Apple Zucchini Muffins (in a Blender!)

These Cinnamon-Flavoured Zucchini Apple Muffins are cozy and filling and are made simply with oatmeal, grated zucchini, and chunks of apple.

Ever had the problem of too many zucchini? Since Alex and I have had an abundance of zucchini in the garden for years, we have created some great zucchini recipes to use up! And at the top of the list are our Zucchini Apple Muffins. They’re cozy and filling, flavored with cinnamon, and made with rolled oats: no flour at all! This makes them taste hearty and healthy – and they are naturally gluten-free. They’re just about sweet enough too: not a cupcake like many muffin recipes!

Alex and I just served these Apple Zucchini Muffins to our family over town and they were a smash hit! Our toddler Larson loves them for breakfast or as a snack with peanut butter. We’re using the bananas in his school meals so they’ll have plenty of playtime when they return to school! They freeze well, so we make a few batches and toss them in the freezer. Ready to start?

What’s so great about these Apple Zucchini Muffins?

This apple zucchini muffin recipe is inspired by our popular healthy banana bread muffins! Why are they so popular? Here are some features of this muffin concept that readers love:

• They are made with only rolled oats: no flour at all! This is what makes them hearty and healthy: it’s like eating a bowl of oatmeal! We like to serve them because it’s less of a “delicacy” and more of a hearty snack or breakfast.
• These are mixer muffins! This means that the batter is fully mixed in a mixer. This makes them easier than a standard muffin for some reason: maybe because the mess is included? Anyway, they are easy to prepare.

Want to make a more traditional muffin? Head to our best zucchini muffins instead. They are made with flour, Greek yogurt and turbinado sugar.

How to make zucchini apple muffins

Here’s the basic concept for making Apple Zucchini Muffins:

• Place eggs, rolled oats, neutral oil, sugar, vanilla extract, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, and grated zucchini in a blender. Mix until a paste forms.
• Add additional shredded zucchini and diced apples; gentle pulse
• Pour batter into muffin cases and sprinkle with additional oatmeal.
• Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 35 minutes. Let cool and enjoy! Store in the fridge for 1 week or freeze for several months.

Do you love oatmeal muffins? Try our Apple Oatmeal Muffins and Banana Oatmeal Muffins

Why is zucchini used in baking?

Shredded zucchini is used in baking because it adds moisture to baked goods. Most zucchini are made of water, so they disappear right into cakes, muffins, and breads, leaving the baked goods perfectly hydrated. One of our favorite recipes for using shredded zucchini comes in this favorite gluten-free chocolate cake.

Zucchini is often used as an oil substitute in baked goods as it contains far fewer calories than oil and is moisturizing! Because of this, these Zucchini Apple Muffins are relatively low in oil: just ¼ cup for 10 muffins. That’s just over a teaspoon of oil per muffin. Thank you, zucchini!

Note on the sweetener

This apple zucchini muffin recipe has a little more sugar than our banana muffin recipe, because you know what? The zucchini has no added sugar and the banana adds some natural sugar. Our banana muffin recipe included maple syrup as a natural sweetener. But for this muffin recipe, we went with all-sugar because the texture of the zucchini got a little gummy with the maple syrup alone.

As you may know if you bake a lot, sugar has unique properties that are structurally useful in baking. You can use any type of sugar you like for these zucchini muffins, including turbinado sugar or coconut sugar. We tried sweetening it just enough for your brain to say zucchini muffin, but not so much that it tastes like cupcake.

Do you want another apple muffin? Our Streusel Apple Muffins have a crunchy Streusel topping to die for.

More like zucchini

If you have too many zucchini on your hands, here are some zucchini recipes to use them up:

This Apple Zucchini Muffin Recipe is…

Vegetarian, gluten free and dairy free.