Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins

These Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins are silly easy to make in your blender and beyond delicious. Loaded with veggies and leveled up with chocolate chips, they are made with oatmeal, naturally sweetened, and are perfect for a feel-good breakfast or snack.

If there is one thing I know about you guys, it is that you *love* a good veggie-loaded muffin recipe from your girl here. My Oatmeal Green Smoothie Muffins send many of you (especially those of you with kiddos protesting all thing green) into giddy tale spin. And I have joked with my husband that one day, my tombstone will read “Here lies Taesha. Wife, Mother, Friend, and Green Smoothie Muffin Maker.”

All joking aside, a good veggie-loaded, healthy muffin recipe can be a total game changer for someone. Why? Because muffins are easy to make, are perfectly portioned out and are kind of the best thing ever for breakfasts or easy snacks. And the fact that they can be a vessel for getting more veggies into your life and body is just frosting on the muffin!

And now I am adding a new veggie-loaded muffin recipe to the mix with these *amazing* Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins.

These Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins are mixed up in minutes in your handy dandy blender. Super easy, super fast! Made extra hearty with oats, these muffins are naturally sweetened with applesauce or bananas and honey or maple syrup. Making a nice big batch of 12 muffins, they are perfect for adding to your meal prep line-up so that breakfasts and snacks are grab-and-go. And they freeze like a dream! Naturally nut-free and gluten free when you use certified gluten free oats, these muffins can also easily be made dairy-free with your favorite plant based milk.

How can I substitute applesauce in baking, like in these muffins?

Applesauce offers a lot to a baking recipe, such as natural sweetness and moisture. When swapping out applesauce in baking, my first go-to is mashed banana. I find that I can swap them out one-for-one in a sweet baking recipe with consistent success. And I often do it when making these Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins!

How should I store these zucchini muffins?

Like with any baked good, be sure to let these muffins cool on your counter completely before storing.

After they are cool, transfer the muffins to an air-tight container. You can leave them at room temperature for up to 2 days. After that, I suggest storing them in the fridge or freezer to prevent molding and to keep them as fresh as possible for days to come. They also freeze beautifully and make for a great breakfast or snack to stock up on!

Suggested Adaptations

• Make them with carrot instead of zucchini. No zucchini in the garden or fridge? Just swap it out for shredded carrot…or even summer squash!
• Use summer squash instead of zucchini. Many people don’t know you can swap zucchini and yellow summer squash in most recipes!
• Reduce the sugar and skip the chocolate chips. Everyone prefers a different level of sweetness. If you are looking to minimize the sugar in these zucchini muffins, simply omit the chocolate chips.
• Replace the chocolate chips with raisins. It is all a matter of preference.
• Replace the applesauce with 2 medium ripe mashed bananas. No applesauce on hand or just love bananas? Go ahead and make the switch!

Tips and tricks

• Let them cool completely. If you want to dive right in and enjoy a Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffin warm (because that is kinda the best thing ever), go for it. But don’t freak out if they stick to the papers a little or are slightly soft in the middle. Both are normal and as the muffins cool, both issues will resolve.
• Blend the oats into oat flour first. If you are not using a high-speed blender like a Vitamix, consider blending the oats into a flour first. Why? Because this will help you to break down the oats easier and give your muffins a better texture.
• Don’t skip on squeezing out the zucchini. Zucchini naturally has a lot of water. Squeezing out some of the zucchini’s natural moisture is essential so that these muffins come out perfectly moist instead of mushy.
• If making these for a child under 1, use maple syrup instead of honey. I remember hearing that recommendation since my daughter was a baby, but never knew why exactly. The reason is because something called Clostridium bacteria can be present in honey and is no good for those developing little infant guts. It is usually not an issue for children over age 1 thought. Check out this article for more info.

Other veggie-loaded muffin recipes you’ll love…

• Healthy Chocolate Muffins (with veggies!)
• Healthy Zucchini Lemon Muffins
• Oatmeal Green Smoothie Muffins
• Cinnamon Zucchini Banana Muffins
• Savory Vegetable Muffins
• Butternut Squash Banana Blender Muffins
• Mini Butternut Squash Blueberry Muffins

Did you try these zucchini muffins and now you’re hungry for more? 

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