Healthy Zucchini Oatmeal Muffins
These muffins are moist, tender, and perfect for meal prepping or quick grab-and-go breakfasts and snacks! They’re deliciously sweet with lots of cozy spice flavors, and hearty oats and bright green zucchini fill every bite. Even my picky eaters loved them! Leftovers will keep for at least one week if stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator, and they freeze and reheat really well too!
Ingredients
- ¾ cup (75g) instant oats (gluten-free if necessary and measured like this)
- ½ cup (120g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- 1 cup + 1 tbsp (255mL) nonfat milk, divided
- 2 cups (240g) white whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- 1 tbsp (6g) ground cinnamon (see Notes!)
- ½ tsp ground allspice
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ¾ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ tbsp (7g) unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted and cooled slightly
- 2 large egg whites, room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 ½ tsp liquid stevia
- 2 ¼ cups (203g) freshly grated zucchini, thoroughly patted dry (see Notes!)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F, and coat 13 muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray. (If using liners, then line 13 muffins cups with liners and coat them with cooking spray.)
- In a medium bowl, stir together the oats, Greek yogurt, and 5 tablespoons of milk. In a second bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a third bowl, whisk together the butter, egg whites, vanilla, and liquid stevia. Add in the oat mixture, stirring until no lumps remain. Alternate between adding the flour mixture and remaining ¾ cup of milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture, and stirring just until incorporated. (For best results, add the flour mixture in 4 equal parts.) Gently fold in the zucchini.
- Divide the batter between the prepared muffin cups. Bake at 350°F for 30-33 minutes or until the top feels firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with a few crumbs attached. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
Do NOT use an electric mixer to mix up the batter. This will result in dense or tough muffins. Use a whisk where instructed, and use a fork for everything else.
Instant oats are also called quick-cooking or one-minute oats. They’re smaller and thinner than traditional old-fashioned rolled oats, so they soften faster (which gives these muffins their moist and fluffy texture!). You can find instant oats right next to the traditional old-fashioned rolled oats at the grocery store! In a pinch, add ¾ cup of old-fashioned rolled oats to a food processor or blender, and pulse until they’re ⅛ - ¼ of their original size.
For the gluten-free flour, use the following: 1 cups (120g) millet flour, ½ cup (60g) tapioca flour, ½ cup (60g) brown rice flour, and 1 ¼ teaspoons xanthan gum. Most store-bought gluten-free flour blends (like this one!) will work as well, if measured like this.
Whole wheat pastry flour, regular whole wheat flour, or all-purpose flour may be substituted in place of the whole wheat flour.
Remember to measure the flour and oats correctly, using this method or a kitchen scale. (← That’s the one I own and love!) Too much will make your muffins turn out dry. This is especially true of the oats because they act like little sponges and soak up lots of moisture from the batter!
This is my favorite cinnamon (← I buy it online at that link!) because it tastes stronger, richer, and sweeter than regular cinnamon. For a stronger spice flavor, increase the cinnamon by an additional ¼ to ½ teaspoon.
The muffins require 2 full egg whites. The whites contain the majority of the protein in eggs, and that protein is required to ensure the muffins maintain their shape and texture while cooling.
For sweeter muffins, increase the liquid stevia by an additional ¼ to ½ teaspoon.
I do not recommend substituting for the liquid stevia, if at all possible. I buy my liquid stevia online here because that’s the best price I’ve found. (It’s one of my favorite ingredients, and you’ll use it in all of these recipes of mine, too!) However, if you really prefer to omit the liquid stevia from the muffins, substitute ¾ cup (144g) granulated sugar, brown sugar, or coconut sugar and reduce the milk to ½ cup + 3 tablespoons (165mL). You may also substitute ¾ cup (180mL) pure maple syrup, honey, or agave and reduce the milk to 5 tablespoons instead. The baking time may vary with either of those substitutions as well.
Any milk may be substituted in place of the nonfat milk.
Measure the zucchini before patting it dry. You must thoroughly 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 grated zucchini on top. Place another double-thick layer of paper towels on the zucchini, and firmly press down until the top towel layer turns completely wet. Repeat with a fresh set of double thick paper towels on top.
{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat, sugar-free}
DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?I'd love to hear what you think of it in a comment below! If you take a picture, tag @amys.healthy.baking on Instagram or use the hashtag #amyshealthybaking.