Quick Baked Vegan Zucchini Oat Muffins
In less than 30 minutes, you could be eating these moist, flavourful and healthy zucchini muffins – with or without chocolate! – that are loaded with whole grain oats, flax and grated zucchini.
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I’m gonna level with you *whips out her inside dietitian voice* a LOT of muffin recipes online aren’t super healthy. They’re mostly sugar and white flour which, honestly, is fine…as long as you’re loving them and getting your nutrition elsewhere.
But for me personally, when I’m craving a muffin, I want one that’s super nutritious, which is why I’m allllll about the whole grain baking. Like these ridiculously delicious zucchini muffins, that I personally think are bakery worthy…if that bakery was run by a cookbook-writing dietitian obsessed with making healthy foods craveable and easy.
Naturally egg free and vegan, I use whole wheat flour PLUS rolled oats and ground flax in the batter so they’ve got plenty of tummy loving fibre…about 4 grams fibre per small muffin…which we ALL could use more of.
Looking for more higher fibre baking recipes? Um, have you tried my epic banana bran muffins?!?
Which makes these vegan muffins a healthy lunch box option too…and honestly, it’s the only way my youngest actually eats zucchini right now. Yep, I’m not above plying her with a little dark chocolate to get some extra veg in ha ha.
How I make these whole grain zucchini muffins actually moist and delicious
If your whole grain muffins have resembled hockey pucks in the past, you know that it isn’t always easy to just sub whole wheat flour in a recipe. Believe me, I’ve been there! But three cookbooks and hundreds of recipes into this, I’ve finally perfected my method for tender, fluffy and yes – MOIST – whole wheat baking with a couple of key techniques.
First, you’re gonna bake on high heat: whole grain doesn’t rise as nicely as white flour (it’s heavy!) so baking at 400F helps lift the batter. BONUS: the muffins cook quickly.
Second, you need to use enough leavening to create that lift. We’re using baking powder AND baking soda here.
And finally…add plenty of moisture in the form of oil, grated zucchini, milk and maple syrup as sweetener.
More ways to use up all that zucchini:
- Chopped Summer Vegetable Salad with Zucchini
- Healthy Baked Zucchini Fritters with Chickpea Flour
- 30 Minute Zucchini Orzo with Chile Oil
- Savoury Zucchini Waffles with Chickpea Flour
- White Bean Skillet with Speedy Herb Sauce
Quick Baked Vegan Zucchini Oat Muffins
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups flour, I use whole wheat
- ¾ cup rolled oats
- ¼ cup ground flax
- 1 ¼ teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
Wet Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups grated zucchini, don't squeeze!
- ½ cup oil, I like olive, avocado or cold-pressed canola here
- ½ cup milk, I use soy milk
- ½ cup maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Optional but delicious!
- ⅓ cup dark chocolate chunks, OR ¼ cup mini chips
Equipment
- 12 well muffin pan
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400℉ (205℃). Line a 12 well muffin pan with parchment liners.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, flax, cinnamon, baking powder and soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the zucchini, oil, milk, maple syrup, apple cider vinegar and vanilla.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Fold in chocolate if using.
- Fill muffin tin with ¼ cup scoops of the batter. Bake for 14 – 16 minutes, until tops are dry and a tooth pick inserted comes out clean. Don't over bake! Mine are always done by 15 minutes.
- Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Once cool, store at room temperature lightly covered for up to 3 days.
26 Comments on “Quick Baked Vegan Zucchini Oat Muffins”
Is the flax in this recipe essential, like as an egg substitute? If so, what do you recommend instead? Allergic to flax, chia, sesame and nuts. Thanks.
Hi Shirley,
The flax does act as an egg substitute here, however, I think you might be able to leave it out as the oats will help bind too. I can’t guarantee it as I haven’t tested it specifically this way, but if you try it please let me know how it worked!
can i cut down on the maple syrup or will that negatively affect the moisture content? 1/2 cup would be too sweet for me.
thanks.
Hi Jacquie,
Yes, if you reduce the maple syrup, the muffins could be dry…I’ll say this, because of the high whole wheat/flax/oat content, these muffins (without the chocolate) are very NOT sweet even with that much maple! You could try half maple, half banana (or applesauce) for fewer added sugars or…try adding some milk to offset the lower maple syrup.
If you do try, let me know what you tried and how it went, as other folks might be curious too!
These are so delicious, thanks for sharing!!
I am so glad you like them Kailyn!!
Hi…can I substitute something else for the oil?
Hi Lise,
Omitting the oil will definitely impact how tender, flavourful and moist these muffins are. However, if you are already used to the flavour of oil free baking, just use a 1/2 cup of any of the usual replacers…applesauce, mashed banana, greek yogurt. If you do try it, please let us know what you chose and how it went!
I made these today before reading the comments, and went ahead and used applesauce in place of the oil. Worked out great! Maybe I’m used to the flavour because they tasted “regular” to me, and were still moist and tender. All Desiree’s recipes are so good, I hated to alter, but wanted to see if applesauce would work.
For anyone wondering, my zucchini came out to about 2 cups grated but this made no difference, they were still great! No real zucchini taste. I did add the optional choc chunks (1:4 cup – all I had) and a topped up with about 1/8 cup mini choc chips.
Another winner of a recipe.
Okay, I love that the applesauce is working so well…new zucchini muffin level unlocked ha ha. Thanks Nadia!
Wondering if I can just use an egg since we are not egg free.
You absolutely can, Merla! Substitute one beaten egg for the flax
These are amazing, so moist, so flavorful but….. I need nutrition info to track them in my app. You said 4g fiber but can you share protein and calories? Or am I overlooking …. Thank You!
Jennifer
Hi Jennifer,
I generally don’t share full nutrition information to keep this a food neutral space.
But I just so happen to have the info for this recipe! 229 cal each and 4.5g protein.
I calculate using cronometer which I would totally recommend! You can create custom recipes quickly and it’s quite accurate.
Hope this helps,
Desiree
Fantastic! Reminds me I need to make muffins more often. The whole wheat flour makes them so hearty. Love the texture with the oats and pops of chocolate. Added a bit of nutmeg to mine in addition to the yummy cinnamon. I have SO much zucchini, think I need to shred and freeze for future baking.
Ooh nutmeg is a great idea! Thanks for joining the whole wheat baking club ha ha we need more members
Update:
I did the zucchini muffins and instead of adding the full amount of oil, I replaced half of the oil with applesauce. The muffins turned out super awesome! My husband couldn’t stop at two muffins, he said they were the best!
Okay, awesome!! Thanks for letting us know Lise 🙂
These were perfect – I made them exactly as the recipe was written! Was a great way to use some of the zuchinni bounty we have in the garden this time of year. I popped them in the freezer and they’re a perfect mid morning work snack for this busy season transitioning back to school routines.
Hi Kirie,
So glad you like the muffins! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a rating and review, it really helps 🙂
Amazingly moist and perfectly sweet! This recipe was an instant favorite with my five year old and hubby. I personally love how quickly it came together and appreciate the healthy ingredients.
Forgive me if you have addressed the swap for oil in your post and I happen to have missed it, but is it possible to swap half the amount of oil (1/4 c) with apple sauce or vegan yogurt? Thank you!
Hi Becca,
I am so glad you like the muffins!!! And yes, you can totally swap half the oil for apple sauce. A few readers have already done that and reported success 🙂
These were delicious. My partner loved the heartiness of the grains and I think I could make it without the chocolate and he’d still love it. I did use half all purpose flour and half whole spelt flour. Used 6 Tbsp of avocado oil and 2 Tbsp of applesauce. Used 2 Tbsp ground flax and 2 Tbsp ground chia seeds. And it’s amazing that these didn’ t taste sweeter, given the half cup of maple syrup. Thank you, maple trees!
I am so, so glad you liked them! And it’s true – they aren’t super sweet. What surprises people most about whole grain baking is that it requires a bit of sweetness to balance out the earthier flavours. Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment and rating!
Hi Desiree! Big fan here and I loved these muffins. This is sort of random, but I thought I would share since I know you are also a parent! I used these muffins as a vehicle for allergen introduction / exposure with my now one-year-old (see https://foodallergycanada.ca/wp-content/uploads/Eat-Early-Eat-Often.pdf). I added eggs, used almond flour, tossed in some sesame seeds for funsies, and used both soy and dairy milk. Here’s to preventing allergies in our littles!
So glad to hear that these worked so well for your family, Sally! Thanks for sharing your experience 🙂