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I made these for my family yesterday and they are delicious!! Thank you for such a sweet, simple, delicious recipe!
Elizabeth
Zucchini muffs! Like more PLEASE.
They’re big, puffy, and crackly on top, and beautifully moist and deliciously sweet inside, and perfect for all your Monday breakfasts and second breakfasts. And Wednesday lunches and post-lunch snacks and Friday afternoon munchings and Sunday bedtime treats. No one can be everything to everyone all the time except I’m 99% sure these pups can be.
So we were at the cabin for two weeks, and now we’re back! It’s sad to be done with vacation because I love love loooove vacation. Also: sun. My tan lines are out of control and I secretly really like it, because if you ignore the lines it’s just TAN. But all that being said, it feels good to be back in our little love nest of a home.
One thing: the cabin kitchen is about 80 times nicer than our humble yum sweet home kitchen. It features all the best appliance brands with little warning alarms, bells and whistles, and every kind of built-in schnazzery, but somehow I’m still really happy to be back in my tiny + outdated personal cooking space. Me and the orange cabinets and the no dishwasher and the mystery fridge that was rescued out of the depths of the basement… we all do just fine together.
I made these muffins about fourteen million times while we were at the cabin this year because 1) summer joy is watching the sun rise over the lake with a pot of coffee and a plate of fresh muffins by your side, seeeriously, 2) all the zucchinis are here there and everywhere, and 3) I was trying to develop a zucchini muffin recipe to fit my tastes and my new sugar selective thang. Requirement: must still be absolutely delicious.
Healthier muffins? I hate to say it, but they are almost always blech in your mouth. Oat flour, take your gummy, dry, heavy self and go back to where you came from. Through the millions of test muffins that came through the kitchen over the last few weeks, there were a few batches that my sweet family choked down (“No, really, they’re pretty good!” –> that’s called Minnesota nice) and then there were a few batches that made their way down to the lake to fulfill their ultimate destiny as duck food.
High expectations is the name of the game here. I refuse to take part in the eating of muffins that is not a completely spectacular experience, even when they’re made without the regular muffin heroes (shug and flour and butter), hence the fourteen million attempts and good news: the eventual WIN!
When I eat a muffin, I want big puffy tops, moist texture, not too dense and not too light, and light golden brown. And then I get obsessed and keep adding and subtracting and tweaking and sampling the recipe until all my hard work (ahem, muffin-gorging) pays off they turn out just how I want them.
Also known as I get very lucky. Also known as Very Yummy In My Tummy.
These big boys are all that and more. They are everything my food-loving heart wants from a healthier muffin:
- made with whole wheat flour (only half because if you’re being honest with yourself, using all whole wheat flour in muffins Does Not Taste Good but half is very doable and delish)
- moistened with light tasting olive oil (taking a cue from my all-time favorite healthier pumpkin muffins and OMG I just got the excited chills for fall)
- and sweetened with natural sugars (real maple syrup, the kind that comes out of a tree, and raw honey because it’s suuuh guuud)
Did I want to glaze these with the maple glaze from that healthy pumpkin muffin recipe? Yes. Am I completely stumped on how to make a glaze without refined sugars? Yes. Please help me if you know the way. It’s the one sugar thing I can’t seem to figure out.
I’m telepathically willing you all the best zucchini muffin making on this first Monday in August (whoa). Can you hear me in your head? Just listen really close. I’m saying: healthier honey and olive oil zucchini muffins for life.
Honey and Olive Oil Zucchini Muffins
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 15–16 regular sized muffins 1x
Description
These Honey and Olive Oil Zucchini Muffins are made with healthier ingredients and no refined sugar. Super moist and delicious with big puffy tops!
Ingredients
- 3 cups grated zucchini (I used about 2 whole zucchini)
- 2 beaten eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 cup olive oil (light or mild tasting)
- 2/3 cup real maple syrup
- 1/3 cup raw honey, softened
- 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, combine the zucchini, eggs, vanilla, olive oil, maple syrup, and honey. Stir gently until mixed; set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the flours, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Stir to combine and make a well in the middle. Pour the wet mixture from step one into the well and stir just a few times until barely combined. Overmixing makes the muffins tough and hard, so I try to limit myself to 15 big around-the-bowl stirs.
- Pour the batter in a muffin tin greased with nonstick cooking spray or lined with paper cups. You should be able to get 6-8 jumbo muffins or 15-16 regular sized muffins. Bake for 20 minutes or until the muffins are golden brown and the tops spring back when you press on them.
Notes
You can definitely get by with less sugar in this recipe by reducing the amount of maple syrup and honey. However, I liked the combination of both sweeteners together much better than either one of them on their own (for both taste and texture), so keep both if you can.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Category: Snack
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: zucchini muffin, honey zucchini muffins, healthy muffin, olive oil muffin
Nutrition facts are for 1 muffin when you make them “regular sized” (15-16 in a batch).
PS. This is completely unrelated to muffins, but you all are home geniuses and I love polling you for your expertise on these things.
We are finally getting around to re-painting and de-gunking our (currently magenta, thank you very much previous owner) front door this week. The door is very old and heavy and extremely beautiful and I l-o-v-e it, other than the very bold, almost-red-but-not color. Unfortunately I think it’s too far gone to remove the paint and try to refinish the wood, at least for our limited DIY selves, so we need to pick a new door color.
Our house is white and our shutters are black, or brown, or just sort of plain, so right now I’m leaning towards a coat of cobalt or navy blue for the door. I have visions of a cute yellow-white wreath tying it all together and being just totally old house meets modern style adorable and picture perfect. Is this a good or horrible idea? Sometimes I can’t decide if I should listen to myself. Anyone done blue and regretted it? Don’t tell me. Except do. I need your house help.
Recipe directions are all the place when it comes to the pros and cons of wringing out the grated zucchini. Your recipe does not state to remove the extra liquid. May I clarify which way you choose to make these fantastic muffins? Thanks
We don’t wring it out!
I tried these Honey and Olive Oil Zucchini Muffins, and they turned out amazing! The balance of sweetness from the honey and the richness of the olive oil makes them so delicious. Thanks for sharing such a unique recipe! I’ll definitely be making these again.
I just tried these Honey and Olive Oil Zucchini Muffins, and they are absolutely delicious! The combination of flavors is perfect, and they turned out so moist and fluffy. I love how you used honey for sweetness instead of sugar. Definitely adding this recipe to my favorites!
I made the honey and olive oil muffins, but substituted butter instead of olive oil and gluten free flour instead of the whole wheat and regular flour as I’m gluten free, and they turned out great
These are superb muffins. Not “for healthy muffins these are pretty good!” They’re just straight up excellent muffins. I’m super picky about muffins and I only had 1 recipe I consistently make. Now I have 2!
Just the type of recipe I was looking for, I am drowning in zucchini. I am also drowning in honey from my neighbours, do you thing I could substitute 1 cup of honey for the 1/3 cup raw honey and the 1/3 cup maple syrup?
7 years late to the party… made this tonight with excess zucchini bounty and they are delicious. I used a good quality olive oil and honey because those are the flavours so, frankly, you need to. I ended up with 20 regular sized muffins.
Made these today for the first time and think these are very good. I cut the recipe in half because too many muffins for just me. I also added half a cup of unsweetened shredded coconut. I am really enjoying them.
Coconut would be great in these! Thanks for sharing, Alison!
These are really good muffins! I used a full cup of honey as I didn’t have maple syrup and added some nutmeg and ground cardamom. Also did had whole wheat flower. Fluffy and perfect!
Great idea to add nutmeg and cardamom!
Can these abe made with all unbleached white flour? I will try half carrots since I only have 1 zucchini.
Yep!
This recipe is a winner! Love the versatility zucchini has and the use of sugar alternatives.
Glad you enjoyed the muffins!
This were absolutely delicious! I made them about a month ago and they’re going to made again today! Thank you for sharing!
Made these and they were really tasty and super easy! Thank you for sharing!
So glad you enjoyed the muffins, Kim!
Hi Lindsay!
My niece sent me this recipe and she loved it! I am looking forward to trying it as well. Do you know if I could use Gluten-free all purpose flour to swap out for both types of flours that you used in the recipe?
Thanks for your help!
~Joanna
Hi, Joanna! We haven’t tried using gluten-free flour here, but we don’t see why it wouldn’t work. Let us know how this goes for you!
These look great and I have a ton of zucchini in my garden and went to the midtown farmers market this weekend. Huge zucchini’s for a dollar!
Could I use all white flour? If I don’t have wheat?
Also I think a warm blue or a warm lime green would be nice.
Our neighbors have a bright yellow door and at first it was too much but now I have grown to love it! Thanks so much!!
Hi Anna! White flour should work just fine. 🙂
I’ve made these twice already and they’re perfect each time! I made them for a client and their family ate all 17 muffins in 2 days! I will probably do the same with my batch:) Thanks!
Can’t wait to make these muffins this week then I will let you know. However with the door I always change the color on my door. I liked black and all my wreaths really looked great so you could do that
I’m really liking my deep forest green door now. So the house kind of looks like Anna Green Gable‘s combination only a ranch!
I noticed that you are looking for a non-sugar glaze for muffins. I have discovered that using warm honey (with a little lemon juice added if you wish) does the perfect job! You can even cut down on the sweetness of the muffins if that’s what you’d like to do, because the honey glaze meets the mouth first, and then the rest of the muffin doesn’t need to be as sweet! Thanks for suggesting that people use raw, unpasteurized honey for their baking/cooking! Not only is it more nutritious, but each time you buy from a local beekeeper, you are helping to build bee populations. The sale off their honey and other products is the only income beekeepers get for all their work in caring for the bees. Thanks.
I don’t have wheat flour. What will happen if I just use all white flour?
I just found this recipe while searching online. It was absolutely delicious and I’m so glad I found this blog, too! Thank you for all the great recipes. I can’t wait to try some others 🙂
These muffins were fabulous! I have passed on the recipe to my sisters and friends.
I am notorious for tweaking recipes but this one is perfect as is. I have made it many times and my kids love them–a nice way to sneakore
These were so soft and delicious! I made one change: mashed one ripe banana and put it in a 1 cup measuring cup, then filled the rest of the cup with olive oil. So good!! I will definitely be making these again!
Yum! Glad you enjoyed them!
I just polished off a batch of these…they freeze well!…and chocolate chips are a delicious mix in…just sayin’
This recipe looks great! I do not have enough olive oil. Do you think coconut oil would be an okay substitute?
I think so! 🙂