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An easy recipe for gluten-free zucchini muffins. This gluten-free breakfast recipe is also dairy-free.
Gluten-Free Zucchini Muffins
Gluten-Free Zucchini MuffinsMy family loves my gluten-free zucchini muffins! Even my pickiest child enjoys the cinnamon and brown sugar flavor of these zucchini muffins.
Making gluten-free zucchini muffins only takes a few simple ingredients. You can even add your favorite mix-ins into the muffins batter. Some popular ingredients to add to the zucchini muffin batter are chocolate chips, nuts, or raisins.
You can see just how easy these gluten-free muffins are to make in the recipe video.
How To Make Gluten-Free Zucchini Muffins
- Preheat your oven to 350°F.
- Line muffin pan with cupcake liners or gluten-free cooking spray.
- Shred one medium-sized zucchini with a shredder to equal 1 cup of shredded zucchini.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk the eggs together with the oil, sugar, brown sugar, and pure vanilla extract. (photo 1)
- Stir in the salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, gluten-free all-purpose flour.
- Stir in the shredded zucchini. (photo 2)
- Scoop the batter into baking cups lined/cooking sprayed muffin tin. I like to use a greased ice cream scoop. (photo 3)
- Bake on the center rack for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Please watch your zucchini muffins because all ovens are different.
- Allow the muffins to cool for a few minutes and then remove the muffins to a cooling rack. (photo 4)
- Store leftovers in an air-tight container.
Do You Keep Skin On The Zucchini?
Yes, I always keep the skin on the zucchini before I grate it. I really like seeing the green flecks of the zucchini in the muffins.
How Do You Grate The Zucchini?
- Leave the skin on the zucchini. Do not peel the zucchini before grating.
- The easiest way to grate a zucchini is to use a box grater. I really like the OXO Good Grips Box Grater.
- One medium-sized zucchini makes 1 cup of grated zucchini.
- Do not salt, pat, or squeeze out any of the liquid from the zucchini.
Can You Taste Zucchini In The Muffins?
The zucchini in the muffins are not really for the flavor but for adding moisture to the muffins. Zucchini is a really mild vegetable, so it adds a lot of moisture to the muffins without a vegetable flavor.
Are Zucchini Muffins Savory or Sweet?
These gluten-free zucchini are sweet muffins with the flavors of cinnamon and brown sugar.
Can I Freeze Zucchini Muffins?
Zucchini muffins can be easily frozen. Wrap the completely cooled muffins in plastic wrap or aluminum foil and then place them in a plastic freezer bag.
If you do not want to wrap each muffin, you can flash freeze the muffins first before putting them in the plastic freezer bag. To flash freeze the muffins, place the completely cooled muffins on a baking sheet in the freezer for 30 minutes or until completely frozen.
The muffins can be frozen for up to 3 months. Defrost the muffins in the refrigerator overnight or in the microwave.
Tips To Make The Best Gluten-Free Zucchini Muffins
- For uniformed-sized muffins, I always use a greased ice cream scoop. It makes it easy to get the perfect amount in the baking tins.
- I also use cupcake liners to keep the muffins from sticking to the pan.
- Allow the muffins to cool in the pan for a few minutes and then place the muffins on a cooling rack. This step will help keep your muffins from getting what I call “soggy bottoms”.
- Bake the muffins on the middle rack.
Gluten-Free Flour
These gluten-free zucchini muffins are made with Pillsbury gluten-free flour. It is an all-purpose, rice flour cup for cup blend. A cup-for-cup all-purpose gluten-free flour blend is one that already has the starches and xanthan gum.
I like Pillsbury gluten-free flour. Not all gluten-free flours are created equal. You may experience different baking results depending on the gluten-free flour blend you choose.
Tip For Measuring Gluten-Free Flour
The best way to measure gluten-free flour is the “spoon & level” method. Using a spoon, scoop the flour into the measuring cup. After you’ve spooned the flour into the measuring cup, use the back of a knife to level off the top of the measuring cup.
Please do not scoop the flour out of the bag with your measuring cup. If you do you could get more flour than the recipe calls for. Also, use a dry ingredient measuring cup and not a glass measuring cup for liquids.
Gluten-Free And Dairy-Free Zucchini Muffins
These zucchini muffins are both gluten-free and dairy-free because I used vegetable oil in the recipe. Most of my family is also dairy-free (including me), so I always try and have a dairy-free option for my recipes.
Some of my favorite dairy-free alternatives that I like to bake with are unsweetened almond or coconut milk. I also like baking with Smart Balance butter.
Easy Gluten-Free Zucchini Muffins
I love baking muffins for my family for breakfast or even as a special treat. These brown sugar and cinnamon zucchini muffins are soft and sweet. The shredded zucchini in the muffin batter makes for a super moist muffin.
If you have been looking for Gluten-Free Zucchini Bread I have an easy recipe for that too!
More Gluten-Free Muffin Recipes To Try!
- Gluten-Free Blueberry Banana Muffins {Dairy-Free and Refined Sugar Free Option}
- Gluten-Free Apple Cinnamon Crumb Muffins {Dairy-Free Option}
- Gluten-Free Pumpkin Crumb Muffins {Dairy-Free Option}
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Easy Gluten-Free Zucchini Muffins {Dairy-Free}
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon gluten-free baking powder
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1 1/2 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour with xanthan gum, I like Pillsbury gluten-free. Not all gluten-free flours are created equal. You may experience different baking results depending on the gluten-free flour blend you choose.
- 1 cup grated zucchini, (1 medium zucchini)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° F.
- Line muffin pan with cupcake liners or gluten-free cooking spray.
- Shred one medium-sized zucchini with a shredder to equal 1 cup of shredded zucchini.
- In a large mixing bowl whisk the eggs together with the oil, sugar, brown sugar and pure vanilla extract.
- Stir in the salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and gluten-free all-purpose flour.
- Stir in the shredded zucchini.
- Scoop the batter into baking cups lined/cooking sprayed muffin tin. I like to use a greased ice cream scoop.
- Bake on the center rack for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Please watch your zucchini bread because all ovens are different.
- Allow the muffins to cool for a few minutes, and then remove the muffins to a cooling rack.
- Store leftovers in an air-tight container.
Video
Notes
- I like Pillsbury gluten-free flour. Not all gluten-free flours are created equal. You may experience different baking results depending on the gluten-free flour blend you choose.
- 1 medium zucchini equals 1 cup of grated zucchini.
- You can also add mix-ins to the muffin batter (chocolate chips, nuts, or raisins).
- Store leftovers in an air-tight container.
- Flash freeze the muffins for 30 minutes and then place them in a plastic freezer bag. The muffins can be frozen for 3 months. Defrost in the refrigerator overnight or in the microwave.
- Mama says "always check all of your labels!"
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Delicious! Very easy to make. I love recipes that can be adjusted for dairy free as well. Trying your gf banana muffins today.
I had to add soy milk to get a consistency that worked for me. Just a little less than 1/2 cup. I cooked them at 425 for 5 minutes then at 350 for about 18. I didn’t add all the sugar either. They ended up being really good.
While they are tasty, the muffins all have a big hole in the middle. I followed the instructions exactly except I used King Arthur’s one to one glutenfree flour. I live at 7000 elevation so they that may have contributed (?).
Hi Kris, high altitude is definitely the issue! When baking at high altitude, you’ll want to increase the oven temperature by 25°F to help set the structure of the muffins more quickly. Secondly, you’ll want to reduce the baking time by about 5 minutes because of the higher oven temp. We also recommend adding 1 tablespoon of flour for every 1,500 ft of elevation. If you still experience issues, you may also want to try reducing the granulated sugar by 1 tablespoon or reducing the baking soda and baking powder by 1/8 teaspoon.
Made these today and they are perfect. I am out of eggs but want to make another batch, would a chia egg work?
Hi Alyssa, we haven’t tried that modification, but we generally recommend flax eggs over chia!
These are so simple yet so delicious!! I mistakenly put them on the top rack and they turned out better than when I used the middle rack.
Hi Audrey, I just made the zucchini muffins and they are tasty. One problem; they did not rise. I am new to gluten free so wondering if I did something wrong. I don’t believe I overmixed, but is there some advice you can offer me for future attempts? ….also, the tops have the appearance of tiny ‘holes.’ ?? Thx, Judi
Hi Judi, the holes you describe sound like what happens when the batter is overmixed. Make sure you are super gentle next time!
This recipe is Epic!! Oh it is so good I swear I could eat all 12 muffins myself!!
These are DELICIOUS!! I made mini muffins and baked them for 20 mins. It made about 20 muffins. They were devoured quickly by my family and the neighbors!
These are delicious!! Just what I was looking for!!
We LOVED these muffins. I added chocolate chips and a dash of cardamom bc it seemed appropriate… definitely a good call. They were easy to make and turned out perfect.
I never leave reviews but this is the best zucchini bread recipe ever!!! I used monk fruit/erythritol in place of sugar and coconut sugar in place of brown sugar and fresh zucchini from my garden!! My husband likes bread instead of muffins and after it cooked for about 50 minutes, it raised and was absolutely beautiful and so delicious!. Even my unhealthy son loved it!!! This will be my “keeper” recipe to be made many times!!!!
Amazing!! I tried another zucchini recipe from another baker and it was not good. I found this one from Mama Knows, and it knocked it out of the park! I used King Arthur Measure for Measure and added walnuts and replaced vegetable oil with refined coconut oil, and they were delicious. Not too sweet, and they taste healthy!
These are so moist & fluffy . Love them !!
These taste amazing my whole family loves them I doubled the batch and frozen half of them next time might add walnuts to change it up
Tasted even better than expected. My picky littles absolutely loved them! I swapped avocado oil for the vegetable oil. Thank you for the great recipe!
DELICIOUS! Thank you so much for sharing your incredible GF recipes!
Super easy and delicious! Thank you!
Tripled the recipe (lots of zucchini!). Added pecans and almonds as well as mini chocolate chips to the top. I also used a ripe banana in the place of some of the oil. Came out really good. My boyfriend loves them (the taste tester/judge). It’s our 3rd muffin recipe from you. Thanks.
These muffins are delicious! I made the recipe exactly like it was written except I added an extra 1/2 cup of zucchini (only because I had some left)! This recipe will be in my keeper file! Thank you for sharing all your wonderful recipes!
This is a good recipe. I used some ground flaxseed for flour part and used a little less sugar. I’m impressed that these muffins held their round-top shape and didn’t fall in the middle 🙂
Love it thank you so much 😊
Threw in a little less than a 1/4 cup cocoa powder, a few chocolate chips and BAM! Everyone at the birthday party ate them till they were gone. My evil genius mother side of me chuckled as they raved over a “cupcake” with zucchini in it! Muwahah #sneakyveggies
Turned out excellent!! I doubled the recipe & made 2 loaves, baked at 350 for approx. 50min until toothpick came out clean.
These turned out amazing! Thanks you for the great recipe. Also I tried it modified it to have half the oil substituted with 1/4 c of unsweetened apple sauce and. So I reduced the white sugar to a little less then the. 3/4 c and I took out the cinnamon (do to an allergy) I replace with about 1 1/4tsp cardamom and about 1/8 fresh grated nutmeg also amazing
Audrey, these muffins came out wonderful. Moist, fluffy, and flavorful! Thank you for sharing your recipe!