Healthy keto zucchini muffins packed with shredded zucchini, cinnamon, and heart-healthy walnuts. They’re made with coconut flour, so they make perfect low carb breakfast recipe. Don’t be intimidated by baking with coconut flour, it’s easy!
This recipe for keto zucchini muffins is an updated version of an older post. They are lighter, fluffier, and even lower in carbs! They’re made with coconut flour but if you would prefer to make them with almond flour, I’ve preserved the older recipe at the bottom of this post.
NOTE: The story below is from a long time ago. I am now over-run with zucchini and I couldn’t be happier! I have so much zucchini and so many delicious keto zucchini recipes. Be sure to check out my Cheesy Zucchini Casserole for a delicious savory side dish. And if you’re looking for something sweet, try my low carb Chocolate Zucchini Cake.
Got Zucchini?
At this time of year, you see a lot of zucchini recipes. People with gardens are over-run with zucchini and eager to use them up. They start putting zucchini in everything from soup to cake in a desperate attempt to keep up the the over-productive plants, and many gardeners come to resent the lowly squash.
That’s what they say, anyway – I wouldn’t know. You want to know how much zucchini we got out of our garden this year? One. One single zucchini. We planted 6 plants and we got one single zucchini. I don’t know if it’s because our soil is too sandy, or they weren’t getting enough sunlight.
Or it may be that the volunteer pumpkin plant that sprung out of the compost we spread on the soil in early spring has now taken over the entire garden and sucked up all the nutrients in its quest for life. Whatever it is, we are decidedly not among the gardeners over-run with zucchini.
Zucchini is an ideal vegetable for diabetics
I have to confess, I am more than a little disappointed. I love zucchini and it is an ideal vegetable for diabetics, being low in carbs but packed with nutrients. I’ve been buying some every week at the farmer’s market from the moment in came in season.
My husband and I enjoy it in many dishes, in stir-fries and soups, and I love sauteing it in some coconut oil for an easy side dish. I can’t really get my kids to eat it unless I bake it into muffins and cakes, but it’s wonderful that way too. It lends moistness to all sorts of baked goods, and it certainly ups the health quotient of these treats.
So, even though I have not been able to harvest much zucchini from my garden, I thought I should offer up a good low carb, gluten free zucchini recipe. It’s that time of year and even though I am not over-run by zucchini, YOU might be, and might be desperate for yet another way to use it. And this easy keto zucchini muffin recipe is a great way to
How To Make Keto Zucchini Muffins
- Shred that zucchini. You can do it in a food processor or on a box grater. Either way works. 2 cups of shredded zucchini is about 1 medium zucchini.
- Salt it and drain it well. You want to let it sit in a sieve in the sink for at least an hour.
- Squeeze the heck out of it! Some people put it into a dish towel and squeeze it 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.
- Whisk together all your dry ingredients first. Then add the zucchini and the wet ingredients, the eggs and oil, etc. You can add them all at once, it doesn’t need to be whisked separately and then poured in. Just be sure to mix well.
- Stir in chopped nuts after it’s all mixed. Or try sugar-free chocolate chips instead! My kids love them that way.
- Divide between muffins cups, bake, and enjoy! They are oh so good with a smear of butter.
Hungry for more? Click here for all the best keto zucchini recipes!
Keto Zucchini Muffins with Coconut Flour
Ingredients
- 2 cups shredded zucchini about 1 medium zucchini (196g)
- ⅔ cup coconut flour (71g)
- ½ cup Swerve Sweetener
- ¼ cup unflavored whey protein powder or egg white protein
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ginger
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon cloves
- 6 large eggs
- ¼ cup butter, melted or melted coconut oil
- 3 to 4 tablespoon water
- ½ cup 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 350F 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. Add the zucchini, eggs, butter, and 3 tablespoon water. Add additional water if the batter is overly thick (low carb batters tend to be quite thick as it is. This should be 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.
Almond Flour Recipe for Keto Zucchini Muffins
2 cups shredded zucchini (about 1 medium zucchini)
½ teaspoon salt
2 cups almond flour
⅓ cup vanilla whey protein powder
⅓ cup erythritol
2 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
⅛ teaspoon salt
⅓ cup greek yogurt
2 large eggs
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon liquid stevia extract
¼ cup coconut oil, melted
¼ cup almond milk
½ cup chopped walnuts
Set shredded zucchini in fine mesh sieve and sprinkle with ½ teaspoon salt. Mix thoroughly and let drain for at least one hour. Place in tea towel and squeeze out excess water. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 325F and line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond flour, whey protein powder, granulated erythritol, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt.
In a large bowl, beat greek yogurt until smooth. Beat in eggs, shredded zucchini, vanilla and stevia until just combined. Beat in almond flour mixture in two additions, alternating with almond milk, and then beat in coconut oil until thoroughly combined.
Stir in walnuts and divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups. Bake 28 to 32 minutes, or until lightly browned on top and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
Let cool in pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Serves 12. Each muffin has 6.3g of carbs and 2.5g of fiber. Total NET CARBS = 3.8g.
Roxana GreenGirl says
So sorry to hear about your zucchini plants. Think positive, at least you have more than I had. My plants were eaten by deers, didn't get a chance to bloom!
The muffins look great, love the addition of spices!
Thanks for sharing Carolyn 🙂
Charlie says
I made zucchini muffins for the first time this summer and LOVED it! Yours look delicious :).
Peggy says
At least you got something out of your garden! The squirrels practically ate my entire garden – every time I would get excited about sprouting – they'd be gone the next day! Extremely frustrating!
These muffins sound delicious and the walnuts and spice make them perfect for early fall =)
Laurie says
Hi Carolyn, thanks for the great recipe. I made your muffins, only I substituted apples for the zucchini. They came out great! Details and pics here on my blog.
Divya says
Hi Carolyn!
It's been a while since I had a chance to drop by. I was on vacation in India for 3 weeks so didn't really have regular access to the net. First of all, I'm LOVING the new website look! When did you change it?
Love this recipe too. I'm always trying to consume more veggies and this sound like the perfect way to do it :).
Cookin' Canuck says
I'm sorry about your zucchini plants – that can be so frustrating. These muffins sound like the perfect way to use that lone zucchini.
Alison @ Ingredients, Inc. says
love these! Sharing this on my facebook fan page today
Shulie says
Low carb and gluten fre, how about that?! Love that you harvested the zucchini from your garden. The muffins look picture perfect!
briarrose says
I wish I had more zucchini this year. Wonderful, hearty recipe. I love muffins that tide me over nicely.
Joanne says
Wonderful recipe. I like the addition of protein powder in the recipe for extra protein boost to start the day.
Jeanette says
Love how healthy these muffins are – my kids aren't crazy about zucchini either, but disguised in a muffin or quick bread, they would have these for breakfast.
Lauren at Keep It Sweet says
For some reason I've never done any baking with zucchini but I really should. Your muffins look great, glad they turned out so well!
Nicole @ Bake Me Blush says
I'm sorry about your zucchini troubles 🙁 There's always next year! Your zucchini muffins look really tasty and satisfying, plus I love those beautiful liners you paired them with in your photo. I really like that these have added protein as I've been trying to get more in lately–these would be great to carry me through to the next meal!
Carolyn says
Hi Catherine…feel free to replace the soy flour with more almond, or with coconut (but definitely less of it! Probably only about 1/4 cup coconut flour). But be sure to squeeze out your zucchini VERY well, and I'd suggest holding back on the almond milk until you see how the batter comes together. I used soy mostly because I have a package I want to finish off, and I thought the zucchini might make things so moist that I needed something a bit drier than almond flour.
I REALLY need to get a comment form where i can directly respond to the commenter. I hope you see this!
Treat and Trick says
Healthy combo and looks fantastic! Wish I can taste them now. Thanks for the buzz dear…
Anne@frommysweetheart says
I just love zucchini in baking! It makes everything so moist! I'll take a dozen of these delicious gems!
Kari says
I love zucchini in baked goods, but am not such a fan of it on its own. I've never tried growing it either, but I'm sorry your crop didn't provide more edible output! These muffins look like they would have been a noble end for the 1 you did end up with though.
sweetpeaskitchen.com says
Oh no…only one zucchini?! That's too bad! These muffins look wonderful…such a great way to use up all of the zucchini we have! 🙂
Catherine H. says
I am excited to see this because I love zucchini muffins–I hate zucchini in any other form than baked goods, in fact. I was wondering if coconut, almond, oat, or buckwheat flour would substitute well for the soy flour. I avoid soy like the plague, so I was dismayed to see it in your recipe. I've been so grateful you don't use soy regularly, and I would love to make these mufins, as I have a huge zucchini from my CSA hanging out in my fridge. Do you perchance have any guidance for me?
Melissa says
Do you have to use protein powder???
Carolyn says
It helps baked goods rise and hold their shape in the absence of gluten.
Mary says
These will be going on my to-do list. I love to visit here . You've created a great spot for your readers to visit and I always enjoy the time I spent here. I hope you have a great day. Blessings…Mary