Vegan Courgette Muffins (zucchini muffins)

Name: Vegan Courgette Muffins (zucchini muffins)
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 22 min
Ingredients: 215 g coarsely grated courgette (zucchini) ((about 1 medium-large)); 80 g (⅓ cup) plain non-dairy yogurt (I use Greek style soya); 90 g (6 Tablespoons)) unsweetened non-dairy milk (I use soy); 110 g (½ cup) oil (I use olive); 160 g (¾ cup) light brown soft sugar; 2 teaspoons vanilla extract; 2 teaspoons vinegar (cider or white wine are best); 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon; ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg; ½ teaspoon ground allspice; 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder; ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda); ¼ teaspoon fine table salt; 305 g (2 ½ cups) plain (all-purpose) flour; 85 g (¾ cup) roughly chopped walnuts; 85 g (½ cup) sultanas or raisins

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These giant, bakery style vegan courgette (zucchini) muffins are light, fluffy and moist with tall muffin tops and a lightly spiced flavour. They are a great way of using up an excess courgette, are very easy to make and perfect for freezing and snacking!

A stack of vegan courgette muffins on a wire cooling rack.

Based on my spiced courgette cake and carrot cake muffins, these spiced vegan zucchini muffins with sultanas and walnuts are a great breakfast or mid morning or afternoon snack. They also happen to be very easy to make in just one bowl and are perfect for baking in advance and freezing!

A labelled photo of the ingredients needed to make vegan courgette muffins.

Ingredient Details:

Courgette (zucchini): It is important to weigh out your courgette rather than just adding one, otherwise your results could vary drastically. Use a regular sized grater, there is no need to peel it, and you don't need to squeeze out the excess liquid.

Oil: I use a mild olive oil but any neutral oil such as sunflower, rapeseed or avocado is fine.

Sugar: I recommend light brown soft but dark brown is also fine.

Yogurt: The yogurt helps to keep the muffins nice and moist, with a light, fluffy texture. A thick, Greek style yogurt is best as the thicker the batter, the higher the muffin tops, but any kind will work.

Milk: You can use any kind you like but it should ideally be unsweetened and soy milk is best as it has the highest protein content.

Plain flour: Plain (all-purpose) flour is best. I haven't tested these gluten-free.

Baking powder and soda: Using both baking powder and bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) will give you the best rise and texture. Don't swap one for the other, you will not get the same result.

Vinegar: This reacts with the bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) to help the muffins rise and give them a fluffy texture.

Spices: Feel free to use a spice blend such as pumpkin or apple pie spice instead of the individual spices.

Sultanas and walnuts: You can swap these for raisins, chopped dates, dried cranberries, other nuts or chocolate chips.

Vegan courgette muffins in a muffin tray, with the empty cavities filled with sultanas and walnuts.

How To Make Vegan Courgette Muffins:

(Full measurements and instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the page)

Step 1: Coarsely grate the courgette then weigh out 215g into a large bowl, do not squeeze it out.

Step 2: Stir in the yogurt, milk, oil, sugar, vanilla extract and vinegar.

Step 3: Stir in the spices, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt, followed by the plain flour.

Step 4, the batter with the walnuts and sultanas added.

Step 4: Fold in the sultanas and walnuts. Leave the batter to rest for 15 minutes.

Step 5, the batter divided between the muffin cases.

Step 5: Divide the batter between 8 muffin cases, ideally spread out across two muffin pans with an empty cavity between each one. Fill the cases almost all the way to the top.

Step 6: Bake for 7 minutes at a high oven temperature, then turn the oven down and bake for a further 15 minutes.

Close up shot of a stack of vegan zucchini muffins.

Close up shot of vegan courgette muffins in a muffin tin with sultanas and walnuts filling the empty cavities.

Top Tips:

USE SCALES. As with all of my baking recipes I really do recommend using the metric measurements with a digital scales rather than the cup conversions. Cups are a wildly inaccurate measuring system and you will get far better, more consistent results using a scale, not to mention that it is also easier and less messy than cups!

For the teaspoon and Tablespoon measurements, please use proper measuring spoons, not just regular spoons. A teaspoon is 5ml and a Tablespoon is 15ml.

Don't over-beat the batter as that can make the muffins tough. Just stir the mixture with a balloon whisk until no dry streaks remain, a few little lumps is fine.

It is especially important that you weigh out the courgette after grating it. Most of the liquid in these muffins comes from the courgette so if you have too much or too little it will make them either too soggy or too dry.

Be sure to use the coarse side of the grater to grate the courgettes; they will be too mushy if you use a fine grater.

To make sure that the cases don't stick, use good quality ones and allow the muffins to cool completely before eating them, they are more likely to stick when they are warm. You can also spray the muffin cases with baking spray or oil, or bake the muffins straight in a well greased non-stick muffin pan.

Lightly grease the top of the muffin pan to help stop the muffin tops from sticking to it.

FAQ's:

How do I get tall, bakery style muffins?

There are a few steps that help to ensure nice, tall muffins:
1: Rest the batter at room temperature for 15 minutes before scooping it into the muffin cases.
2: Fill the muffin cases right to the top.
3: Space the cases out across two muffin pans, try and leave an empty cavity between each one.
4: Bake the muffins at a high temperature for 7 minutes to give the muffins an initial boost, then turn the oven down and bake for a further 15 minutes.

How should I store them?

These vegan courgette muffins will keep in an airtight container at cool room temperature for around 2 days, or in the fridge for 4, though the fresher they are eaten the better.

Can I freeze them?

Yes these muffins freeze well. Freeze them on the day they are baked to preserve freshness but make sure that they have cooled completely first. Place in a ziplock bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Allow to sit at room temperature for a couple of hours to defrost.

What is the difference between courgette and zucchini?

Courgette and zucchini are the same thing; courgette is the French name which is used in the UK, and zucchini is the Italian name which is used in North America.

A vegan courgette muffin sliced in half.

More Vegan Muffin Recipes:

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