Zucchini Carrot Muffins

Easter week. Brayden is twenty-eight weeks old. The Methodist church women’s circle luncheon catering job is Saturday. Cody’s probation officially ends Easter Sunday. The week is the kind of week the calendar has been building toward all month.

The zucchini carrot muffins are a one-bowl, double-batch recipe that lives in the freezer rotation. Shredded zucchini and shredded carrot (both squeezed of excess moisture with a kitchen towel), all-purpose flour, brown sugar, oil, eggs, vanilla, cinnamon, baking soda. The batter mixes in five minutes. Bake at three-fifty for twenty-two minutes. The muffins come out dense, sweet-spiced, and substantial in the way the spinach-banana muffins from February are sub-sweet and light.

I made a triple batch Sunday for two reasons: half for our weekday breakfasts through the next two weeks, half for the freezer-bank in case the Saturday catering job goes long and I do not have time to cook Sunday. The math of a busy week is the math of pre-loading the freezer with breakfast carbohydrate so the rest of the system does not have to think about breakfast.

The technique question for vegetable-shred muffins is moisture management. The zucchini and carrot release water as they cook. Without the towel-squeeze the muffins come out gummy at the bottom. With the towel-squeeze the muffins hold their structure. I had learned this the hard way in 2019 with a batch of carrot muffins that collapsed in the center and never quite became muffins.

Zucchini Carrot Muffins

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 18 min | Total Time: 33 min | Servings: 12 muffins

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1/3 cup pure maple syrup or honey
• 1/3 cup melted coconut oil or neutral vegetable oil
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup shredded zucchini (about 1 medium), excess moisture squeezed out
• 1/2 cup shredded carrots (about 1 medium)
• 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

Instructions

1. Preheat oven. Preheat your oven to 375°F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners or grease well with cooking spray.
2. Prep the vegetables. Shred the zucchini and carrots on the large holes of a box grater. Place the zucchini in a clean kitchen towel and squeeze firmly to remove as much moisture as possible. Set both aside.
3. Mix dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt until combined.
4. Mix wet ingredients. In a separate medium bowl, whisk the eggs, maple syrup, melted coconut oil, vanilla extract, and applesauce until smooth and well blended.
5. Combine. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir gently until just combined — do not overmix. Fold in the shredded zucchini and carrots until evenly distributed throughout the batter.
6. Fill and bake. Divide the batter evenly among the 12 muffin cups, filling each about 3/4 full. Bake for 16–18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the tops are lightly golden.
7. Cool. Allow muffins to cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. For babies under 12 months, check with your pediatrician before serving honey-sweetened versions; substitute maple syrup for an infant-safe option.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 158 | Protein: 3g | Fat: 7g | Carbs: 22g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 148mg