I’m always looking for ways to sneak veggies into my kids’ diets. They flat out refuse vegetables most of time, so I have to hide them in foods they’ll eat – like chocolate. That’s where these muffins come in.
Zucchini and black beans are my favourite to use in chocolate muffins/brownies/cakes/anything with chocolate, but I had no black beans and one medium sized zucchini in my fridge – so zucchini and chocolate it was. I made muffins, since my kids love them.
The verdict? 2 thumbs up – from both kids!
Of course, with chocolate, it’s hard to go wrong, right?
You can’t taste a single hint of zucchini in this recipe, just chocolate, which is why my kids kept begging for more and more muffins, until eventually they were gone (in just 2 days)… okay fine, I may have eaten one three myself, too!
- 1 flax egg (1 tbsp ground flax seed, 3 tbsp water)
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- ¾ cup coconut or brown sugar
- ⅓ cup cocoa powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ cup dairy-free milk (I used soy)
- 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
- ¼ cup coconut oil
- 1 tsp vanilla
- ¾ cup grated zucchini
- ¾ cup chocolate chips
- ½ cup water
- In a small bowl, whisk together the ground flax seed and water for your flax egg. Set aside.
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line a muffin tin with 12 liners.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa powder , cinnamon, baking soda, and salt.
- In another bowl, whisk together non-dairy milk, apple cider vinegar, coconut oil, vanilla and flax egg, until combined.
- Pour wet mixture over dry mixture and mix well, until all the flour is incorporated.
- Stir in the zucchini, ½ cup chocolate chips and water.
- Fill muffin liners (almost to the top), sprinkle with the remaining ¼ cup chocolate chips and bake for 15 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
I used less water because my zucchini were quite overgrown and wet, and they turned out perfectly. Miss 3yo approved too. Thanks for the recipe.
Did you by chance mean baking powder??? I have a pile of malformed muffins, even after baking for 25 minutes.
Unfortunately, I also had problems with this recipe. I followed all of the directions to the letter, but the batter was very thin, and the middle of the muffins never cooked, even after 35 minutes in the oven. They came out like molten lava cakes. The flavor was good, but they didn’t rise at all. Bummer!
Hi there. This recipe looks amazing! A bit of a silly question but I wanted to be sure. When you say coconut or brown sugar.. do you mean coconut sugar or actual coconut?
Thanks in advance!
Wondering how these would be with GF flour, say brown rice flour? Also, can I use raw cacao powder? Thank you!
Hello! I just wanted to tel you that I love your recipe. It became one of my all-time best muffin recipes. 🙂
THANK YOU!!
YAY! So happy to hear that you liked it!
That’s a slick answer to a challenging question
This is way more helpful than anything else I’ve looked at.
I’m out of league here. Too much brain power on display!
Hey hey hey, take a gander at what’ you’ve done
How could any of this be better stated? It couldn’t.
You’ve got it in one. Couldn’t have put it better.
Hallelujah! I needed this-you’re my savior.
A few years ago I’d have to pay someone for this information.
You mentioned you love using black beans, too… How do you use them in the recipe? Do they replace the flour?
These look delish but I’d love to cut out some gluten and add some protein!
Yep, they replace the flour. This is the recipe I use (just swapped eggs for flax eggs): http://www.mrsjanuary.com/easy-recipes/black-bean-brownies-recipe/
I use Enjoy Life brand of chocolate chips. I’ve found them at health food stores and many higher-end grocery stores.
Hi there! Just found your blog (through Twitter) and was scrolling through – I had to stop at this recipe! It looks great, but I have a question: do you use a specific vegan brand of chocolate chips? I haven’t been able to find a brand of chocolate that doesn’t contain milk or milk products, so if you can recommend one I’d appreciate it!
I do! I use Enjoy Life brand. 🙂