Healthy Zucchini Muffins

Breakfast

Source:

Ingredients

¾ cup roughly chopped raw walnuts or pecans (optional)

⅓ cup melted coconut oil or extra-virgin olive oil*

½ cup honey or maple syrup

2 eggs

⅔ cup buttermilk (or ⅔ cup milk of choice mixed with 2 teaspoons vinegar, allow to rest for 5 minutes before using)

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon fine-grain sea salt

¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 ½ cups grated zucchini (you’ll need 1 small-to-medium zucchini, about 7 ounces—if your grated zucchini is very wet, squeeze out the excess moisture over the sink before stirring it into the batter)

1 ¾ cups white whole wheat flour or regular whole wheat flour

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. If necessary, grease all 12 cups on your muffin tin with butter or cooking spray (my pan is non-stick and doesn’t require any grease).

Toast the nuts (if using): Once the oven has finished preheating, pour the chopped nuts onto a small, rimmed baking sheet. Bake until the nuts are fragrant and toasted, about 4 to 5 minutes, stirring halfway.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the coconut oil and honey. Beat them with a whisk until they are combined. Add the eggs and beat well. (If your coconut oil solidifies on contact with cold ingredients, simply let the bowl rest in a warm place for a few minutes, like on top of your stove, or warm it for about 30 seconds in the microwave.)

Add the buttermilk, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg and vanilla extract, and whisk to blend. Switch to a big spoon and stir in the zucchini, then add the flour and stir just until combined. A few lumps are ok! Gently fold in the toasted nuts now, if using.

Divide the batter evenly between the 12 muffin cups. Bake muffins for 16 to 19 minutes, or until the muffins are golden on top and a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean.

Place the muffin tin on a cooling rack to cool. If you have leftover muffins, store them, covered, at room temperature for two days, or in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Freeze leftover muffins for up to 3 months.

Notes

*OIL OPTIONS: I love coconut oil here. I used unrefined coconut oil and can hardly taste it in the final product. Olive oil might lend an herbal note to the muffins, if you’re into that (I tested with California Olive Ranch’s “Everyday” variety and couldn’t even taste it). Vegetable oil has a neutral flavor, but the average vegetable/canola oil is highly processed, so I recommend using cold-pressed sunflower oil or grapeseed oil if possible.

CHANGE IT UP: Use chocolate chips or small/chopped dried fruit instead of the nuts.

MAKE IT VEGAN: Use maple syrup instead of honey, replace the eggs with flax eggs and choose non-dairy milk, such as almond milk.

MAKE IT DAIRY FREE: Choose non-dairy milk (I used almond milk).

MAKE IT EGG FREE: Replace the eggs with flax eggs.

MAKE IT GLUTEN FREE: Bob’s Red Mill’s all-purpose gluten-free mix works well.

MAKE IT NUT FREE: Just omit the nuts, and don’t use nut milk.

MAKE IT LOWER IN FAT: I would argue that this bread contains a healthy amount of fat, but you can replace the oil with applesauce if you’re following a low-fat diet.

IF YOU LOVE THIS RECIPE: You will also love my apple muffins, carrot muffins and banana muffins!