Erin’s Recipe Rundown
Texture/Taste: Light, moist, and perfectly sweet. Spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg.
Ease: So easy! Great beginners paleo recipe.
Top Tips: Once you add the coconut flour, let the batter sit for 5 minutes before proceeding with the recipe so the coconut flour has time to hydrate.
Recommended GF Flour: This paleo recipe uses coconut flour and almond flour. It is gluten-free and grain-free.
Would I make these again? Definitely! These muffins are delicious for breakfast, as a snack for kids or a healthy treat anytime.
xoxo erin
If you’re looking for an easy grain-free zucchini muffin, look no further! These muffins are nutritious and delicious. Shredded zucchini adds a sneaky vegetable while banana, honey, and warm cinnamon add sweetness and flavor.
These muffins are a great introductory recipe if you are new to gluten-free, grain-free baking!
Featured Comment
From Laura: “I LOVE these muffins! I have been making these for months now and am so grateful for this recipe! Finally a healthy muffin I feel great about feeding my kids. I always have these on hand in the freezer! I make a batch, toss them in there and just reheat for 1 minute in the microwave at breakfast time! Thank you for this awesome recipe!“
Table of Contents
- Erin’s Recipe Rundown
- Ingredients You’ll Need
- How to Make Paleo Zucchini Muffins
- Make-Ahead/Storage/Freezing Instructions
- Can these zucchini muffins be made dairy-free?
- Do I need to dry off the zucchini before adding it to the mixture?
- Can I replace the honey with another sweetener?
- What can I use in place of the banana?
- More Recipes To Try
- Paleo Zucchini Muffins Recipe
Ingredients You’ll Need
Here are a few notes on some of the key ingredients. Jump to the recipe below for the exact measurements.
- Zucchini: About 2 small zucchinis will give you the full cup of shredded zucchini for 10 muffins. Not only does it add nutrients, the zucchini also keeps the muffins moist!
- Banana: Using just one mashed banana adds moisture and sweetness to the muffins without going overboard on banana flavor.
- Coconut Flour: Coconut flour has very different properties than any other flour, so don’t substitute it with more almond flour. This recipe might seem like it has a lot of eggs, but the coconut flour needs more liquid to hydrate properly.
- Almond Flour: A little almond flour helps with the texture and works well with the coconut flour to create a grain-free blend.
- Honey: Paleo recipes usually avoid granulated sugar. I like to use honey as a natural sweetener, along with the banana, to add subtle sweetness to these muffins. You can also use maple syrup.
How to Make Paleo Zucchini Muffins
Here’s an overview of how to make these muffins. You can jump to the recipe for the full instructions!
- Combine dry ingredients: Mix together the the coconut flour, almond flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt.
- Blend: Use a food processor to pulse together the eggs, honey, vanilla, and coconut oil.
- Pulse together dry and wet: Add the dry mixture into the food processor and pulse the batter together.
- Rest the batter: Let it sit for 3-5 minutes so the coconut flour absorbs the liquids.
- Add the final ingredients: Pulse to mix the apple cider vinegar, banana, and zucchini into mixture.
- Scoop: Add the batter into the lined muffin pan.
- Bake: The muffins bake at 350F for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of each muffin comes out clean.
- Cool and enjoy!
Make-Ahead/Storage/Freezing Instructions
To Make-Ahead: You can prepare the muffin batter a day in advance and bake the following morning.
To Store: Refrigerate leftover muffins in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
To Freeze: These muffins can also be frozen by wrapping each muffin individually in plastic wrap then storing in a resealable bag. Frozen muffins can be stored for up to 3 months.
To Reheat: Remove the plastic from the frozen muffin and microwave for 20 to 30 seconds, until thawed.
Can these zucchini muffins be made dairy-free?
Good news! These muffins are naturally dairy-free as paleo recipes do not include dairy products. No changes need to be made to enjoy delicious dairy-free muffins!
Do I need to dry off the zucchini before adding it to the mixture?
I usually just give mine a slight squeeze to get some of the moisture out and avoid unwanted sogginess. It doesn’t need to be really dry though.
Can I replace the honey with another sweetener?
Maple syrup works well as a replacement for honey in this recipe. Plus it is another natural sweetener!
What can I use in place of the banana?
You can use 1/2 cup of applesauce or pumpkin instead of the mashed banana.
More Recipes To Try
Paleo Zucchini Muffins
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup (56g) coconut flour
- 1/4 cup (25g) almond flour
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Other Ingredients:
- 4 large large eggs
- 1/3 cup (79ml) honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 banana mashed
- 1 cup unpeeled finely shredded zucchini (about 2 small zucchini)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Fill a standard muffin pan with liners.
- Combine the coconut flour, almond flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.
- In the bowl of a food processor, pulse together the eggs, honey, vanilla, and coconut oil until well combined.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet and pulse to combine.
- Allow the mixture to sit for 3-5 minutes for the coconut flour to absorb the liquids.
- Add the apple cider vinegar, banana, and zucchini and pulse to combine.
- Scoop the batter into the lined muffin pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center of each muffin comes out clean.
- Cool and enjoy! Keep leftover muffins in the refrigerator.
Erin, what can I use instead of coconut flour? Want to make them today but only have almond flour, oat flour and gluten free AP flour. Thank you!
Hi Karen, thank you for your question! Unfortunately, coconut flour has different properties than any other flour and can’t be easily replaced with a different flour. We’re sorry!
First time making zucchini muffins and these are absolutely delicious! Thank you for such a great recipe!
Yay! We’re so glad you loved the recipe, Roger! Thank you for your kind feedback!
Wondering if one can substitute coconut sugar for the honey? And is there a carb count for these? I’m diabetic and need to watch my carb intake.
Hi Kelly, we haven’t tried coconut sugar in this ourselves, but it should work in place of the honey. Carbs and other nutritional counts can be found at the bottom of the recipe card under, “Show Nutrition Info.” If making 10 muffins, it’s 16g of carbs per muffin. We hope this helps!
Added chocolate chips and removed some of the liquid off the zucchini. Easily doubled the recipe. Love these and they are now a regular in my house.
Thank you for the kind feedback, Rita! We’re happy you liked them and appreciate you taking the time to share with us!
Can you just mix instead of food processor?
Hi Robyn, for best results we recommend using a food processor. You can try mixing by hand or using a different kitchen appliance, but it may not produce the same texture. Thank you for your question! Happy baking!
I’m not eating nuts right now. Can I increase the coconut flour or is there another gluten free flour I can try substituting for the almond flour (ie cassava etc)?
You could use oat a starch like tapioca starch in place of the almond flour. I hope this helps!
I really enjoyed the taste of these. I would however squeeze some liquid out of the zuccini next time. I felt the muffins were a bit too soft due to the zuccini liquid.
these are not good..they are OUTSTANDING – when I saw the batter I thought oh that going to be terrible but they are one of the best muffins I have EVER had and that includes flour ones – thank you SO MUCH for this great recipe – try it – you will not be sorry!!!
These are great, easy to make, moist and delicious! I added chocolate chips to mine, helps the kids when they know there is zucchini in them! Thanks for sharing this recipe 🙂
Perfect amount of moisture! Always the test of a zucchini muffin recipe. I substituted ghee for the coconut oil and added 1/4 cup chopped pecans, and they came out great. Thanks for the recipe.
Made these today amd they are fabulous. Moist, great flavor. Yum
Hello.This is delicious site that you have provided for the public.My eyes have been feasting as I look through your thorough collection of recipes.I was googling quinoa to lead me to your site Erin.I made your Quinoa cake.I have been trying to get quinoa in my diet.With this protein packed snack cake it will be easy.Thank you.
Hi, Erin,
I am about to make the paleo zucchini muffins. But I only have a tiny food processor. Would it work to use an electric hand mixer?
If I’m making this for a nine month old who can’t have honey can I substitute maple syrup?
Yes that will work great!
Have you ever added carrots in as well?
Any changes for high altitude?
Hi Patricia, typically at high altitudes it’s best to increase the oven temperature by 15-25 degrees F and decrease the bake time by 5-8 minutes per 30 minutes of baking time. This typically applies to all baked goods, not just muffins. We hope you enjoy the recipe!