The Busy Baker

Delicious recipes from my kitchen to yours.

Zucchini Blueberry Muffins

Desserts Healthy Muffins and Loaves Snacks

These Zucchini Blueberry Muffins are the perfect healthy alternative to coffee shop muffins! They’re made with unsweetened applesauce, grated zucchini and fresh juicy blueberries for the perfect healthy snack!

My readers absolutely LOVE these Best Ever Banana Muffins! Try them yourself to see why!!

 

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*I first posted this recipe in March 2015. I’m sharing it with you again today with fresh new photos and some of my tried and true tips for the perfect healthy muffin!

One of the first things I ever learned to bake was muffins. They’re easy to throw together and they’re generally a healthier choice, but for some reason I’ve always found it hard to find muffin recipes that taste great and also aren’t just cupcakes minus the giant mountain of frosting on top.

This recipe is really, really stellar. I’ve adapted this recipe from Alaska From Scratch’s Blueberry Zucchini Muffins. You can find her original recipe here, but I’ve lightened it up significantly and cut out most of the sugar it calls for. Mine are made with applesauce, grated zucchini and fresh juicy blueberries – these muffins are unbelievably yummy and a much healthier choice than traditional muffins! You’re going to love them!

 

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My readers absolutely LOVE these Best Ever Banana Muffins! Try them yourself to see why!!

Look at all that blueberry goodness!!

If you can keep yourself from eating the whole batch in one day, they store nicely in an airtight container on the counter for a few days.

I hope you enjoy this recipe! Let me know in the comments below, what’s your favourite go-to muffin recipe?

 

Looking for even more AMAZING muffin recipes??

https://thebusybaker.ca/2015/08/raspberry-lemonade-muffins.html

Try these Raspberry Lemonade Muffins!!

 

https://thebusybaker.ca/2015/07/lemon-pistachio-muffins.html

You’ll love these Lemon Pistachio Muffins!!

 

 

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4.34 from 9 votes
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Zucchini Blueberry Muffins

These Zucchini Blueberry Muffins are made with unsweetened applesauce, grated zucchini and fresh juicy blueberries for the perfect healthy snack!
Course Snack
Cuisine Baking
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings 18 muffins
Author Chrissie (thebusybaker.ca)

Ingredients

  • 3 eggs
  • 3/4 cup applesauce unsweetened
  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 2 cups grated zucchini
  • 1 tbsp lemon zest
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 3 cups flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 2 cups fresh blueberries

Crumb topping:

  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup flour
  • 3 tbsp butter cold
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Instructions

  1. Wash the blueberries under some cool water. I've tried this recipe with frozen berries and it works in a pinch, but the result is always so much better with fresh blueberries.
  2. Lay them to dry on some kitchen paper or a clean kitchen towel, and try to resist eating them all by the handful.
  3. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line 2 muffin tins with 18 paper muffin cups.
  4. In a large bowl, mix together the eggs, applesauce, oil, and vanilla using a wire whisk.
  5. Add the zucchini and lemon zest, and switch to a wooden spoon or spatula to incorporate them into the mixture (the strands of zucchini get caught on the wire whisk and don't get incorporated properly). I don't ever peel my zucchini; I love the look of the dark green flecks in the muffins, and the skin contains a lot of healthy fibre, potassium, vitamin B-6, vitamin K, and antioxidants!
  6. Using a sieve or flour sifter, sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon into a large mixing bowl.
  7. Once the dry ingredients have been sifted to prevent lumps, add the blueberries to the dry ingredients.
  8. This may seem strange, but adding the blueberries to the dry ingredients helps to keep the colour from the berries from seeping into the light coloured muffin batter. The flour mixture coats the berries and absorbs any berry juice that's sitting on the berries that might discolour the batter. This is an important step because it prevents your batter from turning purple!
  9. Adding the blueberries to the dry ingredients also prevents them from sinking to the bottom of the muffins during baking, so this really is a crucial step!
  10. At this point, pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon or spatula only until they're just incorporated. Spoon the batter into the 18 muffin cups, distributing it as evenly as possible.
  11. Grab another smaller bowl and add to it the 1/4 cup sugar, the 1/4 cup flour, the 1/2 tsp cinnamon and 3 tbsp cold butter.
  12. Roughly mix these ingredients together with a fork or pastry blender until the mixture becomes crumbly. Spoon a little bit of this mixture over each of the cups full of muffin batter. It's okay if you can see some small chunks of butter.
  13. Bake these muffins at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 23-25 minutes. You'll know they're done when a toothpick inserted in the centre of one comes out clean.

Recipe Notes

These muffins are best the day they're made because the crumb topping can go soggy if they're left in a completely airtight container for too long.

Reader Interactions

Comments

    • Chrissie says

      Thanks so much! It's both a taste and a density thing. A little bit of oil makes them lighter and it makes them taste just a little bit richer 🙂

      Reply

  5. Anonymous says

    just made these with my 3 year old. seriously the best! the crumb top made about 2x what i needed, or I didnt put enough on, i dont know!
    theyre SO delicious
    Thanks from Ontario Canada for the amazing recipe!

    Reply

    • Chrissie says

      That's great!! Thanks so much for sharing that! I always have a little bit too much topping too, but the crumb topping is the best part so I pile it on! 🙂

      Reply

  6. Lindsay Lowther says

    I'm so happy to have found this recipe! They are in the oven now and smell great. I have just a formatting comment though–this recipe was very hard to read because I had to keep scrolling up and down. You included the ingredient list at the beginning, but then when you were narrating the recipe, you did not include amounts again, or summarize the steps at the bottom of the page. I found it cumbersome to have to keep scrolling past text and pictures in order to see how much of something I needed. Hopefully that is an easy fix and something you'll include on your other recipes too!

    Reply

    • Chrissie says

      Thanks Lindsay! This is an older recipe of mine and so the format is a little dated. I'll add it to my list of things to revise! Glad you liked the muffins!! 🙂

      Reply

  7. Anonymous says

    These were quite possibly the BEST muffins I have ever made! Thanks for such a terrific recipe, definitely in the permanent rotation.
    Cynthia

    Reply

  9. Maureen says

    I just made these muffins and they are the best I ever tasted. Do you have the nutritional value for them? Thank you for sharing your recipe. They are delicious.

    Reply

  11. Alex says

    Will be making these today for my kiddos! Do you know how time will change if I make mini muffins? And have you ever froze them?

    Thanks!

    Reply

    • Chrissie says

      I haven’t made them as mini muffins, but I’d recommend halving the baking time and watching them carefully so they don’t over-bake. These muffins freeze very well, but it’s important to let them thaw uncovered (open to the air) since the crumb topping may get soggy otherwise. They’re really the best the day they’re made or the day or two after that 🙂 I hope you enjoy them!!

      Reply

  12. Jill says

    Am I supposed to measure the dry ingredients after I sift or measure then sift. 3 cups seems like a lot of flour the batter was very dry.

    Reply

    • Chrissie says

      How did you measure the flour? If you scooped it so it was 3 packed cups then it would be too much. I’d suggest sifting it first and then spooning the flour into your measuring cup to measure. The batter is a little bit dry, but the muffins turn out very moist from the zucchini.

      Reply

  14. Emilie says

    5 stars
    This recipe turned out perfectly! I used spelt flour with great success. Thank you for sharing such a delicious recipe.

    Reply

  15. Melody D. says

    5 stars
    I substituted coconut oil and butter for the vegetable oil. I only had frozen blueberries so I used those. Then I measured the flour wrong (trying to bake with a 6-month-old is challenging!) and added coconut milk to get a wetter consistency. I put them in the oven and then realized there was a crumb topping I forgot to make. But regardless, They turned out delicious! 🙂

    Reply

    • Chrissie says

      Glad to know you liked them! And it sounds like you made some great substitutions! I hear you on the baking with kids around!! So challenging!

      Reply

    • Chrissie says

      I’ve never made this recipe without eggs, so I’m not able to guarantee the recipe will work. However, you could try adding a vegan flaxseed egg-like mixture (recipes for this are readily available online).

      Reply

  19. Andrea says

    5 stars
    These are sooo good! Made them this morning & oh man they’re tasty! 😀 We didn’t have unsweetened applesauce so I used regular but reduced the amount of sugar in the muffins by 2 Tbsp and they seem perfectly sweet enough. 😊 Trying to get the 5 year old to eat better so I’ve been trying out recipes that sneak in veggies & these are perfect. 😉👍

    Reply

  20. Jan says

    I’m trying to make this recipe more healthy. Has anyone tried using only whole wheat flour? (I try to avoid all purpose flour whenever possible.). Also thinking about adding up to 1/2 cup of unflavored protein powder. For a sugar substitute….has anyone tried using less sugar? Or using honey , etc instead in the muffin part? I don’t think it’s avoidable in the crumb topping unless I just sprinkle some cinnamon on top. Thanks for any advice!

    Reply

    • Chrissie says

      Thanks for your questions. I’ve only ever made this recipe with all purpose flour, but I have reduced the sugar and added applesauce in place of the sugar I removed and it worked very well. I can’t comment on the protein powder either. Hope that helps!

      Reply

      • Chrissie says

        I’m sorry these didn’t work out for you. I’ve used a mix of white and whole wheat flour with this recipe and that has worked well, but never only whole wheat. I hope you’ll give them another try!

        Reply

  22. Megan says

    4 stars
    I made these without the crumble topping because I wanted to freeze them. I also, found out my applesauce was moldy, so I swapped equal amount of mashed bananas! These muffins are SO GOOD!!!!

    Reply

  23. Michelle says

    4 stars
    Any substitute for the lemon zest? Juice perhaps? Also would the liquid need to be adjusted if I used thawed frozen zucchini?

    Reply

    • Chrissie says

      Lemon zest is what gives the best lemon flavour, and lemon juice would add too much acid to the recipe. I’d suggest draining the thawed zucchini as best you can before adding to the recipe. I use frozen (thawed) zucchini in this recipe all the time!

      Reply

  25. Joanne says

    Do you squeeze the moisture from the zucchini for this recipe if you are using fresh zucchini or just use freshly grated zucchini as is?

    Reply

    • Chrissie says

      I squeeze the moisture only from grated zucchini that I’ve defrosted from frozen. If I’m using fresh, I use it as it is 🙂

      Reply

  27. Pam says

    Wanted to love these but….cut recipe in half and made 6 large muffins. They looked nice when removed from pan but they were heavy and very dense. I did not over mix, not sure why this happened?

    Reply

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