Fuel your morning with these easy keto zucchini muffins. Moist and tender, with a hint of warm spice, they’re a perfect quick breakfast or a grab-and-go snack. You won’t believe that anything made with coconut flour can be this light, fluffy, and delicious.
Don’t be intimidated by baking with coconut flour, it’s far easier than you think. And making a batch of these keto muffins will help you get the hang of it!
One reader says…
“I made these last night to go with our frittata. They were delicious. It was the first time I have made anything with just coconut flour….won’t be the last time..Thank you, Carolyn, for this wonderful recipe and for all your hard work developing recipes so we can make deliciousness all the time.” — Jennifer
I love the moisture and tenderness that zucchini adds to baked goods. And in the summer, I am well known to bake multiple batches of Keto Zucchini Bread or Keto Chocolate Zucchini Cake.
I grow my own zucchini and by mid-July, we are usually drowning in the stuff. I give as much of it away as I can, but we find ourselves eating it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. So any delicious recipes I can make with it help the cause tremendously.
This easy zucchini muffin recipe has long been one of my favorites. And they always get devoured when I make them!
Why we love this recipe
- Super easy: The batter comes together quickly, no mixer required.
- Moist and fluffy: Many people think coconut flour is too dry, but zucchini keeps the muffins moist and tender.
- Comforting flavor: Remember the cinnamon-scented baked goods your mom used to make? These muffins smell and taste divine!
- Nut-free option: I like the crunch of walnuts in my muffins, but you can skip them and make these entirely nut-free.
- Low in carbs and gluten-free: Each muffin has only 5 grams total carbs.
- Great for meal prep: You can make a big batch and freeze them for whenever you need a quick breakfast or snack.
Ingredient Notes
- Zucchini: You can’t have zucchini muffins without zucchini!
- Coconut flour: I love using coconut flour for this recipe. It makes them low in carbs and high in fiber.
- Sweetener: A brown sugar replacement brings out that special zucchini bread flavor.
- Protein powder: Just a little whey or egg white protein helps give them a lighter, fluffier consistency.
- Melted butter: You could also use avocado oil or coconut oil.
- Chopped nuts: You don’t have to add chopped nuts but they give the muffins some delicious texture. Use walnuts, pecans, or even chocolate chips!
- Spices: Warm spices like cinnamon and cloves (or nutmeg) add a comforting flavor to these muffins.
- Pantry staples: Eggs, baking powder, ginger, cloves, cinnamon and salt.
Overview: How to Make This Recipe
- Shred and salt the zucchini: You can do this in a food processor or on a box grater. 2 cups of shredded zucchini is about 1 medium zucchini. Let the salted zucchini sit in a sieve in the sink for at least an hour to release the water.
- Squeeze the heck out of it! Some people put it into a dish towel and squeeze the water out this way. I don’t like to dirty a dish towel so I press on it over and over in the sieve. Then I ball it all up in my hands and keep squeezing as the green juice runs out into the sink.
- Prepare the muffin batter: Whisk together all the dry ingredients first. Then add the zucchini and the wet ingredients and mix well. Add just enough water so that the batter is isn’t too thick, and is easily scooped into the muffin cups. It shouldn’t be pourable.
- Add any extras: Stir in chopped nuts after it’s all mixed. Or try sugar-free chocolate chips instead! My kids love them that way.
- Bake the muffins: Divide between muffins cups, bake, and enjoy! They are oh so good with a smear of butter.
Tips for Success
Coconut flour might just be one of the strangest ingredients you will ever use. It requires plenty of eggs to have structure, and it can absorb liquids with astonishingly alacrity. The trickiest part about it is that different brands can differ in absorbency, so you have to be ready to adjust.
That’s why this recipe doesn’t specify an exact amount of water to add. It will depend on your coconut flour and how well you squeeze the zucchini. Make sure you read the visual and tactile cues in the recipe.
Sweetener Options
In a recipe like this, I recommend an erythritol based sweetener. Allulose can cause the muffins to become overly brown during baking. If you want to cut down on erythritol, try using some high intensity sweeteners like stevia or monk fruit extract.
Frequently Asked Questions
Zucchini is an excellent choice for keto and low carb diets. According to the USDA database, 100 grams of zucchini has only 3.1 grams of carbs and 1 gram of fiber. This recipe uses a medium zucchini, which is about 196 grams, so it adds only 6 grams of carbs to the entire recipe or 0.5 grams to each muffin.
These keto muffins keep well on the counter in a covered container for up to 4 days. They can also be stored in the fridge for up to 7 days. They also freeze very well, as long as you let them cool properly first.
This keto zucchini muffin recipe has 5.2g of carbs and 2.8g of fiber per serving. If you count net carbs, that comes to 2.4g net carbs per muffin.
Keto Zucchini Muffins Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups (196 g) shredded zucchini , about 1 medium zucchini (196g)
- 2/3 cup (71 g) coconut flour, (71g)
- 1/2 cup (91 g) brown sugar replacement
- 1/3 cup (36 g) unflavored whey protein powder, or egg white protein
- 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp (0.25 tsp) salt
- 1/8 tsp (0.13 tsp) cloves
- 5 large (5) eggs
- 1/3 cup (75.67 g) butter, melted, or melted coconut oil
- 3 to 4 tbsp (3 tbsp) water
- 1/2 cup (118.29 g) chopped walnuts or pecans , or chocolate chips!
Instructions
- Set the shredded zucchini in a sieve in the sink and sprinkle lightly with salt. Let drain one hour, then squeeze as much liquid from the zucchini as possible.
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF and line a muffin tin with 12 parchment or silicone liners.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the coconut flour, sweetener, protein powder, baking powder, spices, and salt.
- Stir in the zucchini, eggs, butter, and 3 tablespoons of the water. Add additional water if the batter is overly thick. It should be easily scoopable but not pourable.
- Stir in the nuts, if using. Divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups and bake about 25 minutes, until the tops are lightly browned and firm to the touch.
- Remove and let cool in the pan.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers. It is calculated using MacGourmet software and I remove erythritol from the final carb count and net carb count, as it does not affect my own blood glucose levels. I do my best to be as accurate as possible but you should independently calculate nutritional information on your own before relying on them. I expressly disclaim any and all liability of any kind with respect to any act or omission wholly or in part in reliance on anything contained in this website.
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I’ve been following your blog for a couple of years now and have wanted to make these muffins for some time. I finally, finally baked them yesterday.
Wow–They, and you, are amazing!! No one would believe they’re LC, sugar- and gluten-free. I love your rhubarb scones, but these are even better.
As a kid, my younger daughter always requested a zucchini chocolate birthday cake. I think I’ll tweak this recipe to create zucchini-chocolate muffins.
Thank you, Carolyn!
Do you have to use yogurt?
You have to use some sort of thick creamy liquid.
I’ve just run out of the banana choc chip muffins I made for my son’s packed lunch at kindergarten. My next batch of bananas are not yet ripe enough to make another batch… so I’m going to make these instead, subbing choc chips for the walnuts. Thanks!
Sounds good to me!
These muffins are fantastic! I’ve been grain and sugar free for about 6 months, and these are the lightest muffins I’ve had. They tasted like a “real” muffin with flour and dare I say–sugar! Definitely a keeper! Thanks for sharing.
These muffins are AMAZING. I’ve made a couple of your muffins, Carolyn, and although all are delicious, these are my favorites by far (and my fiance agrees). They are perfectly spicy and moist and I really doubt anyone could tell these are gluten-free and low-carb. Now the trouble is not eating the entire batch at once…
As many times as I have read through this recipe, I can’t see the soy flour in the ingredients, just in the instructions, so I don’t know how much to add. And with the resoundingly positive comments, I want to try these!
I was in the process of updating the recipe so it’s no longer in either the instructions or the ingredients.
I did not have any soy flour and I try not to eat soy so I put in gluten free flour. I also used pecans instead of walnuts. These muffins are awesome. You can’t just eat one! Thanks for the recipe
Going to try these with Stevia in the raw, that is all I have. Think it will be ok?
That should be fine.
These are wonderful. Just wanted you to know. Thank you!!
I have the green ntea bread cooking right now! Would like to make these zucchini muffins but need a substitute as I can’t have soy. Any suggestions? If I used coconut flour would I need to add more liquid or could I just up the whey and almond flour to make up the difference?
Yum, these turned out quite good!
Just to clarify my above comment, since the ingredient portions are all out of whack–I made a triple batch, hence my measurements differing from Carolyn's. These are still the best low carb muffins I've ever had. I'm making a cranberry version today–can't wait till they come out of the oven!
Hey girl! Linking back to these yummy muffins on Monday 🙂 Have a great weekend!
I finally made these today. My only regret is that I didn't make them sooner! They are absolutely delicious–the best low-carb muffins I've made. I made a triple batch, and I substituted 5 T. Coconut flour for the 1 1/2 c. Soy flour. I also used a half tsp. NuNaturals pure Stevia extract, because I don't use liquid Stevia in my baking. I also accidentally ended up with a little less than the recommended 3/4 c. Coconut oil but it seemed to turn out fine. 28 minutes baking time was perfect for them. They did not get the rounded nicely-risen tops in your pictures, but I'm perfectly fine with that. Fabulous recipe!
Thanks, Carolyn! I will definitely try this very soon and let you know how it goes!
Maria
Hi Peepers. Yes my carb counts are already with erythritol subtracted, as I 've found it has no effect on my blood sugar whatsoever.