Zucchini Muffins

The best zucchini bread muffins ever! Moist, sweet, packed with shredded zucchini, walnuts, dried cranberries, and spiced with vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg.

By
Elise Bauer
Elise Bauer
Elise Bauer
Elise founded Simply Recipes in 2003 and led the site until 2019. She has an MA in Food Research from Stanford University.
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Updated October 05, 2022
Elise Bauer
Zucchini muffins cooling on a rack.
Eliezer Martinez

Now that we are living in the land of zucchini plenty (our zucchini plant is well along in its mission of total garden domination) we have ample opportunity to try out zucchini recipes.

I've been experimenting with muffins and have settled on this one, a riff on our banana bread recipe.

Much like the banana bread, these zucchini muffins are insanely good and insanely easy to make!

No mixer, wooden spoon only, and two bowls, though you could really even make the batter in one bowl. Very moist. Just sweet enough.

1:38

Watch How to Make Zucchini Muffins

Nuts and Raisins Are Optional

I say that the nuts and raisins or dried cranberries are optional because today I watched my favorite 12-year old friend pick out all of them while still declaring how much she loved the muffins.

If you like nuts and raisins (or dried cranberries) by all means keep them in.

Zucchini muffins made from garden zucchini
Eliezer Martinez

Want To Use Up Zucchini? Try These Recipes

Zucchini Muffins

Prep Time 15 mins
Cook Time 25 mins
Total Time 40 mins
Servings 12 servings
Yield 12 to 18 Muffins

For those of you who prefer to use oil over butter, be my guest (use 1 cup vegetable oil instead of the butter) but I have to tell you, I've made these both ways, and the butter version tastes better.

Depending on if you include both walnuts and dried fruit and your baking pan, you may have batter for more than 12 muffins (more like 18).

A quick note about the shredded zucchini used for this recipe. Zucchinis can vary considerably in their moisture content. If they are garden picked, they are likely to have a lot of moisture. If they are off season from the market, they may be on the dry side. A trick my grandmother used to do when dealing with dry zucchini, was to shred it, sprinkle some water over it, then let it strain in a fine mesh sieve.

To measure out the flour if you don't have a kitchen scale, fluff up the flour in its container first. Then do a light scoop with a measuring cup in one motion. Level off the top with the side of a knife.

Ingredients

  • 2 large eggs

  • 1 1/3 cup (270g) sugar

  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

  • 3 cups (360g) packed grated zucchini

  • 3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

  • 2 3/4 cups (400g) all-purpose flour

  • 1 teaspoon baking soda

  • 1 teaspoon baking powder

  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon

  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger

  • 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

  • 1 cup walnuts, optional

  • 1 cup raisins or dried cranberries, optional

Method

  1. Preheat the oven:

    Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).

    Coat each muffin cup in your muffin pan with a little butter or vegetable oil spray.

  2. Make the batter:

    In a large bowl, beat the eggs. Mix in the sugar and vanilla extract. Stir in the grated zucchini and the melted butter.

    In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ground ginger, nutmeg, and salt.

    Whisking eggs in a glass bowl to make zucchini muffins.
    Eliezer Martinez
    Zucchini mixture and flour mixture in set side by side to make a zucchini muffin recipe.
    Eliezer Martinez
  3. Combine the wet and dry ingredients:

    Stir these dry ingredients into the zucchini mixture. (Do not over-mix!) Stir in walnuts, raisins or cranberries if using.

    Using a spatula to make the batter for zucchini muffin recipe.
    Eliezer Martinez
    Mixing cranberries into batter for a zucchini muffin recipe.
    Eliezer Martinez
  4. Fill the muffin pan:

    Use a spoon to distribute the muffin dough equally among the cups, filling the cups up completely, above the surface of the muffin tin.

    Spooning batter into a muffin tin to make a zucchini muffin recipe.
    Eliezer Martinez
  5. Bake:

    Bake at 350°F on the middle rack until muffins are golden brown, and the top of the muffins bounce back when you press on them, 22 to 30 minutes. Test with a long toothpick or a thin bamboo skewer to make sure the center of the muffins are done.

    Set on wire rack to cool for 5 minutes. Remove muffins from the tin let cool another 20 minutes.

    Testing for doneness for zucchini muffins out of the oven.
    Eliezer Martinez
    Testing for doneness for zucchini muffins out of the oven.
    Eliezer Martinez
    Overhead view of a muffin tin of zucchini bread muffins cooling on a rack.
    Eliezer Martinez
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
334 Calories
13g Fat
50g Carbs
5g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 12
Amount per serving
Calories 334
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 13g 16%
Saturated Fat 8g 38%
Cholesterol 62mg 21%
Sodium 206mg 9%
Total Carbohydrate 50g 18%
Dietary Fiber 2g 6%
Total Sugars 24g
Protein 5g
Vitamin C 7mg 34%
Calcium 50mg 4%
Iron 2mg 11%
Potassium 195mg 4%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.