Healthy Carrot Zucchini Muffins

These delicious, moist, healthy Carrot Zucchini Muffins are loaded with veggies and light on the sugar. Perfect for a brunch or coffee date, or for a quick and easy breakfast or afternoon snack.

It's finally fall ya’all!!  Sort of. It’s unusually overcast today in Colorado where the temperature’s not scheduled to go above 60 degrees all day. It’s glorious. We hunted through drawers to pull out our down vests, comfy jeans, and sweatshirts today before school started and were rewarded with a fresh crispness in the air, and crunchy leaves beneath our feet as we stepped out the door and into our morning. 

It’s short-lived though. Even as I’m sitting here in my living room, typing this post, sipping chai tea next to a flickering fire, I can see tomorrow’s forecast: a high of 86!  But that’s the weather in Colorado. You never really know what you’re going to get.  So we’re not putting our shorts away juuust yet. But we’re getting close.   

So, given the extra time it took us today to locate some of our warm weather gear, I was secretly thanking my past self for thinking ahead just a bit and making a HUGE batch of these carrot zucchini muffins from my summer zucchini haul. 

These healthy zucchini carrot muffins are packed with veggies so I don’t feel at all guilty about chucking them to the kids as we run out the door at breakneck speed. (Actually, the “speed” part of that last sentence is not at all accurate – if you have elementary kids you're well aware that the mornings move so slowly that it’s a wonder you’re able to get them to school before lunch. All the more reason to have something quick and easy, ready for them to eat.)

In This Post

• Why I Love These Healthy Muffins.
• Key Ingredients
• How To Make These Healthy Carrot Zucchini Muffins
• Variations and substitutions
• How To Freeze Zucchini Muffins
• More Quick Bread And Muffin Recipes
• Recipe
• Comments

Why I Love These Healthy Muffins.

• These babies are fairly healthy. I mean, what better way to pack in a load of vegetables than in something that resembles cake? And adding carrots and zucchini to these sweet muffins makes them all the sweeter! It's a delicious way to add in a bit of veggies and goes so great with my morning coffee.
• They're super easy to make. Seriously - they'll be on your table in 30 minutes. 
• These make for a quick breakfast. I love making a double batch of these little muffins and then freezing them for a quick and easy breakfast. (They're also a great afternoon snack!)
• You can customize them to your liking. Want to make chocolate zucchini muffins? Throw in some chocolate chips. Craving something a little fruitier? Add some blueberries. You can't really taste the zucchini or carrot in these so it's a great base for making them into whatever your heart desires.
• But....they're also great on their own! Moist, cinnamony, and delicious. 
• As mentioned, these are freezer-friendly muffins and they thaw fairly quickly so they're convenient for days when you're running late and need a healthy breakfast. 

Key Ingredients

This zucchini muffin recipe is pretty straightforward and is easy to throw together. It includes your standard muffin ingredients - flour, baking soda, salt, vanilla extract, and some earthy spices like cinnamon and cardamom. I like to use brown sugar in these muffins, which I feel gives them a deeper flavor. 

And, obviously, these include lots of shredded zucchini and shredded carrots, (just to sneak some extra veggies in there). A box shredder makes shredding the zucchinis simple. No need to peel the zucchini here, or even blot the shredded zucchini with a paper towel as many other zucchini recipes call for. The added liquid from the zucchinis helps to make these muffins MOIST!

How To Make These Healthy Carrot Zucchini Muffins

What's great about these healthy zucchini muffins is that they are quick to make. You can have a batch done in only 30 minutes! Here's what you do:

1. Shred the veggies. I used about 1 ½ cups of both shredded carrots and zucchini, but this is a very forgiving recipe so feel free to add a bit more or less if you'd like.
2. Whisk together your dry ingredients together. Add the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cardamom, and baking soda in a large mixing bowl and whisk until combined.

3. Mix the wet ingredients. In a separate bowl, cream the sugar and butter until well combined then add the eggs and vanilla. 

4. Add your shredded veggies. Add the shredded carrots and zucchini to the wet ingredients and stir until combined. 

5. Combine the wet and dry ingredients. Fold in the dry ingredients and stir until everything is combined. Be careful not to over-mix as it will yield very dense muffins. 

6. Add to tins and bake! Then all that's left to do now is spoon the batter into your muffin tins, bake for about 25-30 minutes, and you're done! Allowing the muffins to cool for about 10 minutes will make it easier to remove them from the muffin tins. 

Variations and substitutions

One thing I love about these muffins is that they are super adaptable to what you have on hand. Here are a few ways you might try mixing them up.

• Change the flour. All-purpose flour works great here but you can easily substitute it with oat flour or whole wheat flour.
• Make them mini! Make mini muffins instead of full-sized muffins by using a mini muffin pan. (Also try these great mini zucchini chocolate chip muffins for a different take!)
• Change the sugar. I think brown sugar gives these a sort of caramel flavor, but you can use granulated sugar or even pure maple syrup as a substitute.
• Make carrot zucchini bread! You can also use this recipe to make a loaf of bread instead of muffins. Just pour the muffin batter into a greased loaf pan and bake for about 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.  
• Make them vegan. Substitute vegetable oil or olive oil for the butter and use flax eggs to make a vegan version of this delicious zucchini muffin.
• Add in some fruit. You could easily add some ripe bananas or blueberries to this carrot zucchini muffin recipe for some variety.
• Add a topping. I love these plain, but you could add a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar, mixed with a little butter to the top of these during the last 10 minutes or so of baking for a cinnamon sugar crumble. Delicious!

How To Freeze Zucchini Muffins

These carrot zucchini muffins are so easy to freeze. I love making multiple batches at once and then freezing them for easy meals or snacks.

To freeze these muffins, allow them to cool completely. I then like to wrap them individually in plastic wrap, toss them in a freezer bag, and then into the freezer they go. This makes pulling out individual muffins so easy and prevents them from potentially sticking together as they freeze. They'll keep in the freezer for about 3 months.

If you’re not going to make, and then freeze these muffins to use for your hectic mornings, good. They’re actually best right out of the oven. But, they do make a great, quick breakfast when warmed in the microwave for 10 seconds and smeared with a liberal dollop of butter.  And even though they are made with what I would technically call “summer veggies”, they tasted delicious to me this morning as we welcomed the cooler temps in our bathrobes and slippers.   

If you make these Healthy Carrot Zucchini Muffins, please let me know what you think in the comments below! And don't forget to tag me on Instagram so I can see your lovely creations!

More Quick Bread And Muffin Recipes

• Apple, Cranberry And Walnut Quick Bread
• Easy Moist Pumpkin Bread Recipe With Chocolate Chips
• Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars With Banana And Chocolate Chips
• Blueberry French Toast Casserole
• Air Fryer Canned Biscuits

Recipe