Chocolate zucchini muffins are super moist, rich and chocolaty: the perfect way to bake up this green vegetable!
We have a muffin crush, and this is it: Chocolate Zucchini Muffins! Each one is beautifully moist, with rich chocolate flavor and studded with melty chocolate chips. We’re a little picky about our chocolate muffins, and these bake up like a dream. The zucchini keeps them so moist, they’re delicious for days! Your family and friends will thank you; we gave them away to friends and neighbors and they couldn’t stop talking about them!
Ingredients in chocolate zucchini muffins
These chocolate zucchini muffins are one of the best things to do with zucchini, in our opinion! They bake up rich and moist thanks to a combination of butter and oil and Dutch process cocoa powder, which gives them a beautifully rich, deep flavor. They’re a spin on our popular chocolate zucchini bread, a family favorite recipe that we’ve made countless times (and always has people asking for the recipe!). Here’s what you’ll need for these muffins:
- Zucchini
- All-purpose flour
- Dutch process (dark) cocoa powder
- Unsalted butter
- Neutral oil
- Brown sugar and granulated sugar
- Eggs
- Milk
- Vanilla extract
- Baking powder and baking soda
- Salt
Why Dutch process cocoa powder?
This chocolate zucchini muffins recipe has rich, deep flavor from Dutch process (dark) cocoa powder. You really do need this special type for the right flavor: no substitutes! It is treated with an alkali to make it pH neutral, which gives it a darker color and milder flavor. This makes the flavor ultra chocolaty!
- Dutch process cocoa powder is available in the baking aisle at your local grocery. Or buy it online: our favorite brands are Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa Powder or Ghiradelli Dutch Process Cocoa Powder.
- Recipes that use Dutch process cocoa powder include this Healthy Chocolate Pudding, Chocolate Zucchini Bread, Chocolate Banana Muffins, No Bake Cookies, or Mug Cake.
Tips for baking chocolate zucchini muffins
These chocolate zucchini muffins are easy to make: and they cool faster than our chocolate zucchini bread! This makes them perfect for when you want a fast and easy treat. Here are a few things to note about this recipe:
- Don’t overmix! This is extremely important with muffins. Overmixing the batter can cause holes in the texture of the crumb. Mix until the batter is combined and there are no dry spots remaining.
- Fill the muffin cups very full. To make a nice tall muffin, you’ll need to fill the muffin cups up to the top. Don’t worry, this makes a nice domed top!
- Don’t overbake. Overbaking makes for dry muffins. Pull them when the tops are set, about 20 to 26 minutes. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out with a few clinging crumbs, but it can be tricky to tell with the chocolate chips since they melt onto the toothpick!
Variation: bake it into bread!
Want to serve these muffins in a different form? Try chocolate zucchini bread! This family favorite recipe is rich and moist, and the thick slices work even better as dessert. We impromptu topped them with a little whipped cream and they tasted incredible. It takes 1 hour to bake up in a loaf pan.
Chocolate zucchini muffins storage info
How to store chocolate zucchini muffins? They work at room temperature, refrigerator or the freezer. Here’s what to know:
- Room temperature: Store at room temperature for up to 2 days in a sealed container. This keeps in the moisture and the muffins are even softer after storage.
- Refrigerator: These muffins store well in the refrigerator for up to 1 week! Let them stand at room temperature for a few minutes before eating. You can store them at room temp for a few days and then move to refrigerator storage.
- Freeze: Freeze in a sealable container and store for up to 3 months.
More zucchini recipes
These chocolate zucchini muffins are one of our favorite ways to use zucchini! Here are a few more fun options if you’ve got extra of this tasty vegetable:
- Fry up some Zucchini Fritters
- Bake Zucchini Bread or Lemon Zucchini Bread
- Go for Stuffed Zucchini Boats or Creamy Zucchini Pasta
- Try our 20 Favorite Zucchini Recipes
This chocolate zucchini muffins recipe is…
Vegetarian.
Print
Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 12 1x
Description
Chocolate zucchini muffins are super moist, rich and chocolaty: the perfect way to bake up this green vegetable!
Ingredients
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
- ⅓ cup neutral oil (vegetable, grapeseed or canola)
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 ½ cups [210 g] all-purpose flour
- ½ cup Dutch-process (aka dark) cocoa powder (no substitutes!*)
- 2 cups shredded zucchini (about 12 ounces zucchini), grated with large grater
- 1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a standard muffin tin with 12 muffin paper liners.
- Melt the butter, then whisk in the oil, brown sugar, granulated sugar, eggs, milk, vanilla, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- Use a spatula to mix in the flour, cocoa powder and zucchini until a thick smooth batter forms, mixing just until there are no longer streaks of dry ingredients. Fold in ¾ cup chocolate chips, mixing gently a few times.
- Scoop the batter evenly into the muffin cups: the cups will be full to the top, using about a heaping ¼ cup per muffin. Sprinkle another handful chocolate chips onto the tops of the muffins.
- Bake until the tops are set, rotating the pans halfway through the baking, about 20 to 26 minutes total (a toothpick inserted in the center should come out with a few clinging crumbs, but it can be tricky to tell with the chocolate chips since they melt onto the toothpick!). Allow to cool for 5 minutes, then transfer to a baking rack to fully cool (about 30 minutes to 1 hour). The muffins store very well in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 days, in the refrigerator for 1 week, or frozen for 1 month.
Notes
*Don’t substitute regular cocoa powder here: the flavor is not nearly as developed and chocolaty. Dutch process cocoa powder is easy to find in the baking aisle. We like the brands Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa Powder or Ghiradelli Dutch Process Cocoa Powder.
- Category: Muffin
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Keywords: Chocolate zucchini muffins, zucchini chocolate muffins
Let us know if you have any questions!
★★★★★