Name: Apple Zucchini Muffins
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 10
Cuisine: Vegetarian
Ingredients: 2 large eggs; 2 cups rolled oats, plus more for topping; 1/4 cup neutral oil (sunflower, vegetable or grapeseed); 1/2 cup sugar; 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract; 1 teaspoon baking soda; 1 teaspoon baking powder; 2 teaspoons cinnamon; 1 teaspoon ginger; 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt; 1 1/2 cups shredded zucchini, loosely packed, divided (1 large zucchini); 1 cup diced apple (1/2 large or 1 medium apple)

These cinnamon-scented apple zucchini muffins are cozy and satisfying, made simply with oats, shredded zucchini and apple chunks.

Ever had the problem of too much zucchini? Because Alex and I have had years of overabundant garden zucchini, we’ve created a few great zucchini recipes to use it up! And at the top of the list is our apple zucchini muffins. They’re cozy and satisfying, cinnamon scented and made with oats: no flour at all! This makes them taste hearty and wholesome — and they’re naturally gluten free, too. They’re also just sweet enough: not a cupcake like many muffin recipes!

Alex and I just served these apple zucchini muffins to our family who were in town staying with us, and they were a huge hit! Our toddler Larson loves them for breakfast or snack slathered with peanut butter. We use the banana ones in his school lunches, so these will get a lot of play-time once back to school hits too! They freeze well, so we make a few batches and throw them in the freezer. Ready to get started?

What’s great about these apple zucchini muffins?

This apple zucchini muffins recipe is modeled after our fan favorite Healthy Banana Bread Muffins! Why are they so popular? Here are a few features of this muffin concept that readers love:

They’re made just with rolled oats: no flour at all! This makes them hearty and wholesome: it’s basically like eating a bowl of oatmeal! We love serving these because it’s less like a “treat” and more like a hearty snack or breakfast.
They’re blender muffins! This means the dough is entirely mixed in a blender. For some reason this makes them feel easier than a standard muffin: maybe because the mess is contained? Whatever the case, they’re simple to whip up.

Want to make a more traditional muffin? Go to our Best Zucchini Muffins instead. They’re made with flour, Greek yogurt, and turbinado sugar.

How to make apple zucchini muffins

Here’s the basic concept of how to make apple zucchini muffins:

In a blender, place the eggs, rolled oats, neutral oil, sugar, vanilla extract, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, and shredded zucchini. Blend until a dough forms.
Add additional shredded zucchini and diced apple; pulse gentle
Pour the batter into muffin cups and top with additional rolled oats.
Bake for 35 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Allow to cool and enjoy! Store refrigerated for 1 week or frozen for several months.

Love oatmeal muffins? Try our Apple Oatmeal Muffins and Banana Oatmeal Muffins

Why is zucchini used in baking?

Shredded zucchini is used in baking because it brings moisture in to baked goods. Most of zucchini is water, so it disappears right into cakes, muffins and breads, leaving the baked good perfectly hydrated. One of our favorite recipes for using shredded zucchini is in this Favorite Gluten Free Chocolate Cake.

Zucchini is often used as a replacement for oil in baked goods, since it’s much lower calorie than oil and brings in moisture! For that reason, these apple zucchini muffins have a fairly low oil content: only ¼ cup for 10 muffins. This equates to a little over 1 teaspoon of oil per muffin. Thanks, zucchini!

A note on sweetener

This apple zucchini muffin recipe has a bit more sugar than our banana muffins recipe because, guess what? Zucchini has no added sugar, and banana adds quite a bit of natural sugar. Our banana muffins recipe had maple syrup, as a natural sweetener. But for this muffin recipe we went with straight up sugar because the texture of zucchini got a little gummy with just maple syrup.

As you may know if you bake a lot, sugar has unique properties that are helpful structurally when baking. For these zucchini muffins you can use any type of sugar you like, including turbinado sugar or coconut sugar. We’ve tried to sweeten it just enough that your brain says zucchini muffin, but not so much that it tastes like a cupcake.

Want another apple muffin? Our apple muffins with streusel have a crunchy streusel topping that’s to die for.

More with zucchini

If you have too much zucchini on your hands, here are some zucchini recipes for ways to use it up:

Perfect Sauteed Zucchini The BEST sauteed zucchini that will have everyone talking!
Squash and Zucchini Casserole This cozy summer side dish is topped with crunchy breadcrumbs and Parmesan.
Zucchini Lasagna Truly the best! Roasted zucchini noodles and three cheeses make just the right Italian flavor.
Roasted Zucchini and Squash or Grilled Zucchini and Squash Bake or grill them with Italian herbs: perfection!
Easy Zucchini Bread or Best Vegan Zucchini Bread Perfectly moist and easy to make, these quick breads are a great use.
Chocolate Zucchini Cake The secret ingredient hiding in this dense, moist chocolate cake? Zucchini!

This apple zucchini muffins recipe is…

Vegetarian, gluten-free, and dairy-free.