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Tessa’s Recipe Rundown
Taste: Warmly spiced without being overwhelming, the perfect transition-to-fall flavor profile.
Texture: Light, fluffy, and moist crumb contrasted by the slightly crunchy topping.
Ease: There’s some hands-off prep time, but this recipe is very easy otherwise.
Why you’ll love this recipe: It’ll be your new back-to-school season favorite.
If you’re looking for an easy recipe to transition from summer to fall, these Zucchini Muffins are it!
They bake up mile-high, and that crumble on top has that buttery, crunchy texture you’ll be dreaming about for days. The perfect back-to-school recipe!
Recipe Ingredients
Zucchini and apple: Use 1 medium zucchini and 1 apple, shredded on the big holes of a box grater. Leave the skin on!
- Swap: I prefer a Granny Smith apple for its tartness, but use any apple you enjoy for baking.
Full-fat sour cream: The richness and thickness help create tall, tender muffins with balanced flavor.
- Swap: Full-fat plain yogurt in place of sour cream.
Dark brown sugar: In both the batter and the crumble, the added molasses adds a depth of flavor and helps the crumble hold its shape instead of drying out sandy.
- Swap: Light brown sugar if needed.
Warm spices: Cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, and allspice. Be sure your spices are fresh for maximum flavor.
Pepitas: Hulled, raw pumpkin seeds add crunch and a pop of green in the crumble.
- Swap: Sunflower seeds or chopped pecans work, too.
How to Make Zucchini Muffins (Step by Step)
Prepare zucchini & apple: Shred both on the big holes of a box grater, leaving the skin on. Toss with 1 tablespoon sugar and a pinch of salt and allow to sit over a colander for 20 minutes
Drain zucchini & apples: Wring out any excess moisture and discard it all. Don’t skip this step, otherwise you’ll end up with rubbery and bland muffins.
Mix & rest the batter: Once the batter is prepared, cover and let it rest for 20 minutes. This dramatically enhances the height of the muffin tops and helps intensify the flavor!
Prepare the crumble: Meanwhile, combine all the crumble ingredients, using a fork, pastry blender, or your fingers to cut the butter into the mixture.
Scoop & top: Divide the rested batter evenly between 12 lined muffin cavities, filling each almost to the top. Sprinkle with a heaping tablespoon of crumble, pressing into the batter.
Bake: Bake at a high temperature of 425°F for 5 minutes, then drop the temperature to 375°F and continue baking for another 15-18 minutes. Let cool.
Storage & Make ahead
Room temperature: Store the cooled muffins in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
Fridge: Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
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Ingredients
For the Zucchini Mixture:
- 1 medium zucchini (about 227 grams), washed with ends trimmed
- 1 Granny Smith apple (about 114 grams), washed with the skin left on and cored
- 1 tablespoon (13 grams) granulated sugar
- Pinch of fine sea salt
For the Muffin Batter
- 2 1/4 cups (286 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup (50 grams) brown sugar, preferably dark brown
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon allspice
- 1/2 cup (120 grams) whole milk, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup (120 grams) full-fat sour cream or plain yogurt, at room temperature
- 6 tablespoons (85 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled completely
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
For the Crumble Topping
- 1/4 cup (32 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup (25 grams) old-fashioned oats
- 1/4 cup (34 grams) hulled pepitas (or sunflower seeds or chopped pecans)
- 1/4 cup (50 grams) brown sugar, preferably dark brown
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- Pinch of fine sea salt
- 3 tablespoons (43 grams) unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
Instructions
Make the zucchini mixture:
- Using a food processor or box grater, coarsely shred the zucchini and green apple. If you notice any large strips of apple peel, remove and discard them. Toss with 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar and a pinch of salt. Place in a fine mesh strainer set over a bowl, allowing excess water to drain from the zucchini and apple for at least 20 minutes.
Make the muffin batter:
- Meanwhile, preheat oven to 425° F. Position an oven rack to the upper third of the oven. Line a standard 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners and lightly spray the interior of each liner with nonstick baking spray.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, and allspice. Set aside.
- In a liquid measuring cup or small bowl, whisk together the milk, sour cream, cooled melted butter, eggs, and vanilla, until combined, about 15 seconds. Set aside.
- Using paper towels or cheesecloth, firmly squeeze the zucchini and apples to wring out any excess moisture. Break apart the squeezed zucchini and apple with your hands before adding them to the flour mixture. Pour in the wet ingredients and stir with a spatula until just combined. Cover and let batter rest for 20 minutes.
Make the crumble topping:
- Meanwhile, prepare the crumble. In a small bowl, add the flour, oats, pepitas, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Using a pastry blender, fork, or your fingertips, press the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture forms crumbly clumps.
- Divide the batter evenly among the 12 liners, filling each almost to the top (about a heaping 1/4 cup each). Sprinkle a heaping tablespoon of crumble over each muffin, and gently press into the batter.
- Bake for 5 minutes at 425°F. Without opening the oven, lower the temperature to 375°F and continue baking for 15-18 minutes, or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool muffins on a rack for 10 minutes before removing from the muffin tin. Let muffins cool completely.
More Recipes You’ll Love:
- Bakery-Style Banana Muffins
- Lemon Yogurt Zucchini Bread
- Chocolate Zucchini Snack Cake
- Pumpkin Muffins
Photos by Joanie Simon.
These are so good! Recipe is going into my tried and true recipe box.
We’re so happy they’re a new go-to recipe! Thanks so much for the rave review 🙂
For all of you wondering about a gluten free option, I tried an experiment. My local grocery store only had Bob’s Red Mill Gluten free flour and I don’t like bean based flour so I used Pamela’s baking and pancake mix. It has Baking soda and Baking powder in it already so I did not add more. I also rested it for 30 mins instead of 20. Other than that, I followed Tessa’s recipe as written. All ingredients were weighed for measurement. The batter was wetter than the original which allowed the topping to sink and made the top look deformed. HOWEVER, the muffin was excellent. The crumb was tender with great mouth feel and chew. I would definitely make these again in gluten free ! In the picture, the original recipe is on the left and the gluten free is on the right.
I am curious, if using nutmeg, ginger, cloves and allspice, will it make this taste like a spice cake?
Hi Kathy! I think you could compare these to a lightly spiced spice cake. The spices aren’t overpowering and pair beautifully with the brown sugar crumble topping. Let us know what you think if you give them a try! 🙂
I left out the allspice as I’m not a huge fan and I think they’re great!
These zucchini apple muffins look delicious! I love the combination of moist, warmly spiced muffins with the buttery, crunchy crumble topping. The addition of fresh apple and zucchini makes this such a lovely recipe for breakfast or an afternoon snack
We loved the recipe. Especially with the streusel on top which really complimented the soft interior. The spices were nice and layered. the recipe took some time, but it was easy to manage and not difficult. Next time i’ll experiment to try and make a vegan version of these for my mother.
Hi Tessa,
Love this recipe and all of your well-tested recipes! My question today is about resting the batter. Would it be better to scoop the batter into the tins and then let it rise the 15-20 minutes for fullest crowns? I was thinking, I might lose less of the volume that you lose when scooping if you scoop first and then let them rise? Just a thought 😉 Would love your expert advise and comment. Thanks for all your wonderful recipes and hard work. Sincerely, Amy
Thanks so much, Amy! I had that same concern, but this is a pretty sturdy batter so scooping after resting created no issues with deflation. You can do it either way, whichever is easier for your workflow!
Instead of butter could a neutral oil be used..thanks
I don’t see why that wouldn’t work out just fine in the batter. However, I’d stick to butter in the streusel for best texture & flavor!
Question about substituting. What are good substitutes for apple? Would plum work?
Sorry, we’ve only tested this recipe with apple! I’m not sure a plum would be sturdy enough to substitute.
These look amazing. Do you think they would work with almond or oat flour?
We haven’t tested either, so I can’t say for sure! Please let us know how it goes if you experiment.