These gluten-free zucchini muffins are naturally sweetened and full of goodness with oats, banana, applesauce and zucchini - great for a healthy school lunch or snack!
These muffins have ALL the good stuff!
They are 100% whole grain (and gluten-free) with zucchini, applesauce and bananas, plus they are naturally sweetened with honey.
Completely wholesome. Completely delicious.
And they are peanut-free so I can send them to preschool for lunch for my kids, who go to a peanut-free facility.
(I have little muffin munchkins! You can check out all of our healthy muffin recipes if you want more inspiration.)
If you need them totally nut-free, just leave out the walnuts. No biggie.
I made these gluten-free zucchini muffins most recently for two new moms in my life.
Both are second-time moms, with toddlers to care for, so I wanted to take them foods that would be good for the whole family.
It’s hard that second time around, when you don’t get to rest as much.
There’s no napping when the baby naps if you have a toddler or preschooler tearing around, demanding every bit of extra attention and affection.
Plus, they still must eat. You can tell your partner to figure it out for themselves, but a 2-year-old?
Gotta feed ‘em.
Multiple times a day.
So I took my friends these muffins (along with some other dinner-type meals).
I gave each mom half the batch and wrapped half of the muffins in foil so they could have some for now and stick the extras right into the freezer. (Part of my tips for visiting new moms - make it easy on them!)
One told me the extras never made it to the freezer! Guess I’ll just have to send her home with some more!
Now, I’ve got some notes and substitutions coming up for this recipe. Just tryin’ to be helpful.
If you want to jump on down to the recipe, simply scroll right on through the rest of the text. The recipe card is near the bottom of the page, above the comments section.
I’ve got some notes and tips coming up below on how to make gluten free zucchini muffins. Just tryin’ to be helpful.
If you want to jump on down to the recipe, simply scroll right on through the rest of the text. The recipe card is near the bottom of the page, above the comments section.
Recipe Notes:
- Oats: I use old-fashioned rolled oats in this recipe. (Make sure yours are certified gluten-free if that's needed.) You could also use quick oats but I don't recommend steel cut oats. They won't soften enough as they bake.
- Zucchini: Make sure to squeeze the extra water out of your grated zucchini so the extra moisture doesn't mess up your muffins.
- Baking: These don't rise very much, not like regular muffins, so don't expect a rounded top.
- Add-ins: You could also add in some raisins, dried cranberries or chocolate chips for this recipe as a fun extra.
These are dairy-free as is, as long as you choose soy milk or almond milk. I have done that plenty of times because my daughter had a cow's milk allergy that she just recently outgrew.
Want to make these vegan? Very do-able.
How to make vegan zucchini muffins:
- Sub two flax eggs for the eggs in this recipe.
- Use soy milk or almond milk.
- Sub agave nectar or maple syrup for the honey as the sweetener.
Easy, easy!
And finally, what to do with the extras!
Storage Tips:
- These muffins will keep at room temperature for 2 days. After that, as with all baked recipes that have banana in them, I recommend you move them to the refrigerator. The muffins will keep there for another 2-3 days.
- You can also freeze the extras. Let your muffins cool completely then wrap each one in a strip of aluminum foil. (You can skip this part but it does help protect against freezer burn.) Place them in a freezer-safe ziptop bag (that’s labeled!) and freeze for up to 6 months.
- You can thaw the muffins in the fridge overnight and then rewarm in the microwave for 15-20 seconds. Or just go from freezer to microwave and start with 30 seconds, adding an additional 15 seconds as needed.
Get a taste of fall with these feel-good harvest gluten-free zucchini muffins.
Enjoy!
XO,
Kathryn
P.S. Check out my other healthy oatmeal recipes and healthy fall baking recipes for more baking fun! And tag me on Instagram when you make any of these recipes - I love to see your creations!
Harvest Zucchini Muffins
Ingredients
- 3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
- ¼ cup walnuts, finely chopped (optional)
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 3 ripe bananas
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ cup honey (see notes)
- 2 small zucchini, grated and excess water squeezed out
- ½ cup unsweetened applesauce
- ½ cup milk of choice
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375. Prepare muffin tins by filling each muffin cup with a paper liner and spraying with nonstick spray.
- Mix the dry ingredients (oats through salt) together in a large bowl.
- Separately, mash the bananas and mix the remaining wet ingredients in a small bowl (bananas through vanilla extract). Stir until well combined.
- Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until well-combined.
- Spoon the mixture into the prepared muffin tin, filling each cup almost to the top.
- Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
GiGi Eats
I need to throw some zucchini in my baked goods! I have been seeing this everywhere! 😀
Kathryn
Get on it, girl! Really helps baked good stay light and moist, plus some added veggies never hurt. 😉 Have a great weekend!
kiran
jaiswaminarayan
can we make without egg, harvest zucchini muffins.
Kathryn
Hi Kiran! I haven't tried it, but I'm sure you could substitute a flax egg here. Hope you try them!
Susan
My muffins taste great but sorts fell apart. I don't usually use papers just spray the tin for muffins, with good results.Do you think that made the difference in their stability?
Kathryn
Hi Susan! I use papers AND cooking spray, which I think helps prevent them from sticking, especially since they're low-fat. I also think it helps to let them cool before removing and eating - helps them set up a bit more. Hope those tips help!
J at A Hot Southern Mess
These muffins look and sounds delicious! And on top of all of that... they are healthy! Thanks for sharing!
Kathryn
We ate them up! Thanks for stopping by 🙂 And cheers to a good week ahead!
Alli @ Tornadough Alli
Yum Kathryn these look great! I've just recently started baking with zucchini and I love it! These look awesome, I love myself a muffin and will for sure be giving these a try! Thanks for sharing at #ThrowbackThursday and hope to see you this week!
Kathryn
Thanks Alli! These are really tasty - hope you enjoy! And I will definitely be back... thanks for hosting such an awesome party!
Lauren @ Create Bake Make
You are such a lovely friend! I wish I had a batch of these sitting in my freezer when we bought our second little man home, they would have been perfect to bribe our then 16mth old with!! Thanks for linking up with us for Fabulous Foodie Fridays, have a lovely weekend 🙂
Kathryn
Thanks Lauren! It's nice to have a little bribe for that first child when all of a sudden there's a baby to be dealt with 😉 Hope you're having a great weekend! XO
Betty Domal
Instructions for freezing, please.
Thank you.
Kathryn
Hi Betty! I always freeze muffins the same way - I wrap each one individually in a piece of aluminum foil and then I place the wrapped muffins in a Ziploc freezer bag (that has been labeled). You can take them out individually and move to the refrigerator overnight to defrost, or pop them straight from the freezer into the microwave. (Start with 20 seconds and add 10 seconds until they are defrosted.)
Betty Domal
Thanks. Will probably make these soon. As it's just me I will keep out a couple & freeze the rest so I can have a muffin any time. They sound so good.
Darillyn Patterson
I'm wondering if maple syrup could be used in place of honey and if coconut milk (canned) could be used for the milk.
Kathryn
Hi! Yes, you can definitely sub maple syrup for the honey and I think coconut milk should work too. Would love to hear if you try it!
Jean Shouse
Can these be made as mini muffins and, if so, how long would you bake them
Kathryn
Hi Jean! I haven't tried them as mini muffins but I think that should work just fine! I usually bake mini-sized muffins for about 15-18 minutes. Hope that helps!
Wanda
What can i use in place of applesauce?
Kathryn
Hi Wanda! You can use canola/vegetable oil in place of the applesauce if you'd like. You could also try coconut oil or butter (melted). Hope that helps!
Wanda
Hi Kathryn, thanks for the reply.
The recipe calls for 1/2 cup applesauce, so I'll replace it with 1/2 cup oil of choice?
Love your recipes.
Kathryn
Aww, thanks Wanda! And yes, it would be a 1:1 substitution so use 1/2 cup of the oil. Hope you love them!
lauren
Hi! This looks lovely! I'm not sure about the right amount of zucchini, though. How big are "small" zucchini? My husband recently brought home a giant zucchini that I'd like to use. (More to the point, how many grams should I use?)
Kathryn
Hi Lauren! You'll want to end up with about 2/3 to 3/4 cup of grated zucchini AFTER you have squeezed the water out and it's in a packed ball. Hope that helps and hope you love these muffins!
Gayle
These were better the second day but are way too wet. I would have preferred a more exact measurement of zucchini and bananas as with the inexact amount, who knows if I got it right. I was not happy with the final product and they had to bake way longer to dry them out enough with all the moisture. These seem more like oatmeal in a muffin tin than a muffin. In order to make them more palatable, I would have to tinker too much with ingredients and am not inclined to do so. Won't save and use this recipe again.
Kathryn
I'm really sorry these didn't turn out for you Gayle. I've made them multiple times without any trouble so I'm not sure what went wrong but I know that's frustrating.
Gayle
Probably bigger bananas than what you used and maybe bigger zukes too. I loved that this was such a healthy recipe but wish the zucchini and bananas had had at least an approximate cup measurement. That would have helped, I think.