Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
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Got lots of zucchini? Bake up a batch of these decadent double chocolate zucchini muffins! So moist and tender, with pockets of melty chocolate chips running all throughout!
Original publish date: July 28, 2016.
‘Tis the season!
How are your vegetable gardens doing? Our berry bushes are suffering the ravages of a Japanese beetle infestation (next year: grub control and neem oil in spring) but our basil is on fire and we are completely overrun with zucchini.
There are definitely worse problems to be had in life!
Really it’s not a problem at all. Even when someone drops by your office to share a big grocery bag full, despite the fact you’ve already got seven of them on your kitchen counter. Because there are so many delicious things to be done with zucchini.
Every year, right around this time, I get a mean craving for double chocolate zucchini muffins. Tall, fluffy, and tender, full of deep chocolate flavor and moist as can be from all that fresh, seasonal zucchini. With big pockets of melty chocolate running all throughout. Swoon!
I’ve tried a few different recipes over the years but none of them have quite measured up to my standards. I’m a tough one to please!
So I decided to come up with my own recipe and here it is.
I think you will love it. I do. My family does. We have been making these every weekend for the last month and we have no intention of stopping any time soon.
As long as our garden keeps cranking out the zucchini, I’ll keep cranking out these muffins. And they’ll keep eating them, because they’re everything anyone could ever want in a chocolate zucchini muffin.
Moist? Check. Chocolate-y? Uber-check. Tender? As a baby lamb. And puffy-fluffy as a soft, steamy chocolate cloud.
So, next time someone drops by with a big bag of home-grown zucchini from their backyard garden, you know just what to do.
And if you’re looking for more great muffin recipes, be sure to check out my lemon poppy seed muffins, my cranberry orange muffins, and my simply perfect blueberry muffins.
Table of Contents
- What are chocolate zucchini muffins?
- Why this is the best chocolate chip zucchini muffins recipe
- What do zucchini chocolate chip muffins taste like?
- Ingredients
- Special equipment
- How to make zucchini chocolate muffins
- How to serve chocolate muffins with zucchini
- Expert tips
- Frequently asked questions
- A few more of my favorite zucchini recipes
What are chocolate zucchini muffins?
This recipe was born from my standard muffin formula, but it has the addition of cocoa powder, chocolate chips, and fresh zucchini!
The muffins bake up moist and tall, with plenty of chocolate in every bite. Plus the added nutrition of seasonal zucchini.
Zucchini doesn’t really taste like much, so the final result here just tastes like a really good chocolate muffin!
Why this is the best chocolate chip zucchini muffins recipe
- Tastes amazing: They are seriously chocolate-y!
- Few ingredients: Just a few pantry staples.
- Easy to make: Only about 15 or 20 minutes of active time.
- Convenient: Make a big batch and you’ll have them all week long for grab-and-go breakfasts or snacks.
What do zucchini chocolate chip muffins taste like?
These muffins are deeply chocolate-y and just sweet enough! You really can’t even taste that there’s zucchini in them!
Ingredients
Flour: All-purpose flour (or a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend) provide structure to the muffins.
Cocoa: Unsweetened cocoa powder brings an unadulterated hit of rich chocolate flavor. I use half regular and half Dutch-processed cocoa.
Leavening: Baking powder helps the muffins to rise. Make sure you’re using baking powder, not baking soda!
Salt: Kosher salt balances and carries the flavors. I like kosher salt best because it’s cheap, easy to get, and doesn’t have any bitter-tasting additives like iodine.
Chocolate: I like semi-sweet chocolate chips here, but you can leave them out or use another kind such as white chocolate chips or milk chocolate chips.
Butter: Unsalted butter is best so you know exactly how much salt to add. You’ll want the butter melted but not hot.
Sugar: Granulated sugar (or a 1:1 substitute) gives these muffins just the right amount of sweetness, but also keeps them moist.
Yogurt: I like plain, unsweetened Greek yogurt here, but you could also use regular plain unsweetened yogurt, buttermilk, or sour cream.
Milk: Any kind (even plant-based!) will work. This ingredient will help keep your muffins nice and moist.
Eggs: Large chicken eggs (preferably at room temperature) or a plant-based 1:1 substitute add richness and structure.
Vanilla: Perfumes the muffins with its sweet fragrance, bringing out the chocolate flavor.
Zucchini: One medium-sized fresh zucchini, finely grated and drained of any excess moisture.
Special equipment
- Muffin tin: You will need a standard-sized muffin pan to make this recipe.
- Non-stick spray: Or grease-proof muffin papers.
- Food processor: Fitted with the finer grating disc, or a box grater.
- Strainer: To help get any excess moisture out of the zucchini.
- Measuring cups and spoons: Follow my guide on how to measure ingredients
- Bowl: A large mixing bowl in which to mix up the batter.
- Whisk: Gets the dry ingredients combined.
- Spouted vessel: For mixing up the liquid ingredients.
- Silicone spatula: For folding the batter together and getting every last bit out of the bowl.
How to make zucchini chocolate muffins
This easy recipe comes together in 6 simple steps.
Step 1: Prep the zucchini
Cut off the stem end of the zucchini and grate it finely.
I like to do this with my food processor. One side of the grating disc cuts fine shreds, and the other does thicker ones. Use the fine side.
This way the zucchini disperses evenly all throughout the batter and it’s less noticeable.
Transfer the shredded zucchini to a strainer so any excess liquid can drain away. You don’t want that in your muffin batter.
Step 2: Combine the dry ingredients
While the zucchini drains, gather your dry ingredients together.
Flour, cocoa, baking powder, salt, and chocolate chips all go into a big mixing bowl.
Give them a quick whisk just to get them combined.
Step 3: Combine the liquid ingredients
Next, melt the butter. I like to do this in a large liquid measuring cup with plenty of extra room for adding more ingredients.
Once the butter is no longer hot, add the sugar, yogurt, milk, eggs, and vanilla. Stir everything together really well so there are no lumps.
Step 4: Mix up the batter
Pour the liquid mixture over the dry ingredients, and add the grated zucchini as well.
Fold everything together in as few strokes as possible. It’s totally fine if there are still a few streaks of flour!
Step 5: Portion
Divide the batter evenly between all 12 wells of your greased or lined muffin pan.
There is a lot of batter but if you want really tall, bakery-style muffins with peaked tops you want to use it all for just a dozen muffins. The wells of the pan will be quite full.
Step 6: Bake
Top the unbaked muffins with a small handful of chocolate chips to make them extra tempting.
Then whisk them right into a hot oven to bake.
They will start out at a higher temperature to get a good, fast rise, then you’ll lower the oven temp and allow them to cook all the way through.
You’ll know they’re done when they look puffy, feel springy when lightly pressed, and when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
How to serve chocolate muffins with zucchini
These are great as a quick breakfast or snack, and I honestly don’t think they need another thing.
Usually I like to warm up a muffin and spread it with butter, so I suppose you could do that if you like? But I really don’t think it’s necessary.
However, they do go great with a cup of coffee or tea. Or a tall glass of cold milk!
Expert tips
Drain: Try to get as much moisture out of the shredded zucchini as you can. You don’t want to add a lot of liquid to this muffin batter, or it could prevent them from rising properly and give them a gummy texture.
Don’t overmix: Stirring the batter too much can result in toughness.
Fill all the way: For tall, bakery-style muffins with peaked tops, you’ll want to divide the batter equally among 12 wells of the muffin pan. The wells will be very full and may even overflow a bit, but the batter is stiff enough it should all stay put.
Keep an eye: Flip your oven light on and watch the muffins as they bake. When they are puffed and no longer look wet and shiny, crack the door just a tiny bit and slide your hand in. Give them a gentle feel. If they spring back when lightly pressed, give them the toothpick test. If it comes out clean, they’re done! Don’t overbake them or they could come out dry.
Frequently asked questions
I’m not gonna sugarcoat it for ya: when you go to mix up this batter, you’re going to think I made a mistake.
I do! Every time I make muffins!
It seems extremely dry at first, and I always think it’s never going to come together. It seems like there is either way too much flour or way too little milk.
But I promise you it’s right! Just keep folding- it will come together!
It’s a stiffer batter to allow the muffins to rise straight up, and not just puddle all around the edges of the muffin pan and lay flat.
Absolutely!
But you definitely want to bake them off right away. You can’t really leave the batter to sit or else the baking powder will lose it’s oomph.
Allow them to cool and stay in the pan at room temperature for a few days. Just cover them lightly with plastic wrap.
Or, pop them into a gallon-sized zip-top freezer bag and keep them in the fridge or freezer.
They should keep in the fridge for around a week or in the freezer for around 2 months.
Thaw them in the fridge and reheat them in the microwave for around 15 seconds, or wrap them in foil and place them in a 170-degree oven until warmed through.
One serving is equal to one muffin.
The nutritional info below is for one muffin, or 1/12th of the whole batch.
A few more of my favorite zucchini recipes
As an amazon associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 (196 g) medium zucchini, shredded and drained (about 1 cup)
- 3 cups (375 g) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup (43 g) cocoa, (I used a combination of dark cocoa and regular unsweetened cocoa powder)
- 1 tablespoon (12 g) baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon (4.5 g) kosher salt
- 3/4 cup (135 g) semi sweet chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup (113.5 g) unsalted butter, (1 stick), melted and cooled slightly
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (200 g) plain, unsweetened Greek yogurt*
- 3 tablespoons (45 g) milk
- 2 (100 g) large eggs
- 1 1/2 teaspoons (6 g) vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F and lightly mist a muffin pan with non-stick spray.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt together.
- Add the chocolate chips.
- In a large spouted vessel, stir the melted butter, sugar, Greek yogurt, milk, eggs, and vanilla together.
- Add this to the dry ingredients, along with the shredded and drained zucchini, and fold together until just barely combined (overworking the batter could result in tough muffins).
- Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and bake for 5 minutes, then turn the oven temperature down to 350 degrees F and bake for an additional 16-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the thickest part of a muffin comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
They have a good muffin consistency…not a cupcake.
I needed to add another bit of milk and it was a very thick batter. I may tweak it next time…there will be a next time.
Chocolate and zucchini go so well together! One of my favorite muffins when I have a ton of zucchini to use.
this is such great idea1!!