These soft and fluffy zucchini muffins are totally summer in a muffin. In many gardens, zucchini and late blueberries are going crazy right now – and lemon always feels like a sunshiney situation.
Zucchini, lemon, and blueberries go perfectly together. I mean, we all know zucchini just sort of hangs out in baked goods, not really adding all that much taste but a bit of nutrition and some nice moisture. And color, of course! I love the green flecks in these summery zucchini muffins.
Plus, blueberries are a muffin’s best friend, and they’re perfect with zucchini.
Lemon makes the whole thing better. The muffin batter boasts a few little flecks of lemon zest for some subtle lemon flavor, then the glaze on top gives it all a sweet-tart zing.
These muffins are nice and tender and travel well for potlucks, summer brunches, or grab-and-go breakfasts.
Here’s the recipe!
Zucchini Lemon Blueberry Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup finely shredded zucchini
- 1 cup milk (I use unsweetened almond milk; feel free to use your favorite milk)
- 1/2 cup canola oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Zest of one lemon
- 1 cup blueberries
Glaze:
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease or line the cups of a standard-size, 12-cup muffin tin. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, zucchini, milk, oil, and vanilla extract until well-combined.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until ALMOST combined. Add the lemon zest and blueberries and stir gently until incorporated and just until the dough is combined. Don't overstir or your muffins could end up being tough!
- Divide batter between muffin tins.
- Bake for about 30 minutes, until the edges of the muffins are golden, the tops are springy, and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.
- Meanwhile, mix together the glaze. Into a small bowl, sift the powdered sugar. Add the lemon juice and stir with a whisk until a thick glaze forms. It should be a bit thicker than glue. (But don't worry, it will taste much better than that!)
- Remove muffins from oven and set on a metal rack. Let cool for 5-10 minutes, then transfer muffins to a wire cookie rack placed over paper towels to catch glaze drips.
- At this point you have a couple of choices. You can drizzle on the glaze now, knowing that some of it might melt into the warm muffins rather than stay on the top. Or you can wait until they've cooled, then drizzle the glaze on so that it stays on the top. Both methods result in delicious muffins, so it's up to you!
- Allow the glaze to solidify, another few minutes.
- Devour!
Have u ever made gluten free? If so what substitutions or additions did you use? Thanks
Yum! We went blueberry picking last week and we have zucchini in the fridge! I’m looking forward to trying your recipe for breakfast, tomorrow! Thank you!
These muffins seem really delectable. I would love to try this for my kids who are also fond of blueberry-flavored pastries. This is exactly what I need today so we could have a wonderful snack tomorrow.
These were quite possibly the BEST muffins I have ever made! Thanks for such a terrific recipe, definitely in the permanent rotation.
I’m so glad you liked them!
Does this recipe work ok using flax seed “egg” as substitute for real egg?
Terrific recipe!!! My whole family loved these muffins. Worked great using almond milk. Second batch was great also using almond milk and gluten free flour. Thanks for the great recipe!
Terrific recipe! Great tasting and very pretty muffins. Perfect to impress anyone with all the colors in this seasonal muffin. Recipe is easy and quick. Be sure to squeeze excess liquid from the zucchini before adding as it’s a good moist muffin already. Recipe works perfectly with dietary substitutes – almond milk and a 1-1 gluten free flour.
Thanks so much, Lisa! Glad to know it works well with GF flour. 🙂
Hi there, what gluten free flour did you use? Would coconut flour or oat flour work? I can have chickpea flour…
Hi Kim, I used Namaste, which is mostly rice based. This is a very wet muffin mix. So, I would recommend you combine the flours you can eat. I am familiar with coconut and oat but have not used chickpea. I think you will do best with this recipe if the oat and coconut have a supporting flour to keep them from becoming paste. So maybe try all three together. Suggest you try 1 cup oat and 1/2 each of the coconut and chickpea. Swap the flours around if you don’t get a muffin consistency you like. I have baked with buckwheat flour before and it performs well also. It is gluten free too. Results are nice but it does add a color and a distinct taste. So best to keep it to half or less of the flour required. Regardless of what alternative flours used, I have found better results in the texture and rise if I increase leavening. So for this recipe add another 1/4 teas. baking powder or if you sub baking soda add another 1/2 teas. baking soda. Flours are a direct substitute to the recipe, unless you use only coconut then you may need to increase flour by another 1/4 cup. If doing only coconut the extra leavening should still be enough and you should not need to further increase. Hope this helps. Good luck and enjoy!
Absolutely delicious ! Thank you and have a nice week !
I’ve never thought to mix zucchini and berries together but my gosh! These were sensational! Thank you so much for sharing! 🙂 Looking forward to future posts! x
Hi Kare!
Do you have a substitute for eggs in the recipe? Would 2 x flax eggs work?
Also need a gluten free option. What GF flour works for this recipe?
Thanks so much
Kim
Hi Kim! I haven’t tried this one without eggs or with GF flour. Flax eggs do tend to be a good substitute, and a one-for-one GF flour would probably be the best choice (I don’t have much experience with GF baking). If you try it either way, please report back! Thanks!
Hi Kim,. Flax should work fine, just be sure to let the flax set up and thicken before you add it. I have never had a flax failure yet, but I did not use it in this recipe. I typically use 1 Tbls flax to 2 Tbls water per egg and let it rest to set. The zest I added at the very end and gently folded, but it can be added with the wet also to avoid over stirring the GF flours, especially if using Coconut or Oat. I used Namaste and in another comment gave more suggestions for your flours. But wanted to share that I have had great success with King Arthur brand also which sometimes can be cheaper.
At what point to you ass the lemon zest to the batter? Thanks so much!
Absolutely amazing!!!
Amazing recipe, looking to try this recipe tomorrow in the breakfast.
I made these muffins this morning. OMG they were delicious!! I had some blueberries in my fridge and just knew they had to be used like now. Grated Zucchini in my freezer and almond milk and I was good to go. The glaze really finishes them off so if you’re thinking to eliminate it, don’t.
Kare: You might want to add the lemon zest into the directions 🙂
Thanks for a great recipe!!
I’m so glad these were a winner! And I’ll fix the recipe – thank you for letting me know!
This are the best muffins! I had enough batter to make more than 12 standard size muffins. I would recommend checking the muffins at about 25 minutes since ovens can cook differently. The glaze pushes the flavor over the top with fresh lemon juice from the one I used for the zest.
I’m so glad these were a winner for you! Thanks so much for coming back and leaving a review. 🙂
Great recipe! Especially love, that you added the zucchini in it, its a great way for kids to eat their veggies without noticing. Could I try this same recipe with shredded carrots?
Very dry.
Definitely not my experience with this recipe; I’m sorry it was for you! A couple of tips for avoiding dry muffins in case any of this was at play: Be careful about measuring the flour (use a spoon to put it into the measuring cup), be careful not to over-mix, and try not to bake for too long (your oven may need less time).