These Double Chocolate Olive Oil Zucchini muffins are moist, rich and loaded with bites of gooey chocolate. So decadent and easy to make in just half an hour, you could never guess that these muffins are vegan and packed with veggies!
Zucchini is a miracle vegetable when it comes to baking. I mean, these muffins are so incredibly moist and the zucchini basically just melts away while it bakes. Not even a green fleck in sight! Using high quality, fruity olive oil brings out the richness of the chocolate and helps keep the crumb light, but still super decadent. I like to think of these muffins as “accidentally healthy” because both the addition of zucchini and olive oil are really just there to enhance the flavor and texture. Also, bonus: they’re vegan!
How to Make Chocolate Olive Oil Zucchini Muffins
These chocolate olive oil zucchini muffins are pretty straightforward to make. Just whisk the dry ingredients in one bowl and wet in another. This is to make sure everything is well incorporated before the leavening agents have time to react, leading to dense muffins. When it comes time to grate the zucchini, make sure you don’t squeeze any moisture out and really pack it onto the measuring cup to ensure you end up with the correct amount.
When combining the wet with dry, make sure not to overmix the batter. This will also result in dense muffins. By nature, the batter will be very thick, this helps the muffins retain moisture while cooking. Use a spatula to fold in some dairy free chocolate chips right at the end. I prefer to use semisweet (not dark) here since the muffins themselves aren’t too sweet.
To bake the chocolate olive oil zucchini muffins, line a muffin tin with wrappers (or don’t if you have a nonstick one) and preheat the oven to 425º F. This may seem like a high temperature, but we will only bake The muffins for about 5 minutes before reducing the temperature to 350º F. That initial blast of heat kick starts the rising process and ensures we end up with perfect muffin tops every time. It also makes them a little crisp on top which contrasts well with the chewy interior.
I will admit, these are pretty hard to not eat right when they come out of the oven. I do recommend, however, letting them cool for at least 10 minutes before digging in. If you used muffin wrappers, they should be pretty easy to remove from the tin right away, but if not, wait a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
And one final note: There are few chocolate desserts that can’t be improved by a pinch of flaky sea salt. If you’ve got it, I highly recommend a little on top once these muffins come out of the oven!
More Summer Treats to Try:
- Vanilla roasted strawberry shortcake
- Vegan zucchini bread pancakes
- Strawberry rhubarb crumb cake
- Blueberry peach cornbread crumble
- Vegan chocolate zucchini snack cake
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Double Chocolate Olive Oil Zucchini Muffins
Moist and decadent chocolate olive oil zucchini muffins, with just the right amount of sweetnes and bites of gooey chocolate. Easy, vegan and perfect for summer!
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup dark cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1 1/4 cups grated zucchini (packed, do not pat dry)
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup dairy free milk
- 1/2 cup high quality olive oil
- 1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce
- 1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425° F and line a muffin tin with wrappers.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- In another bowl, combine sugar, milk, oil and zucchini. Stir the wet ingredients with the dry until just combined then fold in the chocolate chips. The batter should be very thick.
- Fill each muffin wrapper to the brim and bake for 5-7 minutes at 425° F or until you see them start to dome. Reduce the oven temperature to 350° F and cook for another 12-14 minutes or until a caked tester comes out clean.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
12Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 249Total Fat: 12gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 1mgSodium: 269mgCarbohydrates: 34gFiber: 2gSugar: 18gProtein: 3g
All nutritional info is an estimation