Delicious and easy-to-make vegan gluten free zucchini chocolate chip muffins that are perfect for school snacks or for snacking on at home!
Part of my Sunday mornings consist of baking school snacks for the kids' upcoming week.
One of those snacks is these Vegan Gluten Free Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins.
During zucchini season, my Sunday baking list usually includes a zucchini recipe, and most of the time it's these Vegan Gluten Free Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins, my gluten-free banana zucchini bread, plain gluten free zucchini bread, or my vegan gluten-free chocolate zucchini bread. If I feel like having something savoury, then the go-to is zucchini fritters.
I also make them when zucchini is not in season. Yes, they're that good! When you have a craving, sometimes it can't wait until an ingredient is back in season!
If you want to save summer zucchini to make muffins in January (like me), check out this post on how to freeze zucchini. It's super easy and you'll be baking up zucchini treats all year long.
For those of you who have never baked with zucchini and are a little hesitant because you think your kids (or you!) may not like the finished product, fear not! Your creations are going to be delicious and other than seeing a fleck of green here and there, you will not know they contain zucchini.
Oh, and one more thing...
I know that gluten-free recipes can produce all sorts of different textures, so baking gluten-free may make you a bit nervous.
When I look at recipes online or in recipe books, I love when the author includes a shot of the inside of the finished product so I can see what the texture is supposed to be like.
Here is that shot, just for you:
As you can see, these vegan gluten free zucchini chocolate chip muffins come out fluffy, not dense, and totally drool-worthy!
Exactly the way a muffin should be whether it's vegan, gluten-free, or vegan AND gluten-free!
If you like these gluten-free zucchini muffins, you may also like these other vegan gluten-free muffin recipes:
- Gluten-Free Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
- Carrot Coconut Muffins
- Oatmeal Muffins
- Vegan Gluten Free Morning Glory Muffins
- Carrot Ginger Muffins
- Vegan Gluten Free Pumpkin Spice Muffins
- Old Fashioned Cake Doughnut Mini Muffins
And if you make them, let me know how it went in the comments below or show me a picture on Instagram or Facebook!
Vegan Gluten Free Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins
Suggested Equipment:
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons ground flax seeds
- 6 tablespoons water
- 1 ½ cups gluten-free flour blend **see important note about flour below**
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ cup melted coconut oil (plus extra for greasing muffin tin)
- ½ cup coconut sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup shredded zucchini (see note below)
- ¾ cup chocolate chips
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350°F
- Line a muffin tin with liners or generously grease the inside of each cup with coconut oil.
- Prepare your flax eggs by whisking together ground flax seeds and water. Set aside to thicken.
- In medium bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
- In a small bowl, mix the melted coconut oil, coconut sugar, vanilla, and flax mixture. Add in shredded zucchini and stir again until well combined.
- Add wet mixture to dry mixture and stir until combined taking care not to over mix. Fold in chocolate chips.
- Divide batter into the 12 muffin cups. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the middle of the largest muffin comes out clean.
Recipe Notes:
- Shred zucchini using the smaller of the two shredders on your box grater. After shredding DO NOT squeeze the liquid out of the zucchini.
- It's important to know that different gluten-free flour blends use different ingredients and ratios, so results will always vary if you substitute. I have never used any other brand of flour to make this recipe (other than Bob's Red Mill in the red bag, NOT the blue bag), so please know that your results may not be the same as mine if ingredients are substituted.
- This recipe will NOT work with coconut flour.
- Raisins can be used in place of the chocolate chips if that is your preference. If you do use raisins, try using this raisin trick before adding them to the batter.
- Nutrition info is based on the recipe as it is written and is to be used only as a rough guide. Click here to learn how nutrition info is calculated on this website.
Nutrition Info:
Photos for this post were updated June 2017.
Mariana says
Absolutely wonderful! I made these this morning and doubled the batch. My entire family loved them, and everyone asked for seconds! Thank you so much for this delicious recipe!
Gwen @ Delightful Adventures says
Thanks so much for your note, Mariana! I am so happy to hear that they were a hit for you and your family 🙂
Keo says
Just made these for my kiddo's school snack tomorrow and they turned out delish! I may have overmixed, so they weren't as fluffy and didn't rise as much as I would have liked, but they still tasted amazing. I love zucchini pancakes and always add fresh orange zest, so I did the same with these muffins. I think zucchini and orange make such a great pairing! Thanks for the wonderful recipe.
Gwen @ Delightful Adventures says
Hi Keo! So glad to hear they turned out well! Over mixing can be a contributor to them not being as fluffy, but it could also be the baking powder or baking soda not being fresh. I love adding zucchini to pancakes, too! However, I've never tried the orange zest, I will have to try that next time, great idea! Thanks for your note! 🙂
Jessica says
These muffins are AMAZING! I had a dinner party with people who were skeptic about the way I eat and they loved these! I make them in my mini muffin pan and they are so yummy! Thank you so much! Great recipe!
Gwen @ Delightful Adventures says
Yay! So glad they were a hit, Jessica! 🙂 I haven't made them mini yet, but I think I will make them that way next time!
Vicky says
These are Yummy they are a sticky when you mix them up but don't let that worry you because it is caused by the coconut oil cooling down. No need to add any liquid Use frozen zucchini from our garden & Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 Baking Flour.
Gwen @ Delightful Adventures says
Happy they turned out well for you, Vicky! 🙂 It's nice to use zucchini you grew yourself, I can't wait to get my garden going this year!
francesca says
Hello there beautiful! Thank you so much for being part of my 50 Epic Vegan Back to School recipes' roundup ♥ I loved your recipe!
Wanda says
These muffins were absolutely yummy, I added unsweetened cranberries. I doubled the recipe, will quadruple it to make more, so I can freeze some.
Enjoyed by everyone. Thank you for the delicious recipe
Gwen @ Delightful Adventures says
I'm so happy to hear they were enjoyed by everyone! Great idea with the cranberries, I may have to try that next time I make them! Thanks for your message, Wanda, you made me smile 🙂
Alexandra says
My daughter made a double-batch of these delicious muffins the other day. And they're gone. 😩 So delish!
Gwen @ Delightful Adventures says
I'm so glad they were a hit for you and your daughter, Alexandra! Thanks for including them in your roundup 🙂
Jenn says
The perfect way to sneak extra greens into my kids. They'll eat anything with chocolate chips! 🙂 The texture of these muffins look perfect ...and that's hard to do with gluten free. Great job! Can't wait to try them!
Gwen @ Delightful Adventures says
They sure will! My kids love these muffins! If you try them, I hope you like them as much as we do, Jenn 🙂
Sarah McMinn says
Yum! I love the flavor combination of these muffins. I can't wait to try them!
Gwen @ Delightful Adventures says
I hope you like them, Sarah! 🙂
Amy Katz from Veggies Save The Day says
I am so happy these are not only vegan, but also gluten-free! I used to be addicted to zucchini chocolate chip bread when I was in college, so these muffins are calling my name!
Becky Striepe says
Oh, I love that this is allergy-friendly! I need to make these for Darrol's lunches next year. His school is nut free, which is a learning process for me. I used to pack cashews for him almost every day!
Gwen @ Delightful Adventures says
Thanks, Becky! All schools and daycares up here are nut-free, as far as I know, which is good for us because one of my littles can't have cashews. It will be a change from packing him nuts but there are so many allergy-friendly recipes out there, you won't have any problems at all 🙂
Shlomit says
Hi Gwen,
I couldn’t find the flour you used in our local supermarket. So, In picked up a different one that the blend has Xantham gum. Do I still need to add the flax called for in the recipe?
Gwen Leron says
Hi Shlomit! I have not tried this recipe with a flour blend that has xanthan gum so I'm unsure of how the muffins would turn out. It all depends on the blend you bought and the flours included in it, since all gluten-free flour blends are made from a different group of flour. I think you will need to experiment a little, I would still add the flax eggs, though, since xanthan doesn't work as an egg replacement when it's in a blend (to work as an egg replacer xanthan gum would need to be mixed with water separately). I hope it works out for you, please let me know how things go.
Mary Ellen - VNutrition says
Ooh yum! These look delicious Gwen! I've never tried zucchini muffins before but totally trying these. Love that they're gluten free too!
Gwen @ Delightful Adventures says
Thanks, Mary Ellen! I love to bake with zucchini! You don't taste it at all, but I like the extra nutrition boost and the moisture it adds. You should try 🙂
Vanessa @ VeganFamilyRecipes.com says
mmm yum! These look incredible! It's tough to make nice fluffy gluten-free muffins but it looks like you nailed it! I'll definitely have to try these 🙂
Gwen says
Thanks, Vanessa! Let me know how you like them if you try!