Chocolate Zucchini Muffins with Avocado {5 Years of Blogging!}
WE ARE HERE. Five years of blogging. Five years of recipes. Five years of me prattling on about my life, overusing alliteration, then convincing you that you should make the same thing I just did, which today includes these moist, decadent, and deceptively healthy Avocado Chocolate Zucchini Muffins.
Yes, it is my FIVE YEAR BLOGIVERSARY. This calls for a double serving of Avocado Chocolate Zucchini Muffins which, appropriately enough, contain double the chocolate.
Also, did you catch that ample alliteration in the opening paragraph? I’m honestly not sure how you managed to put up with my literary excess for so long, but you have. Five years after I hit “publish” on that first post, we are still together. For that, and for so much more, I am truly, deeply grateful.
When I began this website five years ago, I barely knew what a food blog was, let alone that it could be an actual job. If you had told me back then that if I stuck with blogging long enough and worked hard enough that other people—people who were not my mom, grandma, or Ben’s aunt—would read it and even make my recipes, I would have stared at you like you had two heads.
If you had told me that I’d eventually leave my very stable consulting job to pursue blogging as an actual career in which I would earn an actual income, I would have stared at you like you had three.
I spent a long time staring at my computer screen last night, struggling for the words that would express how grateful I am for your support without sounding completely cheesy and cliché. I failed. Dozens of sentences written and deleted, and they all came back to one, clear point:
I couldn’t do this without you, and I am abundantly, fiercely grateful that you are here.
I have the great privilege to do something that I love every single day and do it in a way that most intimately expresses my love for and connection to others: through food. I am immeasurably blessed.
While I enjoy many aspects of blogging, the one that keeps me motivated on the days when I struggle (and there have been many) is knowing that what I make in my Wisconsin kitchen comes to life in yours. Whether you leave a comment on a post telling me you tried a recipe, send me an email to tell me that your husband (or picky toddler) who “doesn’t like healthy food” loved my dish, or post a photo of a recipe you made to Instagram (use #wellplated; it’s the best way for me to find it!), YOU MAKE MY DAY. Five years and hundreds of recipes later, and it still blows my mind that people actually make what I post. Once again, thank you.
And to my quieter readers, the ones who sign up for my email list, like Well Plated on Facebook, or make a recipe without commenting, or who simply check the site every now and then to see what I’ve posted, I am incredibly grateful for you too. Your support is critical and allows me to continue to grow and create.
When I thought about what recipe I wanted to share to celebrate the five-year mark, it was harder than I’d expected. I’d already gone back and reshot my very first recipe (yay Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas!), and I’d recently posted this over-the-top Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake, so it felt too soon for another decadent dessert. I wanted whatever recipe I shared to feel representative of both my overall recipe point of view AND of the recipes I know that you, my wonderful readers, love most.
Answer: MUFFINS!
But not just any muffins. These muffins needed to be indisputably delicious while still using wholesome ingredients. I wanted them to taste rich and satisfying but still be fit for a healthy breakfast. Also, chocolate. We needed chocolate.
Although Well Plated is a mostly “healthy” food blog, to me healthy doesn’t mean sticking to a specific diet, giving up favorite foods (chocolate forever ♥), or blowing your budget on fancy ingredients.
I firmly believe that healthy eating can (and should!) be just as satisfying as the alternative, if not more so. A healthy, balanced diet will help you lead a more energetic, balanced life, and it can be SO YUMMY too. I delight in creating more wholesome versions of everyday comfort foods, and muffins have been some of your absolute favorites!
Let’s take a stroll down the Well Plated muffin memory lane:
- Blender Banana Oatmeal Muffins: THE most popular recipe on Well Plated!
- Healthy Blueberry Muffins: My personal favorite (and many of your favorites too!).
- Irish Soda Bread Muffins: The ideal balance of sweet and savory.
- Healthy Banana Muffins with Walnuts: One of my more meaningful posts, because I published it when Ben graduated law school (staying busy in the years he studied is why I started a blog in the first place!)
- Healthy Zucchini Muffins with Chocolate Chips: My other favorite. I can have more than one, yes?
- Buttermilk Crunch Muffins: The very first muffin recipe on Well Plated.
- How to Properly STORE Your Muffins: Because clearly, we are into all things muffin.
- PLUS ALL OF THESE MUFFINS. Clearly, I have a fetish.
These healthy Avocado Chocolate Zucchini Muffins with Chocolate Chips are the next stop on the Well Plated muffin tour. They are also exactly the sort of recipe I wanted to give you today:
- Easy to make.
- Made from wholesome ingredients.
- Hidden veggies.
- Double the chocolate.
- Picky eater approved (three separate toddlers devoured theirs).
- DELICIOUS.
I truly wish that we could all squeeze into my kitchen so that I could serve you a Avocado Chocolate Zucchini Muffin, warm from my oven with the chocolate chips still melty on top, and do my best to tell you in person how much it means to me that you are here. Although we are separated by a computer screen, that doesn’t change one ounce of how much I appreciate you.
Thank you once again for making these last five years possible. Cheers to you, to chocolate zucchini muffins, and to many more to come!
Love, Erin
Tools I used to make these Avocado Chocolate Zucchini Muffins:
- This brilliant muffin tin: It’s durable, easy to clean, and comes with a lid so that you can easily transport the muffins too.
- Coarse grater: Easiest for grating a small amount of zucchini. (For larger amounts, I like to use the grater blade on my food processor.)
Chocolate Zucchini Muffins with Avocado
Healthy Chocolate Zucchini Muffins. Moist, tender muffins made with avocado, whole wheat flour, and chocolate chips. You’ll never taste the veggies!
Yield: 12 muffins
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 cup very finely shredded zucchini (about 1 small/medium zucchini)
- 1 medium avocado, peeled and pitted
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted and cooled to room temperature (or substitute light extra-virgin olive oil or canola oil)
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 2/3 cup coconut sugar (or substitute granulated sugar)
- 2 tablespoons milk, any kind you like (I use unsweetened vanilla almond milk)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 cups white whole wheat flour
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips, mini or regular
Directions:
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. Coat a 12-cup standard size muffin tin with baking spray. Set aside.
- Spread the zucchini out on a few layers of kitchen or paper towels. Press out as much water as possible, changing out the towels as needed. Set aside.
- Place the avocado in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a large mixing bowl. Beat with the mixer until the avocado is very smooth and no chunks remain. You should have about 2/3 cups of smooth avocado paste. Add the coconut oil, egg, coconut sugar, milk, and vanilla extract, beating until well combined.
- In a separate bowl, stir together the white whole wheat flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, folding by hand with a wooden spoon or spatula and stirring just until the flour disappears. The batter will be very thick, almost like brownie batter, and the dry ingredients will take several strokes to work in between additions. Fold in the zucchini and chocolate chips, reserving a few of the chocolate chips to sprinkle on top of the muffins.
- Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling no more than three-quarters of the way to the top. Sprinkle with the remaining chocolate chips. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, until the tops are set and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean with just a few moist crumbs clinging to it. Let cool in the pan for 2 minutes, them transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Store leftovers at room temperature according to my guide for How to Store Muffins for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
- If you would like to reduce the calorie count of the muffins, omit or reduce the number of chocolate chips.
Nutrition Information
Serving Size: 1 muffin
- Amount Per Serving:
- Calories: 188 Calories
- Total Fat: 8g
- Saturated Fat: 4g
- Cholesterol: 16mg
- Sodium: 160mg
- Carbohydrates: 30g
- Fiber: 5g
- Sugar: 16g
- Protein: 3g
Did you try this recipe? I want to see! Follow Well Plated on Instagram, snap a photo, and tag it #wellplated. I love to know what you are making!
About Erin Clarke
I’m fearlessly dedicated to making healthy food taste incredible. Wearer of plaid, travel enthusiast, and firmly convinced that sweets and veggies both deserve a place at the table. MORE ABOUT ERIN…
Happy five years, Erin! Your blog is truly one of my favorite spaces on the internet, and sooo many of your recipes have been brought into my kitchen! You’re great at what you do, and your dedication is clear. :)
Melissa, I am almost tearing up reading this, thank you! These are such kind words and they really mean a lot to me. I truly couldn’t blog without wonderful readers like you!
Happy blogiversary!
I just recently came into your blog and have truly enjoyed the recipes, articles and sense of humor! Thank you!
Kim, I am so excited that you found my blog and to have you here! Thank you!
Awww Erin, happy blogiversary!! :) I honestly remember one of your first posts and it’s so incredible to see how much your blog has grown! These muffins are the perfect kind of recipe for a celebration! Cheers to you!
Marina, I can remember you commenting on those early posts! Your ongoing support means so, so much. Thank you, and I’m so glad that we got to e-meet through blogging :-)
Thank YOU for the kind comments – I’m sure that I’m not the only one who appreciates the hard work that goes into creating such wonderful recipes that are also healthy. I’ve tried many of them (the Irish Soda Bread Muffins are the greatest!) and am pleased to say that my husband also likes the recipes I’ve tried.
Happy 5th. and keep up the good work.
Chris, thank you for reading, for trying my recipes, and for helping me do what I love every day. It means more than I can say!
Happy blogging anniversary, Erin! I had a job interview last week, and during the “get to know you” portion of the interview, they asked me what my favorite website was. I told them the honest answer: your blog! You have helped so much since I graduated college last year and wanted to start cooking for myself but maintain a healthy diet. Your recipes are always approachable and delicious, your writing is delightful to read, and the updates about your life always make me smile. I am so grateful that I found your blog. Keep doing what you do, because you are so appreciated. <3
Annie, you just MADE MY DAY. Thank you!! I can’t say how much this means to me. Knowing that my recipes come to life in your kitchen and that they are helping you enjoy healthy meals is what motivates me more than anything else. Thanks again!
Happy five years Erin, that’s amazing, and love following your journey :)
Thank you SO MUCH Phi! I’m so glad that blogging allowed me to meet you too <3
Erin, do you think I could sub a GF flour blend (Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1)?
Thanks! These look so yummy! Love zucchini!
P.S. Happy 5 Years of Blogging :)
Lauren, I have never tried a 1:1 GF blend in a muffin recipe, but if you’ve been happy with how it’s worked for muffins in the past, then I think that would work just fine!I hope you love the recipe (and thank you!!)
Congratulations on your five ‘blogversary’! Your blog is beautiful and you couldn’t choose a better recipe to celebrate. The pictures are wonderful! Keep on the good work!
Olivia, THANK YOU! Your support and kind comments mean so much. I’m so glad we got to e-meet via blogging too!
Congratulations on your five years and many more Erin! I love your blog, your recipes, your style, your writing and everything about this blog. Keep up the good work!!!
Amy, THANK YOU! This means so much xoxo
Happy blog anniversary! These look amazing Erin!
Thanks so much lady!! So happy blogging led me to meet you! xoxo
Congratulations on 5 years of blogging! I have a number of your recipes that I make with some regularity, so I appreciate that you share them with us. Even though I rarely bake, I’ve saved this muffin recipe, because they’d make a very nice snack (…and my husband who doesn’t appreciate avocados would never know there was avocado in them…)
Congrats, Erin! You have a beautiful blog and great recipes! Like these muffins! I can’t believe I haven’t made any muffins yet. I think I will start with your recipe as those muffins look perfect to me!
Congratulations on five years of awesome contribution to the blogosphere! :) Thanks for all of your hardwork and fun posts, not to mention your insanely good recipes.
Happy Blogiversary Erin! I loved your blog when I discovered it 3 years ago or so because I loved to read and support a local Madison blogger. This is one of my go-to blogs when I’m looking for a new recipe to try, along with the many favorites I already have (not surprisingly, many of them are muffins.) I’m excited to see what you have in store for us in year six!
I’ve only been with you for a year (or two), but I LOVE reading your blog (you’re pretty funny!) and the recipes of yours that I have tried…very DELICIOUS! Happy 5th blogiversary! I love making good things to eat, but I’m not so good at creation, which is why I totally appreciate the ones who create! Keep up the great work! I’m going to make these muffins to take to my son this weekend!
THANK YOU so much Donna! I am so so glad you found my blog. I hope you and your son both enjoy the muffins!
Hi Erin! Congratulations! I don’t know how you do it – keeping us entertained as well as healthy and well-informed about how to bring good foods to life! Thank you for the joy you share and have shared for the last five years (it is contagious)! I look forward to each and every post! Hope Ben will take you OUT for dinner tonight!!! You deserve a break!!!
Laurie, you are the sweetest! Thank YOU for your ongoing support over the years. I can’t say enough how much it means! And confession: we are eating leftovers for dinner tonight (recipe I photographed earlier today), but I am sure that there will be a glass of wine to go along with them :). Have a wonderful evening and thank you again!
So proud of you. xoxo
Couldn’t do this without you friend. You are simply the best! SO happy to have met you xoxo
Happy blogging anniversary, Erin! Congratulations!
Thank you Erin, so SO much!
These sound wonderful and I can’t wait to make them. I love that the amount of added fat is so low. Congratulations on five years of blogging. I have made several of your recipes since finding this blog and they have all been wonderful.
That makes my day Patty, THANK YOU!
On my list to make this week! Had your lemon basil one pot chicken dinner last night and your chocolate chip pumpkin bread is in heavy rotation around here. I always look forward to your emails and I don’t think there’s one I haven’t pinned. Your recipes are fantastic. Happy blog anniversary and thanks for your creative energy and deliciousiousness too.
Sherrie, THANK YOU! This comment is a joy to read. I can’t say enough how much it means to know that you enjoy my recipes. And now I am craving that pumpkin bread :-)
Fantastic muffins! And congratulations on 5 years. I am just about to reach 2 and I think that is a big deal, lol. So I very much admire that. And yes, food blogging 5 years ago would have been something that is not in the norm, and it is hard to strongly commit to it when other people don’t see the point. But that is starting to change now because of committed, hard working bloggers such as yourself. So thank you for sharing this (:
I was thinking we should pay a little bit of homage to “The Law Student’s Wife!” I didn’t think I’d ever get used to the new name, but I certainly have! It is nice that Ben is no longer a law student and you are not married to a law student anymore, but to a full-fledged attorney! I know you started it as a hobby and something to keep you busy while Ben was toiling away at school and the library! And, look what you’ve created! Awesome!
Hey Erin! Congratulations!!
These look amazing. Any good substitute for egg for these? My son is allergic but love to make things with hidden veggies. Thank you!
Angela, I’ve never tried this recipe with a flax egg, but if you have had success with it in other muffin recipes, then I think it would be worth experimenting. If you do decide to play around and try it, I’d love to hear how it goes.
Erin, you are one of my “every day” blogs that I read, re-read and remember as I’m planning meals, healthy, delicious, sometimes decadent treats and when I’m in the mood to live vicariously thru your travels. 🤓 Thank you for making my kitchen adventures more sweet, savory and satisfying! PS, just made Banana Walnut Muffins AGAIN — the best!
Marina, I can’t say enough how much this makes me smile! Thank you so much for reading my blog and for your support. And those muffins are some of my absolute favorites too!
Congratulations Erin on your 5th anniversary of blogging!! I’m a quite new comer to your blog about 2 years and have been loving it! I love your healthy approach. These Chocolate Zucchini Muffins with Avocado look awesome! I have never tried baking with Avocados so I am definitely going to be making these. Looking forward to many more years of reading your blog and recipes!
Kristen, thank you so much! It really means a lot to me to have you as a reader of my blog. I hope that you love these muffins. Avocado is really wonderful in baking because it makes things so moist and is healthy too!
hey girl- congrats on your 5 years! Love ya!!!
Thank you so, so much Shawnna! And thank you for your wonderful comments along the way. I can’t say enough how much it means to me!
These muffins are really good! I only had two-thirds of an avocado, but I added a splash more milk and olive oil to compensate. I got 10 gloriously tall, domed muffins, and they’re delicious!
I am so excited to hear that Caitlin! Thank you so much for trying the recipe and for taking time to report back. I really appreciate it!
I made these today and they were incredible. I am new to your site, but have already pinned loads of recipes! Cant wait to try more