Paleo Almond Butter Blueberry Zucchini Muffins
These Almond Butter Blueberry Zucchini Muffins are easy, fluffy, and so delicious! Paleo, gluten free, dairy-free, but no one will be able to tell!
My daughter loves her muffins. Truly. Madly. Deeply. There is rarely a muffin that she has met that she hasn’t loved and demolished in a matter of moments. The only thing Alice loves more than muffins is pancakes…but that is a another story for another recipe….
So, I have become a pro at making quick, easy and healthy muffin recipes that are full of allllll kinds of good stuff that you want your kid to fill up on….and that I want to fill up on. And these Almond Butter Blueberry Zucchini Muffins are DEFINITELY something I want in my belly and in my life every. single. day. Loaded with healthy fat, protein, veggies and minimal sugar…they are the stuff healthy breakfast dreams are made of.
Blueberry zucchini muffins
These magically wonderful Blueberry Zucchini Muffins are the love child of two of my most popular recipes, Flourless Peanut Butter Muffins and One-Bowl Almond Butter Zucchini Cookies. And then I added blueberries into the mix because I am a Mainer by birth and kinda think blueberries make everything better. Because they do. Prove me wrong!
Not only do blueberries make all things better, but they are a deliciously wonderful fruit that is low in natural sugar! Their lovely tang naturally sweetens these muffins without having to load them full of sugar…always a win in my book!
Suggested adaptations
1. Adjust the sweetness to your personal preference: Need these Blueberry Zucchini Muffins a little sweeter? Feel free to bump up the honey to 1/3 of a cup. Do you want to keep sugar to a minimum? Skip the honey in this recipe and let the blueberries do all the sweetening! They will be mildly sweet, have a lovely nutty flavor from the almond butter AND keto friendly!
2. Have someone scared of all things green? Puree the zucchini in! Instead of mixing everything in a bowl, simply blend everything (except the blueberries) in the blender to make that lovely zucchini just disappear into muffins…but while still getting in the veggie goodness! Just fold the blueberries into the batter at the end before popping the muffins into the oven! Just make sure to drain the zucchini BEFORE adding it to the blender!
3. Sub the blueberries for chocolate chips! Like I need to explain why this is an awesome idea. Pffffttttt
4. Make these Blueberry Zucchini Muffins with peanut butter. No almond butter on hand or just not a fan? Then switch it out with a natural peanut butter!
Tip
- Make sure your almond butter is well stirred before using. Natural nut butters naturally separate from their oils on the shelf while waiting for you to come grab them! In fact, upon opening, you will notice the natural oils will have settled on the top of the pureed nuts. Take a few moments with a spoon to throughly stir the oil back into the nuts. Failure to do so will result in oily almond butter at the start of your jar and dry/hard almond butter towards the end!
Other muffin recipes you are going to love…
- One-Bowl Sweet Potato Peanut Butter Muffins
- Oatmeal Green Smoothie Muffins
- Nut-Free Paleo Chocolate Butternut Squash Muffins
- Apple Cinnamon Almond Butter Muffins
Loving these Blueberry Zucchini Muffins and hungry for more?
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Almond Butter Blueberry Zucchini Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 cup zucchini, grated
- 1 cup almond butter, creamy (add 1/4 tsp of salt to the recipe if using unsalted almond butter)
- 1/4 cup honey or maple syrup
- 3 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp cinnamon, ground
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg, ground
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 1/4 cup fresh blueberries, divided , (if using frozen, defrost first and drain off excess liquid)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350℉ and line a 12-hole muffin tin.
- Take the grated zucchini and place it in the middle of a clean dish towel or large paper towel. Wrap the zucchini in the towel and squeeze out as much of the moisture as you can. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine almond butter, honey/maple syrup, eggs, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda and vinegar. Mix with a spoon until well blended and the batter is smooth.
- Add 3/4 cup of blueberries and the grated zucchini. Fold in until everything is well incorporated.
- Portion out the batter between the 12 prepared muffin holes. Top the muffins with the remaining 1/2 cup of blueberries.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until the toothpick inserted into the middle of a muffin comes out clean.
- Allow muffins to cool 15 minutes before enjoying! Store cooled leftovers in fridge for up to 5 days….not that they will last that long, as they are sure to be gobbled up before then!
Notes
- Adjust the sweetness to your personal preference.
- Have someone scared of all things green? Puree in the zucchini!
- Sub the blueberries for chocolate chips!
- If you don’t have almond butter on hand, you can make these muffins with peanut butter instead.
- If cooking with almond butter, make sure it is well stirred before the baking step.
Any ideas on making these egg free?
This type of paleo recipe is tricky to make egg-free! I haven’t had success in my attempts yet, but I will definitely update the recipe if I ever figure out how to successfully make them minus the eggs!
Have you tried flax eggs? I was going to try but don’t want to waste all the other yummy ingredients if you’ve already tried and they didn’t turn out.
Ok I tried flax egg…it worked without the ACV but looked like the muffins exploded with ACV.
Wow! So interesting! I’ve tried this recipe with flax eggs and the muffins totally collapsed! Maybe I will try it without the ACV and see if they work better!
I’m excited to try this recipe! Any insight on adjusting the cook time for mini-muffins? Thanks!
I’d say 13-15 minutes.
Any nutritional info?
Could i substitute protein powder for almond flour.
There is no almond flour, just almond butter
Can I substitute protein powder for almond flour.
There should maybe be a note that if baby is under a year, do not use honey.
Is it one cup of zucchini before you remove the moisture from it? Or after ?
I have the same question and see that she never responded. Someone please provide insight.
Sorry I missed that! In the recipe, I direct you to put the 1 cup of grated zucchini in a paper towel and squeeze out the moisture. So, it is 1 cup before squeezing it out.
I was hesitant to try these muffins at first, but they were absolutely DELICIOUS! I was surprised at how similar the consistency was to regular muffins, even though no flour was used. I’ll definitely be making these again soon!
I made these without sweetener for a keto friend and loved them. She loved them too. I posted about them on my blog and it would be awesome if you stopped by.
i made these last night and forgot to put them in the fridge. are they okay to eat?
These are delicious!
Can I use almond flour instead of almond butter? If yes, should I add any other ingredients for binder?
These look amazing!!! What is the exact Purpose of the almond butter? Flavor or moisture? For someone with nut allergies.. what could you replace it with?
It replaces all flours! It offers a great consistency when mixed with eggs and baked that is so soft that you almost don’t realize it’s gluten free
Can these be frozen? If so, any tips for length of time for reheating in the microwave?
What are the nutritional facts in these muffins? For example how many calories, how many grams of fat etc.
Has anyone tried this recipe with flax eggs (or another egg replacement) with success (or failure)?
Hi Jenn!
I have tried this type of recipe with several egg replacements without success. They might make excellent egg free cookies when made with flax eggs..but that is just a guess.
Hi! Could the almond butter be subbed for cashew butter or would that mess with the overall results?
Cashew butter has a very different flavor and I don’t know how it would taste. If Paleo isn’t a must, I have done these with peanut butter with great success.
Looks delicious !! Any idea how to make it without eggs ??
I’m still working on that one! These nut butter based recipes seem to be tricky to make egg-free!
I just made these, as written. the batter was delicious, but the baked muffins have an undesireable texture, in my opinion. I’ve never made muffins with almond butter as the base (no flour included). Do they always turn out spongy?
Thanks
Yes, they do. I totally get that they are not a texture for everyone, but I totally enjoy it! Almond flour, oat or coconut flour based muffins might give you texture you prefer!
Here are a few!
https://thenaturalnurturer.com/2019/06/18/chocolate-chip-zucchini-muffins-gluten-free-dairy-free/
https://thenaturalnurturer.com/2015/09/14/paleo-chocolate-zucchini-muffins/
I didn’t have zucchini or blueberries so I subbed them with shredded carrot and cranberries. SO GOOD! And obviously, all muffins are better with chocolate chips so how could I resist adding those too?! I am loving that these are dense with all the good fats and proteins as well as the nutrition from the veggies. Definitely going to become part of my morning muffin rotation!
Just wondering what the apple cider vinegar is for in the recipe?
It helps to balance flavors and give the muffins rise
Seriously so good. We make these constantly and our whole family loves them! They have a spongy texture, which we love. Sometimes we switch out the blueberries for chocolate chips!
Could these be made with sun butter? If so, would you up the sweetener? My kids school is nut free and these seem like a good lunchbox item…
These were really amazing! We have what we’ve dubbed the “healthiest tailgate on campus” and are always looking for new Paleo recipes for every tailgate. Made these this morning and they were a hit! As many years as I’ve been Paleo, I still can’t get over how amazing it is that you can make muffins, etc. without flour. These have definitely made the regular rotation for tailgates and weekends when we cook for a crowd. No one believes these are Paleo! Thank you for the fantastic recipe!
Is there a reason that you need to defrost the blueberries first? In the past Ive just used frozen.
I have just always found that defrosting first and draining off the extra liquid prevents these muffins from being mushy! But if throwing them in frozen works for you, that is awesome!
I was a bit skeptical at first because I wasn’t sure how these would be with no flour but they are amazing! This will be my new go to. I did used carrots and crunchy almond butter instead of zucchini and creamy almond butter because that’s what I had but it was still delicious!!
Love that! I will have to try them with carrots next!
This looks so good! Can I use with other mix ins?
Thanks for sharing! Do they keep long?
I needed a protein-packed, peanut-free lunch staple for my toddler’s preschool lunches, and I was so grateful to find this recipe. My son gobbles them up, and I feel great knowing that he is getting exposure to zucchini and blueberries. After multiple baking sessions together, he recently (and finally!) started eating raw blueberries before they made their way into the batter. Thanks so much!
I am s happy to hear that!
I love blueberries in almost anything! These muffins look too good not to give them a try 🙂 Yum!
This looks so good! Do you use this batter for any other muffin recipes?
I have used the batter base and tweaked it a bit for a few other muffin or bread recipes!
Thanks for sharing! Does it keep long?
I find that they last 4-5 days in the fridge and freeze really well!
Delicious! We used peanut butter, because almond butter is out of our budget. I found though the ones I made with frozen (not thawed) blueberries came out far better than those with chocolate chips. Could I have squeezed too much moisture out of the zucchini? It was a double recipe that I then split.
I am so glad you loved this recipe as much as I do! And it is possible that you squeezed too much moisture out, but the more likely issue is your nut butter. Some brands are simply dry and others more oily. Or it could be the jar wasn’t stirred evenly. Since the oils of the nuts naturally rise to the top of the jar, if a new jar of nut butter isn’t stirred really well, the first half will be a bit oily and the second half dry.
Will these work if I leave out the vinegar?
Yes. They might not rise as much, but they will work. You can also use white vinegar or lemon juice in ACV’s place
Hi – can these muffins be frozen? I like to make several batches at a time for my paleo husband.
They have frozen well for me.
These muffins are delicious and such a great alternative to flour muffins. I’ve also made these without the zucchini and added 1 cup oats instead. Turned out great and a little more filling (I usually cannot have just one!). With two of my children having nut allergies, I wonder if I could replace the almond butter with reg. butter? I’ve tried with sunbutter, but they do not rise well.
Hi Annie! I am so glad you enjoy these muffins so much! Unfortunately regular butter is a very different thing than almond or any other kind of nut or seed butter and cannot be used as a sub in this recipe. However, if you are looking for gluten free and oats work for your family, perhaps try this recipe and replace the chocolate chips with blueberries! https://thenaturalnurturer.com/chocolate-chip-zucchini-muffins-gluten-free-dairy-free/
Hi
Even do I have been using your receipts from my daughter I love it, I want to congratulate you for such a great job and to share with everyone.
Thanks
With gratitude,
Otilia Leal
I am so glad you enjoy them!
My family loved these muffins! I used peanut butter instead of almond butter and made them as mini muffins and everyone from the baby, toddler to adults ate them up! It wasn’t sure how it would work without flour but they were so fluffy. I would definitely make these again.
These are so good with peanut butter! And I agree, its kinda surprising how fluffy they are for being flourless. Its the magic of eggs and nut butter together!
This recipe was perfect! I made them for my toddler but I may have devoured a few as well 😉 Next time I’ll definitely make a double batch! Love that they’re gluten-free, full of nutrition and a great texture. Thanks so much for the tasty recipe!
I’m so happy to hear that, Ali!