These coconut flour zucchini bread muffins are a great portable snack. And, they are a simple gluten free treat that’s also paleo friendly.
Our summer vegetable garden is giving us a bounty of summer squash. I do love squash and zucchini, but I’m not sure what to do with all of it.
We have given some away and I should probably freeze some for later. But, I’ve been so busy this summer.
Our family just got back from a vacation in the Smoky Mountains. Before I left, I baked some coconut flour zucchini bread muffins for the trip.
I really like the texture of breads made with coconut flour so that is what I chose to use to make the muffins. These were very tasty low carb treats.
Ingredients needed to make these paleo zucchini muffins
To make these easy low carb muffins, you’ll need the following ingredients:
- eggs
- coconut oil
- coconut flour
- sweetener (either low carb or paleo)
- baking soda
- salt
- cinnamon
- shredded zucchini
- walnuts (optional)
How to make gluten zucchini muffins with coconut flour
Using coconut flour in these paleo friendly muffins gives them a light and fluffy texture. And, the process to make them is super simple.
To start, simply combine eggs, coconut oil, coconut flour, sweetener, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a large bowl (photos 1-4).
Then, you’ll want to stir in the shredded zucchini and optional walnuts (photos 5 & 6). The batter should be fairly thick.
Next, the batter is spooned into greased or lined muffin cups (photo 8). Finally, the muffins are baked for 20-25 minutes at 350°F or until they test done (photo 9).
Why the recipe works
When baking with coconut flour, you’ll need extra eggs and liquid. The coconut oil and zucchini provide plenty of moisture so the muffins aren’t too dry.
Although the nuts are optional, they provide added structure. If you have a nut allergy, they can be replaced with a seed or bits of low carb dark chocolate.
The cinnamon adds a touch of spice and enhances the flavor. Plus, you’ll get a dozen muffins to enjoy some now and freeze some for later!
Although I made muffins, the batter could be spread into a loaf pan to bake up a coconut flour zucchini bread. You’d just want to bake them a little longer until the bread is fully cooked.
I will definitely make this coconut flour bread again. The shredded zucchini keeps it super moist.
Coconut flour is certainly my low carb flour of choice when it comes to baked goods. One of my favorites is a low carb chocolate cake that I made.
If you’ve gotten dry results using coconut flour in baking, I recommend adding in some shredded zucchini. You can peel it first if you’d rather not get the specks of green.
Low Carb Coconut Flour Zucchini Bread Muffins
Enjoy these easy to make low carb coconut flour muffins! And be sure to let us know how they turn out in the comments below.
Coconut Flour Zucchini Muffins - Low Carb
Ingredients
- 6 large eggs
- 1/3 cup coconut oil liquified
- 1/2 cup coconut flour
- 1/2 cup low carb sweetener or 3½ tbsp of Truvia
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 1/2 cup shredded zucchini
- 1/2 cup walnuts chopped (optional)
Instructions
- Combine the first 7 ingredients until well blended.
- Stir in zucchini and walnuts.
- Spoon batter into greased muffin cups or paper liners.
- Bake at 350 F for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in middle of muffin comes out clean.
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Notes
Nutrition
Note on Nutritional Information
Nutritional information for the recipe is provided as a courtesy and is approximate only. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site. Erythritol carbs are not included in carb counts as it has been shown not to impact blood sugar. Net carbs are the total carbs minus fiber.
About Lisa
Lisa has been creating low carb recipes for herself and sharing them with others since 2010. She loves to experiment in the kitchen and find new ways to create low sugar foods that taste like high carb favorites! Her recipes have been featured on popular magazine sites including Fitness, Shape, Country Living, Women's Health, and Men's Health. Lisa lives in Southeastern Connecticut. Connect with her and Low Carb Yum at:
Amy H says
I added 1 teaspoon nutmeg and it cut
down the eggy taste. I’ve also read that using the very freshest eggs you can get your hands on also helps with the egginess. Very good!
Jen says
Hi Lisa,
I thought these turned out pretty good, taste was great. Just a couple changes based on what the comments said. I used monk fruit sweetener, just a bit under a 1/2 c. I added 1 1/2t cinnamon, 1/4t baking powder, and 5 large eggs instead of 6. I had to bake my 12 muffins for 35 minutes. However, they tasted a bit eggy even with 5 eggs. Could I add a little more coconut flour? a 1/2c seemed low.
Thanks!
Lisa says
The amount of coconut flour should be low. You only need about 1/3 the amount of regular flour. You could try eliminating another egg and adding psyllium with water (psyllium egg).
Sarah Stancliffe says
I really enjoyed this recipe. They were moist and it can be hard to find a decent low-carb recipe sometimes. The only thing I didn’t care for was the sweetness, but that was my bad. Didn’t realize that Stevia and Truvia have almost the same level of sweetness till I finished the batch using a full 1/2 cup of Stevia. I’m new to low-carb eating. Thankfully I tasted the batter before baking and doubled everything but the sweetener which definitely helped. Next time I’ll use a different sweetener because Stevia also has a bitter aftertaste which shown through in the muffins.
Lisa says
If you’re new to low carb, it does take a little time to find a sweetener that suits your tastes and preferences. Sweetener amounts also vary widely depending on each taste.
Sharon says
I agree they were good! I felt like they were a little eggy though. Could i use a little less eggs??
Lisa says
You can try omitting an egg and see how it does.
Ellen says
Baked these up yesterday and didn’t expect much out of them. I had used other recipes in the past and did not like them. Well was I in for a surprise. These muffins are DELICIOUS! Moist, tasty and easy to make. Thanks for this recipe.
Lisa says
Yay! Thanks for letting us know how well they turned out Ellen!
Rachel says
You’re my new BFF!
The person who used strawberries is my new FA (First Alternate) 😆
This recipe is versatile and can replace dozens of other recipes, keeping my kitchen activities simple and freeing up space in my brain, too.
I added raisins and cinnamon…yummy! Next time I’ll try blueberries. And I’m thinking of using beets as well. You’ve given me some fun ideas to play with. Thank you!
Lisa says
I’m going to need to try some variations too. The cinnamon raison sounds lovely, but I’d only use a small amount of raisins due to the sugar.
Maria says
Can I use butter instead of coconut oil
Lisa says
It should work out fine using butter instead.
Beth says
Do we squeeze the liquid out of the zucchini before adding it?
Lisa says
You don’t want to do that as the coconut flour needs the liquid.
Violet says
Recipe states baking soda. Do you mean baking powder instead?
Lisa says
I used baking soda, but powder should work too.
Vanessa says
I just made these muffins tonight for my breakfast tomorrow. They smelled so good that I couldn’t resist having one straight away! They’re so delicious, and I didn’t make any changes. I used lakanto sweetener like the link led to even.
Martina says
Really amazing recipe!! I was just using what it had in the refrigerator and i didn’t have zucchini so I shredded a cup and a half of strawberries and subbed that and it still came out perfectly. The texture and light flavor of the strawberry was also delightful. Want to try them with blueberries next I think, I love blueberry muffins. Thanks for the recipe!
Lisa says
Wow! I never would have thought of that.
Bernadette says
Am making for the sixth! Time this morning, following the directions as printed. They have become morning grab and go breakfast. Thank you.
Lisa says
Awesome!
Laura says
Let’s start by saying I LOVE YOUR RECIPES! I used this recipe as a jumping off point and made the following edits:
added 1/4 tsp baking powder
doubled the cinnamon
used 1/2 cup Truvia brown sugar baking blend (yes, I know it has sugar in it, but the flavor was better than expected and the carb trade-off was negligable)
added 2 teaspoons of imitation vanilla extract (it’s what we had)
only had about 1/4 cup of walnuts
eggs were extra large
about 2 cups of shredded zucchini-the batter seemed too runny before adding another handful of shredded zucchini. Once that was added, it looked more like traditional zucchini bread batter.
Prep change: I did mix the eggs, coconut oil, and coconut flour FIRST, stirred until combined and let it sit for a little bit before adding the rest of the ingredients. This gave the coconut flour the opportunity to soak up the eggs before adding the zucchini, seasonings and sweeteners. I sprayed my pan with coconut oil, but panicked when they sort of stuck-it wasn’t so much that the eggs wanted to stick, but that the batter was pretty dense and seemed to cling to the non-stick pan. I would have used muffin cups if I’d had them, but alas, none were found.
Nutritional analysis (via myfitnesspal recipe builder) is 152 calories, 12.1 g carbohydrate, 2.3 of that being fiber, so 9.8 net carbs, 4.5 g protein, and 10.8 g fat per muffin, if you make 12 of them-they also rise better with the baking powder added.
has 112 mg potassium (which incidentally is more than I take as a supplement daily), and a little over 1700 mg sodium, which we all need on keto.
Lisa says
Thanks for sharing Laura! Not a bad carb count considering there’s a little sugar in it.
Anita says
I find adding salt to the zucchini and getting rid of excess water helps for the “sogginess” stated above. Love this recipe. Added sugar free chocolate chips to the recipe. Very yummy!! Thank you for the recipe.
Nichole says
So, this literally made me cry… you see, I’ve just been diagnosed with cancer, and after full treatment, I’ll need to change my diet for good. Zucchini bread is one of my all time family favorites! A throw back from childhood.. to know that I at least have an alternative for Thanksgiving and Christmas means so much to me, you have no idea! Thank you!
Lisa says
Wishing you well in your journey. Keto low carb has been shown to be a good treatment as it starves the cancer cells.
Na-Na says
Me an my daughter just made these,they r oir second low carb item we have made..we had such great yummy success yesterday with our keto creamcheese pancakes we tried these,they sucked really bad..my 5yr old wouldnt tak a second bite,i didnt want to waste but i couldnt eat more than a little over half of mine after putting butter on it..these need more flavor,more cinnamon,DEF more sugar..the texture was ok..but sorry these r yucky and we used all the ingredients listed,no substitutes and correct baking time..my dogs wouldnt even eat them so i threw them in the yard for the squirrels..they were sort of eggy an spongy yet moist n crunchy flavorless little sponges..i wish these tasted great 🙁
Lisa says
More sugar can be added if you desire. If I get time, I’ll rework this one based on some of the comments.
cj says
Hi. I loved them. On occasion I crumbled one and dry fried it or added some butter and ate it with natural yogurt and mo-sugar added jam. Yum!
Lisa says
I LOVE frying muffins in butter. It was a thing at a Newport, RI, based restaurant I used to work at.
Anni Bjerke says
I had the exact same experience! I’m “new” with the low carb thing. My daughter was diagnosed with PCOS, and dietary changes help keep it in check. It’s helpful for her to go low carb AND gluten free, and I had zucchini, so I went for it. I’m not gonna lie (and I don’t want to seem harsh or whatever), but I thought they were gross. They were very eggy (although I know the eggs are a great addition for nutrition! protein, right?) and def. not sweet enough. I used 3.5 T of Stevia (thinking it’s the same as Truvia — but maybe I’m wrong? Maybe I should have used the full half cup?). If anybody has a comment on that, I’d appreciate some input.
I had 3.5 overripe bananas so I made the recipe again with one less egg and a lot more chopped walnuts. Added some mini-chocolate chips (because I why not?). Def. better than the zucchini ones — my daughter and her four sleepover friends ate almost a full dozen, and I didn’t even expect them to try them! I’m sure the sweetness of the overripe bananas helped carry this version of the recipe for my palate. Anyway, I’m still learning….and maybe my palate needs to change first….but I didn’t find the muffins tasty at all. I’m still glad I tried it, though.
Sophie says
Hi have u tried these with added cheese?
Lisa says
I’ve never added cheese to these, but it does sound interesting.
Michele Inclan says
I just made these with a few adjustments based on what I had. I used 5 jumbo eggs, only 1 cup of shredded zucchini (all I had left), only 1 Tbsp of Truvia (to save some carbs), a baby food veggie and fruit pouch, 1/2 tsp of cinnamon (since there was cinnamon in the pouch, and omitted the walnuts (didn’t have any.) I had opened a Beechnut zucchini, pumpkin, apple pouch for my daughter and she didn’t want it and I didn’t want to waste it, so I added it in.
They turned out very good and very moist, and not too sweet, and still only 4 net carbs (6 total.)
Lisa says
Sounds like a winner. Thanks for sharing.
Sarita says
These came out like soggy coconut omelettes! I used desiccated coconut ground fine into flour, which is what I always use for low carb baking, but that is the only thing I can imagine that would maybe be the issue. Next time, I think I would try with twice as much coconut, or maybe half as many eggs. Any suggestions?
Lisa says
Dessicated coconut that’s ground is NOT the same as coconut flour. You must use coconut flour which has been defatted.
ashley staniforth says
Im so excited to try this recipie! Im going to sub out some of the coconut flour with some ground flax seed! Hoping it turns out 😁
Lisa says
It should be okay to sub with flax.
Anne-Marie says
Could I have the full nutritional listing for your delicious muffins Lisa?
Lisa says
I’m slowly getting the data in for each recipe. Added it on this one for you!
Laura says
I have loved every recipe so far!
Lisa says
Thanks Laura!
Buff Harvey says
I added 1 tsp vanilla. Next time I’m adding more stevia- I used 4 Tbs. and I would like them a little sweeter.
Lisa says
I did make these a bit less sweet so a little extra wouldn’t hurt!
Catherine says
Can I use this recipe to make a cake versus muffins? If yes, what would be the estimated baking time?
thank you
Jo-Lynn says
You stated that the recipe makes 12 muffins and 2 muffins would be a serving. The recipe states it makes 6 muffins and that 1 muffin is a serving. I’m confused. ??
Lisa says
Looking at the recipe, I’m pretty sure the it makes 12 muffins. I’ll fix the information. I’m not sure why it says 6 and 1 muffin.
Jo-Lynn says
Thanks Lisa. Can’t wait to try these!
Amy says
Hello…what is the total carb count? Pls and thank u.
Lisa says
I’m getting around 10g total not subtracting fiber.
Robin says
Hi Lisa,
Does one serving equal two muffins in this recipe? I’m assuming that’s the case, but need to make sure. I’m carefully counting carbs right now, and your recipes are a lifesaver! Thank you!
Lisa says
Yes. It would be two muffins since the recipe makes a dozen. I probably should have made that clear. Thanks for the catch!
Molly says
Diabetic husband loves these muffins! Making them the second time- do they freeze well?
Lisa says
Yes! I freeze leftovers often with great results!
zandi says
great make them after the sausage egg and cheese casserole it was great too now im onto something else while in the cooking mood thanks you have sure made low carb diet not only good but fun too i had lost interest in cooking anything and most of all diet foodkeep up the great work