Truth be told when I made this recipe almost a decade ago I was debating doing a zucchini cookie instead of this muffin. I actually tested a few different cookie versions, but never fell head over heels in love so I decided to scrap the cookie and make the BEST healthy gluten-free zucchini muffins. It took me a few recipe tests, but I believe these are truly perfect — light, super fluffy, and perfectly moist on the inside.
I made these muffins with heart-healthy olive oil, plenty of chocolate chips (you know how I do), and a sprinkle of sea salt on top for an extra treat. Be sure to read the full post for easy ways to customize your muffins!
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The deets on these gluten free zucchini muffins
Not only are these chocolate chip zucchini muffins absolutely delicious and easy to make, but they’re also:
- SO fluffy, and perfectly sweet thanks to a touch of pure maple syrup
- Made with almond flour, olive oil, and walnuts for healthy fats and omega-3s
- Packed fiber from zucchini and oat flour
- Speckled with puddles of dark chocolate chips
- Sprinkled with sea salt for that sweet and salty we know and love
You’re going to absolutely LOVE these! They’re a great snack that feels a tiny indulgent, especially with a drizzle of your favorite nut butter on top.
Healthy zucchini muffin ingredients
These delicious dairy free zucchini muffins are made with heart-healthy olive oil and, of course, a boost of veggies from zucchini. The combination gives these muffins the perfect amount of moisture while still keeping that wonderful crumb. Here’s everything you’ll need:
- Zucchini: one of our fav vegetables for baking! Grated zucchini adds moisture to these muffins.
- Maple syrup: we’re naturally sweetening the zucchini muffins with some pure maple syrup!
- Eggs: you’ll just need 2 eggs in this zucchini muffin recipe.
- Olive oil: for additional moisture and a boost of heart-healthy fats.
- Milk: feel free to use any dairy free milk you’d like. I like using unsweetened vanilla almond milk.
- Oat flour: feel free to use gluten free oat flour if you’d like and check out the instructions below for how to easily make it at home! I’ve also included a sub in the note section.
- Almond flour: the second flour to keep these chocolate chip zucchini muffins gluten free. Be sure to use fine, blanched almond flour. It provides additional healthy fats, too!
- Cinnamon: for that cozy flavor.
- Baking staples: don’t forget the baking soda and salt to help these muffins bake up properly, plus vanilla extract. Learn how to make your own vanilla here!
- Mix-ins: I love the nutty crunch that chopped walnuts add to these muffins, plus delicious bites of chocolate from chocolate chips. These are optional! Feel free to use dairy-free chocolate chips to keep the muffins completely dairy free.
Optional ingredient swaps
There are a few ingredients you can swap that will still give you perfect zucchini muffins. Here’s what I can recommend:
- For the maple syrup: feel free to use honey instead to sweeten.
- For the olive oil: you can also use melted butter, vegan butter, ghee, brown butter, or melted coconut oil. Just make sure it’s melted and cooled to room temp before adding it to the batter.
- For the oat flour: these muffins will also bake well with all purpose flour or a 1:1 gluten free all purpose flour. I would not recommend substituting the almond flour.
Can I make them vegan?
I haven’t tested these muffins with flax eggs but let me know in the comments if you do!
How to make your own oat flour for muffins
Good news, you can easily make your own oat flour right at home to use in this muffin recipe. Check out my tutorial with all of my best tips & tricks. So easy!
For this gluten-free zucchini muffin recipe, you’ll most likely need at least 1 1/2 cups of gluten free rolled or old-fashioned oats to make about 1 cup gluten free oat flour.
Tips for making gluten free zucchini muffins
- Remove excess moisture. After you grate your zucchini (I recommend using a box grater!) remember to squeeze your shredded zucchini of all of that excess moisture using a paper towel or cheesecloth so that your muffins don’t turn out too moist. Measure the shredded zucchini out first, then squeeze out all excess moisture.
- Prevent sticking. Be sure to add muffin liners to your muffin pan and spray the insides of the liners with nonstick cooking spray to prevent muffins from sticking.
- Stick to the recipe. As always, be sure to stick with the recipe ingredients and measurements exactly (unless I note successful substitutions) so that the muffins turn out well. For any swaps you make outside of the ones noted, do so at your own risk!
Want to make a bread instead?
You can! Simply pour the batter into an 8×4 inch loaf pan greased and lined with parchment paper. Bake for 40-50 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.
How to store & freeze muffins
- To store: place these zucchini muffins on the counter in an airtight container or bag for a day, then transfer them to the fridge.
- To freeze: allow the muffins to cool completely then put them in an airtight container and place them in the freezer for up to 3 months. Once ready to reheat, you can thaw at room temperature, or heat up in the microwave in 30 second intervals.
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More zucchini recipes you’ll love
- Coconut Chocolate Zucchini Smoothie (with sneaky veggies)
- Lemon Blueberry Zucchini Cake with Lemon Frosting
- Peanut Butter Zucchini Bread Baked Oatmeal
- Grain Free Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Zucchini Bread (2 different ways!)
- Healthy Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
Get all of my zucchini recipes here!
I hope you love these healthy gluten free zucchini muffins! If you make it be sure to leave a comment and a rating so I know how you liked it. I greatly appreciate it – xo!
Ambitious Kitchen
Cookbook
125 Ridiculously Good For You, Sometimes Indulgent, and Absolutely Never Boring Recipes for Every Meal of the Day
The Best Gluten-Free Zucchini Muffins
Ingredients
- For the wet ingredients:
- 1 cup shredded zucchini, squeezed of excess moisture with a paper towel
- ⅓ cup (104g) pure maple syrup (or sub honey)
- 2 eggs
- ¼ cup (50g) olive oil*
- 3 tablespoons almond milk (or dairy free milk of choice)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- For the dry ingredients:
- 1 cup (95g) oat flour, gluten free if desired
- 1 cup (112g) fine blanched almond flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- For the mix-ins:
- ⅓ cup (37g) chopped walnuts
- ⅓ cup (60g) chocolate chips (dairy free, if desired), plus 2 tablespoons for sprinkling on top of muffins
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin tin with 10 muffin liners and grease the inside of the muffin liners with nonstick cooking spray to prevent sticking. This is critical to making sure the muffins don’t stick to the liners.
- Shred and measure out zucchini, then place in a paper towel or cheese cloth and squeeze out all the excess moisture. Add zucchini to a large bowl, along with maple syrup, eggs, olive oil, almond milk and vanilla extract. Mix until well combined.
- Next add dry ingredients to the bowl with the wet ingredients: oat flour, almond flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Mix until combined. Fold in the walnuts and chocolate chips.
- Evenly divide batter into prepared liners. Bake for 23-28 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. After 5 minutes, remove muffins and transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling. Enjoy!
- Sprinkle tops with fancy sea salt and drizzle with nut butter, if desired.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Recipe by: Monique Volz // Ambitious Kitchen | Photography by: Eat Love Eats
This post was originally published on August 19th, 2020, and republished on July 30th, 2025.
I use Bobs Red Mill gluten free pancake and waffle mix as the flour along with the almond flour. Also real maple syrup. My family really likes them. Thanks for the recipe.
I’m glad that worked out well! Perfect snack.
These are SO YUMMY!!!! Can’t even tell they’re healthy!
The perfect snack!
Thank you for sharing! These muffins came out very well – sweet, moist, and with a “rustic” hearty texture. My only modifications were flax “eggs” and canola instead of olive oil. Will definitely make again! I used homemade almond flour and oat flour. Love the balance of protein & fiber!
Perfect! So glad you loved these!
In my last comment, I forgot to ask: if anyone has tried them with grated apple, did you squeeze out any moisture from the apple?
Sounds delicious! I’d do 1 medium apple, grated 🙂 and would squeeze it out a bit. Let me know if you try it!
These are fantastic muffins! They are also toddler-approved (my daughter loved them. I omitted the chocolate chips from hers and they were still great). I’m curious, has anyone changed these muffins a little bit to include grated apples and nuts instead of zucchini and chocolate chips? I like the combination of oat flour and almond flour and I’d like to make apple muffins now that they are in season.
FIRE. I made them in a mini muffin tin for the kids and topped with a little homemade glaze 😍 Not too sweet and packed with the good stuff!
Love that!!
Omg, Monique these muffins are AMAZING! They are easily the best zucchini muffins I’ve ever eaten. The taste and texture are absolutely perfect. To me, they don’t taste gluten and dairy free. I’m looking forward to making these on repeat, since soon we will have more zucchini than we know what to do with.
So good!! Glad you loved them!
These muffins were delicious so moist I put extra walnuts in and chocolate chips they were deliciously crunchy! I have made them 6 times now and will continue making these as a healthy to go snack !! I love all the recipes on ambitious kitchen that I have tried so far but these are a big hit in our house, and one of our favorites !
Perfect! So happy everyone loved them!
I adore all of your muffins and these are probably my favorite!! How would you recommend adapting for a bread? Just bake longer, like 45 mins? Maybe a little extra raising agent?
So happy to hear that! Check out the full post for instructions on turning these into bread 🙂
Can i sub applesauce for maple syrup?? If so, any thoughts on how much?
I wouldn’t recommend it as the muffins won’t be sweet enough!
I made this exactly to recipe, but baked it closer to 30 minutes. It came out a little bit dry–could that be because of the extra few minutes baking? The flavor was great and I love the ingredients!
It could be! Did the batter seem overly thick to you? I’d suggest checking them around 25 minutes 🙂
I doubled the recipe and made it as written other than forgetting to top with extra chocolate chips – while I will make sure to include that step next time (who doesn’t like more chocolate?!) I am very happy with how these turned out. Tasty, tender, wholesome, and nutrient dense, these muffins will definitely be a on our regular rotation. Thanks for a great recipe!
This recipe is by far one of my favorites right now. The cake is so moist and flavorful. You wouldn’t even know it was gluten free. My husband is gluten free and has a banana allergy. So a bread like this to eat in the morning or snack is just perfect. I’ll be honest I’ve actually never made them into muffins I’ve only made them in a 8×8 pan and a loaf pan and still has come out amazing. My toddler also loves it so bonus on sneaking in some veggies too.
Amazing! So glad you all love this one!
These were so good! I followed the recipe exactly (no subs) and they turned out perfectly. They don’t have that “healthy” taste, if that makes sense. I’m loving the gluten free, dairy free recipes because they work for my house. I will be making these on repeat this summer- we have TONS of zucchini!
Amazing! So glad you loved these!
These muffins are amazingly delicious! I followed the directions as written except for one change. I used Belgium chocolate chunks and mini semi-sweet chips combined (total still 1/3 cup). Everything in these muffins is allowed on my plant forward eating plan except the sugar in the chocolate chips. Because I follow the concept of more of the good and less of the bad a little decadence isn’t a problem. I love this healthier option for dessert cravings!
Perfect! So glad you enjoyed!
I happened to have all these ingredients on hand, so I decided to make these and I was not disappointed! They’re fluffy and have just the right amount of sweetness without it being too much. The cinnamon really elevates the flavor. I decided to leave out the walnuts but otherwise followed the recipe as written.
Amazing! Glad you enjoyed!
Those muffins are so moist ! I added more chocolate chips for more deliciousness 😋
Love it! I’m all about extra chocolate 🙂
My mom always made zucchini muffins when I was growing up. They were the best. But they have a ton of oil and sugar and regular flour so I’ve been searching for something similar for years. Now I need to be gluten free so I just had to try these. They remind me of the ones my mom made so much but have ingredients I’m happy with. I make them into mini muffins to grab out of the freezer for a quick snack. I use pecans and mini chocolate chips which are better for the mini muffins. My go to GF muffin that I try to always have in my freezer now.
Amazing! So glad you found this recipe!
I am making this particular muffin for the first time. I have made the banana choc chip muffin a number of times and my son loves it. Can I ask if I have to make double batch, am I just supposed to double all the ingredients including baking soda?
Amazing! You’ll want to double all of the ingredients for a double batch 🙂
This was a fantastic recipe. I’ve made it twice this week and everyone loved it.
Amazing! So glad these are a hit for everyone, Helene!
These are incredible! Can’t believe they are gluten-free, dairy-free, and free of added sugar and still taste so good. My kids, who are at a very picky stage, both loved them! This recipe is a keeper for sure. Thank you for posting it! 🙂
YUM! This is the best, always a win when the kiddos love the recipe, too! Thanks for coming back and sharing your comment ❤️
My 15 year old son gobbled these up, even though he claims not to like almond flour! They are delish! 🙂
YUM! Happy to hear these muffins are a hit, Erin 🙂
Yum yum as always! Never a disappointing recipe from AK! AKRecipeoftheMonth
YAY! Happy to hear this recipe is a hit, Leslie!
The healthy chocolate chip zucchini muffins were a very easy and quick recipe to make! The texture was the best part as they were so light and fluffy. The chocolate chips are a must “add in” as they added the needed sweetness to the muffins. Goes great with a cup of coffee ☕️ #AKRecipeofTheMonth
Yay! I am excited to hear that you are loving these muffins, and they turned out great for you. Chocolate chips are “optional” but highly recommended!