A few weeks after I turned ten, my family moved across town to an older yet larger house with incredibly spacious front and back yards. The house sat on nearly a full acre, which was almost unheard of in my highly populated hometown!
As a result, the previous owner had planted lots of fruit trees, including figs, peaches, plums, apples, avocados, oranges and three types of lemons. Since my dad and brother love lemon treats, we were especially excited about those last few trees!
After picking our first big bag of lemons, we tried turning them into lemonade popsicles. We followed a simple recipe we found on the internet (just lemon juice, water, and sugar!), and we poured the mixture into popsicle molds.
That evening, once the popsicles had completely set, we pulled them out of the freezer to eat for dessert. They refused to budge from the molds when we gently tugged on the sticks, so Mom ran them under hot water for a few seconds. We tried again, giving them a more vigorous yank, and…
We pulled the sticks right out, while the popsicles stayed firmly inside of the molds! Oops…
Since then, I’ve only tried making homemade popsicles one other time. I decided to stick with baked lemon treats instead!
Like these Healthy Lemon Zucchini Muffins! They’re soft and tender with lots of bright lemon flavor, and unlike those popsicles, these contain no added sugar (or refined flour either!). Plus they’re just 98 calories!
And also unlike those popsicles… These definitely popped right out of the muffin pan! ?
So let’s talk about how to make these healthy lemon zucchini muffins!
You’ll start with white whole wheat flour (like this!), which isn’t actually a combination of white (aka all-purpose) flour and whole wheat flour. Instead, white whole wheat flour is made from soft white wheat (hence the name!), whereas regular whole wheat flour comes from a heartier variety of red wheat.
They both have the same health benefits, but white whole wheat flour has a lighter taste and texture. And that quality lets the citrus flavor and moist texture of these healthy lemon zucchini muffins truly shine!
Hint: I’ve also included my favorite gluten-free option in the Notes section of the recipe, if you prefer!
And while we’re on the topic of that moist texture… These healthy lemon zucchini muffins only require ½ tablespoon of butter. Yes, that’s it! The rest of their tenderness comes from Greek yogurt, one of my favorite healthy baking ingredients.
Greek yogurt adds the same moisture to your muffin batter as extra butter or oil—but for a fraction of the calories! It also gives your muffins a protein boost.
Low calorie muffins… That are higher in protein… And still really moist and tender. Win-win-win!
Like I mentioned earlier, these healthy lemon zucchini muffins contain no added sugar! Instead, you’ll sweeten them with another one of my favorite ingredients: vanilla stevia. Stevia is a plant-based, no-calorie sweetener that contains nothing refined or artificial (aka it’s clean eating friendly!), and it’s highly concentrated. You just need 2 ¼ teaspoons for this entire batch of healthy lemon zucchini muffins!
This is the kind I use because I love its warm flavor and don’t notice any strange aftertaste like with some other stevia products. Although you can find it at many health-oriented grocery stores, I buy mine online here because that’s the best price I’ve found. (And you’ll use it in all of these recipes of mine, too!)
Time to talk lemons! You’ll use both lemon zest and freshly squeezed lemon juice in these healthy lemon zucchini muffins. The former actually provides most of the citrus flavor, so don’t skip it!
If you can find Meyer lemons, I highly recommend those. They have a fuller, slightly sweeter flavor, and these muffins have the best tender texture when made with Meyer lemons.
Before stirring it into the batter, you must thoroughly pat your zucchini dry with paper towels. This removes excess moisture from the zucchini. If you skipped this step and just added the zucchini straight to the bowl, then the zucchini would release that extra water into these healthy lemon zucchini muffins while the baked… And that extra water would mean your muffins would (a) take longer to bake and (b) collapse while cooling from the extra water. I promise it’s worth the extra time to pat your zucchini dry!
One last thing! If using muffin liners, you must coat your muffin liners with cooking spray. Low-fat batters (like these healthy lemon zucchini muffins!) stick to muffin liners and muffin pans like superglue, so coating them with cooking spray helps the paper liners peel back more easily. Such a nifty trick, right?
I’m slightly embarrassed… I’ve made (and eaten!) way more of these muffins than I should probably admit! ? And when you make your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees I’ll see your picture! ?) I’d love to see your healthy lemon zucchini muffins!
| Healthy Lemon Zucchini Muffins | Print |
- 2 ¼ cups (270g) white whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 ½ tbsp (14g) lemon zest (see Notes!)
- ½ tbsp (7g) unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted and cooled slightly
- 2 large egg whites, room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 ¼ tsp vanilla stevia, or adjusted to taste
- ½ cup (120g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- ½ cup (120mL) freshly squeezed lemon juice (see Notes!)
- ¾ cup (180mL) nonfat milk
- 1 ½ cups (135g) freshly grated zucchini, patted dry (see Notes!)
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners, and lightly coat them with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk in the lemon zest. In a separate bowl, whisk together the butter, egg whites, vanilla extract, and vanilla stevia. Add in the Greek yogurt, stirring until no large lumps remain. Stir in the lemon juice. Alternate between adding the flour mixture and milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture, and stirring just until incorporated. (For best results, add the flour mixture in 4 equal parts.) Fold in the zucchini.
- Evenly divide the batter between the prepared muffin cups. Bake at 350°F for 23-26 minutes or until the tops feel firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
I highly recommend using Meyer lemons, if you can! When made with Meyer lemons, these muffins have a better texture than when made with regular lemons. (The muffins can sometimes turn out a bit denser with regular lemons… I’m still working on figuring out the science of why that might be!)
For the gluten-free flour, use as follows: 1 cup (120g) millet flour, ¾ cup (90g) tapioca flour, ½ cup (60g) brown rice flour, and 1 ½ teaspoons xanthan gum. Many store-bought gluten-free flour blends (like this one!) will also work, if measured like this.
Whole wheat pastry flour, regular whole wheat flour, or all-purpose flour may be substituted for the white whole wheat flour.
I highly recommend using the vanilla stevia! It’s one of my favorite ingredients, and you’ll use it in all of these recipes of mine, too. I buy mine online here because that’s the cheapest price I’ve found. If you prefer not to use the vanilla stevia, then substitute ¾ cup (180mL) of pure maple syrup, honey or agave. If using this substitution, omit the milk.
Any milk may be substituted for the nonfat milk.
Measure the zucchini before patting it dry. You must pat it dry to remove the excess moisture because that excess moisture will cause the muffins to collapse while cooling. To pat the zucchini dry, lay a double-thick layer of paper towels onto a cutting board, and arrange the freshly shredded zucchini on top. Place another double-thick layer of paper towels on the zucchini, and firmly press down until the top towel turns completely wet.
{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat, low sugar}
View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♡ Healthy Lemon Blueberry Scones
♡ The Ultimate Healthy Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
♡ Healthy Lemon Scones with Lemon Glaze
♡ Healthy Lemon Poppy Seed Mini Muffins
♡ Healthy Lemon Blueberry Breakfast Bread
♡ Healthy Lemon Poppy Seed Pound Cake
The muffins treat saved the day! Popsicles can be overrated anyway, haha.
Somehow, I usually end up with a brain freeze whenever I eat them! ?
It is OK to use low-fat buttermilk in your recipes in place of non-fat milk? Please email me and let me know. Today I made the oatmeal apple cake, pumpkin cake and morning glory muffins! Happy fall!
I truly appreciate your interest in my recipes Lisa! I hope you enjoyed those fall treats! 🙂 I often include whether other milks will work in the Notes section of the recipes, located directly underneath the Instructions. If I specify in the Notes that “Any milk will work in place of the nonfat milk,” then yes — low-fat buttermilk will work! 🙂