Banana Carrot Zucchini Muffins on Cooling Rack

16 Jan Banana Carrot Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins

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These Banana Carrot Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins are amazing for breakfast, a midday snack, or with your afternoon coffee! And are great for kids’ lunches (even the ones who hate zucchini!) Not to mention that they are DAIRY-FREE!

Ripe bananas in our fruit basket is always an invitation for me to get creative and see what I can make for our family other than Banana Bread. Although this banana bread recipe is a staple in our household, I half the sugar and add chocolate chips.

When baking bananas, I rarely skip the chocolate chips. Why would you? The pairing is a match made in heaven!

Inspired By The Morning Glory Muffin

I made these on a day where I had a lonely zucchini and three very ripe bananas. I stumbled across these Morning Glory muffins and felt inspired. As per usual, I adapted the recipe. I rarely ever follow any recipe to a T, which works in my favour most of the time and leads to beautiful new creations and modifications.

Morning Glory Muffins started popping up and I became curious: why are they called Morning Glory? 

After popping my question into Google, here is what came up:

The name of the muffin comes from the yellow color that is derived from the carrot in this recipe. … Morning Glory Muffins were created by Pam McKinstry owner of the “Morning Glory Cafe” in Nantucket. She created the original Morning Glory Muffins in 1978 and in 1981, Gourmet magazine printed her recipe. (Source: Medium)
I wouldn’t say that these Banana Carrot Zucchini Chocolate Chip muffins are Morning Glory, but it would have made giving them a name easier. I’d say that these are a new breed: Winter Glory Muffins!

Introducing Winter Glory Muffins

Using Banana Carrot Zucchini Chocolate Chip muffins in the title is great for SEO but not exactly easy on the tongue! And since they came about during the chill days of winter, it’s -28°C outside, and the oats sprinkled on top look like snowflakes, Winter Glory seems fitting.
I first made these after snowshoeing with my partner, Alex and our daughter, Alicia. They were the perfect post-snowshoe snack!

THE PERFECT MUFFIN WITH YOUR AFTERNOON COFFEE

These muffins were also perfect to satisfy my craving for something with my second coffee during Alicia’s afternoon nap!

I’ll be making a double batch once our bananas are ripe enough!

To Ring Out The Zucchini Or Not?

Some people will tell you to ring out the zucchini, but I won’t. I’ll leave that up to you.

I’ve tried it both ways and prefer to leave the zucchini as is. It creates a muffin that you can describe with your favourite word: moist.

Grate Finely

One of the secrets to making these muffins safe for kids who hate zucchini (or veggies in bakes goods) is to fine the zucchini and carrot finely.

This makes all the difference in my opinion.

And you can also see if your zucchini needs to be rung out better this way as a juicy zucchini will be obvious when grated fine!

Olive Oil in a muffin?

I’m not fussed about which oil you use in these muffins but if you’re short on time and don’t want to have to melt anything or want to avoid dairy, olive oil is a great option!

Other options include:

  • Becel Vegan Margarine, a new product that I’m pretty fond of! You can use as is or melt it if you wish (just let it cool before mixing in if you do)
  • Coconut Oil: you will have to melt and let it cool
  • Butter: Nope. I will not recommend that you use butter as you and I need to save the cows, ok?

Dairy-Free Chocolate Chips!

You might be wondering about the chocolate chips. They are indeed dairy-free! And I couldn’t be more excited to have found dairy-free chocolate chips!

The Kirkland brand by Costco are made with soy instead of dairy. They are my go-to when I have a chocolate craving.

I also love the Enjoy Life Mini Chocolate Chips and have some ready for that double batch I’ll be making of these! The mini size is so fun, especially in energy balls! My stepson and I love making these energy bites from Gimme Some Oven!

Brown Sugar Substitutes

I love sugar and I’m also mindful of how much I consume (even though I still consume too much!) I was short on Maple Syrup when I made these and the brown sugar variety just turned out so nice that I don’t want to mess with it. However, there are always options, here are a few:

  • Maple Syrup
  • White sugar with 1tsp of molasses = homemade brown sugar
  • Date Paste: I’m a big fan of Madame Labriski who uses dates to sweeten her recipes. I have not tried this recipe with date paste, but if you do, let me know. And when I do, I’ll do the same!

P.S. These Blueberry Lemon Zest muffins by Madame Labriski are also a must try! Sugar free!

Use Silicon Molds

I’ve been using Silicon Molds for a while and love them! No need to grease a muffin tray when you run out of muffin papers. Simply whip up your recipe and divide evenly in your mold!

I found these on mega sale at Canadian Tire! Keep your eye out!

What If I Don’t Have Almond Flour?

I get it. Not everyone has a gluten-free flour option hanging around.

Fret not.

You can make these solely using all-purpose flour. But I do recommend adding Almond Flour to your pantry. Then you can try this AMAZING Clementine Cake by Nigella Lawson and then do it again substituting the clementines for lemons, at least that is what I plan on doing!

Enjoy these Banana Carrot Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins and let me know how you like them!

Banana Carrot Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffin

Morning Banana Carrot Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins

This is the perfect healthy recipe to sneak veggies into your kids' muffins and have your chocolate chips too!
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Servings 12 muffins

Equipment

  • 1 12-muffin silicon tray
  • 2 Mixing bowls
  • 1 Cooling rack
  • Favourite brunch playlist
  • Lots of love!

Ingredients
  

Wet Ingredients

  • 1 medium zucchini grated *about 1 cup
  • 2 medium sized carrots grated *about 1 cup
  • 1 banana mashed
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/3 cup virgin olive oil
  • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Dry Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup brown sugar lightly packed
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup almond or oat flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt
  • 4-6 medjool dates pitted and chopped
  • 1/3 cup dairy-free chocolate chips

Optional Add-ins

  • 1/3 cup pecans or walnuts chopped *omit if throwing these into your kids' lunches!
  • 1 tbsp rolled oats to sprinkle on top

Instructions
 

  • Pre-heat oven at 350°F (175°C)
  • In a mixing bowl, add the zucchini, carrots, banana, eggs, vanilla extract, oil, and brown sugar. Mix well.
  • In another bowl, add the flours, baking soda, spices, and salt. Mix until well combined.
  • Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix just until combined.
  • Stir in the dates (make sure they are separated and not in clumps), chocolate chips, and chopped nuts if using.
  • Divide the batter into a 12-muffin silicon tray and sprinkle with rolled oats (and a chocolate chip!)
  • Bake for 20-23min, checking at the 20min mark to see if those additional 3min are needed! Make sure the toothpick comes out clean (or only covered in chocolate). Muffins should be perfectly golden.
  • Let cool in the muffin tray for 10min then transfer to a wire rack.
  • Enjoy warm with a cup of coffee and drop some off to your friend's place for their family to enjoy too!

Bon appétit!

With love & light,

Mélissa

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