Almond Flour Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

These Almond Flour Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins are secretly healthy, moist, gluten free, dairy free and studded with chocolate chips. Plus, they taste like rich chocolate cake. The recipe is also small batch, so perfect when you want a treat without overindulging.

Making these zucchini muffins with almond flour gives them a soft and fluffy texture. Adding zucchini stops the muffins from drying out while also boosting the nutrient content. Then cacao powder and dark chocolate chips provide a double chocolate hit.

Healthy chocolate zucchini muffins

These chocolate zucchini muffins are a healthy alternative to regular muffins if you want to bake with less processed ingredients. First, almond flour replaces all-purpose flour and can be enjoyed on a gluten-free or grain-free diet. Second, almond butter and small amount of coconut oil is used instead of vegetable oil or butter to keep the muffins dairy free. Third, pure maple syrup sweetens the muffins for an alternative to regular sugar.

This almond flour muffin recipe is also small batch. It makes five muffins, instead of the typical yield of 12. This can be useful if you want to keep your intake of sweet foods and dessert under control. However, you can easily double the recipe if you want to make a larger batch to freeze or to share.

How to get water out of zucchini before baking

I squeeze out excess moisture from the zucchini before baking to stop the muffins from getting soggy. Some of my other zucchini recipes don’t require this step because they contain other ingredients to absorb any excess water. However, I always squeeze the zucchini for these muffins using the following method:

1. Grate the zucchini. Start by grating your zucchini using a regular box or flat grater.
2. Spread it between paper towels. Lay out a sheet of kitchen paper towel and spread the grated zucchini in a thin layer over the towel. Place another sheet of paper towel on top.
3. Squeeze out the moisture. Press down on the paper towel so that it absorbs the moisture from the zucchini. You can watch how I do it in the recipe video below. Then, simply scoop up the squeezed zucchini and measure it out for the recipe.

Ingredients for chocolate zucchini muffins with almond flour

• Almond flour: Also known as blanched almond meal, almond flour is simply ground almonds that have had their skins removed. It gives the muffins a lovely fluffy texture and keeps them gluten free and grain free.
• Raw cacao powder: The first chocolate element. I used raw cacao powder when I made the muffins for the recipe photos and video, but regular unsweetened cocoa powder also works well.
• Almond butter: Almond butter works with the coconut oil and zucchini to keep the muffins moist. You can also substitute cashew butter if you prefer.
• Maple syrup: To sweeten the muffins, I like maple syrup best. Raw honey, brown rice syrup or sugar-free syrups could also be used. Keep in mind that using sugar-free syrup may alter the texture of the muffins.
• Coconut oil: A small amount of coconut oil improves the texture of the muffins.
• Zucchini: Since these are zucchini muffins. Make sure that you squeeze out the excess moisture before measuring the zucchini. I explain how to do this above.
• Egg: An egg holds the muffins together.
• Chocolate chips: The second chocolate element. I like to use dark chocolate chips, but any variety of chocolate chips or a roughly chopped chocolate bar will work.
• Baking powder: Baking powder gives the muffins some lift. Make sure your baking powder is within its best before date to ensure that it works properly.
• Salt: I always add some salt to baking recipes, particularly chocolate ones. It really helps to enhance the flavors.

How to store these almond flour chocolate zucchini muffins

Store these almond flour chocolate zucchini muffins in an airtight container in the fridge. They should keep like this for up to five days.

Alternatively, the muffins freeze well. You can defrost them in the fridge overnight or warm them up from frozen in the microwave or oven.

More heathy baking recipes

• Flourless Zucchini Brownies with Chocolate Frosting
• Small Batch Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Vegan Sweet Potato Chocolate Fudge Cake
• Gluten Free Apple Cake with Buckwheat Flour
• Buckwheat Jam Thumbprint Cookies

You can find more ideas on the Baking Recipes page.

Almond Flour Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins Recipe

Notes

1. Zucchini – Grate and squeeze the zucchini before measuring it out. To squeeze, I sprinkle the grated zucchini between two sheets of paper towel, then press down so the paper towels absorb the excess moisture. You can watch how I do this in the recipe video above. Then either weigh out 50 grams of the squeezed zucchini on a food scale, or firmly pack it into a 1/3 cup measure.
2. Chocolate – I use 70% cocoa dark chocolate chips to keep the sugar content down. However, you can use your favorite chocolate chips or a chocolate bar roughly chopped into pieces. If you need to keep the recipe completely dairy free, check that your chocolate does not contain milk solids. Or you can buy chocolate that is labelled as dairy free, vegan or paleo.
3. Storage – Allow the muffins to cool then store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can also freeze the muffins, then defrost them the fridge overnight or warm them up from frozen in a microwave or in the oven.

Nutrition Facts

• Serving size: 1 muffin (made with 70% cocoa dark chocolate)
• Energy: 356 Calories / 1490 Kilojoules
• Total Fat: 27 g
• Saturated Fat: 10.8 g
• Total Carbohydrate: 17.6 g
• Dietary Fiber: 2 g
• Sugars: 14 g
• Protein: 8.9 g
• Sodium: 196 mg
• Potassium: 167 mg