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Apple Cinnamon Zucchini Muffins

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Apple Cinnamon Zucchini Muffins – a muffin with a fruit and a vegetable that is both tender and sweet. Perfect with breakfast or as a dessert treat.

apple zucchini muffin sitting on a peeled cupcake wrapper.

Apple Zucchini Muffins

Serve these Apple Zucchini Muffins for breakfast with Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Breakfast Cups or Ham & Potato Breakfast Casserole. OR eat them all day as a snack.

Did you have a good weekend? I stayed in the house all weekend. I haven’t done that in months. Julia and I are both dealing with colds so I thought it would be best to quarantine ourselves. No errands, no walks, I haven’t left the house since Friday.

And I’m not even going stir crazy.

apple cinnamon zucchini muffin peeled from a cupcake wrapper.

She’s turning into the best little sidekick. We had so much fun.

We baked (these muffins, among other things), cleaned, painted (mostly pictures of her GG & Papa, per her request), built tents, read every one of her books (multiple times), perfected her “uh oh” and “aw man”, decorated for fall, and watched a panda documentary (Pandas: The Journey Home on Netflix – super cute – you should watch it).

pan of muffins with text overlay reading "apple cinnamon zucchini muffins".

APPLE ZUCCHINI MUFFINS INGREDIENTS

  • Sugar – Typical white, granulated sugar.
  • Vegetable Oil – Melted coconut oil will likely work as well, but I haven’t tested it.
  • Eggs – Two large eggs.
  • Vanilla Extract – I know vanilla extract is pricey right now, but it’s worth it and so much better than imitation!
  • Flour – I use all purpose flour.
  • Cinnamon – Use a good quality cinnamon for the best flavor.
  • Baking Soda – For rise.
  • Baking Powder – Another leavening agent.
  • Zucchini – You need 1 cup of shredded zucchini for this apple zucchini muffin recipe. I find this to be 1 medium zucchini. You’ll grate it, peel and all.
  • Apple – Use your favorite. I usually have gala apples on hand and they’re good for baking. I peel it before I shred it.
  • Turbinado Sugar – Turbinado sugar adds a great texture to the top of the muffins. You can use brown sugar if you don’t have any on hand, or skip it.

These muffins came about Saturday morning when I first got the urge to bake and knew we had apples and zucchini. Immediately after we finished them, Julia and I split three of them. They’re sweet and moist and pretty perfect.

overhead shot of pan of muffins.

TOOLS FOUND ON AMAZON TO HELP YOU

  • Cupcake/Muffin Pan – I make cupcakes and muffins all the time so I like to have nice pans.
  • Cupcake/Muffin Liners – I like to get the colorful variety pack to customize them to whatever I’m baking for (which is usually just because I feel like it, but whatever)
  • My favorite spatulas – I might have a small spatula addiction. I have way too many but I usually reach for these.
  • Grater – You’ll need a good box grater to grate both the apple and the zucchini. I have a mini one and a full size that I use interchangeably.
overhead shot of pan of apple zucchini muffins.

MORE WAYS TO BAKE WITH APPLE AND ZUCCHINI


Apple Cinnamon Bundt Cake
Zucchini Brownies
Peanut Butter Zucchini Bread
Apple Walnut Crumb Cake
Apple Zucchini Quick Bread

WATCH HOW EASY THESE APPLE ZUCCHINI MUFFINS ARE TO MAKE

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apple zucchini muffin sitting on a peeled cupcake wrapper.

Apple Cinnamon Zucchini Muffins

Melissa Williams | Persnickety Plates
Apple Cinnamon Zucchini Muffins – a muffin with a fruit and a vegetable that is both tender and sweet. Perfect with breakfast or as a dessert treat.
4.60 from 196 votes
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 34 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 12 muffins
Calories 157 kcal

Ingredients
 

  • ¾ cup granulated white sugar
  • cup vegetable oil
  • 2 large eggs
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup all purpose flour + 2 Tablespoons
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 cup zucchini shredded
  • 1 cup apple shredded
  • turbinado sugar for sprinkling on tops

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350°F and line a muffin pan with 12 liners. Set aside.
  • In a medium bowl, add the sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla extract. Whisk until smooth.
    3/4 cup granulated white sugar, 1/3 cup vegetable oil, 2 large eggs, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Add in flour, cinnamon, baking soda and baking powder, and stir until just combined.
    1 cup all purpose flour, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • Fold in the shredded zucchini and apple.
    1 cup zucchini, 1 cup apple
  • Use a cookie scoop to spoon the batter evenly among the 12 cups.
  • Sprinkle the tops with turbinado sugar.
    turbinado sugar
  • Bake for approximately 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Video

Notes

  • Applesauce can be used in place of the vegetable oil.
  • Use your favorite apple – I generally use Gala or a Granny Smith.
  • Store leftovers covered at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 157kcalCarbohydrates: 22gProtein: 2gFat: 6gSaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 27mgSodium: 57mgPotassium: 76mgSugar: 13gVitamin A: 65IUVitamin C: 2.3mgCalcium: 16mgIron: 0.6mg

Nutritional information is an estimate and provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.

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  1. Natty says

    5 stars
    PERFECT! These muffins came out. Perfect! If you’re looking for a muffin, that’s not too sweet, these are for you!

    I made these and my father, who, absolutely HATES. Zucchini , ate about four of them!😂 I told him they were apple muffins!!

    Great recipe! Thank you for sharing

    • Melissa Williams says

      Yay 🙂 I had to do the same with my kids then when they asked for more I pointed out that they DO like zucchini 😉

  2. debbie paszternak says

    5 stars
    I made these and substituted truvia complete for the sugar. These were awesome

    • Mary says

      Hope much Truvia for substitute?

  3. Barbara says

    they were very good, made recipe as written except I made a Carmel type frost and just drizzled over muffins

  4. Pamela says

    5 stars
    Substituted sugar with granular swerve and vegetable oil with avocado oil. Yum

  5. Mary says

    5 stars
    Delicious! I made these yesterday and they are very good. I especially like getting some fruit and veg for breakfast without realizing it.

  6. Vera says

    Something new to try with my zucchini!

  7. Michele Palevich says

    The best muffins I’ve ever made! I’ve made 2 batches in 2 days. My family can’t get enough!

  8. Vanessa says

    5 stars
    WOOOOOOW!! I added a few extras – i grated 2 apples, but they didn’t QUITE get to 1 cup, so I diced the last one to have apple chunks, and it was perfect! Brought the sugar down to 1/2 a cup; & I also added ground mace, nutmeg & cloves. Just tasting the batter, I cannot WAIT to try these muffins!! Tastes like fall! 🥰🍂🍁

  9. Tanya says

    5 stars
    Mmmmm this recipe is so delicious!! They are so moist and not too sweet. I’m going to make a double batch of these today!

  10. Heather says

    What kind of apples did you use?

    • Melissa Williams says

      I mention above I use Gala because that’s what I usually have on hand.

  11. Donna says

    5 stars
    Made mini 20 mini muffins today 🎉 So good. Will make more and freeze them. Kitchen smelled yummy while baking😄 Add chopped walnuts and crasins😋

  12. Hayley says

    Could you use apple sauce instead of Apples if that’s what on hand?

    • Melissa Williams says

      I haven’t tested that. It will throw off the ratios, but let me know if you try!

  13. Melanie Wolczuk says

    5 stars
    These are amazing and guilt free! I used a medium zucchini and two good sized macs. I took the sugar down to 1/2 cup and did half oil and half apple sauce. Also whole wheat flour instead of white. This will be a regular in our house. I may try adding some ground flax and possibly replacing some flour with ground oats to make it a bit more nutritious.

    • Melissa Williams says

      Thanks for reporting back, Melanie 🙂

  14. Kelli P says

    5 stars
    All it needs is a little salt! Otherwise wonderful

  15. Christina says

    Are the kcals on this accurate? Seems it should be just regular cals?

    • Melissa Williams says

      The terms are used interchangeably as far as I know. It’s a decent estimate but you should use your own calculator with your exact ingredients.

  16. Rachel says

    3 stars
    I’m surprised no one has mentioned the flour measurement. The 1+ cup didn’t seem right – very runny batter and a very small amount. Didn’t seem like 12 regular sized muffins. So I added more flour, maybe 3/4 cup (I just kept adding and stirring until it looked right.) I also looked at other similar recipes, and the amount of flour was always around 2 cups. The muffins turned out great. Now I’m going to make them again with the 1+ c and see what happens.

    • Melissa Williams says

      They shouldn’t have been runny – you can see the batter consistency in my video – and it does make 12 muffins – also can be seen in my video. No one else has said similar so I’m not sure, I suggest making the recipe as I wrote it 🙂

  17. Susan says

    5 stars
    Great recipe very tasty. I added walnuts & nutmeg. I will make these again.

  18. Lori says

    3 stars
    Followed this recipe to a t and my batter came out super runny. I can’t play the video.. for some reason it isn’t working so I went with what I had and hoped for the best. My muffins seem to never fully bake as I had them baking at 350 for over an hour checking them every ten mins with a toothpick and it never came out clean. Now my muffins have a burnt crust and an extremely mushy center. 🙁

    • Melissa Williams says

      When you say you “went with what you had”, did you actually follow the recipe? They only take about 25 minutes & the batter is fairly thick.

  19. Debbie says

    5 stars
    These muffins are fabulous! They are my young grandsons favorite muffin, and so quick and easy to make. They adults love them, too! Thank you for this wonderful recipe.

    • Melissa Williams says

      You’re welcome! Thanks for reporting back 🙂

  20. Debra Sargent says

    Is there any fibre? I’m thinking of making these.

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