Zucchini Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins — These one-bowl, no-mixer banana zucchini chocolate chip muffins are light, fluffy, and studded with chocolate chips! No butter, no eggs, and they’re made with coconut oil instead of butter.
Table of Contents
Banana Zucchini Muffins … with Chocolate Chips!
If you’ve never baked with zucchini, you’ve been missing out. Everything stays so soft and moist. All thanks to a plant that you can’t taste!
These chocolate chip banana zucchini muffins taste like banana bread. Perfect for all you sneaky chefs!
The one-bowl, no-mixer zucchini chocolate chip muffins are accidentally vegan and on the healthier side. No butter, no eggs, the chocolate chips are solely sprinkled on top, and they’re made with coconut oil.
You’ll never complain about eating your vegetables after these muffins. Or hear anyone else complaining.
Want to Make Zucchini Bread Instead?
If you love these chocolate chip zucchini muffins, make my classic zucchini bread next!
Ingredients in Zucchini Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
To make these banana zucchini chocolate chip muffins, you’ll need:
- Granulated sugar
- Coconut oil
- Light brown sugar
- Unsweetened vanilla almond milk
- Vanilla extract
- Cinnamon
- Mashed bananas
- Shredded zucchini
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make Banana Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins
These muffins are a mashup of classic banana and zucchini muffins — if you’ve made either before, then you can definitely handle this simple recipe!
Here’s a look at how the muffins are made:
- Stir together the sugars, melted coconut oil, cinnamon, vanilla, and almond milk.
- Then, stir in the mashed banana and shredded zucchini.
- Add the dry ingredients, then divide the batter between 11 greased muffin cups.
- These banana zucchini chocolate chip muffins need to bake until set, domed, golden, and a toothpick comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs, but no batter.
Tips for Making Banana Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins
Coconut oil: I used coconut oil rather than butter because oil keeps things softer, springier, and moister long-term. It adds a nearly imperceptible undertone that’s sweeter and more fragrant than canola or vegetable oil, but substitute with them if you’d like.
Measuring zucchini: Before adding the zucchini to the muffin batter, put it in a paper towel and squeeze tightly for about 10 seconds to remove some moisture. You should wind up with about 3/4 cup compacted shredded zucchini.
Bake time: Depending on how moist your shredded zucchini and mashed banana are, your muffins may need to bake for more or less time than the recipe calls for. Watch the oven, not the clock when making these banana zucchini chocolate chip muffins.
Recipe FAQs
I’m sure you could! You’d likely wind up being able to bake 12 muffins that way rather than 11. You could add chocolate chips to the batter, chopped nuts, or dried fruit.
No, it’s not necessary to peel the zucchini before shredding and using in the muffin batter. The skin is very soft and you can’t taste it whatsoever!
Nope! You can’t taste it and the only thing that gives it away are the faint green flecks. If you peeled the zucchini, you’d never know it was there. Even though they could see it, my family said they couldn’t taste it, nor could I.
For sure! They continue to get softer as the days pass, and the flavors marry together and tasted better the second day, in my opinion.
These chocolate chip banana zucchini muffins will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 6 months. I find the muffins get softer over time and taste better on days 2-3 after the flavors have married.
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Banana Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins
Ingredients
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup coconut oil, melted (vegetable or canola oil may be substituted)
- ¼ cup light brown sugar, packed
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened vanilla almond milk, coconut, soy, rice, cow’s milk may be substituted
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 cup ripe mashed bananas, about 2 small/medium bananas
- 1 ¼ cups shredded zucchini, measured loosely laid in cup (not packed in or squeezed; about 1 medium zucchini, I didn’t peel it)
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- pinch salt, optional and to taste
- about 11 teaspoons mini semi-sweet chocolate chips divided, about 1 teaspoon for each muffin (regular-sized chips may be substituted)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F. Spray a Non-Stick 12-Cup Regular Muffin Pan very well with floured cooking spray or grease and flour the pan; set aside. (I don’t prefer the cosmetic look of muffin liners and I am not sure if the paper will stick to the muffins).
- To a large bowl, add the first 6 ingredients, through cinnamon, and whisk to combine.
- Add the bananas and whisk to combine.
- Before adding the zucchini, put it in a paper towel and squeeze tightly for about 10 seconds to remove some moisture. After squeezing, you should have about 3/4 cup of compacted shreds.
- Add zucchini to bowl and stir to incorporate.
- Add the flour, baking powder, optional salt and stir until just combined; don’t overmix.
- Using a large cookie scoop, 1/4-cup measure, or spoon, turn batter out into prepared pan, noting that the recipe yields 11 muffins. If I try to make 12 given my muffin pan, the muffins are too skimpy but pans vary. Each cavity should be filled to about 3/4 full, but not exceeding or batter could overflow.
- Sprinkle the top of each muffin generously with mini chocolate chips, about 1 teaspoon each.
- Bake at 400F for 10 minutes, reduce oven temp to 350F and bake for 8 minutes, or until muffins are set, domed, golden, and a toothpick comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs, but no batter.
- Allow muffins to cool in pan for about 10 to 15 minutes, or until they’ve firmed up and are cool enough to handle. It’s normal for muffin tops to be flatten as they cool.
Notes
- Muffins will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 6 months. I find the muffins get softer over time and taste better on days 2-3 after the flavors have married.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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OMG! These muffins are incredible. I’ll definitely make again!
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad you will definitely make them again!
These muffins were very good! I am quite impressed with how good they were. Thank you for a great recipe and for helping me get my kids to eat zucchini ;-)
I did add mini chips to the batter and made them in to mini muffins. I baked them for the same amount of time in the convection but kept a close eye on them. They were perfect!
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you!
I am diabetic and was wondering if you knew how many carbs each muffin had? Thanks Judy
I don’t but there are online calculators you can use to plug in the recipe data and it will tell you. I have some linked here averiecooks.com/faq
Is there any reason you don’t mix the choc chips in with the batter before baking? I’ve always done that with other banana choc chip muffin recipes. Is it for looks that you don’t in this one or is there some other reasoning?
Just was trying something new with this recipe – you could mix the chips in as well, or add more chips, if you prefer.
I don’t usually leave comments but I had to comment on these muffins. I bake a lot and try a significant number of new recipes. I had bananas to use and didn’t want to make banana bread again. In this recipe I used canola oil and cow’s milk. What I forgot was to sprinkle the chocolate chips on before baking and these muffins were great warm and great cooled; I just melted a few chocolate chips in the microwave and drizzled them over the muffins! The texture was soft and they had a nice balanced banana flavor; these muffins won’t last 2 or 3 days in my house! Thank you for a great recipe.
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you!
I made the zucchini banana chocolate chip cookies with gluten free flour and they tasted amazing! Thank you for such a wonderful recipe!
excuse me, I meant muffins not cookies
Thanks for trying the recipe and glad it came out great for you! And with GF flour, too!
Have you tried these with gluten free flour? I love that they are vegan because my son is severely allergic to eggs but he’s also allergic to wheat/gluten.
No I haven’t so can’t say for sure about the results but I’d try a reputable GF flour meant for baking and see what happens.
Would I be able to do these as regular banana chocolate chip muffins and just leave out the zucchini? These look delicious, but my gf hates zucchini! Crazy I know.
This recipe is based on using the zucchini and without it, the recipe turn out properly. You honestly cannot really ‘taste’ it. Make a batch with it and just win her over!
Otherwise check out these sections for more muffin/cake recipes https://www.averiecooks.com/category/bread and https://www.averiecooks.com/category/dessert/cake that will fit the bill.
These were absolutely awesome. I had to use up some overripe bananas, and this was the perfect recipe.
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you!
Hi! These sound amazing but I don’t have a muffin pan right now. Do you think this recipe would work for a loaf pan or would it be too dense?? Thanks in advance!
Probably will be fine, although I haven’t personally tried so can’t say for absolute sure.
Is there a variation for this recipe for mini-sized muffins? I wasn’t sure what baking times would be best for smaller muffins.
I haven’t made them as mini, and all mini pans vary in just how mini they are, so just watch them and bake til done. Enjoy!
These muffins were so good! The only substitution I had to make was replacing the milk with water (no milk or milk alternatives in the house), and they still turned out wonderfully. The baking times and temperatures were right on for my oven. I will definitely be making these regularly.
Glad they came out great even with water! That’s wonderful and glad they’ll be on regular rotation!
Very tasty but they needed about 10 more minutes longer to cook?
Zucchini vary widely in moisture content so that’s fine – just bake until done in your situation and oven with your ingredients, as is always the case with baking. Glad they were tasty!
These muffins were delicious! Thank you for the recipe
Thanks for trying them & glad you’re happy!
I had some overripe bananas and some aging zucchini, so I’m happy to have found this recipe! I just popped the muffins in the oven (with a half cup of chopped walnuts added and the chocolate chips mixed in.) We’ll see how they turn out. I suspect my toddler will be excited when she wakes up from her nap and these are waiting .
Lucky kiddo – enjoy!
They came out beautifully, btw. And the kiddo was very excited on Tuesday and then again today when I gave her another one. This recipe is definitely a keeper.
So glad you enjoyed them and that the recipe is a keeper, even with the kiddos!
These muffins are amazing! I am always disappointed in recipes (and end up changing the ingredients/measurements) but NOT this recipe. It is wonderful as is! Thanks for sharing!
Glad you were able to enjoy it, un-tweaked. I’m the worst changer and tweaker of recipes too, and I know how hard it is to just leave something alone, and glad you were okay just letting this one be!