Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

Moist and healthy Chocolate Zucchini Muffins with chocolate chips (of course!), a few other sneak ingredients (yes, yes), and tender crumb are the mid-month treat we need right now. Their wholesome ingredient lineup speaks to all things healthy + January + I want to eat this all the time, so let’s behave. Their decadent, fudgy texture screams treat yo self + I’ve been good long enough + chocolate for breakfast makes life better, so let’s do it.

I originally shared this recipe to celebrate a big-time blog milestone (5 YEARS of blogging. Update: we are now approaching 7, eek!). I’m resharing today because these Chocolate Zucchini Muffins are so very perfect for the January mid-point.

We’re removed enough from the holidays for the reality that the next “free” day off isn’t until end of May is settling in. The healthy eating mantras we set on January 1 are feeling decidedly less decided. We’re busy and we’re hungry and does eating a healthy muffin for breakfast make any difference anyway?

Yes, it does. And yes it can be delicious! Case in point: Chocolate Zucchini Muffins. They’re whole wheat, naturally sweetened with honey, and when you start your day with one, you’ll feel like you’re a part of a super special club.

The tasty chocolate for breakfast, I eat healthy and it’s happy, homemade muffins are the best muffins club!

Chocolate Zucchini Muffins–A Healthy Muffin Recipe for a Happy Day

When I first shared this Chocolate Zucchini Muffins recipe on my 5-year “blog-iversary,” I spent a long time deliberating what kind of recipe to share. I wanted it 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 need chocolate.

Although this 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.

Healthy Muffin Recipes–A Stroll through Your (and My!) Favorites

• Healthy Chocolate Muffins. Another chocolate for breakfast recipe!
• Blender Banana Oatmeal Muffins: One of the most popular recipes on Well Plated!
• Chocolate Banana Muffins: All the fudgy, chocolate goodness!
• Healthy Blueberry Muffins: My personal favorite (and many of your favorites too!).
• 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 favorite one, yes?
• Breakfast Egg Muffins: Breaking the muffin mold.
• Applesauce Muffins: Like eating a hug (in a good way).
• Raspberry Muffins: Moist, healthy, and kissed with lemon!
• How to Properly STORE Your Muffins: Because clearly, we are into all things muffin.
• PLUS ALL OF THESE MUFFINS.

Recipe Adaptations

• Chocolate Zucchini Muffins, Gluten Free. I’d suggest swapping a gluten free 1:1 baking flour like this one.
• Chocolate Zucchini Muffins, Calorie Count. Considering the healthy fats in these muffins, I find the calorie count reasonable, but if you’d like to reduce it, you can omit or reduce the amount of chocolate chips.
• Chocolate Zucchini Muffins, Vegan. For this adaptation, use a non-dairy milk. You’ll also need this recipe to be Chocolate Zucchini Muffins, no eggs, so I’d suggest a flax egg (not yet tested, but I believe it would work!).
• Chocolate Zucchini Muffins, Keto. This is one I’m afraid I can’t comment on, since I don’t follow a keto diet. I believe you will need to use an alternative sweetener, so I’d suggest looking for a recipe that is already designed this way. (The avocado, however, should be keto friendly!)
• About That Avocado. The avocado makes the muffins ultra moist, and its taste is super duper subtle. I hardly noticed it, and a few of my friends make them routinely for their kids, and the kiddos don’t notice it either.

How to Store and Freeze These Muffins

• To Store. Store leftovers at room temperature according to my guide for How to Store Muffins for up to 5 days.
• To Freeze. Individually wrap muffins and place in an airtight freezer-safe storage container. Freeze for up to 3 months.

I truly wish that we could all squeeze into my kitchen so that I could serve you a 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 I am abundantly, fiercely grateful that you are here.

When I began this website, 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.

Although we are separated by a computer screen, that doesn’t change one ounce of how much I appreciate you. Thank you so much for being here, for putting up with my life stories and overuse of alliteration, and for bringing recipes like these Chocolate Zucchini Muffins to life in your kitchen.

You make this little corner of the internet (and therefore this recipe!) possible. Cheers to you, to Chocolate Zucchini Muffins, and to many more healthy muffin recipes to come!

Recommended Tools to Make 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.)

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Chocolate Zucchini Muffins with Avocado

Yield: 12 muffins

Prep Time:

20 mins

Cook Time:

15 mins

Total Time:

40 mins

Healthy Chocolate Zucchini Muffins. Moist, tender muffins made with avocado, whole wheat flour, and chocolate chips. You'll never taste the veggies!

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

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. Coat a 12-cup standard size muffin tin with nonstick spray. Set aside.

2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.

Recipe Notes

• 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.

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Chocolate Zucchini Muffins with Avocado, Healthy Muffin Recipe

All text and images © Erin Clarke / Well Plated.

Nutrition Information

Amount per serving (1 muffin) — Calories: 188, Fat: 8g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Cholesterol: 16mg, Sodium: 160mg, Carbohydrates: 30g, Fiber: 5g, Sugar: 16g, Protein: 3g

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