Vegan Lemon Zucchini Muffins
Vegan Lemon Zucchini Muffins- made with wholesome gluten-free flours, shredded zucchini and fresh lemon zest, these muffins are bursting with flavor and nutrition!
The zucchini kick continues! You guys always love when I share zucchini recipes so I figure I better keep them coming.
Rather than your typical chocolate chip zucchini muffins, this version offers a more unique combination with the brightness of fresh lemon zest. I’m a huge fan of lemon in my baked goods because it does such a great job balancing out the sweetness and it happens to pair especially well with zucchini in these vegan muffins.
Vegan Lemon Zucchini Muffins Ingredients
- Ground Flax or Chia Seed- To keep these muffins vegan, we’ll need to make a flax or chia egg by combining 1 tablespoons ground flax/chia seed with 3 tablespoons water. This helps bind the muffins and adds moisture.
- Oat Flour- Oat and almond flour is my go-to combination for gluten-free goods. I like using oat flour because it’s easy to find (or make yourself) and is packed with nutrition. If you can’t have oats, brown or white rice flour will also work.
- Almond Flour- One of the reasons I always incorporate almond flour is because I find that it helps lighten up the texture when I’m using whole grain and gluten-free flours. It also adds moisture to the recipe which is unique for flour so unfortunately this one can’t be easily substituted without making other changes to the amounts of liquid, etc.
- Coconut Sugar- I prefer to use coconut sugar because I enjoy the flavor and like that it’s less processed than refined sugar. However, you can easily sub brown sugar in it’s place if you prefer.
- Baking Powder and Baking Soda- Both are necessary for proper leavening so please don’t leave either out!
- Ground Cinnamon- Just a touch for a hint of depth. Totally optional but recommended.
- Non-Dairy Milk- My favorite is oat milk but I’ve tested them almond milk and still had good results.
- Lemon Juice and Zest- The lemon zest contributes most of the lemon flavor while the lemon juice reacts with the leavening to help the muffins rise. If you’re not into lemon then simply leave out the zest and replace the lemon juice with apple cider vinegar.
- Unsweetened Apple Sauce- Apple sauce is necessary both to keep these vegan and oil-free.
- Tahini- Using a very runny tahini provides enough moisture to replace oil in the muffins. However, if you’re not opposed to oil you can easily sub in equal amounts. Just make sure to use a neutral flavored oil so that it doesn’t effect the flavor too much.
- Shredded Zucchini- I use a cheese grater to shred my zucchini then squeeze it dry with my hands or a tea towel. This step is important to help prevent mushy muffins so don’t skip it!
If you’re looking for a muffin that’s both vegan and gluten-free but still made with nutritious flours and ingredients, I’m pretty certain you will love these!
Looking for more vegan and gluten-free muffins? Check these out:
- Vegan and Gluten-free Blueberry Lemon Muffins
- Healthy Vegan and Gluten-free Pumpkin Muffins
- Vegan and Gluten-free Cornbread Muffins
- Secret Ingredient Pistachio Muffins
Vegan Lemon Zucchini Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon ground flax or chia, combined with 3 tablespoons water
- 2 cups oat flour, certified gluten-free for allergies
- 1/2 cup almond flour
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 cup dairy-free milk
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons tahini, tahini should be drippy for best results. Can also use melted coconut oil.
- 1 cup shredded zucchini, squeezed dry
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F then lightly grease or line a muffin tin for 12 muffins.
- Combine ground flax or chia with water in a small bowl then set aside to thicken.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the oat flour, almond flour, coconut sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
- In a large measuring cup or medium bowl, add the almond milk and lemon juice. Stir to combine. Add the applesauce, lemon zest, vanilla extract, and tahini. Whisk until smooth.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry. Add the shredded zucchini and flax egg then stir everything together until evenly combined.
- Fill each muffin tin 3/4 of the way full with batter. Bake in the oven for about 25 minutes, until light golden brown around the edges. Allow to cool for at least 20 minutes before serving. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
They are in the oven now. They smell great!
FYI. You forgot to mention to add the flax egg to wet ingredients in the instructions.
Sorry about that! Thanks for the heads up!
Can’t wait to try these. Cam & I have been devouring your other zucchini muffins that I made this week. Glad these one’s don’t include dairy-free yogurt because some of those are pretty expensive! Love this ingredient list. I’ll check back in after we bake them.
Hey Kelli! (as a side note, my latest fav. cow-&-planet-friendly yogurt has been Nancy’s Plain Oat Milk Yogurt … amazingly, it is CRAZY affordable for the 24 oz as well.
$3 and change at Natural Grocers (they have Vanilla too, and it often goes on sale for $2.65 or 85). It is SO tasty with great texture too.
(Forrager brand was my old fav..but they are a lil pricier)
Enjoy!
Made these with Camryn this afternoon. Couldn’t wait to try them so we dug right in. They were delicious with butter melted on them. I made the recipe exactly as it said. :)
Yay! So happy to hear that. Thank you! :)
Wooo! Lemon with zucchini is absolutely scrumptious! Especially when zest is involved. Almond and oat flour is my go-to as well. Light, fluffy and so delicious. These look perfect, Sarah. I know a lot of development went into this recipe, thank you for sharing with us!
Hey Sarah! These look great, but I only have Whole Wheat flour… or I could make some oat flour and add…. 1/2 cup whole wheat instead of almond… i just got back from the store this morning and didnt think itd be an issue…really dont want to have to go again if i can help it? HELP!
[[OOPS! Please disreguard my previous question… I should have read the time and effort you put into describing why you included these ingredients and their flexibility–or lack there of]]
THANK YOU for including that btw!!! I will definitely bee going to the store it looks like!
No problem! Thank you for taking the time to read the post and notice that. You can probably sub the oat flour with whole wheat but the almond flour is necessary for best results. :)
These are delicious! Moist, full of flavor and nutritious ingredients. I was out of applesauce so I used puréed banana. I will definitely make these again. Excellent recipe. Thank you.
So glad it worked out with banana! Thank you for the review!
My neighbour dropped off an oversized zucchini (isn’t that typical!) from which I have made a curry, soup, cookies (disaster), and these muffins. Since my tahini is a bit on the thicker side, the only change I made to the recipe is that I used one tablespoon of tahini and one tablespoon of oil. Light, tender, moist, and delicious. These were excellent!! I will definitely make these muffins again. Many thanks for the recipe.
Do you think they would taste good with some chocolate chips so my little one would eat them?
Yes! :)