Vegan Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

Fluffy vegan chocolate zucchini muffins that are so moist and rich! These muffins have large bakery-style tops and come together in one bowl.

Cuisine American, Vegan

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 25

Total Time 40

Servings muffins

Calories 245

Author Anthea

2 cups (250g) all-purpose plain flour spoon and leveled (note 2 for gluten-free)
½ cup (50g) cocoa powder
3 teaspoons baking powder
⅛ teaspoon salt optional
¾ cup (130g) vegan chocolate chips optional, plus more for topping

Add all the wet ingredients to a large bowl and mix until combined and there are no bits of zucchini sticking together. Add the dry ingredients except the chocolate chips and mix until just combined. If you're using chocolate chips, add them to the batter and gently fold them through.
Use an ice cream scoop or a spoon to divide the batter into your muffin pan. The batter should fill each muffin cup almost completely (check the step-by-step images above, note 3). If desired, sprinkle extra chocolate chips on top.

Bake the muffins for 23-27 minutes or until you can insert a toothpick in a muffin and it comes out clean. These muffins are moist so a few crumbs on your toothpick are fine. Try to avoid overbaking the muffins otherwise they'll be dry.
Allow the muffins to cool in the pan for 10 minutes (or until they aren't too hot) then place them on a wire rack.
Enjoy the muffins warm or at room temperature.
Store any leftover muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month.

For the best results, I recommend using a kitchen scale to measure the ingredients. It's difficult to measure flour and zucchini accurately with measuring cups. If you only have cups, make sure you don't pack the flour into the cup. Instead, use a spoon to fill up the measuring cup and level it with the flat side of a knife. Using a measuring cup to scoop flour out of a container will pack in too much flour and make these muffins dry and dense.
Gluten-free version: We tested these muffins with King Arthur's gluten-free measure for measure flour and they work well! If using, I suggest baking the muffins for around 27-30 minutes. Other gluten-free flours may produce different results.
To get higher muffin tops, I recommend baking 6 muffins at a time in a 12-cup muffin tray. Spacing apart the muffins allows the hot oven air to bake them faster, resulting in higher tops. This means you'll need to bake the muffins in 2 lots.