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Healthier Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins

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I’ve had the recipe for these muffins sitting in my notes app for a few months now. I have no idea why it has taken me so long to share this recipe with you guys! I know. I know. Another zucchini muffin? Yes. Because these are one of my favorite muffins. Ever. They’re fluffy, tender, moist, not too sweet, and give me a bit of green veggie on top of the chocolate chips. What’s not to like? I added a touch of ground cardamom, along with some cinnamon, and OMG I love these muffins!!

This recipe is super easy to follow. There are a few steps involved, but it’s all worth it in the end! The amount of chocolate chips and the kind of spice you add is totally up to you. I didn’t want these to be overly sweet, so don’t expect the 1/2 cup I have listed to give you a chocolate loaded muffin. But, by all means, load those babies up with a whole cup of chocolate if that’s what you’re in to! I really like ground cardamom, but if you don’t have it on hand, or you’re not a big fan, no worries. You can leave it out, add more cinnamon, or add nutmeg in its place. Have fun with these, and happy baking!

Healthier Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins
Makes ~8 muffins

1/2 cup coconut sugar
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk, room temp*
2 large eggs, room temp*
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup white whole wheat flour**
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cardamom***
1 1/2 cups finely grated zucchini
1/2 cup chocolate chips + more for topping

1.) Preheat your oven to 350°F and prepare your muffin pan with liners or by spraying it with olive oil/non-stick spray. Bring your eggs to room temperature by placing them in a glass of warm water for around 10 minutes.

2.) In a large bowl, combine the coconut sugar and melted coconut oil. Add the almond milk, eggs, and vanilla extract. Whisk until totally combined. Place your shredded zucchini on a paper towel and squeeze out and discard the excess juice. Add the zucchini to your mixture and stir until combined.

3.) Sift the flours, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and cardamom into the wet ingredients. Gently fold everything together until no flour pockets remain. Fold in the chocolate chips.

4.) Fill your muffin pan almost to the top – you will get between 7 and 9 muffins, depending on how full you fill them. Top with chocolate chips, slightly pressing each chip into the batter. Bake muffins at 350°F for 15-20 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the middle of a muffin comes out clean – try to find a spot with no chocolate! 

5.) Let your muffins cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes before removing to a cooling rack. If you didn’t use liners, slide a butter knife around each muffin before gently removing. Enjoy warm and store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature.

*it takes a bit of extra work, but if your milk and eggs are too cold, the coconut oil will solidify while you’re mixing
**whole wheat flour or all-purpose flour will work just fine
***if you don’t like cardamom, feel free to leave it out or replace it with nutmeg

Zucchini Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Have you ever had zucchini in a cookie? I seriously considered eating these for breakfast, because, ya now, oatmeal + zucchini = breakfast, right? Consider these the better-for-you, not-so-traditional version of oatmeal chocolate chip cookies! I wanted to use tahini in these because I love the nutty taste, and I really liked the idea of creating a cookie that’s free of both dairy and oil.

These cookies are so easy (and quick!) to get together – shredding your zucchini will be the “hardest” part! I like to use coconut sugar when I can since it’s a low GI sweetener (maple syrup and honey are not). You can really play with this recipe, adding and subtracting whatever add-ins you like: add nuts or seeds, leave out some of the chocolate chips, add dried fruit, etc. Happy baking!

Zucchini Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies with Tahini (dairy-free + oil-free!)
Makes 19 cookies

1/2 cup tahini
3/4 cup coconut sugar
1 large egg + 1 large egg yolk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup oat flour
1 1/2 cup oats
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
3/4 cup finely grated zucchini
1/2 cup dairy-free chocolate chips

1.) Preheat your oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl, mix together the tahini, coconut sugar, egg + egg yolk, and vanilla extract until totally combined; set aside.

2.) In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, oats, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Add dry ingredients to wet and fold until combined. 

3.) Squeeze the excess juice from your zucchini shreds – I like to place mine on a paper towel and squeeze over the sink – before folding them into your dough. Finally, fold in the chocolate chips.

4.) Scoop 2 Tbsp dough balls onto your prepared baking sheet. Bake 6 at a time at 350°F for 9 minutes. Let cool for 2 minutes on your baking sheet before transferring to a cooling rack. Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature.

Dark Chocolate Zucchini Bread

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If there’s chocolate in my bread, it’s over. And by “over” I mean gone. The bread is gone, because I love a decadent, chocolatey bread!! This double chocolate zucchini bread is loaded with cocoa powder and dark chocolate chips and then drizzled with melted chocolate. YES. And it has a whole cup and a half of shredded zucchini in it! This bread is fluffy, moist, and reminds me of chocolate cake (minus the loads of sugar!). Seriously! If you’re looking for a simple, delicious, dairy-free zucchini bread then this loaf is for you. It can easily be made into muffins, too, if that’s more your thing (directions below)! Happy baking!

Dark Chocolate Zucchini Bread
Makes one 9×5″ loaf (see Notes for muffins)

Bread
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup white whole wheat flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
1/2 cup coconut sugar
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk, room temp*
2 large eggs, room temp*
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups grated zucchini
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips, chunks, or chopped chocolate
Chocolate Drizzle
2 Tbsp dark chocolate chips, chunks, or chopped chocolate
1-2 tsp coconut oil, solid

1.) Preheat oven to 350°F and spray loaf or muffin pan with olive oil. Bring your eggs to room temperature by placing them in a glass of warm water for ~10 minutes.

2.) Sift together the flours and cocoa powder in a large bowl. Whisk in the baking soda, baking powder, and salt until combined; set aside. In a small bowl, combine the coconut sugar, coconut oil, almond milk, eggs, and vanilla; set aside.

3.) Grate zucchini (with the skin on) until you have 1 1/2 cups. Place zucchini shreds on a paper towel and gently squeeze out and discard the excess juice; set aside.

4.) Stir wet ingredients into dry until nearly combined. Fold in the zucchini shreds and chocolate chips or chunks and mix until no flour pockets remain. Pour your batter into the greased pan. If you prefer topping your loaf with extra chocolate chips vs the chocolate drizzle, add the chips now and slightly press them into the batter. Bake for ~30 minutes or until the loaf bounces back when lightly tapped. If you prefer the toothpick method, be aware that the chocolate chips inside the loaf may alter your test.

5.) Allow your bread to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing to cool on a cooling rack. If you turn your loaf pan over, the bread should pop right out. If you’ve added toppings, you can turn your loaf pan on its side and shimmy the loaf out with a butter knife – that way you don’t smash the toppings.

6.) After your bread has cooled, you can melt together the 2 Tbsp of chocolate chips and the coconut oil. Use a spoon to drizzle the melted chocolate over your loaf. Slice and enjoy!

*room temp is important, because you don’t want your melted coconut oil to solidfy once it hits the almond milk

NOTES:
To make ~10 regular muffins, reduce baking powder to 1/4 tsp, raise temp to 375°, and bake for 18-22 minutes or until muffin bounces back when lightly tapped

Recipe adapted from wyldflour