These chocolate chip zucchini muffins are seriously tasty with a soft, moist texture and the perfect amount of sweetness. They’re loaded with chocolate chips and, of course zucchini – though you can’t taste the veggies at all! Kid approved, easy to make, paleo, gluten-free, dairy-free.
Want more paleo baking recipes that taste just like the real deal? Purchase my book, Paleo Baking at Home here!
Muffins might just be my favorite thing to bake. Or maybe chocolate chip cookies? Or banana bread? It’s actually pretty tough to choose!
But no matter what your favorite thing is, I’m sure you’ll agree baking some easy muffins at home is something special.
Especially when it involves chocolate chips. And zucchini!
So of course we’re having fun today because this one has both and they are sooooo good!
These muffins were highly requested on Instagram and I’m happy to report they turned out even better than expected!
Every time I bake with zucchini, I’m amazed how well it “hides”, to the point where you can’t taste it or even SEE it, at least if you peel it before shredding.
Just a tip – I didn’t peel mine, but when I do, it literally is completely hidden in whatever I’m baking. And what does that equal? Happy kids, of course.
But hey, these zucchini muffins were actually for me (the momma) and I don’t mind seeing a little green. In fact, I like seeing green 🙂
What You Need to Make These Zucchini Muffins with Chocolate Chips
So we’ve established that the taste and texture passed my tests, now let’s get to the ingredients!
Everything needed for this recipe is simple, and probably already in your kitchen. Here’s everything you’ll need:
- eggs
- smooth almond butter
- refined coconut oil
- coconut sugar or maple sugar
- pure vanilla extract
- fresh lemon juice
- blanched almond flour
- tapioca flour or arrowroot
- baking soda
- fine sea salt
- 2 medium zucchini
- paleo friendly chocolate chips
The batter itself, without the zucchini, is very thick and resembles more of a cookie dough than a muffin batter – this is a good thing!
Once you stir in the zucchini, you’ll have a nice thick muffin batter that will rise beautifully in the oven.
You’ll need to thoroughly squeeze out all the water from the shredded zucchini between paper towels before adding to the batter.
Zucchini holds a TON of water so make sure you squeeze out as much as possible.
Since paleo baked goods are more dense than traditional, this will ensure you won’t have any extra moisture weighing down the muffins.
For the chocolate chips, I used Enjoy Life brand, which is not technically paleo since it contains one sugar, however they’re dairy and soy free.
You can also go with Hu Kitchen or Evolved Chocolate for paleo friendly chocolate chips.
I hope you’re ready for some EPIC zucchini muffin baking! Get that zucchini shredded and the oven preheated – let’s do this!
Make sure to snap a photo and tag me on Instagram so I can see your incredible creations 🙂
Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins {Paleo, GF, DF}
Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins {Paleo, GF, DF}
These chocolate chip zucchini muffins are seriously tasty with a soft, moist texture and the perfect amount of sweetness. They're loaded with chocolate chips and, of course zucchini - though you can't taste the veggies at all! Kid approved, easy to make, paleo, gluten-free, dairy-free.
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs room temp
- 1/4 cup smooth almond butter
- 1/4 cup organic refined coconut oil melted and cooled to almost room temp
- 1/2 cup maple sugar or coconut sugar
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 tsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 3/4 cups blanched almond flour
- 1/3 cup tapioca flour or arrowroot
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp fine grain sea salt
- 2 cups shredded zucchini about 2 medium, water squeezed out with paper towels after shredding. Mine weighed 7 oz after squeezing the water out
- 1 cup mini chocolate chips or dark chocolate morsels*
Instructions
-
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line a muffin pan with parchment liners.
-
In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, almond butter, coconut oil, coconut sugar and vanilla
-
In a separate bowl, combine the almond flour, tapioca flour or arrowroot, baking soda and salt.
-
Using a spoon or spatula, stir the dry ingredients into the wet. The batter will be very thick at this point, and should resemble a cookie dough. The zucchini will add lots of moisture to the batter, so no worries that it’s so thick.
-
Fold all the shredded zucchini (after squeezing out water) into the batter to evenly distribute, them stir in the chocolate chips, leaving a few to sprinkle over the muffin tops of desired.
-
Using a spoon or ice cream scoop, fill prepared muffin cups will batter at least 3/4 of the way up, then sprinkle additional chocolate chips over the top if desired. The recipe will make about 14 muffins so you may have to bake in batches depending on your pan.
-
Bake in the preheated oven for 22-25 minutes or until set in the center and lightly browned.
-
Allow muffins to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy!
Nutrition
What I Used To Make My Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins:
Want More Paleo Breads and Muffins? Try One of These!
Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
Double Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread
Sweet Potato Cinnamon Raisin Muffins
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread {Nut Free}
Note: This post contains Amazon affiliate links. This means that if you click on a link and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission at no cost to you. Thank you for supporting Paleo Running Momma!
I didn’t have any chocolate chips so I substituted 1/4 cup cacao powder and 1 tbs pure maple syrup. They were amazing! Rich chocolate muffins!! p.s. no lemon juice
Just making these this AM. Your list of ingredients mentions lemon juice, but nowhere in your instructions does it mention it again (when combining wet ingredients). Is this a necessary ingredient? I’ve never used lemon juice unless I’m “making” buttermilk with almond milk. I’m guessing that it’s supposed to be there with the almond butter and baking soda?? Thank you!
These are AMAZING! They are perfect for when you want some zucchini bread but also want some chocolate 🙂 I left out the lemon juice and added a dash of cinnamon and they were delicious! I’ve already shared this recipe with my family, I will be making these again!
These were absolutely amazing!! I even cut the coconut sugar down to 1/3 cup. I also added 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, and 1/4 tsp cloves. DELISH!
These are awesome. Great texture and gooey chocolate goodness from the chocolate chips. I used Pascha semisweet chips. A definite keeper even for non paleo friends assuming I can bear to part with any…
I took the idea of this recipe and altered it a bit. I used cashew butter (instead of almond butter) and ghee (instead of coconut oil). This made for a lovey and rich buttery flavor. Instead of lemon juice I substituted vanilla extract and grated, raw apples instead of zucchini. I added cinnamon and pecans pieces in the batter as well, about 1/2 cup. The texture was AMAZBALLS!! Soft and moist with a lift similar to cake. I’m definitely going to use this recipe often! I think my next try I’ll do this in a cake pan and add a crumb topping!
Wow! You would never guess these are gluten free. All 5 of my picky eater children approve!
Thank you for this wonderful recipe. I have made it three times and found that the baking time for my oven ( convection baking setting) is best at 25 mins. This last time I made a slight change to the recipe by reducing the almond flour to 1 and 1/4 cup and using 1/2 cup coconut flour ( I ran out of almond flour). I love the hint of coconut that it adds!
This was a great recipe. Delicious and did not taste like a grain-free or gluten free substitute at all! My husband loved them.
I made these last week for the family and they were such a huge hit that they have all been eaten and I’ve already whipped up another batch. Thank you for this amazing recipe. Nice to have another healthier treat handy for those after school hangries!