These Chocolate Chip Zucchini Mini Muffins are great for picky eaters because they’re packed with whole grains, bananas and a hidden serving of zucchini.
The Best Chocolate Chip Zucchini Mini Muffins
Its been REALLY hard to get my kindergartener to eat a vegetable during daylight hours lately. At dinnertime, he’s amazing — loves everything from Indian spiced lentils to roasted cauliflower in tahini sauce. But fresh veggies for school snack? Hard pass. Salad in his lunchbox? Nope. Green smoothie? Not happening. So I’ve resorted to the nuclear option — hide the veggies in things he loves: Chocolate Chip Zucchini Mini Muffins.
I’ve used this trick before in my Zucchini Carrot Breakfast Muffins. He loves muffins. But to sweeten the deal, I’ve added another favorite: chocolate chips. He loves them even more. I love that these little beauties are packed with whole grains, nuts, a fruit and a vegetable. They’re sized perfectly for breakfast and for lunch boxes too.
Flexible Recipe
I based this recipe on one of my favorites from another blogger. Hers call for pumpkin so I started by swapping that out for zucchini. This recipe is fairly easy to swap things in and out. I used white whole wheat flour, but all-purpose would work just fine. I also used greek yogurt as my “wet” ingredient, but I’ve also used an equal quantity of milk in the past and its worked fine. If you don’t have zucchini, swap in canned pumpkin puree. Easy peasy.
You could also make these as full-size muffins (they may just require a slightly longer bake time). I like the minis because they fit great in my kids bento boxes for lunches. These are perfect for breakfast or after school snacking too.
Chocolate Chip Zucchini Mini Muffins
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 20
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 24 mini muffins 1x
- Category: Muffins
- Method: Baking
Description
These Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins are great for picky eaters because they’re packed with whole grains, bananas and a hidden serving of zucchini.
Ingredients
- 1 cup shredded, unpeeled zucchini (about 1 medium)
- 1 cup mashed ripe banana (about 2–3 bananas)
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/3 cup coconut oil, melted and slightly cooled
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup plain Greek Yogurt (or milk)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 3/4 cups white whole wheat flour
- 3/4 cup mini chocolate chips
- 3/4 cup chopped walnuts
Instructions
-
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly grease a 24-cup mini muffin tin or line with paper liners
-
Throughly squeeze the grated zucchini with a paper towel to remove as much excess water as possible.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix together the banana, honey, brown sugar, coconut oil, and vanilla extract until smooth. Add the eggs (make sure they are room temperature or the coconut oil may resolidify), then beat again until combined.
- Sprinkle the cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt over the top of the batter, then mix to combine. Sprinkle in the flour, then mix just until the flour disappears. Fold in the zucchini and a 1/4 of the chocolate chips and a 1/4 cup of the walnuts
- Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling them 3/4 of the way. Sprinkle the remaining chocolate chips and walnuts evenly over top of the muffins. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove the muffins from the oven and place the pan on a wire rack. Let cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then carefully lift the muffins out of the pan and place them on a wire rack to cool completely.
Keywords: Zucchini, Muffins, Dessert, Snack, Chocolate
