Hello, my chickpeas! Today we are venturing into an area that I don't share with you all that often... vegan baking. Let's welcome my brand new Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins to the family! These guys are basically the muffin form of chocolate chip zucchini bread, so how could anyone not love them? They are the perfect amount of sweet, the perfect density, and are an excellent excuse to eat a breakfast that contains chocolate.
I did a lot of tests on these to make them perfect, but I think we made it! I love grabbing one of these to go with breakfast or for a quick snack, and they're easier to make than you probably think! Let's get into it.
Inspiration for Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins
This recipe definitely evolved as I continued to test it (as is often the nature with vegan baking!). I was originally going for a zucchini bread muffin, which is kind of what we landed on. However, the chocolate chips were definitely not planned. I added them on a whim once just to see how they were, and then I could never go back. They immediately became the star of the show, and I decided that I was okay with that. That being said, my husband is not a chocolate lover (weird, I know), and he still loves these without the added chocolate. So if you also don't consider yourself a chocolate fan, feel free to leave them out!
Even though muffins and chocolate chips don't exactly yell "health foods", I still wanted to keep this recipe relatively wholesome and include nutrients where I could! Plus, I wanted to keep them oil-free since a lot of my readers are oil-free. So today we are utilizing some common WFPB baking ingredients, such as aquafaba, whole wheat pastry flour, and maple syrup. They came out absolutely delicious and I hope you give them a try!
Ingredients
These Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins contain a lot of ingredients that you've probably used before, but also a few that may be new to you. Let's talk about some of the ingredients you'll need today!
- Whole wheat pastry flour: This is my typical baking flour of choice, because it is whole grain flour but behaves much like all purpose flour! It works perfectly for baked goods such as muffins.
- Cinnamon & nutmeg: since this recipe is basically a chocolate chip zucchini bread but in muffin form, we definitely need a couple of spices thrown in! Cinnamon and nutmeg fit the bill.
- Zucchini: obviously necessary for a zucchini muffin. We actually blend our zucchini up with the other wet ingredients, so these muffins will be nice and smooth!
- Applesauce & aquafaba: since we aren't using eggs or oil, these ingredients somewhat take their place. Oil and eggs both add moisture to baked goods, and eggs also act as a bit of a glue to hold things together. Luckily, applesauce and aquafaba also accomplish these tasks when it comes to vegan baking!
- Maple syrup: the main sweetener for our Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins! We also get a bit of sweetness from the applesauce.
- Plant milk, vanilla, salt, & baking powder: not much to be said here, but these are necessary for a great muffin! Luckily, these ingredients may already be in your kitchen!
- Chocolate chips: the real star of the show, honestly. However, they are technically optional and you can leave them out if you'd like! Please note that not all chocolate chips are vegan - so if this is important to you, be sure to check ingredients labels!
How to Make Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins
As always, full recipe down below! But here's the gist (spoiler alert: it's super simple!).
- Mix your dry ingredients
- Blend the wet ingredients
- Combine wet into dry
- Add chocolate chips
- Pour batter into muffin liners
- Bake
- Enjoy!
Tips & Tricks
Typically I have lots of ideas on how you guys can change up my recipes. However, baking is kind of a whole other story. It's a lot more particular than cooking, and it took a number of tests to get this recipe right! For that reason, I wouldn't mess with this one a ton. But here are a couple of thoughts I have for you!
- I have not tested this recipe with regular all-purpose flour. HOWEVER, all purpose flour and whole wheat pastry flour typically can substitute each other just fine. Therefore, I believe that all-purpose flour would likely work in place of whole wheat pastry flour in this recipe, but experimenting with this would be at your own risk since I have not confirmed it!
- As mentioned earlier, you can leave out the chocolate chips if you'd like! I personally think they are a great addition, but if you aren't a chocolate fan, or if you just want to keep this recipe more WFPB, feel free to skip them. You'll be left with more of a zucchini bread muffin and it'll still be delicious!
- Muffins are a crowd pleaser, so these would be so fun to bring to your next social gathering or get together! They're great for groups too since they're already portioned out and easy to grab.
- I love having these on hand throughout the week to grab as a quick breakfast! I will grab one of these muffins and a banana and am ready to tackle my day.
- In the mood for more fun breakfast/brunch baked goods? Check out my Sweet Potato Pancakes, my Cinnamon Raisin Waffles, or my Wholesome Vegan Banana Bread next!
Enjoy!
📖 Recipe
Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins (Vegan!)
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups whole wheat pastry flour
- 1.5 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 cup roughly chopped zucchini
- ¼ cup unsweetened applesauce
- ½ cup pure maple syrup
- 1.5 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup aquafaba - (the liquid in a can of chickpeas)
- ¼ cup nondairy milk
- ¾ cup nondairy chocolate chips - (optional, but highly recommended!)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350F. Prepare a 12-count muffin pan by lining it with cupcake liners.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the whole wheat pastry flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
- Add the zucchini, applesauce, maple syrup, vanilla, aquafaba, and nondairy milk to a high powered blender. Blend until the mixture is very smooth.
- Pour your blended mixture into the bowl with the dry mixture. Whisk or stir until just combined.
- Add your chocolate chips to the mixture and stir until evenly incorporated.
- Pour your batter into your prepared muffin pan, filling each liner about ⅔ full.
- Place in your preheated oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean (25 minutes is usually perfect for me, but every oven is a little different!)
- Allow the muffins to cool in the muffin pan for a few minutes, and then transfer to a wire rack to continue cooling. Serve whenever they reach your desired temperature (I love them when they're still a bit warm). Enjoy!
Notes
Happy cooking! If you made this recipe don’t forget to tag me (@joyfulbalanceofficial) on facebook or instagram so I can cheer you on for your muffin-making ways.
Stay joyfully balanced!
Nancy says
Delicious. It’s a perfect way to start the day with. Love the extra veggies
Delaney Marie says
So glad you enjoyed!!
Jess says
So delicious and easy to make!
Delaney Marie says
So glad you loved them!
Padma says
I am so into baking muffins these days and have come across your recipe at the right time 🙂 love that it is oil free.
Delaney Marie says
Hooray! So glad that you found this one 🙂
Dee says
I read the comment about using regular flour in place of the recommended whole wheat pastry flour. I would like to ask if I could use just whole wheat flour instead of whole wheat “pastry” flour
Delaney Marie says
Hi Dee, thank you for the comment! Unfortunately I would not recommend this - whole wheat pastry flour specifically works in this recipe because it is less dense than plain whole wheat flour. The density from the whole wheat flour will likely alter the baking of the muffins so that the texture/consistency/density won't turn out quite right. I would stick to either whole wheat pastry flour or all purpose flour!