Recipe | Zucchini Muffins

Zucchini might not be the first ingredient that comes to mind when you think about baking—but that’s exactly what makes these muffins such a fun recipe to explore with students. Grated zucchini adds moisture and texture while blending seamlessly into a warmly spiced batter with cinnamon, nutmeg, whole wheat flour, and chocolate chips.

This recipe is a great opportunity to practice foundational baking skills like measuring, mixing wet and dry ingredients separately, and understanding how ingredients work together to create structure and texture. It also opens up bigger conversations around the many ways vegetables can show up in everyday cooking—not just on the dinner plate.

Soft, lightly spiced, and easy to make, these muffins are a reminder that cooking with seasonal produce can be creative, comforting, and genuinely delicious. Let us know if you try this at home + tag us @sylviacenter!

Makes: 12
Prep Time: 45 mins
Notes: can be made gluten-free if using GF flour

2 large eggs
½ C olive oil
⅔ C granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 medium zucchini, grated and liquid squeezed out (final yield approx. 1 C)
¾ C all-purpose flour
¾ C whole wheat flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
⅛ tsp ground nutmeg
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp baking powder
½ tsp kosher salt
¾ C chocolate chips

Recipe Method

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease 12 standard muffin cups and line them with paper liners.
2. Whisk the eggs, oil, sugar and vanilla extract in a large bowl.
3. Make sure all the liquid has been strained out of the grated zucchini. Stir the zucchini into the egg mixture, mixing until completely combined.
4. In a separate medium bowl, combine the flours, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
5. Gently add the flour mixture into the egg mixture, a third at a time, stirring well until the flour is fully incorporated. Once all the flour has been added, stir in the chocolate chips.
6. Divide the mixture into the prepared muffin tins and bake for around 20–25 mins. Allow to cool for 10 mins on a rack before inverting and removing the muffins from the pans. Allow to cool completely on the rack.