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Fluffy, moist, tender vegan blueberry zucchini muffins are bursting with berries and nutrients thanks to the hidden zucchini. You need just 2 bowls and 10 ingredients for these egg-free, dairy-free, vegan zucchini muffins with refined sugar-free, gluten-free, and oil-free options below!
Moist Vegan Zucchini Muffins with Blueberries
During blueberry season, I practically add these tasty morsels to everything. I’ve already shared a simple 2 minute blueberry maple syrup, and they’re welcome additions to any smoothie (like this easy raspberry smoothie) or vegan milkshake (like this strawberry banana milkshake). Now, it’s the turn of something a little sweeter with these easy vegan blueberry zucchini muffins.
These vegan zucchini muffins are fluffy, tender, and packed with bursting blueberries in every bite. The addition of zucchini helps keep this treat moist and packs in hidden nutrients, all without adding any flavor. Which is perfect for picky eaters.
Requiring just a couple of bowls, an ingredient list of inexpensive pantry staples, and just a few minutes of hands-on prep work, this recipe for zucchini muffins is incredibly simple to prepare. Better yet, they’re even easier to customize.
Experiment with all your favorite add-ins like vegan chocolate chips, walnuts, etc. You could also make some healthier swaps, such as using unrefined sugar, a portion of whole wheat flour, making an oil-free version, and more.
Once baked, you can store these zucchini bread muffins in the refrigerator for a week or the freezer for up to three months. So you always have one on hand to enjoy as part of your breakfast/brunch, a snack, or even dessert.
The Ingredients
These easy zucchini muffins are made up primarily of pantry staples. These include:
Optional add-ins & Recipe Variations
You can adapt these zucchini blueberry muffins in several ways and with several add-ins.
- Spices: Cinnamon and nutmeg both work well in these vegan zucchini muffins.
- Lemon: Lemon blueberry zucchini muffins are a particular favorite of mine. Add 1-2 teaspoons of lemon zest (organic, unwaxed) to the batter.
You can swap the lemon out for lime or orange with equally delicious results. Adding lemon juice in place of some vegan milk may increase the flavor.
However, I can’t guarantee results as the leavening agent may be affected and require recipe tweaks.
- Vegan chocolate chips: Use your favorite dairy-free semi-sweet chocolate chips or chunks (sugar-free chocolate if preferred). Add a small amount in addition to the berries, or swap out the berries entirely for delicious vegan chocolate zucchini muffins.
- Other berries: This recipe should work well with other berries, too – like raspberries, blackberries, chopped strawberries, etc.
- Sugar topping: Sprinkle coarse sugar over the top of the batter before baking.
- Coconut: Add 2-3 tablespoons of unsweetened shredded coconut to the batter.
- Nuts/Seeds: Add a handful of chopped nuts or seeds to the batter. Walnuts, pecans, or pistachios would work particularly well in these blueberry zucchini muffins.
- Jelly/Jam: Swirl a small amount into the batter before baking or core the baked muffins and fill them in with jam before serving.
- Frosting: Turn them into cupcakes with a simple vanilla vegan buttercream frosting or 3-ingredient lemon glaze.
How to Make Vegan Blueberry Zucchini Muffins?
Step 1: First, preheat the oven to 400F/200C and prepare a muffin tin with silicone liners. Then, grate the zucchini using the medium holes on a box grater. Then, add it to a nut milk bag or several layers of cheesecloth and squeeze to remove all excess liquid. Then, in a small bowl, combine the water and ground flaxseed and mix well. Leave it in the refrigerator for at least 5 minutes.
Step 2: In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Stir well, form a well in the center, and add the oil, flax egg, vegan milk, vanilla extract, and zucchini. Gently mix until just combined.
You can add this strained liquid to stocks, soups, or smoothies to avoid waste.
Step 3: Fold in 1 cup of blueberries, reserving ¼ cup as a topping. Then, divide the batter between the cupcake/muffin pan liners (filled to the top).
Step 4: Press the remaining blueberries into the top of the batter. Bake the blueberry zucchini muffins for around 35 minutes. Then, remove the muffins from the oven and transfer them to a cooling rack for at least 20 minutes.
FAQs
I usually recommend attempting muffin recipes with a 1:1 substitution of an all-purpose gluten-free flour blend, like King Arthur’s or Bob’s Red Mill. Avoid single flours like almond flour or coconut flour.
Let me know in the comments if you try it and how it worked.
You may be able to replace some or all of the oil with either unsweetened applesauce or vegan Greek yogurt. However, as these blueberry zucchini muffins are very moist anyway, I can’t be sure how they may affect the results. Let me know if you try and/or try out my oil-free banana muffins recipe.
You could try this recipe with a sugar alternative like erythritol or stevia. However, it can affect the texture of the bake. If you try, let me know in the comments.
It’s usually fairly easy to adapt a muffin recipe into a quick bread loaf. Simply pour the batter into a lined loaf tin and bake until a toothpick comes out clean. First, check at 35-40 minutes and every few minutes until it’s ready. You can also try out my 1-bowl easy vegan zucchini bread recipe!
That shouldn’t be an issue. You’ll need two mini muffin trays, and I recommend checking on them between 15-20 minutes and every few minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
There’s no need. The peel adds tons of extra nutrients and fiber with no taste. All you’ll notice are some flecks of green in the muffins. Otherwise, it’s unnoticeable.
Top Recipe Tips and Notes
- Thoroughly drain the zucchini: Thanks to the berries, these vegan zucchini muffins are already moist, so it’s essential to thoroughly squeeze out the excess moisture from the grated zucchini.
- For quick prep: Use a food processor grating disk to shred the zucchini in seconds.
- Measure the flour correctly: Use a spoon to add the flour to your measuring cup without pressing or packing it down. Then use the back of a knife to level off the top. Otherwise, you may add too much, and the zucchini bread muffins will be dense.
- Don’t over mix the muffin batter: Otherwise, you risk overworking the gluten and affecting the texture and rise. A few lumps in the batter are okay.
- Use fresh baking powder: Make sure it’s in date and/or test it with a bit of hot water (it should fizz immediately).
Serving Recommendations
You can enjoy a muffin alone for breakfast or as a snack (including in a lunchbox). There are several other ways to enjoy these vegan zucchini muffins, too, including:
- Enjoy warm and slathered with dairy-free butter OR spread with nut butter or blueberry preserves.
- Alongside a scoop of banana ice cream.
- Enjoy toasted with a dollop of dairy-free yogurt and extra berries.
Make-Ahead and Storage Instructions
Make ahead: Prepare the muffin batter, minus the baking powder and zucchini, 1-2 days in advance (and store covered in the fridge). To use it, allow it to come back to room temperature, add the remaining ingredients, and bake.
At room temperature: Store the zucchini muffins loosely covered (otherwise, they become soggy) for 2-3 days.
In the fridge: Store them covered/in an airtight container lined with paper towel for 5-7 days.
In the freezer: First, flash-freeze the vegan zucchini muffins spread out across a baking tray. Then transfer them to a large freezer-safe Ziplock/Stasher bag and store them for up to 3 months.
Allow them to thaw in the fridge overnight or on the counter for several hours. You could also microwave them for 30-45 seconds (in 15-second increments).
Other Vegan Bakes to Consider….
Vegan Desserts
Easy Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes
Vegan Desserts
Apple and Blueberry Crumble
Vegan Desserts
Easy Vegan Lemon Cupcakes
Vegan Desserts
Vegan Apple Pie
If you tried this Vegan Blueberry Zucchini Muffins recipe or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks!
Vegan Blueberry Zucchini Muffins
Video
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseeds
- 2 ½ tablespoons of warm water
- 1 ½ cups of all-purpose flour
- ¾ cups of granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon of salt
- 2 teaspoons of baking powder
- ⅓ cup of vegetable oil
- ⅓ cup of plant-based milk
- 1 ½ teaspoons of pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup of grated zucchini
- 1 ¼ cups of fresh blueberries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line tin with liners.
- In a small bowl, thoroughly mix together the ground flaxseeds and warm water for 1 minute. Place in the refrigerator for 5 minutes.
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder and mix well. Form a well in the flour mixture and add the vegetable oil, flax meal mixture, plant-based milk, vanilla extract, and grated zucchini. Gently mix together. Fold in 1 cup of the blueberries, reserving ¼ cup for topping.
- Fill your cupcake tin with batter (filled to the top). Top with remaining blueberries, pushing them gently into the top of the batter.
- Bake for 35 minutes or until the muffins are golden on top and a toothpick comes out of the center of the muffin clean.
Notes
- Thoroughly drain the zucchini: Thanks to the berries, these vegan zucchini muffins are already moist, so it’s essential to thoroughly squeeze out the excess moisture from the grated zucchini.
- For quick prep: Use a food processor grating disk to shred the zucchini in seconds.
- Measure the flour correctly: Use a spoon to add the flour to your measuring cup without pressing or packing it down. Then use the back of a knife to level off the top. Otherwise, you may add too much, and the zucchini bread muffins will be dense.
- Don’t over mix the muffin batter: Otherwise, you risk overworking the gluten and affecting the texture and rise. A few lumps in the batter are okay.
How would I make these using the pulp from the apple orange carrot juice recipe?
Hi Joyce, thanks so much for reaching out! I’d recommend squeezing out as much moisture as possible from the pulp first, then using it in place of the zucchini. The flavor will be a little different. Let me know how it goes if you try it.
Thank you for sharing this recipe! I would like to use chia seeds instead of flax seeds for the binder. Do you have a recommendation for how to swap out the flax and use chia in this recipe? Thank you in advance!
Hi! We on the PBOAB team haven’t tried out that swap yet so can’t guarantee the results with specific measurement swaps. Although, from what I’m seeing online, a 1:1 ratio may work! Hope you enjoy it if you end up giving it a go 🙂
These are so yummy! Fluffy, moist and delicious. I just recently started cooking vegan and these definitely will be made again. Thank you!
Aren’t they the best?! They one of my favorite muffin recipes on the blog!
hello when you list the ingrediants list is that per serve or for the whole recipe? I am in Australia so our nutrition panels would say per 100gm – what ever the amounts are – I need to know the sugar for a serving or 100gms thanks
Hi! It’s for the whole recipe 🙂 Hope you enjoy these muffins!
These were delicious. My husband did not want to share the muffins with his mom…..lol! I used coconut oil and oat flour. The muffins were more like a cake like texture. I will definitely be making these again.
So glad you guys enjoyed them! They’re the best zucchini muffins!
Just pulled a pan of these out of the oven. These are so good.
Yum! I could go for some right now!
These are fabulous! I used frozen blueberries (didn’t thaw them), but other than that kept the recipe the same. They are so moist, and the tops had that crunchy, sugary texture that bakery muffins do. Great recipe!
I am so going to make these! But question…do you think there is a way to combine the blueberry banana muffin with the blueberry zucchini???
Yes! You definitely could do that. Let me know how it turns out. 🙂
So moist and delicious!