Blueberry zucchini muffins are one of the few ways I can sneak a vegetable into my son's snack or breakfast. They're also an excellent way to take advantage of the summer harvest, but you should totally freeze some of the bounty to make these year round as a good pioneer!
For those of you with zucchini coming out of your ears, here's instructions on how to freeze & preserve your extra zucchini.
One trick to keep picky eaters in the dark (hey, don't judge a homesteading Mamma) is to puree the zucchini up in the blender until all those little flecks of green are undetectable to the picky eater's eye.
Blueberry Zucchini Muffins
Cream together eggs, applesauce, butter, sugar, and vanilla. This homemade vanilla extract makes exceptionally yummy baked goods.
Fold in zucchini. Add flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and spices. Stir in blueberries.
Grease muffin tins and loaf pans. Pour into pans. Sprinkle with raw sugar crystals (optional, but it gives a nice texture and extra bit of flavor).
Bake in preheated 350-degree oven. Muffins for 18 to 20 minutes and loaves 40 minutes. Pull out just when set, check center with a toothpick. Allow to cool for about 20 minutes in pan then finish cooling on wire rack.
Because these blueberry zucchini muffins don't have any preservatives in them, they'll keep longer if you store them in the fridge if they're not all devoured within the first two days. They also freeze really well.
Blueberry Zucchini Muffins
Ingredients
- 3 eggs lightly beaten
- 1/2 cup melted butter
- 1/2 cup applesauce
- 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 and 2/3 cups raw sugar
- 2 cups shredded zucchini
- 3 cups all-purpose flour spelt, or soft white wheat
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 to 2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
Instructions
- Cream together eggs, applesauce, butter, sugar, and vanilla. Fold in zucchini. Add flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and spices. Stir in blueberries. Grease muffin tins and loaf pans. Pour into pans. Sprinkle with raw sugar crystals.
- Bake in preheated 350 degree oven. Muffins for 18 to 20 minutes and loaves 40 minutes. Pull out just when set, check center with toothpick. Allow to cool for about 20 minutes in pan then finish cooling on wire rack.
Notes
- If you have picky eaters, shred the zucchini in a food processor until it's almost pulverized and they won't know it's in there!
- Don't have applesauce? Use 1/2 cup melted butter in it's place or coconut oil (I think butter tastes better personally)
Wow! These are fantastic! I had some fresh-made applesauce left over after canning and a nice big zucchini sitting on my kitchen counter that I needed to use up. In no time, I had the batter mixed up and my muffin tins filled. I used tulip paper liners and they worked great, keeping the batter nicely contained so I could scatter a few extra blueberries over the muffin tops before baking.
These are soft, tender, and did I mention fantastic? Thank you, Melissa!
Hello Melissa, I tried the recipe for the first time yesterday and it was
AH-MAY-ZING!!! I didn’t have applesauce so I used your suggestion for coconut oil. They were moist and the flavor was delicious. I will definetly bake them again.
I have one question for clarity, I wrang out most of the water in the zucchini before I realized that it was not a part of the directions. Should I extract the excess liquid or leave it in?
Thank you for sharing,
Peyton
Oh my goodness! This bread recipe is sooo good! I added a half cup chia seeds to mine too and it gives it the tiniest little crunch. Yum.
Thanks for the tip about the chia seeds!!
There is already butter in the recipe. If I omit applesauce do I still add another 1/2 cup of melted butter? Or 1/2 C total butter?
Can I make this recipe in loaf pans? I love the muffins so much, that I want to make them as mini loafs for Christmas gifts.
Thanks so much!
Mary
Yes, you’ll just have to bake longer 🙂
Thanks for getting back to me so quickly! My friends are going to love these mini loaves.
Thanks for getting back to me so quickly! My friends are going to love these mini loaves.
If not using applesauce, then you would use 1/2 c butter plus the 1/2 c that’s already in the receipe for a total of 1 cup?
Correct!
disappointed with the amount of sugar in your blueberry zucchini muffins… a great way to get a sugar high for breakfast!
You can adjust the sugar to your preference, no need to be rude.
Hi Melissa, this recipe sounds good, but I am supposed to cut calories and the easiest place to cut them is to eliminate fats. Do you think this recipe would work with no butter but extra applesauce?
I am not technically a homesteader, but I have been gardening and preserving food for more than 40 years. Your blog is a great resource.
Jenny P
Yes, but you may want to research macro and micronutrients for weight loss, as fat calories don’t make you fat, it’s sugars (even those found in fruit) that cause weight gain. I’d cut back the sugar if I was concerned about calories before the butter personally. But if you want to omit the butter you can try all applesauce.
I love you recipes, I will send your e-mail address to my sister in Hot Springs Arkansas if it’s Ok with you. Think she would enjoy them too. I will wait for an answer from you first. Thank you Mellisa.
Hello Melissa, I found you recently and am so enjoying your videos/blogs. I love to garden and want to learn as much as possible to make it more successful. We have had a different summer as well weather wise and this summer I have never had to water as much as I have, ever. I live on the east coast in Canada. It was discouraging mid summer when new bugs arrived to chow down on my vegatables but they have moved on and I am presevering. Not as good harvests as normal due to the dryness. My hope is that you might comment on Brandwine tomatoes. I love the fruit. Only had one growing and pulled it several weeks ago as I feared it may have been developing a desease. Not sure that it was but it appeared at times to have a dark tinge to the edges of the leaves. Is this normal for brandywine? THere were only 6 fruit on the plant and they all ripened fine. My other few plants are not heirloom and have reistance built into them. None of them are at all affected. In fact it has been so dry the tomatoes in general are looking heathier than ususal as there is not blight, etc. – common problems for us too normally. Thank-you and I should also mention that your videos on sourdough were helpful too!
This recipe looks amazing!
How woould you suggest making low carb friendly?
Almond Flour and/or Coconut Flour?
Sugar substitute?
Thanks so much!
What is the Nutritional information and calories on these muffins
I’ve been using this recipe for over a year now. I double it and put away 3-4 dozen in the freezer at a time. They freeze beautifully! Also, I’m not a fan of blueberries in my muffins, but I purée them and it’s divine! I just swirl the blueberry purée into the finished batter and voila! Blueberry muffins without the large chunks of blueberry. ? Thank you for sharing this recipe!
I have a lot of dehydrated zucchini.. I wonder if I pulse chop it in the blender or food processor and then soak it a little. Looks tasty!
I would definitely try it!
My daughter and I made these this afternoon. The garden is bursting with zucchini and blueberries and we were looking for a new way to use them. Mercy!!! These are the BEST muffins! We used freshly ground spelt flour and substituted oil for the applesauce as we didn’t have anymore sauce on the shelves. Excellent!! I can’t recommend these enough. We’ll be making (and freezing) lots of these! Thanks for a great recipe.
Yay, I’m so glad you guys enjoyed them, woo hoo!
Looks delicious, and I have an abundance of zucchini right now! Is there something I can sub for the applesauce? I don’t have any on hand, and I want to try to make do with what I do have. Thank you!
Any pureed fruit or sub in any liquid oil for the equal amount.
i have been thinking of subbing mandarin oranges in this recipe . alternating them & blueberries . hope it works 🙂
Hi Melissa, can I substitute gluten free flour in this recipe? thanks, I love all you post!!!!
Hi Carol,
If you do, you’ll need to increase the liquid a little bit, usually gluten free flour requires more.
Hi Melissa,
If your family likes pineapple, try substituting drained crushed pineapple for the blueberries.
You can even add finely chopped nuts (my family loves pecans) for even more goodness!
Thank you for your wonderful website, I enjoy it immensely.
Melissa, will soft white wheat berries work in this recipe? If so, will the amount or liquid fluctuate at all? Also, after you blend the zucchini, do you squeeze out excess water? Thank you ??
Deb,
Yes, you could use soft white wheat berries. I used the last of our frozen zucchini from last year and blended it, I’d drained it before I froze it, so I didn’t drain it, after going the blender it was pretty much thick juice already. But when using fresh or before freezing I do squeeze it out.
Have you used freshly ground flour instead of all purpose flour?
Yes, I typically use spelt and with fresh ground spelt I up it by a 1/4 cup for every 1 cup of all purpose flour when altering.
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I think my mouth just watered. Yup. Delish!
lol, I kept snitching bites all night until an entire muffin was gone. They’re pretty healthy w/ the fruits and veggies, or at least, that’s what I keep consoling myself with.