Vegan No Oil Zucchini Muffin Recipe with Chocolate Chips
If you have zucchini growing in your garden or are looking for a healthy vegan zucchini muffin recipe with chocolate chips, I have a recipe I know you are going to love.
With no oil and no refined sugar in the batter, you can feel good about eating one without any guilt.
When trying to eat healthy, the best thing we can do is eat fruits and vegetables in season. It is the best way to get all their benefits at peak ripeness.
If I follow this advise, it’s time to eat zucchini. Summer is zucchini season and it has arrived.
We planted zucchini in our kitchen garden, but it is not ready yet, so I have been buying it at a local farm stand and grocery store.
I usually use zucchini to make a side dish for dinner. The way I prepare it is very minimally. I grate them unpeeled and then saute with some low sodium veggie broth until it is lightly browned. Then I season to taste usually mixing in a little white miso. Ed seasons with hot sauce.
Healthy Zucchini Muffins
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Using zucchini as a side dish is great, but this zucchini recipe that I am sharing in this post is for your sweet tooth, and let me tell you… it is my favorite whole food, plant based recipe I have made to date.
I like it even more than zucchini bread recipes I have used over the years that use oil, eggs, dairy and sugar. It is that good. This recipe doesn’t even have wheat in it.
I have made the recipe into muffins and in a loaf pan, either way it is delicious.
What makes the recipe so good is not only the flavors of the grated zucchini and spices, but when they are combined with the texture of oat and millet flour – the mix is so flavorful. A taste treat that is moist with a little crunch.
What Is Millet?
Don’t let the word “millet flour” scare you. If you’re new to cooking with millet, here are the basics!
Millet is considered an ancient grain as it was first farmed thousands of years ago. Cool, right?
It’s a teeny, tiny little grain that puffs up a bit when cooked.
Use millet as you would rice or quinoa in your favorite recipes. It’s naturally gluten-free.
To make flour with millet or any grain, simply take the dried millet bought in bulk or packaged in a baking aisle of a health food store and mix until smooth in a blender with old-fashioned oats (probably already in your kitchen cabinet) to make a flour.
Vegan No Oil Zucchini Muffin Recipe with Chocolate Chips
I adapted this recipe for these vegan zucchini muffins from one of my favorite whole food, plant based (WFPB), no oil cookbooks. It is called:
- Straight Up Food – By Cathy Fisher – Delicious and Easy Plant-Based Cooking Without Salt, Oil or Sugar
The author also has a very informative website with the same name, Straight Up Food. The site has quite a lot of WFBP recipes. If you are trying to eat healthier, it is worth checking out.
The reasons why I like this vegan no oil zucchini muffin recipe is:
- Oil-free
- Egg, wheat & dairy-free
- Whole-food plant-based
- Refined sugar-free (depending on what you add-in)
- Delicious anytime of the day
- Moist with a delightful texture
You can make the muffins plain or add chocolate chips or nuts. In the past I have used non-dairy chocolate chips made by the Enjoy Life brand. Enjoy Life All Natural – Dairy Free Chocolate Chips and they taste good. They are dairyfree, but do have cane sugar in them.
Since the sweetener in this zucchini recipe is dates, the need for sweetened chocolate chips is not needed. These Pasha Organic 100% Organic Unsweetened 100% Cacao chips add the chocolate taste I enjoy without added any extra sugar to the mix.
Can I Freeze these Vegan Oil Free Zucchini Muffins?
I freeze every batch and loaf I makes as I only eat one every once in a while as a treat.
You can freeze these healthy zucchini muffins in an airtight container or large freezer bag for up to 3 months. Defrost a few hours before serving. If you store them in a container, place a piece of parchment paper between each layer to keep the muffins from sticking together.
If making the recipe in a loaf pan, once baked and cooled, cut each slice and layer on parchment and freeze. I enjoy putting a frozen slice in the toaster for a warm treat.
Vegan Zucchini Muffin Recipe
Vegan No Oil Zucchini Muffins with Chocolate Chips
Ingredients
- 10 Medjool dates pitted and chopped
- 1 cup unsweetened nondairy milk *see notes for how to easily make this
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1-1/4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
- 3/4 cup millet dry and uncooked
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp ginger
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 2 cups zucchini washed, unpeeled and grated
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips optional – dairy free or unsweetened
Instructions
- Pit dates if needed and place in bowl with nondairy milk and vanilla. Make sure the dates are covered with the liquid. Set aside for 15 minutes.
- Using a food processor or blender, grind the oats and millet into flour for about 40 seconds. The millet is hard and won't break down completely.
- Transfer the ground oat and millet mixture to a medium sized bowl and mix in the cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, ginger and nutmeg. Mix well.
- Place the dates and nondairy milk mix into a food processor or blender and blend until smooth.
- Stir the liquid mixture into the dry mixture and mix well.
- Add the zucchini and chocolate chips or nuts if using.
- Spoon the batter into a paper or silicone cup lined muffin pan. Fill almost to the top as the mixture will not rise very much. If you want to make more smaller muffins, fill each muffin cup only 3/4 of the way full.
- Bake in a 350° oven for 25-30 minutes. To test for doneness, the top should be medium brown and the muffins firm, but dense and moist inside.
- Let cool for 10 minutes before removing from the pan and placing on a cooling rack. Let cool° before serving.
Notes
No Oil Muffin Making Made Easier
When baking muffins with no oil, I use these Paper Muffin Liners. They are the classic cupcake style liner and come in both a white and natural color.
If you don’t like to use paper products, using a Silicone Muffin Pan is the way to bake. If you have used one of these pans you know how easy they are to use and clean.
