The BEST zucchini bread muffins EVER! Moist, sweet, packed with shredded zucchini, walnuts, dried cranberries, and spiced with vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg.
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.
Nuts and raisins optional
I say that the nuts and raisins/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.
A tip about zucchini
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.
Looking for more ways to use up zucchini? Try these
- Chocolate Zucchini Bread
- Zucchini Lasagna Roll-Ups
- Zucchini Noodle Chicken Pesto Bowl
- Zucchini Fritters
- Zucchini Bread
See our video on how to make zucchini muffins!
Zucchini Muffins Recipe
- Prep time: 15 minutes
- Cook time: 25 minutes
- Yield: Makes 12-14 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.
If you are including both walnuts and dried fruit, you may have more batter than is needed for 12 muffins.
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 (280 g) sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 cups (packed) grated fresh zucchini
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 2 3/4 cups (400 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 cup walnuts (optional)
- 1 cup raisins or dried cranberries (optional)
Special equipment:
- A muffin tin
Method
You don’t need a mixer for this recipe.
1 Mix eggs, sugar, vanilla, then add zucchini and melted butter: Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Beat the eggs in a large bowl. Mix in the sugar and vanilla extract. Stir in the grated zucchini and the melted butter.
2 Mix dry ingredients: In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ground ginger, nutmeg, and salt.
3 Combine to make batter: Stir these dry ingredients into the zucchini mixture. (Do not over-mix!) Stir in walnuts, raisins or cranberries if using.
4 Fill muffin pan: Coat each muffin cup in your muffin pan with a little butter or vegetable oil spray. Use a spoon to distribute the muffin dough equally among the cups, filling the cups up completely, above the surface of the muffin tin.
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, about 20-30 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.
