A known bountiful garden plant is zucchini. It’s easy to grow and produces a lot of zucchini squash with very little hassle. A problem I run into though is… what do I do with all of it?! Most often it gets shredded and frozen in freezer bags at two cup increments to use later in various ways.
One of my favorite ways to use that shredded zucchini is in breads, cakes, muffins, brownies, etc. Zucchini has this way of making baked goods so moist and even wholesome because, hey – we’re sneaking a veggie in there, right?!
I remember my grandma making these muffins when all the family was home for holidays. It was added to the array of breakfast items on the table and it never failed to help fill tummies! They come together quickly and while the bake time is a little long, I’ve made them from start to finish in less than an hour using just one 12 cup muffin tin.
It’s not your typical muffin in the way that it’s much simpler than, say, a morning glory muffin but its healthier than just a blueberry muffin. It does have sugar in it, but I’ve often replaced that with honey. Regardless, a little sweetness helps keep kids interested in eating them and not just pass them by!
I tend to use my Kitchen Aid 5QT Artisan stand mixer to make these, but they could easily be made in a bowl by hand – it just might take you a bit longer.
Shredding the Zucchini
During the summer months when it feels like I have zucchini coming out of the garden all at once, I take a couple day’s worth and use my food processor to shred them on the thinnest shredding blade. To prepare the zucchini to shred, I rinse them, slice the ends off, and peel the skins with a carrot peeler. Then I cut the zucchini right down the middle with my knife, use a spoon to remove the seeds in the center, and slice the flesh into chunks that will feed into the food processor. Shred the zucchini flesh, measure into the increments you desire, place into a labeled freezer bag, and freeze! Done! You can also use it fresh.
The Ingredients
- 2 1/2 C Flour
- 1 1/2 C Sugar
- 1 TBS baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 4 eggs, slightly beaten
- 3/4 C vegetable oil
- 2 C shredded zucchini (thawed if frozen)
- 1/2 C quick oats
- 1 C chopped nuts (optional)
- Raisins (optional)
The Steps
- Preheat your oven to 400ºF.
- Add flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon all to mixing bowl and mix until blended.
- Add eggs, oil, and zucchini to bowl and mix until evenly incorporated. This mixture will be very soupy.
- Add in the oats and optional raisins and nuts and mix just until incorporated. I tend to leave the nuts out as my husband doesn’t like nuts “in” things. This round I also left out the raisins – I didn’t have any on hand. The batter at this point will be reminiscent of a lumpy soup – that’s normal.
- Fill muffin tins 3/4 full and bake at 400ºF for about 18-20 minutes. I always get around 2 dozen muffins however depending on how full you fill your tins you may get more than or just shy of that.
Hopefully you enjoy these muffins as much as we do!
