Wholesome Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins
Wholesome zucchini chocolate chip muffins made with honey and Greek yogurt are kid-friendly and toddler-approved. Perfect for busy mornings and on-the-go snacks, and you’ll know everyone’s getting a little green veg in each bite!
Does your toddler love green vegetables? HA! Mine neither. Actually, I understand there are some toddlers and children out there who have a natural affinity for broccoli, peas, asparagus, or green beans, but my little one has quite assiduously refused this entire color class of foods since the beginning.
My very first effort to feed him a batch of pureed sweet peas garnered a vivid look of shock, disgust, and betrayal, and not much has changed. Although to give credit where credit is due, he will eat cucumber… only cut into sticks, and only if I’ve removed every sliver of peel. Not sure that’s the most nutrient-dense menu item, but it is something.
So while we work on wearing him down through continued exposure and creative presentation, I’m not above making an extra effort to incorporate vegetables into meatballs, sauces, and muffins. I just feel better knowing that some trace amount of veg has entered his little body on any given day.
The secret, though, is that a lot of these veggie-fied items are just plain delicious in their own right, and have helped me up my own veggie intake, as well. These muffins are a prime example. Sweetened with honey, moistened with Greek yogurt and olive oil, and jam-packed with shredded zucchini, you can feel pretty good about eating them, even in significant quantities. Speaking from experience. 🙂 They are definitely not just kid food.
I tried at least five different zucchini muffin recipes before settling on this one – all OK, none perfect. These have a nice texture, not too crumbly, not too dense. They don’t stick to the wrappers, if you like to bake muffins in paper cupcake liners, as I do.
Many zucchini muffin recipes add white or brown sugar, which is fine, but I’m even happier with these, which rely only on honey for a nice, light sweetness. How lovely is that? And these come out equally well using white whole wheat or all-purpose flour, so feel free to use whichever you keep on hand.
Of course, you could omit the chocolate chips to make them even healthier, but you only go around once, right? 🙂
[clickToTweet tweet=”Eat your veggies! Wholesome zucchini chocolate chip muffins make it easy. 🙂 ” quote=”Eat your veggies! Wholesome zucchini chocolate chip muffins make it easy. 🙂 “]
If you’re looking for more simple, toddler-friendly foods, don’t miss these baked turkey meatballs with carrots and zucchini, this zucchini basil pesto that has an extra shot of spinach for good measure, or these simple, deliciously sweet roasted carrot coins. Three cheers for making it easy and tasty to eat your veggies. Enjoy!
Wholesome Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups white whole wheat or all-purpose flour
- 1 cup old-fashioned oats
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup plain or vanilla Greek yogurt
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups grated zucchini
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips I like to use minis
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 C). Line 12 muffin tins with paper liners, or mist with cooking spray. Set aside.
- Wrap the grated zucchini loosely in a clean kitchen towel or a few paper towels and squeeze gently to remove some of the excess water. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Whisk briefly to combine.
- In a separate bowl, combine the eggs, Greek yogurt, honey, oil, and vanilla. Whisk until smooth. Add the grated zucchini and chocolate chips; stir to combine.
- Pour the yogurt-zucchini mixture into the dry ingredients, and stir just until combined. Do not overmix - err on the side of having a few streaks of flour.
- Divide the batter evenly between the 12 muffin tins, and bake for 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean or with moist crumbs. Transfer the pan to a cooling rack, and remove muffins after 10-15 minutes. Serve immediately or store at room temperature for 2-3 days.
Nutrition Estimate
Adapted from Gimme Some Oven
Yes, yes, yes! Making these for sure. I just grated leftover zucchini last night, drained it and have it ready to go in the fridge. Love the addition of Greek yogurt and honey. I always put honey in my banana bread and I swear it is what gives it almost a sticky, caramel-y flavor.
My fridge is jealous of your fridge! And of your banana bread recipe, I will definitely look for and try that, it sounds amazing with the addition of honey!
Pingback: Recipes To Help You Celebrate National Chocolate Chip Day
Pingback: Fifty Healthy Muffins Your Toddler Will Love | Mom's Got it Made
Absolutely love zucchini muffins. I add them to breads as well..they taste great!
I cannot believe your son eat cucumber and not zucchini, My son is exactly the opposite, this is why I am sure he will love these zucchini muffins. Nothing to hide, I will definitely make those
Your photos are stunning! I love this zucchini and chocolate combination!
Oh my gosh, love this, getting come goodness into a chocolate muffin is great
I love adding zucchini to baking recipes. I make zucchini bread all the time. These cupcakes look delish.
I love wholesome recipes! These zucchini muffins look so good and healthy!
This is pretty much how we make ours too and it’s such a good way to sneak extra veg in kids diets.
I have never tried zucchini in sweet baking, these muffins look incredibly yummy and moist.
These look great, I’ve never baked with zucchini before but I’m going to try it!
Yay – I hope you love the results if you give them a try!
These zucchini muffins look so tasty and fluffy! I don’t have a toddler (or any kids), but I definitely need to up my own vegetable intake; a healthy muffin with chocolate chips sounds like an amazing way to do so! 🙂
Hi Marie – it definitely is! It’s a great feeling to have one (or two, haha) of these at breakfast and feel like you’ve started the day off with a little veg right off the bat. 🙂
This combination looks incredible. Your photos are gorgeous. I can’t wait to try this recipe.
Thanks Brandi, I really appreciate that!
I love the concept of sneaking veggies into a muffin. I tried adding zucchini to a raw cheesecake that I made and it was a HIT.
Ooooh! I’ll have to try that sometime!
Ooh yummy, your muffins look incredible as do your photographs:-)
Thanks, Camilla, I’ve really been trying to work on my photography, so I appreciate that very much. 🙂
I love baking with zucchini, the muffins turn out so moist!
Absolutely! It’s full of hidden benefits!