You will love these easy zucchini muffins with applesauce because they’re quick to make, moist, and fluffy! A great way to get your veggies in (without even tasting them!) for breakfast or as a snack.
Zucchini baked goods are a MUST towards the end of summer when zucchinis are so abundant that you don’t quite know what to do with all of it. Double chocolate zucchini muffins, whole wheat zucchini bread, and these applesauce zucchini muffins are on a heavy rotation when it’s zucchini season!
This recipe for zucchini muffins with applesauce is a lovely version of a simple spice muffin that just so happens to have veggies in it.
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Why You’ll Love This Zucchini Muffin Recipe
Level of difficulty: Easy.
Flavor & Texture: The spices shine through in this simple muffin recipe… don’t worry, you can’t taste the zucchini!
Time: It will take you approximately 35 minutes to prepare this easy zucchini muffin recipe. This does not include cooling time…but I’ll be the first to admit that I can’t help but dive once they’re out of the oven and moved over to the cooling rack.
Ingredients Needed
- Large eggs
- Neutral oil (canola oil or vegetable oil)
- Granulated sugar
- Unsweetened applesauce
- Vanilla extract
- Zucchini
- Ground cinnamon
- Ground nutmeg
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Salt
- All-purpose flour
- Coarse sugar for topping (turbinado sugar)
BAKING TIP: Using room temperature eggs is often suggested for baking because the eggs will incorporate into the softened butter easier. This results in a smooth, uniform batter. If you’re setting your eggs out on the counter to bring them up to room temperature, the standard rule of thumb is to set them out for at least 30 minutes prior to using them.
See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Recipe Variations and Substitutions
- Add some mix-ins! This applesauce zucchini muffin recipe can accommodate up to 1 cup of mix-ins, so have some fun with it!
- Make zucchini chocolate chip muffins by adding your favorite chocolate chips!
- Try adding chopped walnuts or pecans for a zucchini nut muffin.
- My personal favorite is a combination, adding ½ cup chocolate chips and ½ cup of chopped walnuts! SO YUMMY.
- Mix in rolled oats for some nice texture and added fiber. I would recommend using ½ cup if choosing to add oats to your zucchini muffins.
- I’ve also seen recommendations for craisins, raisins, or currents if you’d like to add dried fruit to your zucchini muffins.
- Add a glaze instead of the turbinado sugar: If you’d prefer to have a glazed muffin, skip sprinkling the muffins with turbinado sugar before baking. Instead, once the muffins are cooled, add a simple glaze. Plain or lemon would both be lovely on these applesauce zucchini muffins! To make a simple glaze for your muffins, whisk together 1 cup of powdered sugar with 2-3 teaspoons of liquid until a smooth glaze is formed.
- Using water with a tiny splash of vanilla makes a quick vanilla glaze.
- For a lemon glaze, use fresh-squeezed lemon juice. Option to add some lemon zest into your glaze if desired (½-1 teaspoon would work well, but adjust the amount to your taste).
Step-By-Step Instructions
- Preheat the oven and prepare muffin tins. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare muffin tins by either lining with cupcake liners or spraying with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
- Combine wet ingredients: Whisk together the eggs, oil, sugar, applesauce, and vanilla extract. Then stir in the shredded zucchini.
- Add in dry ingredients: Slowly stir in the cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and flour. Stir until just combined, DO NOT overmix your batter (a few lumps are ok!).
- Scoop batter into prepared muffin tins: Divide batter between 12 standard sized muffin tins, filling the tins about ⅔ full.
- Top with turbinado sugar. Before putting the muffins into the oven, add a sprinkle of turbinado sugar on top of each muffin. This adds a nice texture and a little more sweetness to your muffins.
- Bake: Bake muffins for 20-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean (ok to have a few crumbs).
- Cool: Allow muffins to cool in the muffin tins for a few minutes and then move them to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Enjoy! Enjoy these muffins warm or cold. Option to slather with butter, or whatever other topping you may enjoy!
- Store leftovers: Store completely cooled muffins in an air-tight container. They can be stored at room temperature for up to 3 days, or in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Possible Dietary Restrictions?
These zucchini muffins with applesauce are vegetarian and dairy-free as written. One quick swap can make these into gluten free zucchini muffins or into vegan zucchini muffins!
- Using a 1-to-1 gluten free flour is a good option for making this into a gluten free zucchini muffin recipe! I’ve had success baking with this 1-to-1 gluten free flour, however, I have not used it specifically for this recipe.
- To alter these into zucchini vegan muffins, the eggs need to be replaced with a vegan-friendly substitute. If I were to do this, I would default to using 2 flax eggs to replace the 2 eggs in this recipe (2 tablespoon ground flax + 6 tablespoon water, mixed, and allowed to sit for about 5 minutes). I found this blog post helpful and interesting for vegan egg substitute ideas too!
Tips for Grating Zucchini
Grating zucchini for baking is easy with a few helpful tips!
- After washing your zucchini, cut off the rounded end and use the stem-end as a handle while grating.
- I recommend using a simple 3D, or box grater, to shred zucchinis for baking. I place my grater on a dinner plate, and while applying medium pressure, quickly move the zucchini up and down the grater, always keeping the zucchini touching the grater (it grates on the downward motion). The box grater keeps most of the zucchini pieces inside of it, and the plate is a simple surface to transfer your grated zucchini over to a measuring cup on and then to clean afterwards.
- Don’t select a super small grating size for zucchinis, they will turn to mush. I use the larger, circular holes on my box grater. Similar to what you might use for a block of hard cheese.
Expert Tips
There is no need to peel your zucchini before grating. The skin of a zucchini is soft and contains a lot of nutrients. There is no need to remove it for baking (or eating in general).
Do not blot or squeeze out the liquid from your shredded zucchini! The zucchini makes these muffins wonderfully moist. Removing the liquid after shredding the zucchini will result in dry muffins.
Do not overmix the batter. To get light and fluffy muffins, mix your batter until just combined. This is sometimes described as being to the point where the dry ingredients are moistened. A few lumps in your batter are ok! Overmixing develops the glutens within the flour which results in denser muffins.
Helpful Equipment
- Large Mixing Bowl
- Measuring Spoons
- Measuring Cups
- Box Grater
- Whisk
- Wooden Spoon
- Rubber Scraper
- Standard Size Muffin Tin
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Zucchini Muffins with Applesauce
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs
- ½ C neutral oil (canola or vegetable)
- ½ C unsweetened applesauce
- ½ C granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 C shredded zucchini (from approx. 3 medium zucchinis)
- 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 + ½ C all-purpose flour
- optional: turbinado sugar for topping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare muffin tins by either lining with cupcake liners or spraying with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
- Whisk together the eggs, oil, sugar, applesauce, and vanilla extract. Then stir in the shredded zucchini.
- Slowly stir in the cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and flour. Stir until just combined, DO NOT overmix your batter (a few lumps are ok!).
- Divide batter between 12 standard sized muffin tins, filling the tins about ⅔ full.
- Before putting the muffins into the oven, add a sprinkle of turbinado sugar on top of each muffin if desired. This adds a nice texture and a little more sweetness to your muffins.
- Bake muffins for 20-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean (ok to have a few crumbs).
- Allow muffins to cool in the muffin tins for a few minutes and then move them to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Enjoy these muffins warm or cold. Option to slather with butter, or whatever other topping you may enjoy!
- Store completely cooled muffins in an air-tight container. They can be stored at room temperature for up to 3 days, or in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Add some mix-ins! This applesauce zucchini muffin recipe can accommodate up to 1 cup of mix-ins, so have some fun with it!
- Make zucchini chocolate chip muffins by adding your favorite chocolate chips!
- Try adding chopped walnuts or pecans for a zucchini nut muffin.
- My personal favorite is a combination, adding ½ cup chocolate chips and ½ cup of chopped walnuts! SO YUMMY.
- Mix in rolled oats for some nice texture and added fiber. I would recommend using ½ cup if choosing to add oats to your zucchini muffins.
- I’ve also seen recommendations for craisins, raisins, or currents if you’d like to add dried fruit to your zucchini muffins.
- Add a glaze instead of the turbinado sugar: If you’d prefer to have a glazed muffin, skip sprinkling the muffins with turbinado sugar before baking. Instead, once the muffins are cooled, add a simple glaze. Plain or lemon would both be lovely on these applesauce zucchini muffins! To make a simple glaze for your muffins, whisk together 1 cup of powdered sugar with 2-3 teaspoons of liquid until a smooth glaze is formed.
- Using water with a tiny splash of vanilla makes a quick vanilla glaze.
- For a lemon glaze, use fresh-squeezed lemon juice. Option to add some lemon zest into your glaze if desired (½-1 teaspoon would work well, but adjust the amount to your taste).
Ñancy says
Can you freeze them?
Meredith says
Hi Nancy, yes, these should freeze well! To do so, ensure your muffins are fully cooled and then wrap them individually in plastic-wrap (aka saran wrap). Place them in a gallon-sized freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months. To thaw, remove individual muffins from the freezer and let them sit at room temperature for about 1 hour. You can also warm them up directly from the freezer, removing the plastic wrap and microwaving them for 15-30 seconds! Let me know how these go for you!
Vivienne says
Perfect way to use some of those garden fresh zukes! I like the add-in of pecans. Yum.
ourlovelanguageisfood says
Oooooh, the pecan add is a great choice! Thank you for making my recipe! 🙂
Lynne says
These muffins have been the perfect breakfast for my toddlers! They were simple to make and so delicious 🙂
ourlovelanguageisfood says
I’m so happy to hear your kiddos enjoyed them Lynne! Thank you so much for making these a part of your breakfast time 🙂
Bart says
Totally scrumptious. Moist and fluffy and delicious.
ourlovelanguageisfood says
So glad you enjoyed these zucchini muffins!