Moist Banana Zucchini Muffins make a great, healthy Summer breakfast! These muffins are filled with bananas, zucchini, cinnamon, nutmeg and lightly sweetened with brown sugar.
I could always go for more recipes with banana in them!
And zucchini?
When the season hits, give me ALL the zucchini recipes!
With a plethora of zucchini always at hand from my garden, we get bored with the same recipes over and over. I like to have plenty of zucchini recipes in my recipe stash.
Of course, often times I’m baking with zucchini. Something like Zucchini Bread Breakfast Cookies, Zucchini Bread, and Zucchini Oat Pancakes. But, just because zucchini is in it doesn’t mean it’s healthy.
These Banana Zucchini Muffins change all that. They’re made with less butter and lightly sweetened with brown sugar (or coconut sugar), as they utilize mostly banana and zucchini for sweetness and moisture.
I like to add cinnamon and nutmeg for a little spiced flavor too. You can’t have zucchini without cinnamon involved (unless maybe there’s chocolate!).
I love making these for my family. My kids go crazy for banana muffins, so any version of them are sure to disappear quickly.
These Banana Zucchini Muffins are fast to make and made in only one bowl. They’re moist, banana & zucchini-filled, tall and fluffy muffins that are perfect for busy families!
Let’s chat about the ingredients in these muffins.
First, to make them gluten-free be sure to use a gluten-free all purpose flour blend. If you don’t need them to be, you can use regular flour. I also like to make these with a blend of part oat flour (1 cup) and part gluten-free all purpose flour (3/4 cup) sometimes, for my love of oat flour.
To make these Banana Zucchini Muffins dairy-free, be sure to use either coconut oil or a dairy-free butter alternative stick, as well as dairy-free milk (I like almond milk best, but oat milk should also work).
If you don’t like using brown sugar, you can use coconut sugar in it’s place. You can also try and make these muffins with about 1/3 cup of maple syrup or honey instead, but they will be a little more dense that way.
Be sure to use really spotty overripe, brown bananas! The more brown spots they have, the sweeter they will be. Which, in turn, will give you more banana flavor too.
And, of course, let’s talk zucchini.
I recommend shredding your zucchini in a food processor for a quick shred. You could also shred it by hand. After shredding your zucchini, measure out the amount you’ll need (1 cup). Place your cup in between a couple paper towels, in a thin, even layer, and pat them dry.
It sounds odd to squeeze the extra moisture out of the zucchini. But, guess what? Every zucchini is different. So, the moisture in zucchini is unreliable. By squeezing most of the moisture out, you’re ensuring you get a more consistent muffin every time you make this recipe.
After you’ve squeezed and patted it mostly dry, add it to your batter and fold it in. Easy peasy!
These Banana Zucchini Muffins are a lightly sweetened, healthy and simple breakfast. But, maybe you want something a little… extra? Try:
- Chocolate chips (1/2-3/4 cup)
- Walnuts or pecans (1/2 cup)
- Sprinkling a cinnamon sugar mixture across the top (I’d recommend 2 tbsp sugar and 1/2 tsp cinnamon)
I like to leave them as is, and top them with a little peanut butter. My kids love cinnamon sugar and chocolate chips, but they’ll eat them any way I make them really. 🙂
Fluffy, moist muffins for breakfast?! Sign me up. These Banana Zucchini Muffins are a simple recipe that’s a staple for busy families. Make them Sunday, for breakfast for the week ahead!
And after you make them, let me know what you think! Leave a comment and rating, below, and/or tag me on Instagram in a picture of your creation. I love to hear from you all!
If you need more simple and healthy muffin recipes, check out my Chocolate Banana Oat Muffins, Double Chocolate Pumpkin Oat Muffins, and Carrot Coconut Oat Muffins.
- 1/4 cup butter, softened (or coconut oil, for dairy-free)
- 1/2 cup brown sugar (or coconut sugar)
- 1 cup overripe banana, mashed
- 1/4 cup milk of choice (skim, 2%, whole or almond)
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 eggs
- 1 3/4 cup gluten-free all purpose flour (or regular flour)
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup zucchini, shredded (squeezed and patted dry)
-
To begin, preheat your oven to 350 and spray a muffin pan with non-stick spray (or line with cupcake liners).
-
To a large mixing bowl, add your butter and brown sugar and beat together with a mixer till creamy. Add your banana and beat it in. Next, add your milk, vanilla and eggs and mix again briefly till just combined.
-
To the same bowl, add your flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt and stir everything together till you have a smooth muffin batter. Add your zucchini to the batter and gently fold it in.
-
Fill each muffin tin about 2/3 way full with batter. Bake in the oven for 22-25 minutes, or till the top is springy and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
-
Let cool, then devour!
Stored in an airtight container in the fridge, these muffins should last about a week.
Thank you for this recipe, it tasted and smelled awesome!
I was wondering, the middle of the muffins turned out quite moist where the shredded zucchini was, even though i pressed them with a paper towel. Is this normal? How can i make them less moist so it doesn’t affect the dough too much?
Thank you!!
Hi Sydney. You can try patting the zucchini out again and adding less zucchini next time, maybe only 3/4 cup.
I searched high and low to find a recipe my toddler can eat, gluten, nut and dairy free. I also wanted a recipe that didn’t have any sour cream or yogurt and it was hard to find. But this recipe turned out really good. It wasn’t super sweet, which is perfect for my kids. I will definitely be saving and making this again!
hi Chelsea, can I add cranberries, oranges and carrots? I’m looking for a recipe to replicate the costco gf muffins 🙂
Hi Jill. Sounds delicious. I would try adding orange zest (1-2 oranges), dried cranberries (maybe 1/2 cup) and shredded carrot (maybe 1/2 cup too) and reduce the amount of zucchini to only 1/2 cup. You may need to add a few minutes of baking time. Hope this works for you!
j’aimerai utiliser de la farine autre que cette de blé !??? la quel prendre pour faire le plus santé possible !!???😊
These are amazing. I used coconut oil instead of butter and used whole wheat flour and they tuned out perfect!
Yay! Thanks for the comment, Kris.
Mine didn’t cook thoroughly. I had to put them back in the oven until they were cooked.
Hi ! Can almond flour be used?
Hi Kim. I’m sorry to say no it doesn’t substitute 1:1 with regular flour.
These turned out yummy! I just adjusted the recipe slightly—1/4 c brown sugar instead of a half cup, added chopped walnuts and dairy free mini chocolate chips. I also added a little cinnamon sugar on top.
Cinnamon sugar on top is the best! Thanks for the comment, Julie.
Is it still yummy if I take out the sugar?
Hey Savannah. I wouldn’t recommend it, unless you’re used to having sugar-free muffins and are okay with them being less sweet.
I added chocolate chips and maybe a little extra banana and zucchini and I didn’t have milk so used yougurt…..they tast good !
Great to hear!! Thanks Kathy.
Can I use coconut flour?
Hi Pam. No, coconut flour requires a different dry/wet ratio so it would not work in it’s place.
Can I use ground oats for the flour? Ratio?
Hi Fiona. If you can grind your oats into very finely ground oat flour, then yes, you can use oats instead (roughly a little more oats). It needs to be very fine though, or the muffins will be crumbly.
Do these freeze ok? Thanks
Yes, they should last in the freezer great for a few months!