Healthy Banana Zucchini Muffins that are sweetened with ripe bananas and maple syrup, packed with sneaky veggies and whole grains, and studded with dark chocolate chunks for decadence! Made in one bowl and baked in 20 minutes for perfect wholesome snacks and busy mornings.
Reader’s Review
Our favourite muffin recipe. Practically the only muffins we make now!
Dana
Why You’ll Love These Muffins
I have so many muffins and breads made with bananas, zucchini or a combination of both, I lost count! These healthy banana zucchini muffins is a recipe back from circa 2017 that I just re-tested.
It all started with perfecting my healthy banana zucchini bread, then healthy chocolate zucchini bread, then healthy zucchini bread and now no one can stop me!:)
What I like about these banana zucchini muffins is that there is no refined sugar (except a tiny bit in a dark chocolate bar), just a little bit of oil instead of 1 cup like in traditional recipes, plus they are filled with fruits and veggies. And made in one bowl!
Yes, this banana zucchini muffins recipe is a bit more heavy because of whole wheat flour but I give you a conversion for an all-purpose flour or you can use white whole wheat flour.
Ingredients for Healthy Banana Zucchini Muffins
- Bananas: Use ripe to overripe bananas. The uglier bananas, the sweeter the muffins. You can also use previously frozen bananas or here is how to ripen bananas fast.
- Zucchini: Shred on medium size hole of a box grater, pack in a measuring cup and then squeeze dry. No need to peel. You can also use yellow squash. Also can use previously grated and frozen zucchini, just thaw first, measure and squeeze.
- Flour: Whole wheat flour or spelt flour has been tested in this recipe. White whole wheat and whole wheat pastry flour more likely will work 1:1 ratio. I also give a conversion for an all-purpose flour in the recipe card below. I think you can get away with half whole wheat flour and half white flour, for sure.
- Maple syrup: I like the taste of maple syrup. Any liquid sweetener like honey, agave or brown rice syrup works. As long as it’s not dry sugar because it will offset the ratios in the batter.
- Egg: Acts as a binder. I think you can safely try to use a flax egg or chia egg instead.
- Oil: I actually like the taste of extra virgin olive oil in zucchini banana muffins. But avocado oil, melted coconut oil or melted butter are great contenders.
- Baking staples: Baking powder, baking soda, vanilla extract, and salt.
- Dark chocolate bar: 3.5 ounces dark chocolate bar. You can also use 1/2 cup of chocolate chips, if preferred.
How to Make Healthy Banana Zucchini Muffins
Prep: Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and line muffin tin with parchment paper liners.
Chop the chocolate bar by running a chef’s knife through it on a cutting board. You want some small pieces but otherwise keep chocolate to larger chunks.
Also now it’s time to grate zucchini on a medium size hole of a box grater, then squeeze the excess moisture well.
Make batter: In a large mixing bowl, add bananas and mash well, using a masher or a fork.
Add grated and dry zucchini shreds, an egg, maple syrup, oil, vanilla extract, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk to combine. Now add flour and gently stir with spatula until well incorporated.
Last, add your reserved chopped chocolate and give a few more gentle stirs.
Fill muffin tin and bake: Divide the batter. I like to use a trigger ice cream scoop as it distributes the batter evenly, quickly and without a waste.
Bake for 21 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Remember all ovens vary, so just check and play it by ear.
Then cool your healthy banana zucchini muffins for 5 minutes in the tin, then on a cooling rack for as long as you can resist. And enjoy!
Tips for Best Results
- Make sure of no white lumps: I am a strong believer in one bowl muffin batter if you mix baking powder and baking soda well. Make sure they are not lumpy before adding, and then just whisk well.
- Don’t overmix the batter: Especially when it comes to whole wheat flour, the more you mix, the more dense muffins will be because mixing activates the gluten in flour. Mix just enough.
- Measure flour correctly: Scoop and level the flour into the measuring cup with a spoon, then level with a knife at the top.
- Don’t overbake: Remove muffins from the oven as soon as toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Dry muffins are overbaked muffins.
Variations
- Mini muffins: Set the time for 12 minutes, then test. If mini muffins are not done, add 3 minutes and so forth.
- Additions: Add up to 1/3 cup of chopped walnuts or pecans, or coconut flakes.
- Swap berries for chocolate: I recommend fresh or frozen blueberries, or raisins.
How to Store
Store: I like to store muffins covered with a towel on a kitchen counter for the first 2 days.
Since these are healthy banana zucchini muffins and contain minimal oil and natural sweetener, I transfer muffins to an airtight container and refrigerate for another 3 days.
Refrigeration helps muffins to retain moisture. If there are any leftovers, of course.
Freeze: Place cooled muffins in a gallon size Ziploc bag, let as much air as possible and freeze for up to 3 months. Muffins take about 2 hours to thaw on a kitchen counter.
Storage Tip
Don’t miss my detailed posts how to store muffins and how to freeze muffins to make sure your leftover muffins stay fresh longer.
More Healthy Muffins Recipes to Try
- Almond flour banana muffins
- Healthy zucchini muffins
- Almond flour zucchini muffins
- Healthy lemon zucchini muffins
- Healthy chocolate zucchini muffins
Healthy Banana Zucchini Muffins
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 large very ripe bananas, mashed (1 cup)
- 1 cup grated zucchini, squeezed dry (measured before squeezing)
- 1 large egg
- 1/3 cup maple syrup or honey
- 3 tablespoons avocado oil, or olive oil
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour or spelt flour, or 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 3.5 ounces dark chocolate bar, coarsely chopped
- Cooking spray, I use Misto
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line 12 muffin tin with parchment paper liners and spray with cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, add bananas and mash with a fork. Add zucchini, egg, maple syrup, oil, vanilla extract, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk to combine.
- Add flour and gently stir until well incorporated. Do not over mix otherwise muffins will be tough. Add chocolate chunks and give a few more gentle stirs.
- Fill each tin almost full with batter (I used trigger ice cream scoop) and bake for 21-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and let muffins cool for about 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool off more.
Notes
- Store: Store in a cold dry place for a few days or freeze for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Ok, This muffin is not just healthy but very tasty! My daughter who is an severe picky eater… Ate it and asked for more! I even made it with spelt flour and husband and I are seconds! So good!!
I tripled your recipe because I had lots of bananas and zucchini in the house but unfortunately only had a quarter cup of maple syrup. I substituted a half a cup of coconut sugar to replace the half a cup of maple syrup because I didn’t see your note about dry sugar until too late! They turned out delicious. Maybe a little bit sweet but all in all very good.
Awesome! That’s fantastic!
I have made these muffins several times now. They are always a hit with my 3 y/o and husband! We’ve modified the recipe various ways, including adding extra zucchini, blueberries, nuts and raisins, forgo chocolate, etc. It’s a very versatile recipe.
Wonderful! Thanks for sharing Sarah!
These were perfect! Fluffy, just the right amount of sweetness and healthy! Easy to follow recipe – thanks for all your work to bring excellent and clear instructions.
You are very welcome Janae 🙂
I substituted the dark chocolate for dates and they were amazing! My toddlers enjoyed them too. They are so easy to make and I’ll be making them many more times. Thank you for sharing the recipe.
Hi Emma! I am so happy that this recipe is enjoyed by you and your toddlers!
These are delicious, moist and healthy! Will be making them again!
Awesome!
Can I use coconut flour for this recipe? I’ve been loving the use of coconut flour lol.
Sorry but no.
you might be able to, but it would take some adapting. You may find needing less coconut flour since it absorbs liquid. You would need to experiment with measurements. Maybe try googling for similar recipes but using coconut flour instead.
I always stick with the original recipe first and then play around.
I found these a bit bitter I think I would use half whole wheat and half white flour next time or not as dark of a chocolate- maybe mini chips to spread the joy more! Overall they were good!
I made this but opted to leave out the chocolate. Still turned out great!!
Definitely, especially since it’s dark chocolate – you don’t lose much sweetness. 🙂
These are wonderful, Olena! I stumbled on your site after seeing a banana zucchini muffin recipe elsewhere but so many commenters had issues with the recipe/batter/baking I had to turn to google for another. Yours turned out great! I put to use past-prime blueberries and for some reason had no veg oil (or muffin tins, tossed mine a while back as they were old and rusty, bleh), but they came out just fine with butter in a pyrex dish. I worried about the timing in the pan but the batter fit at about the height of muffins and all was delicious. My 11 month old concurs with blueberry juice all over her face. On to your freezer meals as I’m trying to better balance work and dinner prep to avoid evening meltdowns, lol. Thanks!
Awe, you are so welcome! So happy to hear you are enjoying my recipes! Thanks for taking time from your busy schedule to let me know you enjoyed my recipe.
Hello, I’m from Seoul, Korea and lived in Montreal for 8 years for study.
I was looking for healthy recipes for baking and finally I found your recipes!!
I made this muffins, turned out so great, exactly what I wanted!!
Thank you for sharing your recipes and I’ll try more of yours.