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Rich, moist, and decadent Flourless Chocolate Zucchini Muffins made gluten-free and dairy-free with wholesome ingredients. You’d never guess these amazing muffins are actually good for you!
Chocolate lovers, break out your muffin pan, because these double chocolate zucchini muffins will take you to your favorite dimension and you’ll want to keep a batch in your home at all times!
Even I was blown away by how moist, fluffy, rich and chocolatey these muffins turned out. Every bite lights up the brain chemicals and gives your taste buds the luxury they desire.
For me, they are a post-dinner sweet treat that I’m happy to enjoy each and every day, and I also see them as the perfect afternoon snack. Going on a road trip or need something quick and delicious? These muffins are your muse!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe:
- Easy to Prepare: There’s no need for a stand mixer or baking experience, as everything gets blended into a food processor. There’s no separating the dry ingredients from the wet ingredients, which saves time.
- Allergy-Friendly: Provided there isn’t a nut allergy, these muffins are allergy friendly as they are naturally gluten-free and dairy-free, made without all purpose flour. Trust me, the taste and texture is still divine in spite of the omission of flour!
- Rich Chocolate Flavor: Undoubtedly the reason you’re here! These magical muffins are positively packed with chocolatey goodness, ideal for the chocolate lover.
- Wholesome Ingredients: For those who love a sweet treat that is made with unprocessed (or less processed) ingredients, this easy recipe is your shining star!
- Incredible Moisture and Texture: These muffins have such amazing texture from the moist fluffiness that they taste like decadent chocolate cupcakes!
The best part about these gluten-free chocolate zucchini muffins is that all of the simple ingredients can be found at your local grocery store. Plus, you get to use up your abundance of zucchini from the garden.
Ingredient Notes:
Fresh Zucchini: The star of the show! One medium-sized zucchini squash gets grated up and added to the muffin batter. While many recipes for zucchini muffins and zucchini bread require you to drain the excess moisture out of the zucchini, I build the moisture into the recipe so that we can skip this step entirely.
Cocoa Powder: The majority of the chocolate flavor comes from cocoa powder. I use raw cacao powder because it is less bitter and has a creamier flavor than regular cocoa powder. Nevertheless, any kind of unsweetened cocoa powder works except for dutch-processed cocoa powder.
Cashew Butter or Almond Butter: The secret ingredient! Here for richness and moisture, cashew butter (or your favorite nut butter) adds fat and flavor to the muffins. Almond butter, walnut butter, peanut butter, and sunflower seed butter all work. Just note that you will be able to taste the flavor of peanut butter or sunflower seed butter.
Large Eggs: A couple of eggs help the batter rise into a magical fluffy texture. I haven’t tested an egg-free version of the recipe, but feel free to drop a comment below if you give it a whirl.
Pure Maple Syrup: The sweetener here. I like using pure maple syrup because it is less refined than cane sugar, and it also adds moisture to the muffins.
Vanilla Extract: A splash of vanilla brings a lovely warm nuance to these chocolate muffins.
Baking Soda + Lemon Juice: The leavening agent. The combination of baking soda and an acid like lemon juice provides the chemical reaction needed for the ultimate fluffy texture.
Ground Cinnamon: While optional, I like adding ground cinnamon to my baked goods for some extra flavor.
Chocolate Chips: For little pockets of chocolate goo, add chocolate chips. This also makes the muffins taste sweeter and richer. I use semisweet chocolate chips but dark chocolate chips and sugar-free chocolate chips work too.
Sea Salt: A big flavor enhancer, salt brings out the sweetness and the chocolate essence.
Recipe Customizations:
- For sweeter muffins, add 1 to 4 tablespoons of brown sugar or coconut sugar.
- You can swap our the zucchini squash for yellow squash.
- For extra chocolate flavor, add extra chocolate chips.
How to Make Flourless Zucchini Muffins:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a muffin tin with 9 paper liners. Note: I recommend lining the muffin cups with liners versus using nonstick spray because they are necessary for maintaining the structure of the muffins. Because these muffins are gluten-free and don’t contain starch, they have a tendency to crumble in the absence of muffin liners.
Use a box grater or the grating attachment on a food processor to grate 1 cup worth of zucchini.
Add all of the ingredients for the muffins (including the grated zucchini) to a food processor. Process until a smooth muffin batter forms. If you’d like, stir in ½ cup of chocolate chips.
Pour the muffin batter into the prepared muffin tray, filling the holes most of the way up. If you’d like, top with more chocolate chips.
Bake on the center rack of the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until the muffins are cooked through.
Insert a digital thermometer into the center of one of the muffins. If it is 190 degrees F or higher, the muffins are ready.
Allow the muffins to cool completely to room temperature before peeling off a muffin paper to enjoy one. This prevents much of the muffin being lost to the liner.
Storage Options:
- Room Temperature: Store the muffins in an airtight container or a zip lock bag on the counter for up to 2 days.
- Refrigerator: Refrigerate for up to 7 days.
- Freezer: Freeze leftover muffins in a freezer bag or in a freezer-safe container for up to 2 months.
These healthy chocolate zucchini muffins are one of my absolute favorites during zucchini season and beyond! Make them the next time you’re craving a delicious muffin.
If you love baking homemade muffins, also try these reader favorites!
More Healthy Muffin Recipes:
- Cottage Cheese Muffins
- Double Chocolate Sweet Potato Muffins
- Oatmeal Chocolate Banana Muffins
- Almond Flour Banana Muffins
- Oatmeal Peanut Butter Banana Muffins
- Oatmeal Banana Zucchini Muffins
Extra nutrients in your muffins!
Gluten-Free Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 cup grated zucchini
- 1 cup cashew butter , or unsweetened almond butter
- 2 large eggs
- ⅔ cup pure maple syrup
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 tsp lemon juice , or cider vinegar
- ⅔ cup cocoa powder
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon, optional
- 3/4 tsp sea salt*
- ½ cup chocolate chips, optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a muffin tin with 9 paper liners.
- Use a box grater or the grating attachment on a food processor to grate 1 cup worth of zucchini.
- Add all of the ingredients for the muffins (including the grated zucchini) to a food processor. Process until a smooth muffin batter forms. If you’d like, stir in ½ cup of chocolate chips.
- Pour the muffin batter into the prepared muffin tray, filling the holes most of the way up. If you’d like, top with more chocolate chips.
- Bake on the center rack of the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until the muffins are cooked through.
- Insert a digital thermometer into the center of one of the muffins. If it is 190 degrees F or higher, the muffins are ready.
- Allow the muffins to cool completely to room temperature before peeling off a muffin paper to enjoy one. This prevents much of the muffin being lost to the liner.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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