Double Chocolate Zucchini Brownie Muffins
It’s so easy to make these double chocolate zucchini brownie muffins, that you’ll be making them all the time! These are the BEST, dense, brownie-like muffins you’ll ever have! When your garden (or grocery aisle) is overflowing with zucchini, these chocolate zucchini brownie muffins will help you use up the summer squash in the most chocolatey breakfast around!
How To Make Double Chocolate Zucchini Brownie Muffins
I like to bake, but I especially like to bake easy recipes. Recipes that can be executed in minutes. The best thing about these muffins is that they are fast enough to prepare and bake in the morning for breakfast, or they can be prepared ahead of time. Either way, these muffins are fast and easy to make!
Prep For the Bake
Preheat the oven to 375℉ for your bake. Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners or silicon liners.
Blend the Zucchini
Prepare the zucchini for the recipe. To do this, you’ll want to start by slicing the ends off of the zucchini. Then chop the the zucchini into big chops and toss them into a blender. Blend the zucchini until it is completely mashed (it will be about the same texture as applesauce).
Mix The Wet Ingredients
Add the blended zucchini, oil, egg, milk, vanilla, and sugar into a bowl. Stir the mixture until it’s completely incorporated.
I use a rubber spatula to do this.
Mix The Dry Ingredients and Combine
In a separate bowl, add all of the dry ingredients (flour, salt, cocoa, and baking soda). Whisk the dry ingredients together and break up any big clumps of the dry ingredients.
Slowly pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredient bowl. Stir together just until the two have combined.
Fill the Muffin Tins
Scoop the batter into the lined muffin tins. Fill each muffin cup up about 3/4 of the way full.
Bake The Muffins
Bake muffins for 18 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
Let the muffins cool at room temperature for about 15 to 20 minutes prior to eating. Store leftover muffins in a sealed container for up to 4 days.
Zucchini Brownie Muffin Ingredients
Blended Zucchini
I am aware that this sounds a bit odd. But after a lot of testing, I think that adding chopped zucchini to a blender and blending it up before adding it to the mixture makes the absolute BEST brownie-like muffins. The zucchini keeps the muffins moist, but the blending makes the muffins fluffier and more consistent than shredding.
It also makes the vegetable less noticeable. This is especially great if you are trying to mask the veggies a bit. With the shredded zucchini, bites are typically a bit uneven. In some bites, you might experience biting into a large piece of shredded squash, while in other bites you might not even know you are eating a zucchini muffin. I prefer the blended method for a more consistent texture and taste all the way through the zucchini brownie muffin.
Not to mention, blending is SO much faster than shredding. That’s like a WIN-WIN-WIN. There is only one important rule: do not squeeze out moisture from the zucchini.
Egg
The egg acts as a binder in these zucchini brownie muffins.
Canola Oil
Oil helps to keep the muffins moist (sorry, if that’s a triggering word) and the texture soft. I use canola oil in mine, but any neutral oil (like vegetable oil) will work. Remember, oil can add flavor to your baked goods, so you’ll want to avoid more “flavorful” oils like olive oil in your batter.
Milk
You can use the milk of your preference to prepare your muffins. Dairy or non-dairy alternatives will all work absolutely fine!
Sugar
I use regular granulated sugar in these muffins since it’s more neutral in flavor than other types of sugars. You may use other types of sweeteners (like honey, maple syrup, brown sugar, etc) however, the taste might change depending on the sweetener you use.
Flour
I keep it simple with this recipe and use regular all-purpose flour to create the batter. I have not attempted this recipe with whole wheat flour or other types of flour, if you do, let me know how it goes in the comments below.
Cocoa
I live next to Hershey, PA so Hershey cocoa is my favorite, but you can use any type of cocoa powder you prefer.
Dark Chocolate Chips
Dark chocolate chips have SUCH a good taste! This might be my opinion, but I think compared to milk chocolate chips, dark chocolate chips make baked goods taste chocolate-ier. Regardless, you can use your preference of chips, or even omit the chips altogether.
A quick tip: To make your zucchini brownie muffins look extra cute, set aside some of the chocolate chips to sprinkle on top of the muffins.
How To Blend Zucchini For the Zucchini Brownie Muffins
Blending Zucchini might sound a bit odd. Typically you’ll find that recipes call for shredded zucchini, but I find that ground / blended zucchini makes for a much more consistent bake in a baked good.
Does the Zucchini Need To Be Peeled?
No, the zucchini does not need to be peeled, but it’s up to you! The zucchini can be chopped and added to a blender to blend it up. Just make sure to cut off the ends.
How Do You Know When It’s Ready?
Look for an applesauce-like consistency. It should be well-blended. 🙂 No worries on overmixing it– you can blend it as much as you need too!
Should You Remove Excess Moisture?
No need to! You might have made some recipes before that ask you to remove excess moisture, but we want to keep the moisture in these zucchini brownie muffins as much as possible.
More Zucchini Recipes
I LOVE zucchini! Year-round, zucchini is cheap and plentiful at the grocery stores! It’s also a very versatile ingredient! You can use it for savory dishes or sweet dishes. These double chocolate zucchini brownies are a great way to use up an abundance of zucchini. Check out some of my other favorite sweet and savory recipes to use up zucchini.
- Healthy Zucchini Fritters in the Air Fryer with Pickle Tartar Sauce
- The Best Zucchini Lasagna with Sausage (Not Soggy & Quick)
- Mock Apple Crisp with Zucchini (No One Will Know)
You Might Also Like
If you like this muffin recipe check out these other easy breakfast recipes that you might also like.
- The Best Banana Coffee Cake (Made Without Butter)
- Peanut Butter Cup Oatmeal
- Decadent Blueberry Cheesecake Baked Oatmeal
Double Chocolate Zucchini Brownie Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 cups blended zucchini
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup canola oil
- 1/2 cup milk dairy or non-dairy
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 1/4 cup flour
- 1/3 cup cocoa
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375℉. Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners.
- Cut a zucchini into chunks, add it to a blender, and blend the zucchini until it is completely mashed.
- Add the blended zucchini, oil, egg, milk, vanilla, and sugar in a bowl. Stir the mixture together until it's incorporated.
- In a separate bowl add flour, salt, cocoa, and baking soda. Whisk the dry ingredients together, and slowly pour the flour into the wet mixture.
- Scoop the batter into muffin tins, and fill the batter 3/4 full.
- Bake muffins for 18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.