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.
I cant have fruit!! what can i substitute banana or applesauce for? Also can i add protein powder in it?
Love these, they quickly became my go-to recipe for my 2 year old. Do you have the nutrition facts somewhere? Just curious what the carb count is per muffin, thanks!
These look amazing. So excited to try them!
I did have a question: do you add the coconut oil in solid or liquid form? I’m assuming liquid, but why dirty another little bowl if I don’t have to, right?!
Thanks!
Can one just use a spoon to mix/incorporate the wet ingredients and a spoon to mix the wet ingredients with the dry ones? I have a food processor but prefer to bake without using a sharp blade.
So we made these muffins today. Followed the recipe EXACTLY. I have to say… I’m impressed! No super egg-y texture. Good flavor. Moist but not crazy or soggy. My kids gobbled these things up. A fabulous help for me trying to switch my carb loving kids over to a paleo diet. I think this will be a staple for breakfasts for a while. We might add blueberries next time or nuts for a texture change up for the kids (else they tend to get bored with one thing for a while). THANK YOU for a fabulous recipe that even my husband could follow. 🙂
I’m so glad to hear this! Happy you liked them! 🙂
Yum! These are so moist and delicious. I realized I messed up and put 1/2 almond and 1/4 coconut flours but they still turned out! I just squeezed a bit of liquid out of the zucchini just in case. Thanks!
The only issue here is that the recipe calls to bake honey. Honey become a toxic substance for the body when cooked. Highly advised to drizzle the honey on afterwards 🙂
I have been eating gluten free for about 6 years now. I have tried countless recipes and thrown many out… until now! I have made 2 of your recipes and they are delicious! And my toddler loves them! I can’t wait to try this one. Wondering if you have tried a “chocolate zucchini” recipe as my older daughter isn’t fooled easily. Would love to hear if you have any!
I’m so glad to hear this! Thanks for letting me know!
Hi there! Is the honey necessary or is it just a sweetener? Could maple syrup be used instead? Or nothing? I have to watch my sugar. Thanks!
Maple syrup could definitely be used instead! I haven’t tried these with no sweetener. I would add 1/3 cup almond milk in place of the liquid sweetener if you try it because you need the liquid. Let me know how they turn out!
Is there a sub for the banana?
You could try using 1/2 cup applesauce instead. I think that should work!
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!
can I use this recipe without using the banana, also I don’t want to use applesauce, can I get away using neither those 2.
Hi Lorena! I don’t know how it would work without the banana. You could try using pumpkin and increasing the sweetener slightly!
These are delicious! I added 1/4 c cocoa powder and 1/4 chocolate chips to make a decadent treat. Thank you!
Please help what can we sub for all the coconut ingrediants and honey. Few allergies over this way..
Hi Erin:
We made the Zucchini Muffins exactly as written and they turned out great- I did follow the tip for removing some of the water from the zucchini – and the only mistake I made was placing them in the refrigerator before they were 100% completely cooled- this made them soggy when we went to have our next couple of muffins- We still finished the entire batch of course- but next time I will be more patient and let them really cool down-
Wonderful Site- so very happy to have found you!
Kelli