How do you feel about vegetables in desserts?
A few years ago, I decided I to start growing my own food.
With two relatively decent-sized beds and almost no shade, I’d say I had a pretty good start!
Yet I didn’t have experience with layout, types of vegetables to plant, when to plant, etc. Basically, I was a total gardening novice with nothing more than a will to grow stuff. 😉
So I picked seeds for the vegetables I used most, which included zucchini, and got planting.
One problem though… I didn’t know that zucchini likes space. As the weeks wore on, I had more zucchini than I knew what to do with. The rest of my vegetables were slowly being swallowed up by the massive growth sprawling over my beds!
That summer my family ate more zucchini than probably any other. I began looking at it as a challenge: me against zucchini, and I was ready for it!
Besides grilled, sauteed, and spiralized zucchini, I thought I’d give zucchini desserts a try, too.
Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins Are Elegant
I’d heard of zucchini in baked goods before but wasn’t quite convinced that it was an actual thing. Turns out, it definitely is a thing!
Chocolate and zucchini are meant to be together. This worked out perfectly as chocolate is kind of my weakness.
In considering my options, chocolate zucchini bread was on the table… but I thought I’d opt for something a little more elegant.
Yes, I find muffins elegant. There’s something about peeling back the paper and biting into a muffin that’s so satisfying.
Not many foods get to wear clothing, after all. But, off topic.
I made several batches of healthy chocolate zucchini muffins, perfecting them as I went along. The end result? A deep, chocolate-y, velvety muffin recipe — flavorful and moist.
The shredded zucchini works perfectly to keep the muffins nice and tender. With each bite, a bit of extra chocolate lingers in your mouth from the chocolate chips.
In my book, having these double chocolate zucchini muffins at the ready is pretty fantastic. If you have little ones in the house, be prepared for them to vanish rather quickly because my kids loved these muffins!
Whether you decide to tell them there’s zucchini in them, is entirely up to you! And, because they are baked with coconut flour and almond flour, they are gluten-free.
The optimal way to store chocolate zucchini muffins (should they not disappear the same day), is in an air-tight container at either room temperature or refrigerator.
Gluten-Free Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
How do you feel about vegetables in dessert? Chocolate and zucchini make the BEST combo, don't you think? Shredded zucchini keeps these double chocolate zucchini muffins moist... and there's no beating them, because this velvety, gluten-free muffin recipe is also healthy! No grains (just almond flour and coconut flour), no refined sugar (just maple syrup), and perfectly Paleo compliant.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup almond butter runny
- 4 eggs room temperature
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 5 tablespoon coconut oil melted
- 2 tablespoon coconut cream
- 1 cup zucchini grated (just less than about 1 medium-sized zucchini)
- 1/4 cup almond flour
- 1/4 cup coconut flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 pinch sea salt
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 cup allergy-friendly chocolate chips
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
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In large bowl, combine almond butter, eggs, maple syrup, vanilla extract, coconut oil, coconut cream.
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Whisk until combined.
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Grate the zucchini.
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Fold in shredded zucchini.
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In separate bowl, combine flours, baking soda, salt, cocoa powder, and cinnamon.
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Slowly add dry ingredients to wet ones.
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Fold in chocolate chips.
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Prepare a muffin tin with muffin liners.
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Fill each muffin cup 3/4 of the way.
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Bake muffins on middle rack for 21 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
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Let cool, and enjoy!
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Store at room temperature or in the refrigerator.
Recipe Notes
Make sure not to over-mix the batter. Work it enough for all ingredients to be combined but don't go overboard. This way you'll end up with tasty, melt-in-your-mouth, grain-free muffins that will satisfy your chocolate and sweet cravings! Oh, and right, they’re actually pretty healthy too!
Can zucchini and squash be used interchangeably in recipes?
Absolutely! Feel free to swap out the shredded zucchini in this muffin recipe for shredded squash, instead. You won’t be able to taste any difference.
What are some other easy zucchini recipes to make at home?
...without giving up the foods you love or spending all day in the kitchen!
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What can I sub for the maple syrup. I know many people who cook and eat Paleo use maple syrup as a sweetener, but I am not a fan of maple syrup (I Know!), and it is still sugar, and I don’t use/eat sugar.
I know maple syrup brings moisture to the recipe, so many of the “sweeteners” I use would make the moisture level off, and I’m not sure of the conversion from sugar to maple syrup.
I’d love some help here.
Hi Billie,
How do you feel about coconut sugar or honey? Would those work for you? I would even possibly suggest mashing up a very ripe banana and using that instead and just watching your baking time, testing at about 19 minutes. If you’re going to go for regular sugar or coconut sugar, I’d say to add in one more tbsp of coconut cream to make sure they still stay nice and moist! I hope that helps 🙂 Please let me know of any other questions.