Vegan Zucchini Muffins with Raisins

These wholesome vegan zucchini muffins are very simple to make, but super moist, nicely spiced and great for breakfast, snack, dessert or to add in kid's lunch boxes. They taste like zucchini bread and are filled with good-for-you ingredients.

It's officially zucchini season! I hope you have been taking advantage of all the abundance of this extra versatile veggie.

You can use zucchini in so many ways and add it to pretty much everything. You can turn them into noodles, chips or pickle them. You can even blend them to make a raw zucchini salad dressing!

But one fun & unusual classic way to use zucchini is definitively to include them in sweet baked goods. Zucchini is a fairly tasteless vegetable that's filled with water. Adding zucchini to baked goods not only adds beneficial nutrients, but also maintains moisture to preserve texture in cake-like recipes. Muffins and breads are then moist and tender in such a healthy way.

I know that vegan zucchini muffins might not be the most exciting recipe out there, but obviously, this one is special. The combination of raisins, lemon zest, cinnamon and nutmeg makes them very flavorful and sweeter too. Every time I make a batch of these, our kids devour them without even realizing one bit that there is a green veggie hiding in there.

Hope you give them a try! 💚

Why you'll love these vegan zucchini raisin muffins

• Secretly healthy and fiber-rich
• Kid-friendly
• Soft, fluffy and super moist
• Easy and quick to prepare
• Free of refined white sugar, eggs and dairy
• Slightly spiced and perfect to enjoy in the fall

Ingredients you'll need and recipe variation

• Flour: I used a white whole wheat flour from King Arthur to make them a little healthier.
• Baking powder: Use fresh and aluminum-free for best result.
• Cinnamon and nutmeg: They make for such a great combo with the raisins, but feel free to swap for cardamom, pumpkin spice mix or vanilla extract.
• Vegan milk: Choose plain and unsweetened, any kind will work well.
• Maple syrup: You can also swap for agave nectar, but do not use granulated sugar as it would change the texture.
• Coconut oil: Melt it first so it blends better and use refined coconut oil if you want to avoid a coconut flavor.
• Chia seeds: They help bind the batter, a little like eggs would. Also adds extra omega-3, fiber and protein to the muffins.
• Lemon zest: You can omit it, but try not to! The subtle zesty flavor is not obvious, but really boosts the flavor and add some freshness.
• Zucchini: I love green zucchini, but the yellow kind would work as well.
• Raisins: swap for cranberries or chocolate chips. Chopped dates would also work great and add lots of natural sweetness.

If you love nuts, then feel free to add a few chopped walnuts or pecans (not too much as it could weigh down the muffins).

Step-by-Step instructions

Making these is so simple! Start by pre-heating the oven and cover a muffin pan with 12 paper liners.

Step 1- Combine the dry ingredients

Start by combining the flour with the baking powder and spices.

Step 2 - Combine the wet ingredients

Then, combine the milk, maple syrup and melted coconut oil. The warm oil might clump slightly when in contact with the cold milk and syrup, that's fine. Also, add the chia seeds and lemon zest and stir well.

Step 3 - Make the batter

Pour the milk mixture to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. You do not want to over stir so you don't end up with hard muffins, stir until there are almost no dry pockets anymore.

Then, add the zucchini and raisins, and stir.

Step 4 - Then bake!

Divide the batter in between the 12 prepared muffin tins and bake. Enjoy!

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Watch how to make them

A few baking tips

• The batter will look thicker and drier then a classic muffin batter, but that's what you are looking for. The shredded zucchini will release a fair amount of moisture that will blend into the batter as it cooks.
• The consistency of the batter won't allow you to pour the batter inside the muffin tins. Instead, I recommend you to use an ice cream spoon to divide the batter. Plus, it makes beautiful rounded shaped muffins! No ice cream scoops? Then, simply use a regular spoon!
• To be sure you incorporate the right amount of flour, then I recommend you to use a spoon and level method to measure the flour - method described by Love and Lemons).

How to prepare the zucchini

Simply clean them, remove their extremities and shred them. You do not have to peel them at all!

To shred them, I like to use a simple cheese grater and I use the larger holes side. You can also chop them a little more after shredded with your knife if you don't want longer strings of veggies in the muffins.

You could also use the shredding option on your food processor, but I'll do anything so I don't have to clean a food processor, so I prefer the by-hand method.

You also DON'T have to squeeze their water out, their natural water content will make them tender and super moist!

Can I make these vegan zucchini raisin muffins gluten-free?

I haven't tried it, but heard great things about this 1:1 gluten-free flour from King Arthur. Do not substitute for other kind of gluten-free flour, such as almond or oat flour, as these might be too heavy for this recipe.

Serving suggestions

These healthy muffins make for a great paring with milky teas or chocolate milk, my kid's favorite.

They are great as is, but spread some healthy blueberry jam, date caramel or the less-healthy-but-ultimate-treat, a layer of vegan butter.

Storage tips

Let the muffins completely cool down and then transfer them to an air-tight container. You can keep them at room temperature for a day or two, but for longer storage, keep them in the freezer.

Simply let them thaw at room temperature before enjoying and warm them up for a few seconds in the microwave to revive them!

To freeze them, you can use parchment paper to keep them apart from each and make sure they don't stick together while freezing.

Other healthy muffin recipes you might like

• Beet and chocolate muffins
• Strawberry whole wheat muffins
• Simple vegan banana muffins
• 3-ingredient banana oatmeal muffins
• Peach oatmeal muffins
• Vegan carrot cupcakes
• Vegan cranberry orange muffins
• Vegan blackberry muffins

Other zucchini recipes you might like

• Vegan Italian dressing
• Vegan zucchini fritters
• Vegan chickpea burgers
• Hummus pasta with roasted veggies
• Vegan white zucchini lasagna
• Zucchini potato soup

I hope you enjoy these vegan zucchini muffins as much as we do! If you try them, please leave a comment below and rate the recipe to let me know how they were. Your feedback is so helpful!

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