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Home » Recipes » Sweet Bread

Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

A girl with a pink apron and a mug leaning against a kitchen counter.
Developed and tested by: by Carissa Erzen on Apr 10, 2023 · Updated: Feb 18, 2026 · This post may contain affiliate links · 6 Comments

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5 from 3 votes

These easy chocolate zucchini muffins are filled with two cups of shredded zucchini (no need to peel them), which keeps them moist and fluffy. The rich chocolate flavor pairs with the salty-sweet caramel filling made from soft caramel candies baked on top.

A pool of melted caramel on the top of a chocolate zucchini muffin.

These Chocolate Muffins Have a Secret Ingredient...

These rich chocolate muffins stay moist for days thanks to two whole cups of shredded zucchini! Inspired by my chocolate chip zucchini bread, I made this zucchini muffin recipe for days when I want a decadent treat, but still sneak some veggies in it with. And I promise, you won't even notice the zucchini! Top each muffin with buttery, gooey caramel made from soft caramel candies melted on top as the muffins bake.

Three chocolate muffins stacked on top of each other in green muffin liners.

Tips from My Kitchen

  • Zucchini from the grocery store generally isn't big enough to get seeds so large that they need to be removed, but I do remove them from zucchini from my garden that tends to get really big.
  • Make sure you squeeze as much moisture from the shredded zucchini as possible to avoid runny batter.
Close-up of seven chocolate zucchini muffins topped with melted caramel.
A dozen muffin cups filled with chocolate muffin batter and topped with caramel candy pieces.

Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

developed & tested by:

Carissa Erzen
These easy chocolate zucchini muffins are filled with two cups of shredded zucchini (no need to peel them), which keeps them moist and fluffy. The rich chocolate flavor pairs with the salty-sweet caramel filling made from soft caramel candies baked on top.
5 from 3 votes
Print Pin Recipe Rate Recipe Save Saved Recipe!
Prep Time 20 minutes mins
Cook Time 20 minutes mins
Total Time 40 minutes mins
Course Breakfast, Dessert, Snack
Cuisine American
Servings 20 muffins
Calories 158 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • ½ cup granulated sugar
  • ¼ cup brown sugar (packed into the measuring cup)
  • 3 large eggs
  • 2 cups shredded zucchini (drained well; see note below)
  • ½ cup vegetable oil
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • 1½ teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ cup cocoa powder
  • ⅓ cup soft caramel candy (optional)

Instructions
 

  • Line a muffin tin with muffin cups. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
  • In a large mixing bowl, whisk the granulated sugar, brown sugar and eggs together until it is smooth, after about a minute.
  • Stir in the shredded and drained zucchini, vegetable oil, vanilla and salt. Set aside.
  • In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and cocoa powder.
  • Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix just until there's no dry flour visible.
  • Fill each muffin cup ¾ full with the batter. Tear apart small pieces of the soft caramel candy and flatten them between your fingers. Place a caramel candy piece on top of the batter in each muffin cup.
  • Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted to the edge (where there is no caramel) comes out clean. Let cool for at least 10 minutes, then enjoy!!

Notes

  • You don't need to peel or remove the seeds from the zucchini.
  • After shredding your zucchini, wrap it in a clean kitchen towel and squeeze as much water out as possible. You can also leave the shredded zucchini in a fine mesh sieve over a bowl for about thirty minutes, to allow additional water to drain out.
  • Feel free to leave out the optional caramel candy on top and just make chocolate muffins! Maybe some chocolate chips sneak their way into the batter instead. 
  • Store cooled muffins in an airtight container at room temperature or in the fridge.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 muffin (of 20)Calories: 158kcalCarbohydrates: 22gProtein: 3gFat: 7gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0.04gCholesterol: 25mgSodium: 140mgPotassium: 130mgFiber: 1gSugar: 11gVitamin A: 85IUVitamin C: 4mgCalcium: 39mgIron: 1mg
Keyword chocolate zucchini muffin, zucchini muffin
Did you make this recipe?Leave a comment below - I love hearing from you!

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About Carissa Erzen

Growing up in Germany, I fell head-over-heels in love with ALL the German baked goods, from Lebkuchen to pretzels. Now I'm the founder, recipe developer, and food photographer behind Humbly Homemade, where I test and share German sweets lovingly created from scratch. So pull up a chair, and stay a while!

Comments

  1. Sherine says

    August 12, 2024 at 2:28 pm

    5 stars
    I am a huge chocolate fan, so I added extra chocolate chips into the muffin batter. These were so rich and delicious! I brought them to share with my coworkers and they were gone in like 30 minutes! Wonderful!!

    Reply
  2. Monica says

    August 12, 2024 at 2:27 pm

    5 stars
    These were soooo good! I didn't add the caramel, but even without it, these were delicious! The texture is so moist and the flavor is perfect! You'd never even guess there's zucchini in there 😉

    Reply
  3. Shanon says

    August 06, 2024 at 2:27 pm

    5 stars
    These are so cute and tasty! I used our home grown zucchinis as well

    Reply
    • Carissa Erzen says

      August 21, 2024 at 11:26 am

      Yay to using homemade zucchini! 🙂

      Reply
  4. Yum-number1 says

    August 27, 2021 at 9:48 am

    Woah!! This is my version of a “salad” 🤤

    Reply
    • strawberryandcream says

      September 15, 2021 at 9:51 am

      Who said salad has to come in a bowl full of leaves, right?? :p

      Reply
5 from 3 votes

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A girl in a pink apron sitting on a kitchen counter.

Hello, I'm Carissa!

I'm the founder, recipe developer, and food photographer behind Humbly Homemade. Inspired by my childhood growing up in Germany, I share recipes of delicious German bakes from scratch.

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