Gluten-Free Zucchini Muffins
Updated
I’m always on the lookout for muffins that are soft, sweet, and easy to pull together. These gluten‑free zucchini muffins are exactly that. They bake up tender, lightly spiced with cinnamon and brown sugar, and are completely dairy‑free. They’re perfect for gluten‑free eaters, busy parents, or anyone craving a moist, homemade muffin.
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!
– Emily
I love baking muffins for my family for breakfast or even as a special treat. Since I always have an abundance of zucchini in the summer, I whip up a batch of these muffins or gluten-free zucchini bread. Zucchini is awesome to bake with because it provides moisture straight to the batter for melt-in-your-mouth bakes. It’s a simple one‑bowl recipe that comes together quickly with minimal cleanup, which I always appreciate. Plus, I can add in all my favorites like chocolate chips, blueberries, nuts, or whatever I’m craving.
Easy Gluten-Free Zucchini Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp gluten-free baking powder
- 1 tbsp 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.
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).
- Bake the muffins on the middle rack.
- Mama says “always check all of your labels!”
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
How to Make Gluten‑Free Zucchini Muffins Step by Step
Gather the ingredients: Gather all the ingredients together. Preheat the oven to 350 °F and line a 12‑cup muffin tin with liners or spray with gluten‑free non‑stick spray.
Whisk the wet ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk together 2 eggs, ½ cup oil, ¾ cup granulated sugar, ¼ cup brown sugar, and 1 tsp vanilla until smooth.
Add the dry ingredients: Add 1½ cups GF flour, ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp baking soda, ½ tsp baking powder, and 1 tbsp ground cinnamon. Stir until just combined.
Fold in the zucchini: Gently fold in 1 cup shredded zucchini and optional mix‑ins (like ½ cup chocolate chips or chopped nuts).
Divide the batter: Use a greased ice‑cream scoop to portion the batter evenly into muffin cups, filling each about ¾ full.
Bake the muffins: Bake on the center rack for 30–35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Ovens vary—start checking at 30 minutes
Cool and serve: Allow muffins to cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then remove them to a wire rack to cool completely (this prevents soggy bottoms)
Serving Suggestions
I serve these muffins warm with a smear of almond butter or vegan spread. They’re ideal for breakfast, snack time, or as a lunchbox treat. I often pair them with a smoothie or my gluten-free banana muffins for variety. They also complement a brunch spread beautifully.
Tips for Success
- Do not salt, pat, or squeeze out any of the liquid from the zucchini. We want all that moisture to make the muffins tender.
- For uniform-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”.
- 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.
Storage Instructions
Let muffins cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 days, or refrigerate up to 5 days.
Freeze cooled muffins by wrapping individually in plastic wrap or foil, then placing in a freezer bag—they’ll keep for up to 3 months. Reheat in the microwave for 20–30 seconds or bake from frozen at 325°F for about 10 minutes.
More Easy Muffin Recipes
- Easy Gluten-Free Blueberry Muffins
- Gluten-Free Muffins
- Banana Oatmeal Muffins
- Gluten-Free Double Chocolate Muffins
Great!!!
Can I use gluten free almond flour instead ???
Hi Yvonne, We haven’t tested this recipe with almond flour.
These turned out great! I modified them just a bit by substituting half the oil with applesauce and using monk fruit instead of the white sugar.
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!