Erin’s Recipe Rundown
Texture: Fluffy, moist and tender! I like using mini chocolate chips because they evenly distribute in the muffin for the best texture.
Taste: So flavorful with cinnamon, vanilla and brown sugar.
Ease: Easy to make! There is a 20 minute chill time, but it’s well worth it so the batter has time to hydrate and you get those sky-high muffin tops.
Top Tips: Use finely shredded zucchini! Also bake the muffins at a high temperature followed by a low temperature. I do this for my gluten-free blueberrry muffins as well.
Recommended GF Flour: Works great with many gluten-free flour blends. Use a high-quality flour that contains xanthan gum. I like King Arthur Flour and Bob’s Red Mill.
Would I make these again? Definitely! Ever since publishing this recipe back in 2022, it’s the only zucchini muffin I make. They turn out amazing every time and I usually double (or triple!) the recipe.
xoxo erin
Featured Comment
From Elizabeth: “My kids loved these. My super picky daughter said ‘mom these are FANTASTIC’. I’m soooo grateful for your recipes. Between this recipe and your gluten free sandwich bread I’m feeling like a stellar mom! Thank you so much. I never knew gluten free could taste this good! Just been ‘getting by’ before now:)”
Table of Contents
- Erin’s Recipe Rundown
- TOP TIPS for Gluten-Free Zucchini Muffins
- Ingredients You’ll Need
- How to Make Gluten-Free Zucchini Muffins
- Make-Ahead, Storage & Freezer Instructions
- Can I make this recipe into gluten-free zucchini bread?
- Do I have to let the batter chill?
- What can I use instead of the sugar in this recipe?
- More Gluten-Free Muffin Recipes
- Gluten-Free Zucchini Muffins (BEST EVER!) Recipe
This gluten-free zucchini muffins recipe is one you’ll turn to again and again all year long. It’s the ideal way to use zucchini in the summer, and also makes a great snack all year long.
I’ve tested and perfected this recipe to get these gf zucchini muffins just right. Plus these muffins are naturally dairy-free. You also might like my gluten-free zucchini bread or gluten-free double chocolate zucchini bread.
TOP TIPS for Gluten-Free Zucchini Muffins
- Cook at a high temperature for TALL muffins. By starting with a high oven temperature and then reducing the heat, you’ll help these muffins get a much better rise!
- Let the batter sit for 20 minutes for MOIST muffins. Your muffins will rise higher and be light and fluffy if you let the muffins sit in the refrigerator for 20 minutes before baking. This also gives the flour time to hydrate and chills the batter.
- Use finely shredded zucchini for LIGHT muffins. Finely shredded (rather than thickly shredded) zucchini doesn’t weight down the muffin so they turn out light and fluffy.
- Doubling the for MORE muffins: This great recipe yields 9 muffins, but you can easily double (or triple!) as needed. These muffins are great for storing in the freezer.
For more summer recipes, try this gluten-free peach cobbler or gluten-free peach crisp.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Here are a few notes on the ingredients you’ll need to make these gluten-free zucchini muffins. Jump to the recipe for the exact measurements.
- Gluten-free flour: For best results, use a high quality gluten-free flour blend that contains xanthan gum. I recommend King Arthur Flour Gluten-Free Measure-For-Measure Flour or Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free 1:1 Baking Flour.
- Neutral Oil: These muffins call for oil instead of melted butter. As much as I love butter, I find that oil (with it’s lower melting point) produces a fluffier texture in gluten-free muffins. I like to use grapeseed or avocado oil, but any neutral oil will work.
- Chocolate chips: I prefer mini chocolate chips in this recipe so you get little bits of chocolate evenly throughout the muffins.
- Grated zucchini: Use a box grater on the smallest setting to get finely shredded zucchini. This is key to the best muffin texture!
How to Make Gluten-Free Zucchini Muffins
Here’s a basic run-through of how to make these gluten-free zucchini muffins. You can find the full instructions in the recipe card below.
- Finely shred the zucchini and squeeze out the excess moisture.
- Mix together the dry ingredients
- Mix together the wet ingredients
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mixture to combine.
- Stir in the chocolate chips and zucchini
- Scoop into the muffin pan – fill the cups all the way up! Then chill for 20 minutes.
- Bake!
Make-Ahead, Storage & Freezer Instructions
- Make-Ahead: You can prepare the muffin batter a day in advance and bake the following morning. I do this all the time and think the muffins turn out even better this way!
- To Store: These muffins are best served the day they are made. They can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature or airtight container for up to 1 day.
- To Freeze: These muffins can also be frozen by wrapping each muffin individually in plastic wrap then storing in a resealable bag. To reheat from frozen, remove the plastic and microwave the muffin for 20 to 30 seconds, until thawed.
Can I make this recipe into gluten-free zucchini bread?
I recommend making my gluten-free zucchini bread recipe instead!
Do I have to let the batter chill?
I recommend chilling the batter for 2 reasons. 1. It gives the gluten-free flour time to hydrate so you don’t have gritty muffins and 2. Cold batter leads to those beautiful domed muffin tops. I also recommend you begin by baking your gluten-free muffins at a higher temperature, then reduce it. Typically, I start gluten-free muffins baking at 400-425°F, then reduce it to 350-375°F. This results in tall, fluffy muffins that are as delicious as they are eye-catching!
What can I use instead of the sugar in this recipe?
Sugar is important for the structure and texture of these muffins, so unfortunately it cannot be swapped without changing the consistency. Some reviews have reported success using 1/2 cup coconut sugar in place of the 3/4 cup granulated sugar.
More Gluten-Free Muffin Recipes
- Gluten-Free Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
- Gluten-Free Apple Muffins
- Gluten-Free Zucchini Muffins
- Gluten-Free Pumpkin Muffins
- Gluten-Free Banana Muffins
- Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Muffins
Gluten-Free Zucchini Muffins (BEST EVER!)
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 1¼ cups (187g) gluten-free measure-for-measure flour
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
Other
- 2 large eggs
- ¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup (80ml) vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1¾ cups (250g) finely grated zucchini, lightly squeezed (weigh after squeezing)
- ½ cup (90g) mini chocolate chips, optional
Instructions
- Line a standard muffin pan with 9 paper baking cups.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the gluten-free flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, oil and vanilla until well-combined.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and stir with a rubber spatula until just combined.
- Lightly squeeze the zucchini to get out some of the excess liquid. (You don’t need to overdo it, just reduce some of the moisture.) Stir in the shredded zucchini and chocolate chips, if using, until just combined.
- Using a kitchen scoop or large spoon, fill 9 paper baking cups all the way up. (I find I can usually make 9 full muffins with this batter, but you could also make 12 smaller muffins.)
- Refrigerate the muffins for 20 minutes before baking. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Bake the muffins for 10 minutes at 400°F, then reduce the oven temperature to 350°F and continue to bake for 10-15 minutes, until the tops are lightly browned and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Let the muffins cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- Cook at a high temperature for TALL muffins. By starting with a high oven temperature and then reducing the heat, you’ll help these muffins get a much better rise!
- Let the batter sit for 20 minutes for MOIST muffins. Your muffins will rise higher and be light and fluffy if you let the muffins sit in the refrigerator for 20 minutes before baking. This also gives the flour time to hydrate and chills the batter.
- Use finely shredded zucchini for LIGHT muffins. Finely shredded (rather than thickly shredded) zucchini doesn’t weight down the muffin so they turn out light and fluffy.
- Doubling the for MORE muffins: This great recipe yields 9 muffins, but you can easily double (or triple!) as needed. These muffins are great for storing in the freezer.
These are SO GOOD! I doubled the recipe. I finely chopped the zucchini in my Ninja food processor (rather than shredding zucchini). I used a lemon squeezer (press) to squeeze the juice out of the zucchini. I added extra mini chocolate chips to each muffin before baking. I baked 10 minutes at 400 degrees and then reduced temperature to 350 degrees and baked an additional 10 minutes. I was able to bake 24 muffins. I think next time I will add chopped walnuts. I used Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free one to one flour and since I had no nutmeg, I substituted pumpkin pie spice. Once they cooled for about 10 minutes, I gobbled down two muffins warm. YUM!!! Thank you for your recipe!
We’re so glad you enjoyed the muffins, Sharon! Thank you for sharing your experience with us!
Question! Does the nutrition info include the mini chocolate chips? I ask because I know they are listed as optional in the recipe!
Hi Kristen, good question! No, they are not included in the nutritional information since they are optional add-ons to the recipe. We hope you enjoy the muffins!
Loved this recipe. Can I prepare and leave in fridge overnight like your blueberry muffin recipe. Love that one too. Thanks, Cheryl
Definitely, Cheryl! We’re happy to hear you enjoy both muffin recipes! Thanks for sharing with us.
Hello! I’m excited to try this recipe for my sister in law who is having a baby soon. When I freeze them, how long do they last in the freezer?
Hi Carly, they can be frozen for up to 3 months. We hope you all enjoy the recipe!
I have officially made these 3 times in the last month and they were a big hit for my sister in law after she had her baby!! Now that it is fall, I would love to try adding pumpkin puree to this for a pumpkin muffin. Have you tried this or have any recommendations of how to do this well?
I’m grain free. Substituted cassava and almond flour by weight. There fantastic!
We’re so glad you enjoyed the muffins, Cathy! Thanks for sharing your feedback!
I made these as mini muffins. I would cut the cooking time to 10/10. Watch them Quite tasty and nice crust.
Thanks for suggesting a finer shred on the zucchini. That’s a game changer.
We’re so glad you liked them, Amy! Thanks for sharing your experience making them into mini muffins!
Ohhh myyy goodness…. I have been growing fresh vegetables and I got this huge zucchini that was enough for a double batch!. Used Gluten Free flour and these came out popped high and fresh at 6800 feet altitude. Put the entire batter in fridge as noted, but not in the tins… just in the bowl… Dr said only gluten free breads and this might be my go to breakfast bread!!
Yay! We’re so glad to hear you enjoyed the recipe! Thanks for sharing your experience with us. Good to know it worked well at high altitude!
And I forgot, I added crushed pecans!! Sooo delicious!
How should I alter the baking temp/time for making mini muffins?
Hi Mel, general guidelines for mini muffins are to keep the temperature the same and then reduce the baking time by 1/3. Keep an eye on them and use a toothpick test to check for doneness. We hope you enjoy the recipe!
I have a friend who is GF so will give her these to taste-test. I filled 3/4 full and ended up filling 12 muffin cups, and they will still nicely domed. I think they would have spilled over if I did them “full”.
Hi Cheryl, we’re glad the muffins turned out well for you! We hope the recipe passes your friend’s taste test!
I am always skeptical when it comes to gluten free baked goods. These muffins did not disappoint. I followed the recipe exactly and the result was soft and moist muffins that taste exactly like a regular muffin. I immediately shared it with my gf friends. Will def make again and again.
Thank you for your feedback, Christina! We’re so glad you enjoyed the recipe. Thanks for spreading the word to your friends, too!
Are you able to add protein powder to this to give a boost of protein? If so, what and how much would I remove of the flour and how much protein?
Hi Shereen, we haven’t tested protein powder in this muffin recipe. If you decide to give it a try, we’d love to hear how it goes!
Can you use a sugar free option like monkfruit instead of granular sugar?
Hi there, sugar is important for the structure and texture of these muffins, so unfortunately it cannot be swapped without changing the consistency. Some reviews have reported success using 1/2 cup coconut sugar in place of the 3/4 cup granulated sugar, but we haven’t tried monk fruit. Thank you for your question!
If I choose not to freeze the muffins, how should I store them?
Sue
Hi Sue, if not freezing, the muffins are best served the day they are made. They can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature or airtight container for up to 1 day. We hope you enjoy the recipe!
First-rate use of our zucchini bumper crop!!! These muffins were tall, domed and DELICIOUS (and we live at high-altitude!)!
Yay! We’re so glad the recipe was a success with your zucchini crop! Thank you for your kind words and for letting us know it worked well at high altitude.
These sound so delicious – have you made this recipe and replaced the eggs? Thoughts on good substitutes that might work?
Hi Carrie, we haven’t subbed out the eggs ourselves, but other readers have commented that using an egg replacer worked well for them. If you decide to give it a try, we’d love to hear how it goes!