Delicious Lemon Zucchini Muffins that are moist, light and healthy. Zucchini adds moisture to muffins eliminating the need for large amount of oil. Whole wheat flour adds fiber, vitamins and keeps your belly full longer.
I love-love baking with zucchini during summer. Our favorites are healthy zucchini bread, healthy zucchini muffins and healthy zucchini brownies.
Healthy Zucchini Muffins
These lemon zucchini muffins are light, lemony and so moist. Made with whole wheat flour, plain yogurt and zucchini. Simple ingredients, easy to make and that coconut flake topping is optional. But it is easy and extremely delicious!
My neighbour makes Lil Luna’s lemon zucchini bread every summer which in turn inspired these healthy zucchini muffins. Followed by banana zucchini muffins a year later. Of course, my end result ended up being completely different. Sounds familiar?
P.S. I now have a version of my own lemon zucchini bread. It is 100% healthy and will blow your mind how amazing it tastes!
Ingredients You Will Need
- Zucchini – Shred zucchini using medium size holes to help incorporate better with the batter. Give a gentle squeeze.
- Yogurt – Use plain yogurt with fat content 2% and higher. Non-fat yogurt lacks flavor and moisture. Regular or Greek yogurt will work.
- Lemon – Only fresh. You want the juice and the zest of a fresh lemon. Bottled doesn’t taste nearly the same. Not to mention it is loaded with preservatives.
- Whole wheat or spelt flour – Please stick to these 2 flours for most favorable end result. Baking is a science. All flours are so different. They do not act the same.
- Oil – We use just 2 tbsp and any mild tasting oil will work.
- Maple syrup – Any liquid sweetener like honey, agave or brown rice syrup will work. Do not use sugar as it is dry and batter consistency will be thrown off.
- Eggs – You can replace eggs with flax eggs.
How Long to Bake Muffins for?
25 minutes in pre-heated 350 degrees F oven. Lemon zucchini muffins are ready when toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. This way muffins will come out moist and fluffy. Not over baked and dry.
Can I Freeze Muffins?
I bake muffins all the time because kids love them!!! I always double or even triple any muffin recipe for freezing.
To freeze muffins for later, bake, cool and place in a gallon size Ziploc container. Release as much air as possible and seal. Freeze for up to 3 months. To thaw, just place on a counter for a few hours. There is nothing to spoil.
How to Store if Not Freezing
If not freezing, I store baked muffins on a plate on a kitchen counter covered with a towel for first 2 days. If any are left at that point (let’s be honest), I transfer them to a container with a lid and into the fridge for another 3 days.
I mean this is fantasy I am talking about here. I have 3 men in the house who eat 24 muffins within 24 hours.
Enjoy!
Compared to Lil Luna’s loaf mentioned at the beginning of the post, my lemon zucchini muffins do not look as yellow because of the whole wheat flour. But are just as delicious.
Clearly, I wouldn’t use icing sugar for the glaze, so I came up with my own topping that packs in more lemon zest and coconut flakes. Coconut + lemon = good idea.
Enjoy!
More Healthy Muffins Recipes to Try
- Healthy banana muffins
- Healthy chocolate chip muffins
- Healthy chocolate muffins
- Healthy blueberry muffins
Healthy Lemon Zucchini Muffins
Lemon Zucchini Muffins made healthy with whole wheat flour, plain yogurt, zucchini and no refined sugar.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 12 muffins 1x
- Category: Muffins
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: North American
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs, lightly whisked
- 1/2 cup yogurt, plain (2% +)
- 1/2 cup maple syrup, honey or agave
- 2 tbsp any oil
- 1 large lemon, juice and zest of
- 2 cups medium shredded zucchini, lightly squeezed
- 2 tsp baking powder, aluminum free
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 1/3 cups whole wheat or spelt flour
Topping (optional):
- 1/4 cup rolled or quick oats
- 1 tbsp honey or maple syrup
- 1 tbsp avocado or coconut oil (melted)
- 1 large lemon, zest of
- 3 tbsp coconut flakes, unsulphured & unsweetened
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line muffin tin with liners or use silicone muffin tin.
- In a large mixing bowl, add eggs, yogurt, maple syrup, oil, lemon juice + zest, zucchini, baking powder + soda, and salt; whisk well to combine. Add flour and stir gently to mix. Do not over mix.
- (Optional) In a small bowl, add Topping ingredients and mix with a spoon.
- Using large ice cream scoop, fill 12 openings with batter and spoon mixed Topping (optional) on top. Bake for 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and let muffins cool in the tin for at least 60 minutes before transferring onto a cooling rack to cool off completely.
Store: On a plate on a kitchen counter covered with a towel for first 2 days. If any are left at that point (let’s be honest), I transfer them to a container with a lid and into the fridge for another 3 days.
Freeze:Bake, cool and place in a gallon size Ziploc container. Release as much air as possible and seal. Freeze for up to 3 months. To thaw, just place on a counter for a few hours. There is nothing to spoil.
Notes
- Zucchini – Shred zucchini using medium size holes to help incorporate better with the batter. Give a gentle squeeze.
- Yogurt – Use plain yogurt with fat content 2% and higher. Non-fat yogurt lacks flavor and moisture. Regular or Greek yogurt will work.
- Lemon – Only fresh. You want the juice and the zest of a fresh lemon. Bottled doesn’t taste nearly the same. Not to mention it is loaded with preservatives.
- Whole wheat or spelt flour – Please stick to these 2 flours for most favorable end result. Baking is a science. All flours are so different. They do not act the same.
- Oil – We use just 2 tbsp and any mild tasting oil will work.
- Maple syrup – Any liquid sweetener like honey, agave or brown rice syrup will work. Do not use sugar as it is dry and batter consistency will be thrown off.
- Eggs – You can replace eggs with flax eggs.
Did you make this recipe? Please give it a star rating in the comments.
Hello Olena.
I have made these muffins quite a few times now. The flavors are so delicious together I can:t get enough! However, everytime I make them, they always sink in the middle. They rise beautifully but sink within seconds after I take them out. My baking powder and soda are fine, and I did not make any changes to the recipe, except for adding more lemon zest.. Any idea what might have happened? Too much moisture from the zucchini, maybe?
Thanks for sharing all your delicious and healthy recipes.
★★★★
Hmm. If you use garden zucchini joe squash they do contain more moisture. Or could be the altitude so you can Google how to adjust baking for it. Also if you add a few more tbsp of flour so bather is thicker it would help with higher muffin tops. Good luck!
Very tasty!! I only had 1 1/2 cups of zucchini so I substituted shredded carrot for the last 1/4 cup and they turned out fine. For the large lemon contents I used 3 tbs of juice and 1 tbs of zest but I think I will add a little more zest in next time. Multigrain flour worked well as I didn’t have whole wheat or spelt flour. The topping is to die for….love it. I will definitely be making these again and sharing the recipe!!! Thank you!
Glad the muffins worked out for you Mona!
These are very good and my husband even likes them. I left off the topping. I had enough batter and ended up with 16 muffins.
★★★★★
Woohoo! Happy this was a hit with you and your husband Andrea!
Hello Olena.
These look awesome! I have two questions, though.
First, in the instructions you say once baked you need to let the muffins cool in the muffin tin for 60 minutes before transfering them to a cooling rack. Is this the case? Will they not become soggy if left to cool off inside the tin for 1 whole hour?
Second, do you think this recipe can be made into a loaf? If possible, will ingredients need adjusting?and what would be the new baking time?
Im fairly new to baking so Im still trying to understand the logic behind things.
Awaiting for your reply. Thanks! Can’t wait to try these!
You can take muffins out of the muffin tin after 20-30 mins. Doesn’t matter. No, they won’t become soggy. I never baked this bread as a loaf but probably it will work. As a new baker I would recommend to follow recipes first until you get comfortable. Sometimes breads workout from a muffin batter and sometimes don’t.
Easy and delicious!
★★★★★
So happy to hear Gabriela!
Hello Olena
What would be the cooking time if i made 24 mini muffins instead of 12 regular ones? My kids like mini muffins.
Thanks.
Those kids… JK. I know. Try 15 mins and do a toothpick test.
Really enjoyed these! Easy to make and tastes very lemony
★★★★★
Fantastic! Glad you enjoyed the recipe, Joyce!
Moist tasty and lemony, great recipe. I substituted a combination of brown rice flour and buckwheat flour and it worked well.
★★★★
Glad it worked for you, Sandy! I wouldn’t be sure if it would.
I’ve been making these muffins for a year and each time I don’t have all of some ingredient. This time, I substituted lime zest and juice for some of the lemon additives and it was great! I do add fresh blueberries and enjoy the added moisture it provides. I wish I could ship a bunch of zucchini to anyone who needs it to make this recipe. They are coming in like crazy from the garden!
★★★★★
So happy to hear. We have had weeks of heat wave but it will start raining shortly so I will bake these too. I have so many bananas to use up though will do my banana zucchini muffins. And I know what you mean about zucchini. I have so many gigs coming up, no one to share with. I would take your zucchini in a heartbeat.
Loved it, just started using spelt flour and found this. We love lemon, great combo!
★★★★★
I love spelt flour, it is lighter than whole wheat. Glad you enjoyed my lemon zucchini muffins.:)
These muffins turned out amazing!
★★★★★
Hey Olena,
Can I make these dairy free? Is there anything you suggest I use to substitute for the yogurt?
Yes. Try applesauce instead.
Hi! These look like a delicious way for me to use up some of my zucchini! Do you think that i could also throw in some blueberries? Thanks!
For sure! About a cup.
Noticing your number 2 directions is not very clear “add eggs through salt” but there’s no details about any of the other ingredients
Hi Christina. That means add all ingredients starting with eggs and finishing with salt. All ingredients in between those two.
Hi Olena, do you think I could use buckwheat or brown rice flour for this recipe? Thanks jo
Hi Jo. No, sorry. Flour has to contain gluten.
I made these muffins this morning and they are yummy. I couldn’t wait a whole hour before having one for breakfast. I’ll be making these again.
Yay! As long as the don’t fall apart and you don’t burn your fingers, You can eat them any time.:)
My kids love muffins, and I have to start making them more 🙂 Lemon and zucchini! YUM
I can take the same batter and bake it into cake or muffins and my kids will eat muffins but not cake LOL.
Oleanna – these muffins look so darn good! And what an heck of an awesome list of ingredients – love that you used zucchini, coconut oil and yogurt in these – Oooh and that topping!
Thanks, Shashi! That topping was to compensate for the looks of icing. 🙂
I noticed you don’t put the nutritional facts on your recipes anymore. I can’t wait to make these, I made you’re clean blueberry muffing and my family loves them!
Glad to hear that, Vanessa! No nutritional info, just enjoy the muffin.:)