moisture. The zucchini will start to stick to your paper towels when it’s ready.
Prepare the Batter
- Vigorously whisk the wet ingredients together in a large bowl.
- Whisk the dry ingredients in a separate bowl.
- Fold the wet and dry ingredients together until about 50% combined.
- Add the shredded zucchini and chocolate chips and keep folding until the batter is just combined. Do not over-mix, or you could create rubbery, dense muffins!
- Divide the batter into a lined muffin tin and bake. This is where my special baking technique comes into play; we’ll start at one high temperature and then reduce it without opening the oven door. The initial high temperature is what creates those tall, bakery-style muffin tops!
- Let the muffins cool in the pan for a few minutes, then remove them to a cooling rack.
SAM’S TIP: I like to use a spring-loaded ice cream scoop or large cookie scoop to portion my muffin batter into the liners. It’s easy, fast, and so clean!
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! I would fold in up to a cup and and a half of cup of nuts when you add the chocolate chips and zucchini. Toasted pecans or walnuts would be tasty here, but really any kind of nut would be fine!
I let mine sit at room temperature in an airtight container for a few days (2-3 at most). If you want to keep them longer than that, then you will need to refrigerate them. Oh, they also freeze well!
Not at all! Just like in my chocolate zucchini cake, you don’t taste the zucchini one bit in these muffins. Instead of adding flavor, the zucchini adds moisture and a bit of nutritional value (though these are definitely still a sweet treat!).
What have you been doing with your zucchini this year? If you’re looking for more baking options, I recommend checking out my zucchini roll recipe–it’s like a summertime version of a pumpkin roll!
Enjoy!
Let’s bake together! Subscribe to my newsletter to be notified of all the newest recipes, and find my free recipe tutorials on YouTube 💜
Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins
Ingredients
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (50 g) light brown sugar firmly packed
- ⅓ cup (78 ml) neutral cooking oil I like avocado, but canola or vegetable will work
- ⅓ cup (78 ml) milk
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ¾ cups (218 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon optional
- ½ teaspoon table salt
- 1 cup (150 g) finely shredded zucchini Measure/weigh and then blot out the excess water with a paper towel
- 1 cup (170 g) semisweet chocolate chips
- 1 Tablespoon turbinado or granulated sugar for sprinkling on top
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425F (220C) and line a 12-count muffin tin with paper liners. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine sugars, oil, milk, egg, and vanilla and whisk vigorously until mixture is very well-combined and uniform in texture.½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar, ¼ cup (50 g) light brown sugar, ⅓ cup (78 ml) neutral cooking oil, ⅓ cup (78 ml) milk, 1 large egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- In a separate, medium-sized mixing bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon (if using) and salt.1 ¾ cups (218 g) all-purpose flour, 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder, ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon table salt
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry and use a spatula to gently fold together until about 50% combined. Add blotted zucchini and chocolate chips and continue to stir gently until batter is mostly uniform and zucchini and chocolate are well distributed.1 cup (150 g) finely shredded zucchini, 1 cup (170 g) semisweet chocolate chips
- Evenly divide batter into prepared muffin tin.
- Sprinkle muffin tops with additional sugar, then transfer to center rack of 425F (220C) oven. Bake for 8 minutes, then, without opening the oven door, reduce the oven temperature to 350F and continue to bake another 8-10 minutes, until muffins are baked through and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.1 Tablespoon turbinado or granulated sugar
- Allow muffins to cool in the tin for 5-10 minutes before carefully removing to a cooling rack to cool further before enjoying.
Notes
Storing
Once muffins have cooled completely they may be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days. They may also be wrapped in plastic and frozen for up to several months.Original recipe
I updated this recipe to improve upon it, but if you are looking for the original recipe published in 2015 you can find the original chocolate chip zucchini muffin here.Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Recipe originally published 7/24/2015, recipe has been improved and updated and a video has been added. Please see the notes in the recipe card if you are looking for the original recipe.
Meribeth
These are wonderful!! So fluffy and moist. I have been eating these for breakfast, lunch and dinner. (and extremely happy with that) Thank you for another winner!!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Meribeth! 🙂
Ashley
I had a coworker bring in a bunch of zucchinis so I came to your website first since everything I have ever made from here has been divine. These muffins are no exception! The only thing I did different was use 1/2 a cup less of the chocolate chips. I had to stop myself at 3 muffins once they came out of the oven… The next day, I brought some into work, and I had coworkers emailing me for the recipe so I sent them this link! Thanks, Sam!
Sam
I’m so glad everyone enjoyed them so much, Ashley! 🙂
Larissa Thomson
I have commented before, but I have to comment again. These are my go-to zucchini muffin recipe. They are amazing! So amazing in fact, that my daughter’s boyfriend requested these as a Christmas gift this year! They’re in the oven right now–in Christmas liners (of course!).
Sam
I m so happy to hear this! Thank you for letting me know how much your family loves them, it means a lot to me! 🙂
Merry Christmas!
Grace
Thees are so good! You cant even taste the Zucchini! I made a mini muffin batch and they were gone in less then 5 minutes. (I wasn’t the one who ate them all.) Theses are good beyond words! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed them so much, Grace! 🙂
Madelyn Giles
I can’t remember if you already stated this, but can I add nuts?
Sam
Hi Madelyn! That should be fine. 🙂
Shelley Garl
My family devoted them….I made a double batch!! High praise from the non-zucchini eaters in the family!
Sam
I am so glad everyone enjoyed them so much, Shelley! 🙂
Anju
They were so easy to make and turned out super delicious!!! Enjoyed thoroughly assisting my 7year old in this
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that you enjoyed them! I hope that you had fun making them together too! Thanks for trying my recipe, Anju! 🙂
Jenna
Made these today and they are fantastic. I didn’t have chocolate chips so I just added mite more zucchini to make up for them. Muffins still came out moist and fluffy. Thank you for the recipe!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed them so much, Jenna! 🙂
Jill
Delicious muffins Sam. What a delicious way to use up zucchini from the garden.
Sam
Thank you so much, Jill! I am glad you enjoyed them. 🙂
Larissa
These were amazing! Even my zucchini-averse teenage boy couldn’t get enough of them! Thank you. We will be putting these on the muffin rotation list for sure!
Sam
I am so glad everyone enjoyed them so much, Larissa! 🙂
Adina
Mmmmm, I feel like baking the muffins right now, I do have a zucchini in the fridge from my neighbour’s garden :). I love the plates as well, especially the one with the pattern. 🙂
Sam
Thank you, Adina!
Ben Maclain | Havocinthekitchen
That’s interesting. I’ve made a lot of carrot baked things. I’ve even incorporated beets, but I’ve never added zucchini. That’s kind of embarrassing. But you know what’s not embarrassing?! These lovely muffins. With cinnamon and chocolate, I’m in! Well done, Sam!
Sam
Thanks so much, Ben!
Zainab
Always a great classic to make any morning wonderful!!
Sam
Thanks so much, Zainab!
Kennedy Cole@ KCole's Creative Corner
Oh YES, Sam! I absolutely love these! Baking with zucchini is definitely one of my favorite things to do 😉 Zucchini really does add that perfect moist texture to any baked dish! And these muffins look so incredibly fluffy and light! LOVE these, Sam! 😀
Sam
Thanks so much, Kennedy! 🙂
Beeta @ Mon Petit Four
Your muffins look positively delicious, Sam! I love using zucchini in baked goods..reminds me of carrots in cake cake…they just tend to make the baked good so incredibly moist. And I bet your sister’s homegrown ones were incredible…the store-bought ones are just sad. Great job – I could totally go for one of these muffins! <3
Sam
Thank you so much, Beeta! The zucchini really does do so much for the moisture component!