I have been missing chocolate zucchini cake ever since I started the Autoimmune Protocol. So I have made it my mission to create an AIP friendly version. Today is finally the day!
I am pretty pleased with how this recipe has turned out. I decided to make these into muffins so I could eat them on the go and freeze some for a rainy day, but you could make this recipe using a greased loaf pan instead.
I hope you will like this recipe as much as I do. You will love how moist and chocolaty these are. They hold together well as long as you wait for them to fully cool (it’s harder than it sounds)!
XO Meagen Ashley
*This recipe was shared on the Paleo AIP Recipe Roundtable
Chocolate Zucchini Muffins (AIP, Paleo)
Moist chocolate zucchini muffins that are AIP friendly!
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings 10 muffins
Ingredients
- 1/2 Cup coconut flour
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp cloves
- 1/4 tsp mace
- 3 Tbsp carob powder
- 3 Tbsp Great Lakes Collagen green can
- 2 tsp alcohol free vanilla
- 3 Tbsp maple syrup
- 3 Tbsp coconut milk
- 1 Tbsp coconut oil, melted
- 1 Medium Ripe banana, mashed
- 1 Medium Zucchini, shredded
- 1/4 Cup water for the gelatin egg
- 1 Tbsp Great Lakes Gelatin red can
- 1/4 Cup Carob Chips (optional)
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
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Lightly grease muffin tins with coconut oil and line muffin tins with parchment paper liners. Set aside.
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In a medium bowl, mix all of the dry ingredients together (coconut flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, clove, mace, carob powder, collagen).
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In a small bowl, mix the maple syrup, vanilla extract, coconut milk, coconut oil, and mashed banana together.
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Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and add in the shredded zucchini. Stir until smooth.
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Prepare the gelatin egg- In a small pan add the 1/4 cup of water and sprinkle the gelatin over the water and let sit for 2 minutes. Then turn the heat on to medium to melt the gelatin for 1 minute and then remove from the heat and whisk until frothy.
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Stir the gelatin egg into the batter. Do this part quickly. Then fold in the carob chips if desired.
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Spoon a heaping tablespoon of the batter into the muffin tins and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean from the center of the muffin.
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Remove from the oven and let cool in pan for 5 minutes. Then carefully move to a cooling rack (leave in liners) and allow to cool completely.
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Store in the fridge for up to 1 week in a glass dish or in the freezer for up to 3 months. You may remove the liners for storage.
35 Comments
This is a small thing, but could you edit the recipe to have a lower case ‘t’ for teaspoon? That is how recipes are typically written: tsp = teaspoon, and Tbs = tablespoon. Makes the recipe so much easier to read. Looking forward to trying this! Thank you.
Sure!
I usually use gelatin. You were specific on collagen. I do have it. Just making sure. Collagen?
Duh never mind I just saw the gelatin. Got it. Can’t wait to try it.
Awesome! Let me know how it goes!!
The collagen can be left out, it is just to add some protein and gut healing benefits. Then later in the recipe it says gelatin- which is for the gelatin egg (this can’t be left out). Hope that helps!
Wonderful recipe! I made this a few days ago, but in cake form (out of muffin papers). The zucchini I used must have been too large, so it took longer to cook out the extra moisture. Since it was still pretty moist when I first took it out of the oven, I tried freezing it to microwave later, and it worked a charm. Basically, I can make your recipe to nearly baked, put in individual portions, freeze, defrost overnight in fridge, and finish baking in the microwave. Fresh cake (and just the right portion), anytime. Thank you for this treat!
Oh wow, that is a great idea! Glad you enjoyed them!:)
Is the banana for moisture? I’m allergic. Maybe sub applesauce?
I haven’t tried it but yes you could try 1/4 cup of applesauce instead!
Any idea how much zucchini a “medium” zucchini would yield when shredded? Using zucchini from my garden and “medium” is such a relative term!?
haha I know it can be hard to tell. I would say around a cup or just under.
Just made these, easy to do. Very moist and really delicious! Thank you!
Thanks for the feedback, Sarah! So happy to hear that you enjoyed them!
It s been entirely too long since I ve had zucchini bread, and with all of the fresh, local zucchini I ve been finding at the farmers market, I figured it was time to try my hand at Paleo AIP Chocolate Zucchini bread!
Hope you enjoy!!
I really like this recipe for a muffin base. It’s great with just zucchini or with carrot and raisins subbed in. I’ve also successfully subbed cassava flour in equal amount. This makes for a less grainy muffin. Wish I didn’t always lose the bottom 1/2 inch to the wrapper. It forms a hard disc at the bottom- maybe due to the gelatin?
Hi Tara,
Are you using parchment paper liners? I don’t have any issues when I use them. Thanks for the note about subs!
Do you have any thoughts on what to use instead of coconut flour? We are doing AIP and no Coconut as well due to a possible sensitivity and I’m struggling to find what is used instead.
Hi Jessica,
I’m sorry to hear of your sensitivity! Coconut-free AIP can a be a bit tricky, especially when substituting flours in baked good, so I feel you. Though I have not tried it personally (and noting that when swapping coconut flour for cassava the texture will be slightly gummier rather than fluffier due to the starch content of cassava), you might be able to substitute the coconut flour with 1/2 cup + 1 Tbsp cassava flour, and also reduce the coconut milk to 1 1/2 Tbsp (or you can use my homemade tigernut milk https://www.itsallaboutaip.com/aip-tigernut-milk/ instead of coconut milk, keeping the reduced amount). If the batter looks too dry after mixing, and since cassava flour dryness varies between brands, try adding 1/2 Tbsp of your milk substitute at a time until it is not dry.
Here is a great support group for those who need coconut-free AIP recipes and tips! https://www.facebook.com/groups/1497385213901558
I was glad to see cassava flour amounts for the coconut flour because I’m also allergic to coconut. I’m also doing AIP and found out I’m also allergic to tiger nut! Any other suggestions for a substitute for the coconut milk?
Hi Sandy,
I’m so happy to hear the cassava substitution is helpful!
You might experiment with some extra mashed banana or even mashed avocado in place of the coconut milk. If you give it a try, please let me know how it works for you!
xo,
Meagen
Could you please give me your thoughts on how to use frozen Zucchini in this recipe.
Raising my own too save money and can’t afford to experiment with costly ingredients.
Best and Brightest
Hi there Janette,
That’s wonderful you are growing your own! Vegetable gardening is so empowering.
You can simply thaw your zucchini then squeeze out about 1/3 of the liquid before using in the recipe. Save the strained liquid for smoothies if you like!
xo,
Meagen
Hi there!
Just wanted to ask if you had the nutrition info for this recipe? I usually log my food and would really appreciate the information but no worries if it’s not doable. T’was delicious!
Hi there Huitzi,
How are you? I’m so sorry, but I do not have nutritional info. I totally get that you’d want to track, though! Here is a nifty site where you can copy and paste the recipe into and it should give you the information you need. 🙂
https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
Have a great day!
Meagen
I cooked these muffins yesterday and had to day that they were pretty wet inside. As I didn’t know what the structure of batter had to be, I baked as it became. I shredded zucchini almost in puree. Maybe that’s why it was so wet inside. I decided not to add additional coconut flour into the batter for the second portion, but used a tapioca starch. And had to say it helped. It made a bit crispy on top. Maybe using coconut flour and tapioca starch together will help to make the constitution like in muffins. Just my thoughts.
Hi Olga,
Oh no, sorry to hear they came out too moist! Adding some extra coconut flour (try 1 1/2 to 2 Tbsp), and also squeezing the grated zucchini well to strain the liquid from the vegetable can also help. Tapioca alone can make baked goodies kind of “gummy”/ sticky, so the coconut flour helps to dry out the batter some.
I hope if you try the recipe again that it comes out to your liking! Thanks for sharing your helpful tips. 🙂
xo,
Meagen
[…] Chocolate Zucchini Muffins […]
I really enjoyed these especially after not having any indulgent treats on AIP. I read through the comments and found a few to be helpful! I can see how cassava flour would help with the gritty texture, but I didn’t mind the coconut flour. I used about a cup of shredded zucchini and squeezed out some of the liquid, but I didn’t go crazy. I also had parchment cupcake liners and they popped right off with zero sticking! I will definitely be making this again and playing with the recipe!!!
Hi Amanda,
Thank you for sharing your tips and tricks! I love parchment liners and will give them a try next time I make muffins or cupcakes. 🙂
xo,
Meagen
I LOVED this recipe. I was definitely eating the batter before I popped it in the oven! I accidentally got confused and mixed in the gelatin with the dry ingredients, realized at the end that I interpreted “collagen” as “gelatin”, and just added the collagen in at the end, and dumped the warm water on top, and incorporated. Seemed fine! They came out moist and gorgeous so it didn’t seem to change the end result. Thanks so much!
Hi Analisa,
Thank you for sharing your collagen triumph! I’m glad to hear that your adaptation worked out in the end! 🙂
xo,
Meagen
Reading the part of heaping tablespoon of batter per muffin, I have to ask if you used mini muffins tins to make these?
Hi Meagen!
Since this batter rises well, the heaping Tbsp measurement is for regular-sized muffin tins.
Happy Holidays!
Meagan