Pumpkin Zucchini Muffins
Pumpkin Zucchini Muffins are a perfect transitional treat from summer to fall: moist, tender, and absolutely packed with rich pumpkin spice flavor. These make a great breakfast or snack and even help you sneak in a little veggie besides.
Pumpkin meets zucchini for a charming treat.
If you find yourself with garden zucchini still lingering into those cooler fall days, or just love squeezing a whiff of vegetable into any recipe possible, these pumpkin zucchini muffins are made for you. They use a full can of pumpkin puree plus a heaping cup of shredded zucchini, which combined with a bit of olive or vegetable oil keeps the muffins incredibly tender and moist. Pumpkin pie spice delivers all the fall flavors you love in a convenient package, but you can also substitute a mix of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves for a similar effect.
Keep these on hand for grab-and-go breakfasts or after-school snacks. They’re delicious off the counter or lightly warmed with a pat of butter. You can also freeze half the batch to enjoy later. Your future self will thank you!
Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
This bulleted list includes extra notes to help you shop and substitute well. Scroll to the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for quantities and instructions.
- Grated zucchini. You’ll need approximately 1 and 1/4 cups of shredded zucchini. Substitute up to 1/2 cup of this with shredded carrot if you like. (You need some zucchini because the recipe relies on it to add a lot of moisture.)
- Pumpkin puree. Be sure to use pure pumpkin puree, not the pre-flavored pumpkin pie filling, which also comes in a can.
- Olive or vegetable oil. Any neutral-flavored cooking oil works well. Take care when measuring this: the muffins are already very moist, thanks to the pumpkin and zucchini, and if you are overly generous with adding the oil the muffins will suffer in texture.
- Pumpkin pie spice. This fall staple is easy to find off-the-shelf in season, but is equally easy to make at home and kind of fun!
- Baking basics: all-purpose flour, granulated white sugar, baking soda, table salt, eggs, and vanilla extract. You can replace nearly half of the all-purpose flour with white whole wheat.
Have extra zucchini? Never fear! Toss it into your next batch of pesto, make fritters or a quick pasta dish, mix it into meatballs, make a crispy-topped zucchini casserole, or whip up another variety of muffins.
How To Make Pumpkin Muffins with Zucchini
Grate Zucchini: You can grate zucchini using a food processor but I find it quicker and easier to do using the large holes of a sturdy box grater, which can then go straight into the dishwasher. Place the grated, measured zucchini over a double layer of paper towels and set aside.
Whisk Wet Ingredients: Combine first the eggs and sugar, followed by the pumpkin, oil, and vanilla. Whisk until very smooth. I usually do this by hand.
Sprinkle Dry Ingredients on Top: I don’t find it necessary to whisk the dry ingredients separately for this recipe. You will be able to fold them in thoroughly without risk of over-mixing the batter.
Fold: Use a large rubber spatula to fold in the dry ingredients, followed by the zucchini. Be certain to press excess water out of the zucchini before adding it to the batter! To do this, wrap the paper towels around the zucchini, hold it over the sink, and squeeze tightly. You’ll be amazed how much water comes out! When you’re only getting small drips, peel back the paper towels and shake the zucchini out over the batter. Fold it in, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl as you go.
A few lumps in the batter are OK. Just try to get it to an even color and consistency overall.
Portion and Bake: Use a cookie scoop to fill each well of a muffin tin nearly to the top with the batter. For an extra treat, sprinkle the top of each muffin lightly with turbinado or regular brown sugar.
I love the trick of baking muffins for a short time at a high temperature — I usually do five minutes at 425 degrees F — so that first blast of high heat activates the leavening ingredients and also helps steam to escape rapidly, both of which can contribute to a nice rise and domed top. When you drop the oven down to a mid-range temperature after those first five minutes, don’t open the door or anything — just let it cool down a bit naturally.
Let the muffins cool for several minutes in the pan, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely, or nearly completely, and dig in!
Storage & Freezing
- Storage: Muffins keep well at room temperature at least 2-3 days. I usually store them in an airtight container, leaving the zipper or lid slightly cracked, because they are very moist and this prevents any build-up of water droplets. You can also store them in the refrigerator to extend their life a bit.
- Freezer: Store in a freezer-safe ziplock or plastic storage container for 2-3 months. You can defrost as a batch on the counter overnight – crack the container to avoid excess condensation inside – or individually by warming in the microwave for about 30 seconds.
Related Recipes
If you enjoy these tender pumpkin zucchini bites, try these recipes next:
- Feel-Good Pumpkin Muffins (more “healthy”)
- Pumpkin Pecan Crunch Muffins (more indulgent)
- Banana Zucchini Muffins with Walnuts
- Lemon Olive Oil Zucchini Muffins
- Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins
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Pumpkin Zucchini Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 and 1/4 cups grated zucchini from one small-medium plant
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
- 1/2 cup olive or vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 and 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 Tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon table salt
- turbinado sugar optional for sprinkling on top
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Lightly coat a muffin tin with baking spray or line with paper cups. (This recipe usually yields 16 regular-sized muffins for me.)
- Grate zucchini on the side of a box grater, then place over a double layer of paper towels. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar. Whisk in the pumpkin puree, followed by the oil and vanilla. Stir until very smooth.
- Sprinkle flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, and salt on top. Fold just until evenly combined.
- Wrap the paper towels tightly around the shredded zucchini, hold over the sink, and press all over with your hands to squeeze out excess water. Once you’re getting only small drips, fold back the paper towels and shake the zucchini out over the batter. Fold again gently until evenly mixed.
- Divide batter evenly among muffin cups, filling each nearly to the top. (Use a large dough scoop, or you can fill them with a scant 1/3 cup each.) If desired, sprinkle a tiny amount of turbinado sugar or brown sugar on top of each muffin.
- Bake at 425 degrees for 5 minutes, then, without opening the oven door, reduce the temperature to 350 degrees and bake for another 12-15 minutes. When done, a toothpick inserted into the centers should come out with moist crumbs, but no large streaks of batter.
- Let cool for 10-15 minutes in the pan, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- Flour: You can replace up to 3/4 cup of the all-purpose flour with white whole wheat. White whole wheat absorbs more liquid than all-purpose, so using a higher ratio of whole wheat might lead to dry muffins – I haven’t been brave enough yet to test it out. 🙂
- Extra Zucchini? Don’t throw it out! You can toss it into pesto, pasta, meatballs, a casserole, or another batch of muffins!
- Storage: Muffins keep well at room temperature at least 2-3 days. I usually store them in an airtight container, leaving the zipper or lid slightly cracked, because they are very moist and this prevents any build-up of water droplets.
- Freezer: Yes, these can be frozen! Store in a freezer-safe ziplock or plastic storage container for 2-3 months. You can defrost as a batch on the counter overnight – crack the container to avoid excess condensation inside – or individually by warming in the microwave for about 30 seconds.
They didn’t rise for me. I followed all the instructions out of the baking soda and all, but they were still very moist and delicious. Lots of pumpkin flavor Yum.