Zucchini carrot muffins are delicious, flavorful with just a little spice, and perfectly moist.
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Zucchini carrot muffins are a delicious and fun way to sneak a few extra veggies into your diet. While it may not be the healthiest muffin around, those servings of vegetables are still better than nothing.
Like carrot cake muffins with shredded zucchini tossed inside, these muffins are fluffy, flavorful, and irresistibly good!
Making these muffins is also incredibly easy! A little shredding, measuring and mixing and you have a batter ready-to-go.
Use these zucchini carrot muffins as a snack, as a treat in your lunch bag, or even breakfast. There’s really no wrong time to enjoy these spiced carrot zucchini muffins.
If you want to enjoy a loaf of this zucchini carrot bread recipe, follow the notes in the recipe card to make this in a standard bread loaf pan. It’s the same delicious taste but in slices perfect for a spread of butter. Yum!
Ingredients for zucchini carrot muffins
- Cream cheese: Adding a little moisture, richness, and acid to the batter is cream cheese. When the muffins cook, it leaves nothing behind but a rich and wonderful flavor and texture!
- Brown sugar: This adds a depth of flavor from the molasses, a sweetness, and a little caramelization of flavors. Yum!
- Buttermilk: Adding a little acid to make a fluffy muffin is the buttermilk. You can make your own substitute with 1 cup milk and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar. Let sit for 5 minutes and then use the amount requested.
- Oil: Vegetable or canola oil would work best but even coconut oil could be used (note that it might leave a slight coconut flavor).
- Vanilla: Using vanilla extract helps to create a flavor base for the other ingredients to branch off of. It helps to enhance flavors and makes these muffins taste amazing.
- Eggs: Eggs are important for baking because they not only help with the leavening, but they also make a binder so that the muffins don’t fall apart.
- Zucchini: This will add moisture, flavor, and more. Don’t worry about peeling the zucchini prior to shredding it as the peel is thin and will be hardly noticeable in texture. It will add little specks of green though.
- Carrots: Shredded carrots can be bought in the store, but it’s not hard to shred them yourself on a cheese grater or in a food processor either. Pick the method you prefer.
- Flour: I use all-purpose flour to make the gluten-filled base for these muffins but you can try gluten free baking flour at 1:1 ratio and let me know how it goes. It should be fine.
- Spices: We use cinnamon and nutmeg to create a spiced muffin that tastes amazing!
- Salt: This is a common baking and cooking ingredient because it enhances the other flavors in every dish.
- Leavening agents: We need both baking powder and baking soda to create a light and fluffy muffin.
How to Make Zucchini Carrot Muffins
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F and prepare 12 muffin cups with paper liners or nonstick cooking spray.
- In a large bowl whisk together the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.
- In another bowl, mix together the brown sugar and cream cheese until smooth. (this will help to prevent cream cheese lumps in the batter!)
- Slowly add in the buttermilk, oil, vanilla, and eggs until everything is well combined and smooth.
- Stir the zucchini and carrots into the wet ingredients until evenly distributed.
- Gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet ones, just until combined. There will be some lumps.
- Evenly divide the batter into 12 muffin cups. They will be almost completely filled.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick can be inserted and come out clean.
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Zucchini Carrot Muffins
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 ounces cream cheese (softened)
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup buttermilk
- ¼ cup oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- ¾ cup zucchini (shredded )
- ¾ cup carrots (shredded)
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
Instructions
- Whisk flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, baking powder, and baking soda together.
- In a separate bowl, mix brown sugar and cream cheese together until smooth, this will help avoid cream cheese lumps. If there are lumps of cream cheese, it will still turn out fine.
- Gradually stir in buttermilk, oil, vanilla, and the eggs until well combined and smooth.
- Stir in the zucchini and carrots until evenly distributed.
- Add dry ingredients and fold into wet ingredients until just combined. There will be some lumps.
- Divide evenly into 12 muffin cups (greased or lined), they will be almost full. See note for loaf recipe.
- Bake at 325 degrees F for 20-25 minutes for muffins. A toothpick should come out with slight crumbs clinging to it when baked through.
Dustin
I just now made these and they were fabulous! Thank you!
Alli
Yay! So happy to hear that, Dustin. Thank you!