Banana Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins — These one-bowl, no-mixer banana zucchini chocolate chip muffins are vegan and healthy. No butter, no eggs, the chocolate chips are solely sprinkled on top, and they’re made with coconut oil.
Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins
If you’ve never baked with zucchini, you’ve been missing out. Everything stays so soft and moist. All thanks to a plant that you can’t taste.
You can’t taste it and the only thing that gives it away are the faint green flecks. If you peeled the zucchini, you’d never know it was there. Even though they could see it, my family said they couldn’t taste it, nor could I.
These chocolate chip banana zucchini muffins taste like banana bread. Perfect for all you sneaky chefs.
The one-bowl, no-mixer zucchini chocolate chip muffins are vegan and healthy. No butter, no eggs, the chocolate chips are solely sprinkled on top, and they’re made with coconut oil.
They continue to get softer as the days pass, and the flavors marry together and tasted better the second day. You’ll never complain about eating your vegetables after these muffins. Or hear anyone else complaining.
What’s in Banana Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins?
To make these chocolate chip banana zucchini muffins, you’ll need:
- Granulated sugar
- Coconut oil
- Light brown sugar
- Unsweetened vanilla almond milk
- Vanilla extract
- Cinnamon
- Mashed bananas
- Shredded zucchini
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
How to Make Banana Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins
Stir together the sugars, melted coconut oil, cinnamon, vanilla, and almond milk. Then, stir in the mashed banana and shredded zucchini.
Add the dry ingredients, then divide the batter between 11 greased muffin cups.
These banana zucchini chocolate chip muffins need to bake until set, domed, golden, and a toothpick comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs, but no batter.
How to Store Zucchini Muffins
These chocolate chip banana zucchini muffins will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 6 months. I find the muffins get softer over time and taste better on days 2-3 after the flavors have married.
Can I Add Extra Mix-Ins?
I’m sure you could! You’d likely wind up being able to bake 12 muffins that way rather than 11. You could add chocolate chips to the batter, chopped nuts, or dried fruit.
Tips for Making Banana Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins
I used coconut oil rather than butter because oil keeps things softer, springier, and moister long-term. It adds a nearly imperceptible undertone that’s sweeter and more fragrant than canola or vegetable oil, but substitute with them if you’d like.
Before adding the zucchini to the muffin batter, put it in a paper towel and squeeze tightly for about 10 seconds to remove some moisture. You should wind up with about 3/4 cup compacted shredded zucchini.
Depending on how moist your shredded zucchini and mashed banana are, your muffins may need to bake for more or less time than the recipe calls for. Watch the oven, not the clock when making these banana zucchini chocolate chip muffins.
Pin This Recipe
Banana Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins
These one-bowl, no-mixer banana zucchini chocolate chip muffins are vegan and healthy. No butter, no eggs, the chocolate chips are solely sprinkled on top, and they're made with coconut oil.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup coconut oil, melted (vegetable or canola oil may be substituted)
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened vanilla almond milk (coconut, soy, rice, cow’s milk may be substituted)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 cup ripe mashed bananas (about 2 small/medium bananas)
- 1 1/4 cups shredded zucchini, measured loosely laid in cup (not packed in or squeezed; about 1 medium zucchini, I didn’t peel it)
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- pinch salt, optional and to taste
- about 11 teaspoons mini semi-sweet chocolate chips divided, about 1 teaspoon for each muffin (regular-sized chips may be substituted)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F. Spray a Non-Stick 12-Cup Regular Muffin Pan very well with floured cooking spray or grease and flour the pan; set aside. (I don’t prefer the cosmetic look of muffin liners and I am not sure if the paper will stick to the muffins).
- To a large bowl, add the first 6 ingredients, through cinnamon, and whisk to combine.
- Add the bananas and whisk to combine.
- Before adding the zucchini, put it in a paper towel and squeeze tightly for about 10 seconds to remove some moisture. After squeezing, you should have about 3/4 cup of compacted shreds.
- Add zucchini to bowl and stir to incorporate.
- Add the flour, baking powder, optional salt and stir until just combined; don’t overmix.
- Using a large cookie scoop, 1/4-cup measure, or spoon, turn batter out into prepared pan, noting that the recipe yields 11 muffins. If I try to make 12 given my muffin pan, the muffins are too skimpy but pans vary. Each cavity should be filled to about 3/4 full, but not exceeding or batter could overflow.
- Sprinkle the top of each muffin generously with mini chocolate chips, about 1 teaspoon each.
- Bake at 400F for 10 minutes, reduce oven temp to 350F and bake for 8 minutes, or until muffins are set, domed, golden, and a toothpick comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs, but no batter.
- Allow muffins to cool in pan for about 10 to 15 minutes, or until they’ve firmed up and are cool enough to handle. It’s normal for muffin tops to be flatten as they cool.
Notes
- Muffins will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 6 months. I find the muffins get softer over time and taste better on days 2-3 after the flavors have married.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
11Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 234Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 150mgCarbohydrates: 39gFiber: 2gSugar: 23gProtein: 2g
More Easy Muffin Recipes:
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Flourless Double Chocolate Peanut Butter Mini Blender Muffins — NO added refined sugar, flour, or oil and only about 100 calories!! Naturally gluten-free! They taste AMAZING, are a reader FAVORITE, and are made in your blender!!
Vegan Coconut Oil Banana Muffins — These vegan banana muffins are extra fluffy and moist thanks to the combination of coconut oil and ripe bananas in the batter. This is a quick and easy muffin recipe you’re bound to love!
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Triple Chocolate Zucchini Muffins — These muffins are incredibly chocolatey without being too sweet. They’re studded with mini chocolate chips and packed with grated zucchini. Warning: these are addicting!
Banana Chocolate Chip Streusel Muffins — Banana muffins that could pass for dessert, that are studded with chocolate chips, and that are topped with streusel make me very happy to eat ‘breakfast’.
Chocolate Lover’s Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffins — These chocolate chocolate chip muffins are closer in taste to a rich chocolate cupcake, but have the texture of a muffin. They’re soft, moist, dense, and loaded with chocolate!
Averie, thank you so much for specifying whether the zucchini is loose or packed when measuring–too many recipes leave out that detail!
I have a further question on the zucchini measurement, though: do you grate the zucchini on the large or small holes?
So yummy! I did add an egg, because I like the added protein and we aren’t vegan. I reduced the sugar by about 1/3 cup and did not add any chocolate chips. They were so good! Will definitely plan on making them again!
Thanks for the 5 star review and I am these were so good that you’ll make them again!
Hi Averie who cooks. I’m glad I’ve found your site too!! Have to agree with everyone else. These muffins are extremely yummy! I third-ed (is that a word?) the overall sugar content, so both granulated and brown sugar, and did not add the chocolate chips; yes, I’m a mean mamma. They were still incredibly sweet and delicious thanks to very ripe bananas and a fantastic recipe. An excellent find – have pinned so I can’t do it again (I am almost willing my bananas to go squidgy)! Am now off to explore the rest of your site, the zucchini-tots are looking good, for more fab finds. YOU GO GIRL!
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad you love the muffins!
OMG! These muffins are incredible. I’ll definitely make again!
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad you will definitely make them again!
These muffins were very good! I am quite impressed with how good they were. Thank you for a great recipe and for helping me get my kids to eat zucchini ;-)
I did add mini chips to the batter and made them in to mini muffins. I baked them for the same amount of time in the convection but kept a close eye on them. They were perfect!
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you!
I am diabetic and was wondering if you knew how many carbs each muffin had? Thanks Judy
I don’t but there are online calculators you can use to plug in the recipe data and it will tell you. I have some linked here averiecooks.com/faq
Is there any reason you don’t mix the choc chips in with the batter before baking? I’ve always done that with other banana choc chip muffin recipes. Is it for looks that you don’t in this one or is there some other reasoning?
Just was trying something new with this recipe – you could mix the chips in as well, or add more chips, if you prefer.
I don’t usually leave comments but I had to comment on these muffins. I bake a lot and try a significant number of new recipes. I had bananas to use and didn’t want to make banana bread again. In this recipe I used canola oil and cow’s milk. What I forgot was to sprinkle the chocolate chips on before baking and these muffins were great warm and great cooled; I just melted a few chocolate chips in the microwave and drizzled them over the muffins! The texture was soft and they had a nice balanced banana flavor; these muffins won’t last 2 or 3 days in my house! Thank you for a great recipe.
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you!
I made the zucchini banana chocolate chip cookies with gluten free flour and they tasted amazing! Thank you for such a wonderful recipe!
excuse me, I meant muffins not cookies
Thanks for trying the recipe and glad it came out great for you! And with GF flour, too!
Have you tried these with gluten free flour? I love that they are vegan because my son is severely allergic to eggs but he’s also allergic to wheat/gluten.
No I haven’t so can’t say for sure about the results but I’d try a reputable GF flour meant for baking and see what happens.
Would I be able to do these as regular banana chocolate chip muffins and just leave out the zucchini? These look delicious, but my gf hates zucchini! Crazy I know.
This recipe is based on using the zucchini and without it, the recipe turn out properly. You honestly cannot really ‘taste’ it. Make a batch with it and just win her over!
Otherwise check out these sections for more muffin/cake recipes https://www.averiecooks.com/category/bread and https://www.averiecooks.com/category/dessert/cake that will fit the bill.
These were absolutely awesome. I had to use up some overripe bananas, and this was the perfect recipe.
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you!
Hi! These sound amazing but I don’t have a muffin pan right now. Do you think this recipe would work for a loaf pan or would it be too dense?? Thanks in advance!
Probably will be fine, although I haven’t personally tried so can’t say for absolute sure.
Is there a variation for this recipe for mini-sized muffins? I wasn’t sure what baking times would be best for smaller muffins.
I haven’t made them as mini, and all mini pans vary in just how mini they are, so just watch them and bake til done. Enjoy!
These muffins were so good! The only substitution I had to make was replacing the milk with water (no milk or milk alternatives in the house), and they still turned out wonderfully. The baking times and temperatures were right on for my oven. I will definitely be making these regularly.
Glad they came out great even with water! That’s wonderful and glad they’ll be on regular rotation!
Very tasty but they needed about 10 more minutes longer to cook?
Zucchini vary widely in moisture content so that’s fine – just bake until done in your situation and oven with your ingredients, as is always the case with baking. Glad they were tasty!
These muffins were delicious! Thank you for the recipe
Thanks for trying them & glad you’re happy!
I had some overripe bananas and some aging zucchini, so I’m happy to have found this recipe! I just popped the muffins in the oven (with a half cup of chopped walnuts added and the chocolate chips mixed in.) We’ll see how they turn out. I suspect my toddler will be excited when she wakes up from her nap and these are waiting .
Lucky kiddo – enjoy!
They came out beautifully, btw. And the kiddo was very excited on Tuesday and then again today when I gave her another one. This recipe is definitely a keeper.
So glad you enjoyed them and that the recipe is a keeper, even with the kiddos!
These muffins are amazing! I am always disappointed in recipes (and end up changing the ingredients/measurements) but NOT this recipe. It is wonderful as is! Thanks for sharing!
Glad you were able to enjoy it, un-tweaked. I’m the worst changer and tweaker of recipes too, and I know how hard it is to just leave something alone, and glad you were okay just letting this one be!
I just made these and blogged about it last night! (http://burn-bright.com/2014/09/01/banana-zucchini-chocolate-chip-muffins/)
They are ooey gooey and delicious! I was wondering – Do you think adding oatmeal to this recipe would be too much? Or almond flour? Or halving the sugar that’s called for? I want to see if I can kick up the nutrition factor even more for the next batch I make (because there definitely will be another batch).
Thanks! :)
Vanessa
Sugar, that’s personal preference and the riper the banana, the more natural sugar/sweetness it will have.
I think you’d be better off doing a handful of oats than using almond flour (it’s made from nuts and so dense and heavy and these muffins with the banana/zuke are already dense enough).
These look amazing! This would be my first time baking with zucchini, so I was just wondering if you cook the zucchini first and how you shred it — Food processor or just with a fork? I am the queen of Pinterest fails, so I figured I’d suck it up and ask the dumb question! :) thanks in advance!
You don’t cook it first and it’s not necessary to dirty a food proc and actually you don’t get as good of results as with an old-fashioned grater like you’d use to grate cheese. You can zip through a zucchini in 30 seconds. They shred very easily & quickly! Enjoy!
Hi, I’m just wondering how many calories are in each zucchini banana chocolate chip muffin?! Look great! Thank you!
I haven’t calculated but feel free to plug the data into an online site that does that sort of thing.
Made these last night, just had one for breakfast..perfect!
So glad they were perfect for you!
SO good! Thanks for the delicious recipe. Also love making your oatmeal raisin cookies!!
Glad you loved these as well as the oatmeal raisin cookies :)
These are gorgeous Averie and of course, I LOVE that they are vegan!!! Zucchini is my favorite alltime veggie. I have only used it once in dessert, I created a raw, no-bake “Nutella” Zucchini Cream Pie Bars and absolutely none of my taste testers had a clue there was zucchini in them….I love fooling people, hahaa! :)
I love playing sneaky chef, too :) I mean it’s amazing I even ASKED my family, do you detect zucchini and they said no. The only thing obvi are the green flecks, but if you eat with your eyes closed (And I made them for taste-testing purposes) they all said no!
2292929852
just konning!!!!!
I love sneaking veggies in where I can! ;) Love these delicious little muffins!
I made one loaf and one mini loaf. No substitutions but I did add an extra banana (that was beyond ready to go) and no chocolate chips (didn’t have any otherwise definitely would have) and I think I would cut the sugar down a little next time. Super moist and delicious!
Super ripe bananas are usually very sweet comparatively so that’s probably why it was on the sweeter side – you used an extra banana, and a super ripe one at that. Glad you loved it and I totally agree that one loaf + one mini loaf is EASIER! If I wasn’t blogging about it, I’d have just made loaves but people tend to want muffin recipes :)
Yum! These pictures make these muffins pop! Love the healthy alternative here. Haha
julieblanner.com
Thanks for all the comments today, Julie!
Made these yesterday and kids enjoyed the. My kids love zucchini and are not fond of banana, so I just said they were zucchini muffins. Go figure. I put chips throughout and reduced sugar by 1/4 cup and forgot oil accidentally! Love your suite tots, too.
Glad that the kids enjoyed them, without oil and without mention of banana. Sounds like it all worked out :) Thanks for making these!
I love baking with zucchini and these muffins are just perfection Averie! Pinned!
These look great! Moist muffins are a total must. And they are so healthy too?! I also had zucchini to my pancakes sometimes – they are such a great ‘filler-outer’ and they are great leave so much more room for decadent toppings/dressings. I think I would double the chocolate chips though hehe.
By the way, how come all of these weird pop up windows come up on your site?! They are those suspicious kind flashing ads that don’t go away! (or advertise anything in particular?!)
I can’t wait to try these…
Oh wow I am sorry to hear you are seeing pop-ups, that’s not supposed to happen! I will bring it to the attention of my ad networks and hopefully get that taken care of asap!
These are soo good, Averie! I subbed the coconut oil with applesauce and they’re still extremely moist and flavorful. I do find them a bit too sweet personally, but I’m not surprised because I usually have to reduce the sugar in recipes. I didn’t this time since I already subbed the applesauce and didn’t want to go messing around with the recipe too much. I’ll definitely be making them again though and experiment with reducing the sugar. Thanks for the recipe :) Oh, I also topped them with fresh blueberries instead of chocolate chips. Mmmm…
Glad you enjoyed them and were able to get away with applesauce rather than oil and they still worked. That could have been what made them taste sweeter because applesauce is sweeter than coconut oil (which isn’t sweet at all) so that could have been it. Or you had a riper banana than mine and it was sweeter but reduce the sugar if you think that would be better. Glad you loved them!
Excellent, I love the flavor combinations you chose.
Dessertized vegetables are The best vegetables. Forks down. These muffins look fabulous!!
Adding these to my must-try soon list! So delicious!
What a fabulous treat to snack on!
Wow Averie these look great!! I love the mini choc chips :)
Baking with zucchini is practically a summer requirement! It is so fun and always so delicious. It adds moisture and texture, both key to good breads and muffins. Love the banana and zucchini combo! Pinned!
Thanks for pinning :)
I’d be tempted to add green food dye just to watch people’s eyes bugger out! GREG
I love your sense of humor :)
I love hiding my veggies with chocolate :) Pinning!: )
We think alike!! :) Thanks for the pin!
Baking with zucchini is definitely the best! I love that these also have chocolate in them! These look like the perfect breakfast :) Pinned!
Thanks for pinning, Chelsea!
i love the hints of green i see coming out of the muffin. The muffins look so moist and full of flavor. One of my favorite ways to use zucchini! Sometimes i like to add in grated carrot as well!
Oh gosh I actually have a banana bread recipe that’s lot like that, with carrots and pineapple https://www.averiecooks.com/2012/09/carrot-pineapple-banana-bread-with-browned-butter-cream-cheese-frosting.html no zucchini but you could add it.
I’ve never thought to do the banana zucchini combo but I’m sure I’d love it! I bet it makes these so soft and moist especially with the addition of coconut oil. They look amazing!
They were super soft and moist, yes! Thanks for the pins, too :)
I love cooking with zucchini in desserts. It’s a great way to trick the kids into eating their greens, plus they are so moist. Such healthy muffins…that means I can have more than 1!
That’s my logic as well! :)
2 of our neighbors brought us Zucchini this weekend. What a nice problem to have right? But what to do with it all! This recipe came in perfect time! Hoping to try it out sometime this week, will let you know how it goes.
I love zucchini everything and I’ve never thought of combining it with banana in muffins! I love the way you styled this too – with the little mini chocolate chips on top and the muffin cut in half, it looks super moist. Pinned.
They were so moist, Katy, and thanks for the styling compliments. I tried…I mean, it’s zucchini. And another banana muffin. What can you do, really? LOL Thanks for the pin, too!
Banana and zucchini in muffins and quick breads are one of my new favorite discoveries. You’re so right about the zucchini adding moisture — it’s almost like baking magic! And those chocolate chips on top… I’d be so tempted to pick them off one by one. And then do that with every single muffin in the batch. Chocolate chips? What chocolate chips? ;) Pinned!
LOL that’s how I feel about crumble topping (and mini chips!) too. Thanks for pinning, Amy!
Love that these are vegan! This post is perfectly time as I’m just at the end of a large stash of zucchini and was wondering what to do with it! :)
Not having zucchini plants this year has seriously curbed my style. I am in love with these!!!
I think I’m the only person who has to buy their zuke. No garden and no local friends’ with ‘an abundance’ so….I buy. Darn.
Oh man, I just used the last of my zucchini! I wish I had made these instead of just throwing it on a salad. Boohoo. :( My kids would really, really love them!
On darn, salad vs. muffins. Well, there’s always next time, right :) And thanks for the pin!
These muffins look so good, love the mini chip topping!
I love the moisture of zucchini breads (muffins) and they always tend to turn flawless on me! I’m curious to try this recipe with coconut oil, since I always use vegetable or olive oil, and yes, I never peel my zucchini just like you Averie :)
I love baking with coconut oil and rarely bake with regular anymore!
I don’t know why I never bake with zucchini since everyone raves about it. I’ll have to try it with these muffins for sure! Love that this recipe is one-bowl and doesn’t have any butter or eggs! Amazing. :)
Thanks, Beth, and I think you’ll love the results you get with zucchini!
I love how you used zucchini in this recipe! I’m a big zucchini fan and like how there are so many different ways you can use it in a dessert recipe. These muffins look amazing!
Perfect timing with gardens being zucchini-growing machines right now. And the chocolate chips being placed just so on top of these muffins – LOVE. You make sure that you get a chip in every bite that way. Because that’s the idea here, isn’t it?
I wish you and your garden were closer because I think I’m the only person who has to buy their zuke. No garden and no local friends’ with ‘an abundance’ so….I buy. And yes, chocolate in every bite :) ALWAYS
Definitely a great way to get some veggies for breakfast and snacking :) Looks delicious. Ever since I started baking with coconut oil in banana bread, I haven’t looked back!
Ever since I started baking with coconut oil in banana bread, I haven’t looked back! = ME TOO!
Zucchini is in full force right now and I love baking with it! These muffins look delicious–all my favorite ingredients and so convenient when the egg carton is empty. I like the little green flecks–reminds me I’m getting some extra veggies in!
Convenient when the egg carton is empty, love that and so true!
Love baking with zucchini! Great idea to combine it with banana too- fruit and veggies in one sweet little muffin? Pretty genius!
Fruit and veggies in one, you’re so right :)
I am totally missing out because I’ve never baked with zuchini! Can you believe it? I’ve always wanted to try and now that I have this delicious recipe (with bananas AND chocolate!), I think I have just the motivation that I need. These look delicious!
Ok you HAVE to! :)
Another great way to use up my abundance of zucchini. Thanks.
Pinning.
Have a great week Averie!
Thanks for pinning and good luck with your abundance :)
I was just coming to your site to find a zucchini bread recipe and I cracked up when the muffins appeared these will be perfect. I may have to make that pudding cake as well…I have so many zucchini!!!
NO WAY! What are the odds?! I’ve had this recipe saved for awhile because I just posted savory zuke last week but figured what the heck, I’ll post another one, at least it’s sweet! If you try these or that cake, LMK!
One bowl, no butter, no eggs? Love it. These looks delicious!
Amen, yes!
I love zucchini in baked goods–the fact that it’s a veggie is just icing on the cake … or, in this case, chocolate chips on the muffin!
Glad you’re a fan of it too!
Love all of those ingredients!! And these look so pretty with the mini chips!
Thanks for noticing those. They were the death of me. LOL They kept melting together and weren’t looking so pretty for the camera but I was like whatever, I’m posting these even if they’re a little melty!
Awesome! I made made (and enjoyed immensely) some of your muffins before, so I’m sure these will not disappoint!
Thanks for trying some of my other muffin recipes and glad you liked them!
I love baking with zucchini! You’re right–it totally makes baked goods so moist. And while my kids do eat lots of vegetables, zucchini is one they don’t care for. Unless, of course, it’s in the form of a muffin. :) And sprinkle some chocolate chips on top? They’d be pretty happy campers!
This is the perfect sneaky chef recipe because you can’t taste it and you can work in some extra veggies :)