Banana Zucchini Muffins with Walnuts

These delicious Banana Zucchini Muffins pack a little veggie and fruit into a tender, lightly sweet and spiced package that everyone will devour. Easy to make with a one-bowl batter and quick baking time. Freezer-friendly for make-ahead breakfasts. We love adding walnuts, but they’re optional. (Or add chocolate chips for a real treat!)

We love muffins for easy breakfasts and snacks! And when I can sneak a tiny amount of vegetable matter into them, all the better. Because let’s be honest: that is the number one most likely scenario in which either of my kids is going to eat veggies for breakfast.

You will absolutely love that these muffins are easy to make, light and tender in texture, and with an amazing flavor thanks to the sweet banana and generous scoop of cinnamon in the batter.

I wouldn’t consider them super healthy, because we do still add sugar and vegetable oil, but they are extremely delicious and better than many of the processed breakfast options we all tend to fall back on (myself included).

And they have the best texture and taste extra amazing slightly warmed up, or cut open and dressed up with a slather of butter.

Related: Banana Blueberry Muffins

Ingredients & Common Substitutions

Here are a few notes and shopping tips about the ingredients you’ll need to make this, as well as possible substitutions. Full ingredients & amounts are in the recipe card below.

• Banana: two medium or three small bananas work perfectly, just be sure they are very ripe. They should be extremely easy to mash into a puree-like consistency.
• Zucchini: about two cups grated, which you should easily get from one medium plant.
• All-purpose flour: you can replace all or part of the all-purpose with white whole wheat flour. I have not tested these with regular whole wheat or a gluten-free blend; if you try it, please leave a comment to share how it turned out!
• Granulated white sugar.
• Vegetable oil: you can replace all or part of the vegetable oil with olive oil (yes, really!), coconut oil, or applesauce if you prefer. It will alter the texture and flavor a bit, but the muffins will still turn out.
• Baking basics: eggs, vanilla extract, ground cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Why use both baking powder and baking soda? For maximum lift and tenderness!
• Walnuts: use walnut halves and pieces. If you have whole walnuts, just give them a coarse chop before adding to the batter. These can be omitted or replaced with another mix-in with no other changes to the recipe. See ideas for alternate mix-ins below.

Extra zucchini? Don’t throw it out! You can toss it into pesto, a pasta sauce, meatballs, a casserole, or another batch of muffins! Lemon zucchini muffins with olive oil or zucchini chocolate chip muffins are both great options.

Can I use frozen bananas?

Yes! Toss ripe bananas straight into the freezer, unpeeled. When ready to bake, thaw the bananas completely — an hour or so on the countertop does the job — and drain off some of the excess liquid from the mashed bananas.

How To Make Banana Zucchini Muffins

This is an overview with step-by-step photos. Full instructions with timing & temperatures are in the recipe card below.

Begin by grating the zucchini on the side of a box grater. You can also use a food processor fitted with the shredding disc, though I usually find that more hassle to drag out and clean. Place the shredded zucchini in a small bowl lined with a double layer of paper towels. This is important to help remove some of the zucchini’s excess moisture.

Should I peel the zucchini?

Zucchini skin is typically tender, thin, and easy to eat. It also has been found to have the plant’s highest concentration of antioxidants. For those reasons, I recommend grating the zucchini with the skin on to save a step and keep that nutrition. I would only recommend peeling it if you have a highly selective eater (been there!) who is going to find and pick out every shred of dark green.

While the zucchini hangs out, prep the base of the muffin batter by mashing the bananas, then adding the wet ingredients, followed by the dry ingredients, and beating into a smooth batter. You can do this all in one bowl.

Now you’ll press extra water out of the zucchini. Pick up the paper towels, wrap them around the pile of zucchini, and hold the little package over the sink while gently pressing it all over with your hands. Droplets of water will squeeze out. Once you’re getting only small drips of water, unfold the paper towels and gently shake the zucchini out over the muffin batter.

Add the walnuts, if using, and gently stir to incorporate.

Portion the batter out among muffin cups. I like to skip liners and simply spray the inside of a muffin pan with cooking spray — as long as you get a generous coat, the muffins will pop out easily after baking. But you can definitely use paper liners if you like.

Fill each well about 3/4 of the way to the top. A large dough scoop makes this so easy. This recipe typically yields 16 muffins for me, which is an annoying number, but they’re so good that I forgive them and hope you can, too. 🙂

Bake for five minutes at a high temperature (425 degrees F), then, without opening the oven door, reduce the heat to 350 degrees F and continue baking for 12-15 minutes more.

Let muffins cool briefly in the pan, then gently lift out and finish cooling on a wire rack or plate.

Make Zucchini Banana Bread, Instead

The batter for these muffins translates perfectly into a quick bread, if that’s more your jam.

1. Make batter as directed.
2. Scrape into a greased 9×5 inch loaf pan. If you use a smaller pan, you’ll have too much batter.
3. Bake for 55-65 minutes at 375 degrees or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out with only moist crumbs.

Have more bananas than you know what to do with? Bake up our all-time favorite FIVE banana banana bread. It puts all other banana breads to shame.

Storage & Freezing

• Storage: Muffins keep well at room temperature at least 2-3 days. I usually store them in an airtight container, leaving the zipper or lid slightly cracked, because they are very moist and this prevents any build-up of water droplets.
• Freezer: Yes, these can be frozen! Store in a freezer-safe ziplock or plastic storage container for 2-3 months. You can defrost as a batch on the counter overnight – crack the container to avoid excess condensation inside – or individually by warming in the microwave for about 30 seconds.

More Easy Muffin Recipes

Love baking muffins? Try these next: banana chocolate chip muffins made with Greek yogurt for a more dense crumb, classic lemon poppy seed, blueberry almond muffins, or strawberry banana.

Have more zucchini to use up? My go-to move is an easy zucchini casserole, followed by a big batch of zucchini basil pesto. Get all of my favorite zucchini recipes here!

If you try this Zucchini Banana Muffins recipe, don’t forget to rate it and leave a comment below. I love hearing how recipes turn out in your kitchen, and it helps other readers, too.

You can also FOLLOW me on PINTEREST, INSTAGRAM, FACEBOOK, and TWITTER for more great recipes and ideas!

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5 from 2 votes

Banana Zucchini Muffins with Walnuts

Prep Time: 10 minutes mins

Cook Time: 20 minutes mins

Total Time: 30 minutes mins

Servings: 16 muffins

Pack a little veggie and fruit into a tender, lightly sweet and spiced package that everyone will devour. Easy to make with a one-bowl batter and quick baking time. Freezer-friendly for make-ahead breakfasts. We love adding walnuts, but they’re optional. (Or add chocolate chips for a real treat!)

Ingredients

• 2 cups grated zucchini from one medium-large plant
• 3 small or 2 medium bananas very ripe
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour see note
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon table salt
• 1-2 cups walnut halves and pieces

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Instructions

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Lightly coat a muffin tin with baking spray or line with paper cups. (This recipe usually yields 16 regular-sized muffins for me.)
• Grate zucchini on the side of a box grater, then place in a small bowl lined with a double layer of paper towels. Set aside.
• Place peeled bananas in a large bowl or in your stand mixer. Beat until very well mashed, then add the eggs, sugar, oil, and vanilla extract. Mix into an even batter, then sprinkle flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt on top. Mix on low speed, again until evenly combined.
• Wrap the paper towels tightly around the shredded zucchini, hold over the sink, and press all over with your hands to squeeze out a good amount of the excess water. Once you’re getting only small drips, fold back the paper towels and shake the zucchini out over the batter.
• Add walnuts and fold gently until the batter is evenly mixed.
• Divide batter evenly among muffin cups, filling each just over 3/4 of the way to the top. (I like to use a large dough scoop, or you can fill them with a scant 1/3 cup each.) If desired, scatter a few walnut pieces on top of each muffin. (This is just for looks.)
• Bake at 425 degrees for 5 minutes, then, without opening the oven door, reduce the temperature to 350 degrees and bake for another 12-15 minutes. When done, the muffins will be lightly golden on top and a toothpick inserted into the centers will come out with moist crumbs, but no large streaks of batter.
• Let cool for 10-15 minutes in the pan, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Notes

• Flour: You can replace all or part of the all-purpose flour with white whole wheat.
• Extra Zucchini? Don’t throw it out! You can toss it into pesto, a pasta sauce, meatballs, a casserole, or another batch of muffins!
• Chocolate or other Mix-Ins: Feel free to add chocolate chips, cinnamon chips, shredded coconut, pecans, another type of nut, or any other mix-in you love, in addition to or in place of the walnuts. Just aim to keep the total volume of mix-ins around 1-2 cups for the best texture and dispersion.
• Storage: Muffins keep well at room temperature at least 2-3 days. I usually store them in an airtight container, leaving the zipper or lid slightly cracked, because they are very moist and this prevents any build-up of water droplets.
• Freezer: Yes, these can be frozen! Store in a freezer-safe ziplock or plastic storage container for 2-3 months. You can defrost as a batch on the counter overnight – crack the container to avoid excess condensation inside – or individually by warming in the microwave for about 30 seconds.

Nutrition Estimate

Calories: 137 kcal, Carbohydrates: 30 g, Protein: 3 g, Fat: 1 g, Saturated Fat: 0.2 g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2 g, Monounsaturated Fat: 0.2 g, Trans Fat: 0.002 g, Cholesterol: 20 mg, Sodium: 117 mg, Potassium: 171 mg, Fiber: 1 g, Sugar: 16 g, Vitamin A: 76 IU, Vitamin C: 5 mg, Calcium: 23 mg, Iron: 1 mg

Did you make this recipe?Leave a review below, then snap a quick picture and tag @nourishandfete on Instagram so I can see it!

Author: Monica Lensink

Course: Breakfast, Snack

Cuisine: American

Keyword: banana zucchini muffins