Zucchini Oat Chocolate Chunk Muffins
These Zucchini Oat Chocolate Chunk Muffins are moist from summer’s best zucchini, hearty with a helping of oats, and a treat with chocolate chunks! This zucchini oat muffin recipe will become your go-to!
These Zucchini Oat Chocolate Chunk Muffins are bursting with zucchini, hearty oats, and chocolate chips! An easy zucchini oat muffin recipe!
Note: This post first appeared on July 6, 2014. The recipe has been updated from the archives with updated content and photographs, as well as improved kitchen notes and recipe annotation. I hope you enjoy this favorite from my kitchen.
“Mom, stop getting old!” my son called out from the living room. I had just spent the last 60 seconds in a fluster. “Where did I put the yogurt!?!” I was like a headless chicken, looking for its head, until I opened the freezer. “Gah!” There it was, perched atop the filo dough, exactly where it shouldn’t be.
That made for the third time this week that I succumbed to what my husband tells me is OPS:
Old People Syndrome. Two weeks into my 40th year, and I’ve come home to find a half-gallon of nearly full milk in the cupboard with the glasses, and earlier this morning I caught myself before I put the half eaten avocado in the drawer with the oven mitts.
Perhaps it’s time to start doing sudoku puzzles.
I’m holding on to one bit of solace from my son, though. We were walking the dog a few evenings ago, when he wrapped his arms around my waist. “Mommy, you’re so beautiful. Even for 40.” “Thanks,” I laughed at his frank but sweet opinion. “Really! You look like you’re 20 or even 18!” he rolled on.
Yeah. He lays it on pretty thick.
It may not be true, but I’ll take it.
I may be getting old, but hey, I can make a mean muffin. With zucchinis coming into season, and children on summer vacation who just want to sleep the morning away, I’ve been making batches and batches of these Zucchini Oat Chocolate Chunk Muffins for breakfast. They’re loaded with zucchini (and I will, for now, embrace that this is the only way my daughter will eat zucchini), and not too sweet. The occasional chocolate chunk keeps them interested, and overshadows the oats mixed in.
Now as long as I don’t misplace the muffins, we’ll be just fine.
How to Make Zucchini Oat Muffins
These muffins have been a family favorite and are one of our favorite ways to use up zucchini when they’re plentiful. It takes just a few minutes to throw together, come out of the oven perfectly moist, and are great to make in advance for easy breakfasts!
First, give the flour a quick whisk with all the dry ingredients, along with the chocolate chips.
Then it’s time for the zucchini! Shred the zucchini with a box grater — if you find that your zucchini is a little on the wet side, then press it carefully between some paper towels or a clean towel. Between you and me, I often skip this step, but if the zucchini really has too much moisture, it’s worth the extra step.
Stir the zucchini with the eggs and oil. I usually use extra-virgin olive oil or canola oil – both work great.
Then it’s time to bake, and enjoy!
More Zucchini Recipes to Bake
Double Dark Chocolate Zucchini Bread
Zucchini Bread
Savory Zucchini Scones with Feta and Thyme
Zucchini Banana Brownies
Coconut Zucchini Coffee Cake
Zucchini Oat Chocolate Chunk Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup rolled oats (old-fashioned oatmeal)
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 cup chocolate chunks or chocolate chips
- 2 cups shredded zucchini (about 2-3 zucchinis)
- 2 large eggs lightly beaten
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F with a rack placed in the center of the oven.
- Whisk together flour, oatmeal, brown and granulated sugars, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Stir in chocolate chunks.
- In a separate bowl, mix the zucchini, eggs and oil until well blended. Add the zucchini mixture to the dry ingredients until just combined. Do not over-mix.
- Distribute into paper lined or lightly greased muffin pan, place in oven and bake for about 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the muffins comes out clean.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Comments
COOKBOOK
These muffins are so tender and delicious, perfect with a cup of coffee. I added a little cardamom, and can’t wait to try another batch with a few more spices and some walnuts.
Loved these! I added a little bit of applesauce and a teaspoon of vanilla. I also added a cinnamon, sugar crumble top. Delicious!
Was good and easy to make, but I would experiment by adding more sugar.
Thanks, Kelly! You can definitely experiment with making it sweeter, the recipe has some flexiblity.
Great recipe. I used 4T sour cream and 4T applesauce instead of olive oil. Weight on zucchini was 250 before squeezing it. Good rise and great texture. Bake time was 17 minutes.
I’m so glad you enjoyed the muffins, Catherine! Thanks for your helpful notes on the sour cream and applesauce substitution!
These turned out great a keeper for sure
Simply amazing!
I used only less than 1/3 brown sugar and no white sugar, and they were perfect!
I also tried a vegan batch- used 2 flax eggs, a little extra oil and less than half the sugar, and my husband said they were the best muffins he’d ever tried! The texture of the vegan ones were like a crisp crumble on top and soft and moist inside. We’ll definitely be making these often! Thank you so much for sharing!
Hi Ash! A very belated but grateful thank you for your comment! I’m so glad you and your husband enjoyed the muffin recipe, and I appreciate your notes on the vegan version!!
Mine were flat no rounded top , no rise?and stuck to tin even though greased, did not have liners. I filled cups to top, used choc chips… Seemed crumbly and had to dig them out of tins so they ended up far from cupcake shaped. Tasted pretty fine, maybe 3 put of 5 rating.
Sorry to hear you ran into issues, Holly. This is a very well loved and tested recipe, so I hate when I hear of trouble. Not sure if you underbaked (which can explain the flat muffins) or overbaked (which can explain the sticking), but another tip for releasing muffins from a pan without using liners is to let them cool for 2 to 5 minutes in the pan before trying to remove them. If you wait too long, they can be hard to remove. Hope that helps.
I added 2 TBSP Cocoa powder instead of the chocolate chunks. Saved a couple hundred calories and was very tasty.
Wonderful idea, Loretta! So glad you liked the muffins!
Your recipe looked so good.
But i see it has 13gms of sugar
Hi Margaret, yes, the estimate is 13gms of sugar, which also accounts for the natural sugar in the zucchini itself. I have reduced the amount of sugar, and that might help!
What type of oatmeal: rolled oats or quick-cooking oats?
Rolled oats! I’ve updated the recipe card :) Thanks!
I had shredded, frozen zucchini, and wanted some recipes to use it with. These muffins are so good. I added a tsp of vanilla, just for fun. I did less the moisture out after they had thawed. I will make the until the zucchini is gone!
I’m so glad it worked beautifully with the frozen zucchini, Kay! Thank you!
The household zucchini hater demolishes these ( I peel so it’s less obvious).
Hi Jodie! When a muffin recipe can be devoured by a zucchini-hater, that pretty much makes my day! SO glad to hear – thank you!
What is the calories for these muffins?
These pictures are so beautiful!
I have a weakness for a good muffin! These looks GREAT!
This are so creative and unique!! I’m in love with this. Thank you for sharing!!
Just made these and they are so scrumptious! I used mini chocolate chips instead of chocolate chunks and it worked perfectly! Definitely a great way to use up that summer zucchini too!
So thrilled to hear you loved the muffins, Mere! It’s one of my favorite ways to use up zucchini!
these are amazing! I did make a few changes (just can’t help myself), used coocnut oil, subbed out 1/4 flour for cocoa, used mini chic chips and half zucchini/half carrots. Very light and chocolately. Def going into the school lunch rotation. thank you!
So happy you loved it, Emelie, and glad to know the substitutions worked out! It’s definitely one of my kids’ favorites, too :)
Canola oil -You really use it? In Russia, this oil is considered unsafe. I use olive oil. Otherwise, Your recipe is great!
Canola oil is very popular here in the US – but olive oil would definitely work in the recipe, too.
I made these today on a whim. They turned out amazing! They are so moist and airy. I cannot imagine these being considered “dense”. Mine did take longer to bake (about 25 minutes). Other than that, I followed the recipe exactly. Amazing recipe!
Yay! I’m so glad you tried and loved the muffins! Now that we’re heading into zucchini season, I can’t wait to make another batch soon, too!
Thank you so much Marcie!!! I will make sure I add it in, can’t believe I omitted the oats! Glad you caught that :) Talk about misplacing things…haha!
Made these today, they were fantastic. Left out the chocolate chips and increased the cinnamon, so they were light, slightly sweet and perfect for breakfast. I did squeeze out the extra liquid and it only took 2 zucchini to get 4 cups (I doubled the recipe). Thanks for the great recipe!
Hi Lauren, I did not squeeze out any extra liquid from the zucchini, and I measured after shredding. I’m not as precise when I made these muffins, and find that even heaping cups of zucchini is fine! Hope you enjoy it!
These look great. I’ve been looking for a variety of uses for all the zucchini I’m getting in my CSA. One question before i go make these, did you squeeze out the extra liquid in the zucchini? If so, did you measure before or after?
Thanks!!
Aww I couldn’t wait to try this! My man is crazy about zucchini bread and muffins so I though I’d surprise him.
He loved them, and so did I. However, we did feel they came out a little on the dense side, still moist but… any thoughts on what to do next time?
I also thought adding a little lemon zest next time might give them a nice flavor.
Can’t wait to try the zucchini bread recipe! Thanks!
Hi Ana, I’m so glad you had a chance to try the muffins. I’m not sure what kind of flour you used, but for future, I would stick with regular all purpose flour (I like the King Arthur brand or the one from Trader Joe’s), and you may consider omitting the oats and substituting with flour for a lighter texture. I hope that helps!
Smile. I feel like I have an old brain and I’m only 27! It must be something about motherhood :-) These muffins look WONDERFUL. Thank you for sharing. Beautiful shots as always ;-)
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This looks so yummy Liren! I love adding zucchini or carrots to my muffins to make them moist!
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Liren, did you mean oats or oatmeal. I’m pinning this for baking next week. Photos are gorgeous.
Hi Angela, I meant just regular rolled oats. I’ll update the recipe so it’s clear. I hope you enjoy it, happy baking! :)
So cute… But know that you’re not the only one who does that. I’ve definitely caught myself leaving things in random places.
Love everything about these muffins. Haven’t done a zucchini bread in a while. May have to change that.
That makes me feel SO much better, Brian. Seriously, the hypochondriac in me was googling early onset dementia, LOL.