Easy Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins with Greek Yogurt

Easy Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins with Greek Yogurt

Easy Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins with Greek Yogurt are a super moist, chocolatey powerhouse of flavor just in time for summer zucchini season. Bursting with chocolate chips and fresh zucchini, they come together quickly with this easy recipe! 

Why You Should Give This Recipe a Try

Easy Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins with Greek Yogurt are the perfect treat: quick and easy to make (meaning not a lot of hot oven time) and filled with shredded zucchini. I feel like someone is always offering me zucchini from their garden at this time of year and, honestly, what are you going to do with it all? This is a great recipe for using up some of that farmers market and backyard produce in a moist, tasty little muffin. 

Double Chocolate! This recipe includes both cocoa powder and chocolate chips. Semisweet works best in this recipe.

Grated zucchini! Lots of zucchini! – so you can feel virtuous about eating a delicious chocolate muffin. Did you know that zucchini is rich in antioxidents and high in nutrients? And yet you really can’t taste it in the muffin. You can have a serving of veggies without even knowing it.

You know how recipes says to use “neutral oil” like it doesn’t have a taste? I think it does and I don’t like it. Greek yogurt helps create a rich, moist texture and adds a slightly tangy taste. Paired with the moisture of the zucchini and you have a super moist muffin.

A little cinnamon in the batter adds a nice pop of flavor.

Recipe Ingredients

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup unsweetened baking cocoa powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tbsp cornstarch

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

3/4 cups packed brown sugar

3 large eggs (room temperature)

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/4 cup Greek yogurt (2% fat is fine/room temperature)

2 cups grated zucchini (3-4 small zucchinis)

1 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Ingredient Notes

Fresh zucchini is best and smaller zucchini generally taste better than the giant versions which can be a bit too moist and too starchy. Summer is peak season for zucchini, but most stores now carry it year round.

I don’t normally spring for the expensive chocolate chips, but my supermarket didn’t have the others and wow it made a difference! Give it a try if you can. Semisweet are best here.

Recipes often call for “full fat” yogurt or whole milk, but I found that 2% fat worked just fine. 

Try to have your eggs and yogurt at room temperature before you begin.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Fill muffin tins with paper liners. This recipe makes about 24 muffins. Set the prepared pans aside.

3. Prepare the zucchini. Peel the zucchini and cut off about an inch at top and the bottom. See FAQs for thoughts on peeling.

4. Grate the zucchini using either a food processor or a box grater.

5. Place the grated zucchini in a double layer of paper towels and squeeze out most of the excess moisture. You may need to do this in more than one batch.

6. Put the grated zucchini in a small bowl and set aside.

7. Sift the flour and cocoa powder together in a large bowl. You can do first one and then the other.

8. Add the baking soda, cornstarch, and cinnamon to the flour mixture and whisk to combine. Set aside.

9. Add the granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs, vanilla, and Greek yogurt to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.

10. Beat on low speed until all of the ingredients are combined. It may look a bit chunky, but that is fine and will be fixed once you add in the dry ingredients.

11. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Beat on low speed until just combined. Make sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula. NOTE: Do not over mix your batter. Mixing until all of the ingredients are incorporated is all that is required.

12. Add the zucchini to the batter and stir to combine using a spatula or wooden spoon.

13. Add the chocolate chips and stir by hand to combine.

14. Using a small cookie scoop or a large spoon, fill each of the lined muffin cups about 2/3 full.

15. Bake for 20-24 minutes until a toothpick or wooden skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.

16. Allow muffins to cool completely on a wire rack before eating.

Check out the full recipe on the printable recipe card below!

Storage

Store the muffins in an airtight container on a counter for 2 days.

You can also freeze your Easy Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins with Greek Yogurt in an airtight container for up to 2 months.

Tips & Tricks

Did you forget to leave out the eggs to bring them to room temperature? Me too. Simply fill a bowl with hot tap water and let the eggs sit for about five minutes. The water isn’t not enough to cook the eggs, but it will bring them to the room temperature in no time.

Using a clean tea towel or dish towel may be better than using a paper towel to squeeze out the moisture since you won’t have to worry about ripping.

You can use a hand mixer if you don’t have a stand mixer. Put all of the ingredients into a large mixing bowl and beat on low speed until everything is thoroughly incorporated.

FAQs

To peel or not to peel? That is the question.

I prefer to peel the zucchini for this recipe, but it is really just a matter of your own taste. The peel on a zucchini is rather thin, so you can leave it on for cooking and eating. Just be sure to wash the zucchini carefully if you are using it unpeeled. 

Still drowning in zucchini? Try these other perfect summer recipes Zucchini Noodles with Pasta and Parmesan or Chilled Zucchini Soup.