Peanut Butter Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
Posted Aug 17, 2017, Updated Sep 02, 2020
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Peanut Butter Chocolate Zucchini Muffins are the perfect breakfast! This recipe is grain-free, gluten-free, dairy-free has no refined sugar and is paleo-friendly! Plus they are loaded with protein, sneaky veggies and are freezer-friendly!
We have chocolate.
We have peanut butter.
AND we have sneaky veggies.
And we get to eat all three of them for breakfast! I think if there was such a thing as a “spirit recipe” these Peanut Butter Chocolate Zucchini Muffins would be mine.
I mean seriously! You all know that chocolate and peanut butter is my all-time favorite flavor combination {see here, here, here here, and here and just about everywhere on this blog}!
You also know that I have the habit of sneaking veggies into just about everything {don’t believe me, click here, there, anywhere}! AND that breakfast is my absolute favorite meal of the day! Sooo…if you’re anything like me, then these gluten-free Chocolate Zucchini Muffins recipe will quickly become your new favorite morning meal!
Not only do I thoroughly enjoy every bite of these beauties, but my kids really go crazy for them! Sometimes they prefer their muffins slathered with nut butter or sprinkled with cinnamon sugar, but these Peanut Butter Chocolate Zucchini Muffins stand on their own!
My son was SO disappointed when the last one was eaten that we made another batch right away! They really taste amazing {like a brownie in muffin form} and a perfect texture! Plus they’re grain-free, refined sugar free, dairy free AND paleo-friendly! Seriously so much to love!
How do you make Peanut Butter Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
1. Use a Vitamix (or other high-powered blender)
As always when I make sneaky veggie recipes I combine the wet ingredients in the Vitamix. This ensures that the zucchini is completely undetectable {as you can see from the pictures}, which is an absolute must in my house! However I have to pause to tell you something hilarious…I have trained my kids to think that zucchini is a necessary ingredient in muffins! LOL!
I’m totally not kidding either. Even though they can’t see it they know it’s there. And whenever they see me pull out zucchini they get excited! Or when we run out of muffins they will rush to the freezer, grab some shredded zucchini, and put it on the counter to remind me to make more! Dear Vitmaix, I love you for making it so easy to feed my kids veggies! 😉
Peanut Butter Chocolate Zucchini Muffins: Substituions
As always I recommend making these muffins as written! But here are a few potential substitutions!
- Coconut oil. Butter or ghee can be used in place of the coconut oil!
- Peanut Butter. If you choose to use another nut or seed butter {which is totally acceptable…I guess} 😉 you may need to make some adjustments. I use this peanut butter and it’s very runny and smooth. So if you use a firmer nut/seed butter you might need to increase the amount of coconut oil or liquid sweetener by 1-2 TBS or add 1-2 TBS almond milk! Using almond, cashew or sunflower seed butter makes these muffins paleo-friendly!
- Coconut sugar. Any granulated sweetener can be used in place of coconut sugar. Just be sure it complies with your dietary needs!
- And that’s it! Please don’t tamper with the amount or type of flour. Both coconut flour and almond flour have very unique properties so please do not make any substitutions!
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Peanut Butter Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 large overripe bananas about 1 cup, mashed
- 1 cup zucchini shredded
- ¼ cup coconut oil melted
- ¼ cup creamy peanut butter
- 2 TBS maple Syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 eggs lightly beaten
- ¼ cup of coconut flour
- ¼ cup almond flour
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
- 2 TBS coconut sugar
- ½ teaspoon of baking powder
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ½ cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a standard 12-cup muffin tin (line if desired). Set aside.
- Combine coconut flour, almond flour, cocoa powder, coconut sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl. Set aside.
- In a large, glass mixing bowl (or on a stovetop over low heat) melt together coconut oil and peanut butter (for about 1 minute on high), stir until combined.
- Put the zucchini and mashed banana into the container of your Vitamix blender. Blend until smooth (about 15-30 seconds)
- Add the melted peanut butter/coconut oil mixture, maple syrup and vanilla and blend until smooth.
- Add eggs and blend until just combined.
- Pour wet ingredients from the Vitamix into the bowl with the dry ingredients. Stir until completely combined.
- Gently mix in chocolate chips.
- Pour about ¼ cup batter into each prepared muffin well until all the batter is used.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, until top is set and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes before gently removing each muffing from the pan to a wire rack to cool.
- Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
How do you feel about muffins in your house?! We live on muffins! I can’t seem to keep them around because they get eaten as fast as I can bake them!
Question: What would be your ideal muffin flavor combination?! I would love suggestions from you to make your spirit muffin! 😉
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I’ve made these twice now. Very yummy. I left out the maple syrup each time because we try to eat less sweet things. But if I didn’t have coconut sugar, I’d leave it out and use the maple syrup. I added some beetroot powder, I think about a tablespoon, just to add more nutrition. Thank you for such a healthy delicious recipe!
How long do these keep for in the freezer? Do you do anything special to pack them for freezing
They will keep for up to 2 months in the freezer (if they last that long). I always flash-freeze them on a baking sheet, then transfer the frozen muffins to a ziplock back. If you think it will be a while before you finish a batch, I do recommend wrapping them in plastic wrap or foil and then putting them in an airtight container in the freezer.
sooo many good recipes, thank you for all of them! I can’t decide if I want to try this first or the breakfast cookies. probably this because…peanut butter! I have a question re the zucchini. If it goes in a blender, do I have to shred it beforehand? Do you shred in order to squeeze out the water or can I just chop it into smaller pieces, go by weight and let the blender do the rest?
Hey! You do not have to shred the zucchini before adding it to the blender, I often do exactly what you described! I shred it in order to get an accurate measurement to ensure that the recipe turns out well for my readers! I do not squeeze out the water when using fresh zucchini!
Thank you for the quick response. I can’t wait to try it!
These look awesome and delicious! Can’t wait to try them but is it possible to replace the eggs with vegan eggs (flax or chia)?
What brand of peanut butter do you use? I’ve been looking for one that’s this runny!
I LOVE Crazy Richards! If you have a Trader Joe’s near you their creamy salted peanut butter (with an orange label) is also delicious!