The BEST Chocolate Zucchini Muffins Recipe | The Nourished Life (2024)

This chocolate zucchini muffin recipe hits the spot in the morning with a balance of green veggies, healthy fats, and delicious chocolate goodness. These really are the perfect way to start your day!

If your first thought is… “Wait, aren’t these muffins glorified chocolate cake?” The answer is… maybe a little. But eating chocolate cake for breakfast isn’t the most outlandish idea.

One study actually showed that people who ate chocolate cake for breakfast lost more weight and maintained thatweight loss compared tofolks whose breakfasts were, well, superboring. I’m paraphrasing, of course. You can read more about that study here.

So there. I’ve given you permission to eat chocolate zucchini muffins at 6:45am.

You’re welcome.

Why Zucchini is So Awesome

Let’s face it: the zucchini part of “chocolate zucchini muffins” is the real winner. It’s what brings green veggies to the breakfast table.

Personally, I love zucchini with or without the chocolate. But the same can’t be said for everyone else in the house.

During zucchini season, we can easily get overrun with fresh zucchini. Even though I love baked zucchini – there can be too much of a good thing. That’s where these delicious muffins come in.

And did you know zucchini is actually pretty nutritious?It really doesn’t get the attention it deserves. Kale gets all the love these days, but our friend zucchini really has a lot to offer.

Zucchini is rich in:

• Vitamin C
• Vitamin B6
• Riboflavin
• Folate
• Potassium
• Manganese
• Vitamin K

Zucchini may also:

• Provide anti-inflammatory benefits to the digestive system. (source)
• Improve thyroid, adrenal, and insulin regulation. (source)

Now that we’ve determined that both chocolate and zucchini are awesome, here are some tips for making these muffins extra delicious:

The Key to Deliciously Moist Muffins

These zucchini muffins reach their peak of flavor and moistness after sitting overnight.

I’m really not kidding. They taste so much better, you’ll regret eating the one you gobbled downwhen the batch was fresh (I know, sometimes I can’t help myself either). It’s completely worth the wait.

So instead of worrying about cooking these first thing in the morning, make your muffins the night before and store them in an airtight container overnight.

You’ll thank me in the morning. 😉

Love chocolate? Then you’ll also love my homemade healthy chocolate hazelnut spread.

Recipe Tips + Questions

Hide the Zucchini

If you want to go super stealthy and completely hide the zucchini in this muffin recipe, I recommend shredding it very fine. I like mine at a medium shred, but you can do super fine and the recipe will still turn out delicious.

Mix Well

Spend an extra moment or two getting the zucchini well-mixed into the batter. I recommend folding the zucchini into the batter with a silicone spatula.

You don’t want to overdo the mixing, but you also want to eliminate “pockets” of zucchini so the moisture and flavor are dispersed evenly throughout the muffins. This makes for the best bake and perfectly moist muffins.

Freeze for Long-Term Storage

Did you know you can freeze muffins? You can! Store these chocolate zucchini muffins in an airtight container in the freezer for up to three months. Thaw in the fridge overnight so you can grab-n-go in the morning.

Substitute Ideas

You can substitute half of the oil in this recipe with Greek yogurt or applesauce if desired. If you do this, you can also cut back to 1/2 to 3/4 cup coconut sugar. This will reduce the calories, sugar, and fat (if that’s your goal).

Whole wheat flour can easily replace the all-purpose flour in this recipe – no need to change any measurements.

“Can you taste the zucchini?”

I promise, these muffins taste like crazy delicious chocolate breakfast cake – if you don’t tell anyone, no one will guess there’s zucchini in them! These are truly 100% kid-friendly, from toddlers to teens.

“Why chocolate zucchini muffins instead of bread?”

While chocolate zucchini bread is also mouth-watering, I chose to go with a muffin recipe because muffins are more “to-go” friendly and a little less messy to store and eat. They are also perfectly portioned, so I don’t end up slicing off an accidentally-way-too-big piece for myself. 😉

“Why no chocolate chips?”

Most recipes for chocolate zucchini muffins call for chocolate chips, but I found this recipe works incredibly well without any chocolate chips.

With only cocoa powder, they are still perfectly rich and moist and chocolate-y. I don’t normally keep chocolate chips in the house, but I always have cocoa powder on hand, so it makes this recipe easy to bake on a whim.

RELATED: My Metabolism-Boosting Coffee Breakfast Smoothie

If you try these chocolate zucchini muffins, please rate this recipe below and share it so your friends can enjoy it too! For more of my recipes, remedies, and lifestyle tips, follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.

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