Healthy Zucchini Apple Muffins


After posting about blueberry cheesecake ice cream and smores brownies, I figured I should make something a little healthier. I had some zucchini and apples that I needed to use up so I threw them into a healthy muffin recipe not really sure what to expect. I had 2 zucchini and 2 apples. I couldn't decide if I wanted to grate the apples or dice them, so I grated one and diced the other. I really liked the bites of diced apple running through the muffin. These came out great and I'll definitely be making them again!

This was my first time making a "healthy" muffin, so I still used a little real sugar and real oil. I think next time I make them I would cut the sugar out completely and just use a little more agave or honey. I definitely recommend keeping the walnuts in the recipe. I'm not usually a fan of nuts in muffins, cookies, or brownies, but in this case the walnuts added a really nice texture to the muffin.

Zucchini Apple Muffins
Recipe: Makes about 16 muffins
Ingredients:
  • 1 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1 cup AP flour
  • 2 cups grated zucchini (squeezed, then packed into a measuring cup) [about 2 medium zucchini]
  • 1 apple, peeled and grated
  • 1 apple, peeled and diced
  • 1 egg
  • 1 egg white
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1/4 agave or honey
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/3 cup of unsweetened applesauce
  • 3 tbls canola oil
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 heaping teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
  • pinch of salt
  • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Directions:
  1. Preheat oven to 350F and line muffin cups with paper liners. Grate zucchini by hand or using a food processor, then gently squeeze grated zucchini to remove some of the water.
  2. In a medium-sized bowl, beat egg, egg white, then add vanilla, sugar, and agave nectar and mix to combine. Stir in the grated zucchini, and apple then the oil and applesauce.
  3. In a smaller bowl, combine AP flour, whole wheat flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt. Stir dry ingredients into the zucchini mixture, then fold in chopped walnuts and apples.
  4. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let muffins cool a few minutes in the muffin tin or cups, then remove and cool a few minutes more.

7 comments:

cookies and cups said...

very nice! These look like the perfect breakfast on the go!

R4 SDHC said...

A very famous restaurant in Hong Kong called Dan Ryan serves Zucchini muffins but would never give away the recipe - I'm going to see how similar this one is!

Mary @Delightful Bitefuls said...

Love a healthy breakfast alternative! Thanks for this! This has been bookmarked; great blog! So happy I found you!

xxMK
Delightful Bitefuls

Anonymous said...

I made these last night! I was a little skeptical but they were fantastic! Great flavour and texture.

Anonymous said...

Thank you, I randomly found this recipe when I was looking for a healthy apple muffin and wanted to hid some veggies for my toddler.

Her father liked them too (and he hates veggies!) I shouldn't have even told him they were there. I'm making them again a week later to have more in the house. Thanks!

Rosie said...

Hi, I baked these muffins and they turned out wonderfully! They're absolutely delicious! I halved the recipe, and instead of whole wheat flour, I used white whole wheat flour and pecans instead of walnuts, since that's what I had. What I liked most was that these muffins weren't overly sweet! I would definitely make these muffins again. P.S. The measurement for the agave/honey in your recipe is missing, but I assumed you meant 1/4 cup.

Grubography said...

Looks delicious! I've never tried baking with zucchini. I think I ought to try now!

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