Perfect Zucchini Muffins

Zucchini muffins are a season spanning treat that combines summer zucchini with toasted walnuts and a hint of cinnamon ~ they’re soft, moist, and yummy.

zucchini muffins with toasted walnuts

These easy one bowl muffins share DNA with rich, moist zucchini bread, so you know they’re going to be good. They’re packed with zucchini, which gives them a distinct personality that’s hard to define, because, as we all know, zucchini doesn’t have much ‘flavor’ per se. But whatever that mysterious something is that zucchini adds to these muffins, I love it. I think the toasted walnuts add tons of extra character, too, so don’t leave them out.

what you’ll need for perfect zucchini muffins

• zucchini
  • I choose small zucchini because they have the best flavor, better texture, and fewer seeds than large specimens. I grate them with the shredding disc in my food processor because it creates sturdy shreds that aren’t at all wet.
• walnuts
  • I toast them in a 350F oven for 10 minutes before chopping. The flavor payoff is huge, plus they’re crunchier! Pecans work, too.
• sugar
  • use all granulated sugar, or half brown sugar.
• all purpose flour
  • experiment with substituting half whole wheat or oat flour for extra nutrition.
• baking powder, baking soda, and salt
• vanilla extract
  • an extra teaspoon of extract brings the vanilla from the background to the foreground in these zucchini muffins and gives the impression of extra sweetness without extra sugar.
• vegetable oil
  • you can also use melted butter but I find oil keeps the muffins moister longer.
• eggs
• buttermilk

can you make these zucchini muffins ahead?

You can make the batter and store in the refrigerator for up to a day ahead. Then bake as needed.

the secret to a better muffin…

I like to fill my muffin cups and then let them sit for about 30 minutes at room temperature to take the chill off the batter. Muffin batter actually benefits from resting, so even when I’m not making it ahead I like to let it sit on the counter for an hour before baking, if I’ve got the time. They definitely rise better that way.

Serve zucchini muffins with butter or cream cheese, and if they’re not warm, zap them for 15 seconds in the microwave. This is hands down my favorite way to wake up.

more muffins!

• Healthy Buttermilk Bran Muffins
• Orange and Cardamom Muffin Recipe
• Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Muffins
• Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins
• Apple Crisp Muffins
• Maple Glazed Pumpkin Muffins
• Spiced Peach Muffins
• Pumpkin Doughnut Muffins

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5 from 7 votes

Zucchini Muffins with Toasted Walnuts

Zucchini muffins combine summer zucchini with toasted walnuts and a hint of cinnamon ~ they're soft, moist, and yummy.

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

Yield 12 servings

Calories 269kcal

Author Sue Moran

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Equipment

• muffin pan with paper muffin liners

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs
• 1/3 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 cups shredded zucchini
• 2/3 cup chopped walnuts, toasted first

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 375F. Line a muffin pan with paper liners.
• Whisk the oil, eggs, buttermilk, sugars and extract together until well combined.
• Whisk in the cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
• Fold in the flour, and after a few folds, add the zucchini and walnuts. Continue folding until everything is well incorporated, but don't over mix the batter at this point.
• Fill muffin cups to the top (you will get 10-12 muffins depending on your pan and how full you fill your cups) and bake for about 25 minutes until a toothpick comes out without wet batter on it (moist crumbs are fine.)
• Remove the zucchini muffins from the pan to cool on a rack, but they are really good warm from the oven!

Cook’s notes

For highest rise, let the muffin batter sit in the muffin tin for an hour on the counter before baking!

*This recipe was originally published in 2012 and has been updated in 2022. Here is the old recipe for those of you who loved it

Zucchini Walnut Bran Muffins

• 1/2 cup unprocessed wheat bran
• 1/2 cup oat flour
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 5 Tbsp unsalted butter (at room temperature)
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar (packed)
• 2 extra-large eggs (at room temperature)
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup grated zucchini
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Mix the bran with the buttermilk and set aside.
3. Whisk the dry ingredients in a small bowl to combine and set aside.
4. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar till fluffy. Add in the eggs, one at a time, and add the vanilla. Pour in the bran/buttermilk mixture and combine well.
5. Add the zucchini and nuts to the wet mixture and stir.
6. Mix the dry into the wet until just incorporated, don’t over mix.
7. Fill 10 muffin cups and bake for about 20-25 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.
8. Cool on a rack

 

Nutrition

Calories: 269kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 9g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 32mg | Sodium: 166mg | Potassium: 167mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 18g | Vitamin A: 99IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 47mg | Iron: 1mg

The nutritional information for recipes on this site is provided as a courtesy and although theviewfromgreatisland.com tries to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.