These Avocado Chocolate Zucchini Muffins are a delicious and high-protein breakfast made with healthy fats like olive oil and hemp hearts.
Ingredients and substitutions
- Flour – use wheat flour or spelt flour to make these muffins even healthier.
- Cocoa powder – Dutch-process cocoa may also work.
- Baking powder – unfortunately, there’s no good substitute for baking powder in baking.
- Baking soda – there’s no good substitute for baking soda.
- Avocado – swap out for a butter substitute of your choice like margarine. Keep in mind that it may alter the consistency of the batter.
- Olive oil – you can use another neutral cooking oil such as avocado oil.
- Egg – if you’re allergic to eggs, substitute for a flax egg.
- Honey – agave or maple syrup would also help sweeten these muffins.
- Almond milk – or any milk of your choice like coconut milk or skim milk.
- Dark chocolate chips – you can use regular milk chocolate chips, but the muffins won’t be as healthy.
- Vanilla – a bit of almond extract can be used but will have a different flavour.
- Zucchini – grated carrot would also work.
- Pumpkin seeds – swap out for any kind of nut like walnuts, almonds or pecans.
- Hemp hearts – you can use nuts here too, but they won’t blend as well into the batter.
How to make chocolate zucchini muffins
Step 1: Mix together the dry ingredients.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and baking powder and set aside.
Step 2: Mix together the wet ingredients.
Mash avocado in a large bowl, then mix in olive oil, egg, honey, almond milk, melted chocolate and vanilla.
Step 3: Fold the dry mix into the wet mix.
Fold flour mixture into wet ingredients, adding just a bit of it at a time, stirring well with a spatula. Add grated zucchini, pumpkin seeds and hemp hearts to batter, stirring well to combine.
Step 4: Add to muffin tray.
Add muffins to muffin trays lined with cupcake liners.
Step 5: Bake in the oven.
Bake muffins for 22-25 minutes in the oven, until tops are cracked and batter barely sticks to a toothpick (there will be a tiny amount of residue but not much).
Step 6: Serve and enjoy!
Store muffins in a sealed container in the fridge after they have been left to cool for at least an hour. Muffins will last up to 7 days. Enjoy!
Adding more protein
You can add even more protein to these muffins. Add in some of these ingredients to up the protein content for a super healthy and delicious breakfast muffin:
- Chia seeds
- Extra hemp hearts
- Nuts
- Replace a little bit of the flour with protein powder
- Use whole wheat flour, which has more protein than white flour
Frequently Asked Questions
Eggs are an essential ingredient in baking. They bind the ingredients together and add to the texture and richness. Eggs also help in the leavening process so the muffins are fluffy instead of dense and flat. If you need to make these muffins egg-free, try using a flax egg replacement instead of omitting it all together. However, I have not personally tried this myself so I would not advise using a flax egg if you are not familiar with it or have not done it before with other baked goods.
Believe it or not, avocados make a great substitute for butter! They have a mild flavour and a creamy texture that works great in baked recipes like these zucchini chocolate muffins. Using avocado instead of butter also makes them much healthier. It cuts the fat by about 40% and increases the nutritional value. Avocados contain lots of antioxidants and omega-3 fatty acids. They are also a great source of fiber and folic acid. Plus, you’ll end up with a soft chewy muffin.
These chocolate zucchini muffins have 302 calories per serving. They’re high in protein, so they’ll have you feeling full for longer!
Storing and reheating
Because of the avocado and zucchini in these healthy chocolate muffins, you need to keep them refrigerated after they have cooled. Store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 7 days.
Avocado chocolate muffins make a quick breakfast or indulgently healthy snack. If your whole family loves them, it’s easy to double this recipe so you have breakfast prepped and ready for everyone for the rest of the week!
Freezing this recipe
These muffins freeze well, so feel free to make a big batch and freeze some for later! They’ll last in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Flash-freeze the muffins on a tray in the freezer for about an hour to keep them from sticking together, then transfer them to an airtight Ziploc bag. Using cupcake liners will also help to prevent them from sticking to each other in the freezer. You could also wrap each muffin individually to make single servings.
You can stick a muffin right into your lunch bag from the freezer in the morning. It will be thawed by the time you are ready to eat lunch. You could also leave them in the refrigerator or at room temperature to thaw the whole batch.
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More meal prep breakfast recipes
Meal prep tools for this recipe
- Grab some glass meal prep bowls if you plan on turning these into your weekly breakfasts.
- Freeze this recipe in glass microwave-safe bowls up to 3 months.
Avocado Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 1 avocado
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/3 cup almond milk
- 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips melted
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 zucchini grated
- 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
- 1/2 cup hemp hearts
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Mix together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and baking powder and set aside.
- Mash avocado in a large bowl, then mix in olive oil, egg, honey, almond milk, melted chocolate and vanilla.
- Fold flour mixture into wet ingredients, adding just a bit of it at a time, stirring well with a spatula. Add grated zucchini, pumpkin seeds and hemp hearts to batter, stirring well to combine.
- Add muffins to muffin trays lined with cupcake liners, then bake muffins for 22-25 minutes in the oven, until tops are cracked and batter barely sticks to a toothpick (there will be a tiny amount of residue but not much).
- IMPORTANT: Store muffins in a sealed container in the fridge after they have been left to cool for at least an hour. Muffins will last up to 7 days. Enjoy!
Comments & Reviews
Jen says
These are amazing. I put the batter through the blender to hide all evidence of anything green from my kids, and they gobbled them up! Taste just like a brownie!
Taylor Stinson says
I’m so happy you enjoyed 🙂
Jennifer says
These sound good. I was wondering what I could replace the honey with? Maple Syrup maybe?
Taylor Stinson says
Hey Jennifer – maple syrup would probably be a good substitute, yes!
M says
WOW
LOOKS AMAZING 😊😍😉
Would u happen to know the nutritional content of these?
Curious about the calories
fat and protein content
THANKS !!!!!!!
Taylor Stinson says
Thanks so much Mary! Unfortunately I can’t provide nutritional info for my older recipes, I just have too many recipes I would have to go back and update. You can fill in the info on an app like Myfitnesspal and that should give you the nutrition info. Hope that helps 🙂
Katie Gwozdecky says
I made this into a loaf and baked it for another 15-20 minutes and it is delicious. Really not too sweet and perfect for breakfast with a handful of strawberries. And if you want it for dessert, it’s delicious with a swipe of maple butter!