Gluten-Free Vegan Zucchini Muffins

These Gluten-Free Vegan Zucchini Muffins are seriously moist, perfectly dense and studded with chocolate chips. They’re great for dessert, breakfast, brunch or a snack, and taste surprisingly like banana bread!

Why you’ll love these Gluten-Free Vegan Zucchini Muffins:

• they’re undetectably vegan and gluten-free
• they’re seriously moist
• they’re subtly spiced and fragrant 
• they have a warm, toasty flavour
• they’re nutty
• they taste a bit like banana bread
• they’re perfectly chocolatey
• they’re easily customisable
• they can be made either sweet or savoury
• they can be made refined sugar free or made with no added sugar 
• they’re made in one bowl
• they’re perfect for dessert, breakfast, brunch or a snack!

How to make ground walnuts

These muffins are made using ground walnuts which add a wonderfully nutty flavour and keep them moist and fluffy.

To make ground walnuts, place whole walnuts into a food processor and pulse briefly until you get a fine powder.

Tip: Make sure not to over-blend as otherwise you’ll get nut butter!

How to make these Gluten-Free Vegan Zucchini Muffins

Scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full recipe.

• The zucchini (courgette) will need to be grated – the easiest way to do this is to use a box grater.

This recipe is super easy compared to some other zucchini muffin recipes I’ve seen as you don’t need to do anything to take the moisture out of the zucchini before adding it to the batter.

• Then place all the ingredients in a glass mixing bowl and mix it all together.

Tip: Make sure to use a measuring jug to measure out the exact amount of plant-based milk!

• Divide the batter between muffin cases in a [amazon_textlink asin=’B003W0UMPI|B009AQSB2E’ text=’muffin/cupcake tin’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’rhiansrecip00-20|rhisrec-21′ marketplace=’US|UK’ link_id=’d185c677-4fda-11e8-ab1d-9119bb5e3aef’].

• Bake for 20 minutes.

How long do these Zucchini Muffins keep for?

Though these Zucchini Muffins do taste best when fresh, they keep well covered in the fridge for up to a few days. If you have just taken them out of the fridge, I’d recommend warming them up in an oven toaster if you have one.

Substitutions you can make to this recipe:

• you can use any type of oil: coconut oil, olive oil or vegetable oil
• you can use any type of plant-based milk: almond milk, rice milk, soy milk, cashew milk, oat milk etc
• you can use any type of liquid sweetener: maple syrup, agave syrup, brown rice syrup etc
• you can substitute the ground walnuts with ground almonds
• for a nut-free version: substitute the ground walnuts with ground sunflower seeds and use a nut-free plant-based milk
• you can use plain flour, wholemeal (whole wheat) flour or spelt flour instead of the gluten-free flour if you’re not gluten-free
• the ground cinnamon can be omitted
• for a refined sugar free version, use refined sugar free chocolate chips
• the chocolate chips can be omitted or substituted with chocolate chunks
• you can make savoury/no added sugar zucchini muffins by completely omitting the maple syrup and chocolate chips
• you can top these muffins with chopped walnuts, pecan nuts, flaked almonds or coconut flakes before baking
• you can omit the chocolate chips and use other ingredients such as lemon zest, raisins or desiccated coconut.

More gluten-free vegan muffin recipes:

• Carrot Muffins
• Blueberry Banana Bread Muffins
• Chocolate Muffins
• Cornbread Muffins
• Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
• Apple Muffins
• Pumpkin Muffins
• Chocolate Banana Muffins
• Banana Muffins
• Lemon Muffins
• Orange Muffins

If you try out this recipe or anything else from my blog, I’d really love to hear any feedback! Please give it a rating, leave a comment, or tag a photo @rhiansrecipes #rhiansrecipes on Instagram! Thank you.

Gluten-Free Vegan Zucchini Muffins

These Gluten-Free Vegan Zucchini Muffins are seriously moist, perfectly dense and studded with chocolate chips. They're great for dessert, breakfast, brunch or a snack, and taste surprisingly like banana bread!

4.75 from 8 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Breakfast, Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: gluten-free zucchini muffins, vegan zucchini muffins, vegan zucchini recipe

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Servings: 12 muffins

Calories: 225kcal

Author: Rhian Williams

Ingredients

• 60 g (1/4 cup) coconut oil (or sub olive or vegetable oil)
• 8 tablespoons maple syrup (or sub any other sweetener)
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar * (ensure gluten-free if necessary)
• Pinch salt
• 150 g (1 cup) zucchini (courgette) , grated
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 150 ml (2/3 cup) unsweetened almond milk (or sub any other plant-based milk)
• 150 g (1 1/4 cup) ground walnuts ** (or sub ground almonds/almond meal)
• 150 g (1 1/4 cup) gluten-free flour blend (or sub plain flour if not gluten-free)
• 2 heaped teaspoons baking powder (ensure gluten-free if necessary)
• 1/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
• 50 g (1/3 cup) dark chocolate chips *** (ensure vegan/gluten-free if necessary)

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit)
• Place the coconut oil in a separate large bowl and melt over a saucepan of boiling water or in the microwave (skip this step if using any other oil)
• Once melted, add the maple syrup, vinegar, salt, zucchini, cinnamon, milk and ground walnuts to the same bowl
• Sift in the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda
• Mix well, adding a splash more milk if it’s looking too dry
• Add the chocolate chips and fold in gently
• Transfer the mixture between muffin cases in a muffin tin
• Bake in the oven for 20 minutes until risen and an inserted skewer comes out clean
• Tastes best when fresh, but keeps covered in the fridge for up to a few days

Notes

*The acidity of the vinegar reacts with the alkali bicarbonate of soda to make the muffins fluffy. If you can’t get hold of vinegar, substitute it with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice.

**To make ground walnuts, place whole walnuts into a food processor and pulse briefly until you get a fine powder. Make sure not to over-blend as otherwise you’ll get nut butter!

***Use refined sugar free chocolate chips for a refined sugar free version.

Nutrition Facts

Gluten-Free Vegan Zucchini Muffins

Amount Per Serving

Calories 225 Calories from Fat 135

% Daily Value*

Fat 15g23%

Saturated Fat 6g30%

Cholesterol 1mg0%

Sodium 46mg2%

Potassium 161mg5%

Carbohydrates 22g7%

Fiber 2g8%

Sugar 10g11%

Protein 4g8%

Vitamin A 25IU1%

Vitamin C 2mg2%

Calcium 73mg7%

Iron 1mg6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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