Paleo Zucchini Pumpkin Muffins

If you’re saying farewell to summer and hello to fall in your part of the world, I’ve got the perfect paleo muffin for you!  Paleo zucchini pumpkin muffins are a great option with just the right moisture content to call it a grain free success!  Get all the health benefits of vegetables in your muffins with all the fall feels that are pumpkin.

What’s September looked like for you this year?  (Besides weird, because 2020.)  I’m just talking weather!  For us, we went from really super hot to suddenly fall (in one night!) and then back to a little bit of summer and then fall again.  The weather really doesn’t seem to be able to make up its mind.  I think I’m okay with that.  As much as I LOVE FALL, after fall comes winter, and I am not a huge fan.  It goes on for like seventeen months here in Michigan.  Just when you think it’s over, it’s not.  So, take your time summer and fall.  I’m okay.

And if you like your baked goods about as back and forth as your weather, I give you these paleo zucchini pumpkin muffins.  For that person who said, “Let’s try to grow a garden.  How ’bout zucchini?” and then that garden went nuts and you are SO over all the zucchini…these muffins are for you.  Or, if you’re like me, and your thumb is black, you just happily accept all those zucchinis from friends who have had enough.  (Thanks!!)

Zucchini muffins are great for families that know they should eat zucchini but it’s really nobody’s favorite vegetable.  However, most of the (delicious) recipes I see are loaded with sugar not to mention white flour.  These days, I just can’t.  

So, enter the world of paleo baked goods and you get…lots of soggy things.  Really, most of the ones I’ve had just aren’t very good.  They are either ridiculously soggy or they just taste like almonds.  It is VERY hard to make baked goods without grains.  BUT, it CAN be done!!  (Want more proof?  Try my banana bread!) 

Foodie FAQ’s…

1.  How do I ensure that these muffins will not be soggy?

My easy answer?  I let them sit out of the counter for a while!  They cool a bit in the pan, and then I remove them to a wire rack so that they can cool on all sides.  Very important.  Then, I get lazy about the muffins.  I just want to eat them and then do something else, and will someone else also please clean up my dishes?  So, the muffins just get left out for a while, and I find they are better muffins for my lack of attention.  Easy.

2.  What else can I do to avoid soggy muffins?  Zucchinis have SO much water.

Glad you asked.  Be sure to drain the shredded zucchini!  I put mine in a nut milk bag and really wring it out.  I try to get just about all of the water out.  Also, we are adding pumpkin to the mix here which is also very wet, so make sure you don’t have too many wet ingredients in the mix!

3.  Can I use canned pumpkin?

It’s all I ever use.  Maybe some day I will get some pie pumpkins and do all the work of getting lots of real pumpkin bagged and frozen for all my pumpkin uses, but I’m just not there right now.  It is fine.  Just make sure you get 100% pure pumpkin and not pumpkin pie filling.

4.  Collagen peptides in a baking recipe?

I had never tried it before this recipe, and now I am a huge fan!  These muffins will NOT send your blood sugar on a roller coaster, and they actually fill you up!  I use this kind.  I’m not a fan of mid-morning snacks.  I like a later breakfast and then lunch, and these muffins will not leave you hanging between meals!

5.  About greasing muffin tins…

I don’t know why I hate that so much, but I do.  I don’t like cooking spray, and it feels like a pain to grease with butter or coconut oil, so I just opt for my reusable silicon muffin cups.  SO easy.  The muffins pop out perfectly every single time.  Then I just throw them in the dishwasher.

Alrighty…onto the recipe!

Yield: 18

Paleo Zucchini Pumpkin Muffins

Print

A delicious farewell to summer and hello to fall with these muffins. Grain, dairy, gluten, and nut free!

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 c. shredded zucchini
• 8 eggs
• 1 c. pumpkin puree
• 1 c. pure maple syrup
• 2/3 c. coconut flour
• 1/2 c. unflavored collagen peptides powder
• 1/2 c. arrowroot powder
• 1 T. baking soda
• 1 T. cinnamon
• 1/4 t. ground nutmeg
• 1/2 t. fine sea salt

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with silicon or parchment baking cups or grease the muffin tin very well. (The recipe will make more than 12 muffins. If you have a second muffin pan, you can certainly make them all in one batch.)
2. Place the shredded zucchini in a nut milk bag and wring out as much water as you can. (Alternately, you can wrap the zucchini in paper towels and wring it dry.) Set aside.
3. Place the eggs, pumpkin puree, and maple syrup in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until combined.
4. Add the coconut flour, collagen powder, arrowroot, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Mix again on medium speed until combined.
5. Add the zucchini to the batter and mix on low speed.
6. Fill the muffin cups until they are 2/3 full.
7. Bake about 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.
8. Remove the muffins to a wire rack to cool. (If using silicon baking cups, remove the cups once the muffins are cool enough to handle.)
9. Allow the muffins to set out on the counter to cool and dry for at least a few hours before storing in an airtight container.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

18

RELATED:  Stuff I Like: Late Summer 2019

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 121Total Fat: 3gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 83mgSodium: 319mgCarbohydrates: 17gFiber: 1gSugar: 12gProtein: 7g

Nutritional information is approximate. I do not actually endorse counting calories or macros.

Recipe adapted from Eat What You Love by Danielle Walker.  Inspo for this version comes from my friend Rachel and her recipe here.  

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