What can I do with all of the zucchini from my garden?  It’s a common question this time of the year.  My answer: make these amazing gluten free vegan chocolate zucchini muffins.  They are the ultimate treat.

I feel as if zucchini is a somewhat polarizing vegetable.  You either love it or detest it.  While I really enjoy zucchini, none of my family members do.  I have managed to find a handful of recipes that they like such as zucchini tots.  But I am happy to be able to add this amazing recipe to the lineup.

The pairing of chocolate and zucchini in baked goods is as good as it gets.  And the addition of grated zucchini to muffins and cakes produces incredibly moist (in a great way) end products.  This recipe is my new favorite muffin recipe.  It is delicious, gluten free, vegan, and as you will see, only contains 1/3 cup of sugar.

Gluten Free Chocolate Zucchini Muffins (vegan)
yields 10

1 medium zucchini, ends trimmed, finely shredded (enough for 1 packed cup)
1/2 cup avocado oil
1/4 cup coconut milk (refrigerated beverage type)
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 & 2/3 cup gluten free flour (I used Namaste’s Gluten Free Perfect Flour Blend)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon finely ground sea salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup cocoa powder, sifted
1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Line a muffin tin with parchment liners.  Set aside.

Wash one medium sized zucchini.  Trim off the ends and discard. Using a box grater, finely shred the zucchini. You will need enough for one packed cup.  When shredding, do not use the largest holes on the box grater; use the next smallest holes (not the zesting holes).  Add the zucchini to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Do not drain the zucchini.

To the zucchini add the avocado oil, coconut milk,  apple cider vinegar, and sugar.  You can opt to use any mild tasting oil of your choice, as well as your milk of preference.  Mix together.

Sift all of the dry ingredient together (flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and cocoa powder).  Add the sifted mixture to the wet mixture.  Add in the chocolate chips (yes, do this now).  Slowly mix together until combined.  Do not over mix.  Allow the mixture to sit for 5 minutes.  Do not skip this step.  Since there are no eggs in this recipe, allowing time for the vinegar and the baking soda to react is needed.

Using a spring-loaded ice cream scoop, scoop out slightly heaping scoops of batter directly into the prepared muffin tins.  This yields 10 muffins.  For a 12 muffin yield, use a level scoop of batter instead.

Bake for 30 minutes on the middle rack on the oven.  I like to turn the baking tin half way through the baking process.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before moving the muffins to a cooling rack.  These muffins are amazing eaten warm or at room temperature.

Enjoy!

© The Gluten Free Gathering
 The images, content, and recipes found within are copyright protected. Do not use images and written content without first obtaining permission from The Gluten Free Gathering.  Looking to share or republish a recipe? Please link back directly to this post for the recipe.