Deeply chocolaty and ultra moist chocolate zucchini muffins. No one will be able to turn these down!
Why it works
These muffins are great and you need to make them asap. I spend some time recipe testing them and each time, the muffins were devoured in a day. Here is why they are so good and you need them in your life:
- Super moist, but not dense.
- Chocolaty, but not too decadent.
- A great way to use up the zucchini growing in your garden.
- Secretly full of veggies and kids inhale them!
- Not heavy on sugar, and added protein thanks to Greek yogurt.
Ingredients
The ingredients we use for these chocolate zucchini muffins are very simple. We don't need any special ingredients, and you probably already have everything you need in your kitchen right now.
- Flour - You will always get the best results with all-purpose flour. If you want to make these muffins a little better for you, I recommend using white whole wheat flour.
- Salt - As we should know at this point, the salt only serves to enhance all the flavors in the muffin. I always use sea salt in all my recipes, I recommend you do the same.
- Leavening - I use mostly baking powder, with just a bit of baking soda for a little extra lift because of how much we put into the muffins.
- Cocoa powder - You can use either natural or Dutch-processed cocoa powder. I used Hershey's Special Dark which is a mix of both natural and Dutch-processed cocoa powder.
- Coffee - This is great if you have any leftover coffee in the pot. Or if you have instant coffee, a few sprinkles of that and water is great. Coffee only enhances the chocolate flavor, it doesn't make the muffins taste like coffee. You can also use water or milk if you don't have coffee.
- Oil - Please use a neutral-flavored oil like refined coconut oil, vegetable oil, or avocado oil.
- Egg - I played with the recipe a bit and using one large egg gives you the best texture. As always, make sure it is room temperature.
- Yogurt - Use plain yogurt here. If you do not have yogurt, you can use sour cream or even buttermilk.
- Vanilla - I always recommend adding vanilla to your chocolate baked goods. It rounds out the chocolate flavor and gives your treat a little something special.
- Zucchini - For this recipe, we use roughly one whole medium zucchini. If your shredded zucchini is a little more or a little less than what the recipe calls for, don't worry. Your muffins should still turn out great! You can replace all or some of the zucchini with yellow squash if you want to use more produce.
- Chocolate chips - You should use semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips. If you want to make them even better, use chopped chocolate instead.
How to make
The best part about muffins are that they are one of the easiest things to make. Chocolate zucchini muffins are no exception.
- Preheat your oven and prep your muffin tin.
- Mix wet ingredients together in a bowl.
- Mix dry ingredients together in a bowl.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, then fold in the zucchini and chocolate chips.
- Evenly divide into the tin and bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
F.A.Q.s
No, the water content in the zucchini is what helps keep the muffins wonderfully moist.
Absolutely! These muffins freeze wonderfully when kept in an airtight container. Thaw at room temperature. Warm in the microwave for about 10 seconds to make them good as new!
Yes! If you need to bake up more muffins at once, the recipe doubles and triples well.
Yes! Grease and flour the 9 x 5 baking pan. The baking time will take longer, too. I recommend checking it after 30 minutes, then 5 minutes after that until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the middle.
Related recipes
If you want to enjoy all that summer has to offer, you must try this lemon zucchini bread. Summer is great when you have a berry rhubarb galette, blueberry lavender galette, and blackberry lemonade.
Recipe Card
Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour plus 1 tablespoon
- ⅓ cup cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg
- ¾ cup brown sugar firmly packed
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- ¼ cup coffee room temp
- ½ cup yogurt
- 1 ¼ cup shredded zucchini
- 1 ⅓ cups chocolate chips divided
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a muffin tin with liners.
- Add the 1 ¼ cup flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl. Stir well to combine.
- Add the egg, brown sugar, vegetable oil, coffee, and yogurt together in a separate bowl. Whisk well to combine.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the flour mixture and barely mix together.
- Toss the remaining tablespoon of flour in with 1 cup of the chocolate chips. Add the zucchini and chocolate chips into the flour mixture and just barely fold in.
- Evenly divide the batter into the muffin tin. They should be about ¾ full. Top with remaining chocolate chips.
- Bake for 18 - 20 minutes, to until a toothpick comes out with just a few crumbs clinging to it.
Notes
- You can replace the yogurt with buttermilk or sour cream.
- Top the muffins with extra chocolate chips for added deliciousness.
Serena Kidder says
I used mini chocolate chips and ran out to put some on top. ( I was doubling the batch) and they were delicious! I think they came out prettier than the pic. So the ones on top seem to be optional