Gluten Free Carrot Zucchini Muffins

Gluten Free Carrot Zucchini Muffins are a healthy and delicious way to start the day for the whole family.

This year, one of our resolutions is eating more greens and veggies.

It’s all about moderation, so I’m not here to talk about losing weight or any of that.

Instead, I’d like to focus on making our family stronger, and food is a great way to do that.

That being said, my kids are picky eaters and getting them to try new vegetables can be an uphill battle.

One of my favorite ways around this is sneaking veggies in whenever I can, and that’s what I did with this Gluten Free Carrot Zucchini Muffins recipe.

If I can’t get my kids to try a new vegetable, I’ll sneak it into a smoothie or dish to show them that they actually do like it.

Of course, I don’t tell them until after they’ve tried it, but it’s usually met with a smile from my kids and a willingness to try that vegetable in the future.

I find smoothies to be the easiest way to sneak in greens as banana and pineapple mask those flavors so well. But this time, I wanted to create a muffin that is full of veggies and freezes well so that I could make it in large batches.

The result was Carrot Zucchini Banana Apple Muffin, but that is SUCH a long title that instead I’m calling them Carrot Zucchini Muffins.

I knew that banana flavor needed to dominate in this recipe since my kids love my banana bread and muffins recipe. After that, I honestly experimented with the other ingredients until I got it right.

In the end, I’m really happy with how they came out, since I think they kind of look like rainbow muffins at first glance.

But, more important, my kids loved them!

They were such a huge hit, that after breakfast, my daughter asked if she could include one in her lunch box and they were the first thing she asked for when she got home from school.

Total Mom Win!!

Here’s the simple recipe, so you can make some too!

Gluten Free Carrot Zucchini Muffins

This recipe makes 12 standard size muffins. By ingredients it is gluten free, dairy free, peanut free, and soy free. It can be made tree nut free by substituting the coconut oil for vegetable oil.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup riced or grated zucchini (about 2 zucchini)
• 1/2 cup riced or grated carrots (about 1 1/2 large carrots)
• 1 1/2 ripe bananas
• 1/8 cup apple sauce
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 cups gluten free multi-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Peel carrots and chop into small pieces.
3. Add carrot to food processor and pulse until finely riced, like in a cold slaw.
4. Measure out 1/2 cup of the riced carrot and add to a mixing bowl.
5. Peel zucchini, and chop into small pieces.
6. Add zucchini to food processor and pulse until finely riced, like in a slaw.
7. Measure out 1 cup riced zucchini.
8. Place zucchini between two sheets of paper towels, wrap, and squeeze to remove excess water.
9. Add riced zucchini to mixing bowl with carrots.
10. Chop banana into large chunks, add to bowl and mash with a fork.
11. Add your apple sauce to the bowl and mix by hand with a spatula or fork.
12. Add your oil and beaten egg. Mix until smooth.
13. Add your sugar to the bowl and mix until dissolved.
14. In a separate bowl, add your gluten free flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Mix until well combined.
15. Next, add your salt and cinnamon to the dry ingredients bowl and mix again.
16. Pour your dry ingredients into the wet ingredients bowl.
17. Mix by hand until well combined. You don’t want to see any dry spots of flour.
18. Add paper liners to your muffin pan.
19. Fill muffin cups 1/2 – 2/3 of the way full with batter.
20. Bake for 20 minutes, until a fork comes out clean and they’re firm on top.

Helpful Tips:

1. Pulse the carrots and zucchini in a food processor until they’re almost minced in size. Longer strips from a grater are ok too, but picky eaters that are texture eaters will prefer the veggies in very small pieces.
2. For uniform cupcakes, use a medium size cookie scoop or a 1/4 cup measuring cup to scoop the batter.
3. Drain the excess water from the zucchini to avoid overly wet muffins. Once you’ve measured out the amount of zucchini you need, wrap it in a paper towel, and squeeze over the sink or a bowl. Discard excess water.
4. These muffins freeze very well. For best results, let them cool completely and then store them in an air tight container for up to one month. Remove from the freezer as needed and let them thaw in the oven at 200 degrees until warm.

Gluten Free Carrot Zucchini Muffins Printable Recipe:

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Gluten Free Carrot Zucchini Muffins

This recipe makes 12 standard size muffins. It is gluten free, dairy free, peanut free and soy free. It can be made tree nut free by substituting the coconut oil for another vegetable oil.

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Keyword dairy free carrot zucchini muffins, gluten free carrot zucchini muffins

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Resting time 10 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Servings 12 muffins

Calories 145 kcal

Author Jereann Zann

Ingredients

• 1 cup zucchini riced, takes about 2 zucchini
• 1/2 cup carrots riced, takes about 1 1/2 large carrots
• 1 1/2 bananas ripe
• 1/8 cup apple sauce
• 1 egg beaten
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 cups gluten free multi-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Peel carrots and chop into small pieces.

3. Add carrot to food processor and pulse until finely riced, like in a cold slaw.

4. Measure out 1/2 cup of the riced carrot and add to a mixing bowl.

5. Peel zucchini, and chop into small pieces.

6. Add zucchini to food processor and pulse until finely riced, like in a slaw.

7. Measure out 1 cup riced zucchini.

8. Place zucchini between two sheets of paper towels, wrap, and squeeze to remove excess water.
9. Add grated zucchini to mixing bowl with carrots.
10. Chop banana into large chunks, add to bowl and mash with a fork.

11. Add your apple sauce to the bowl and mix by hand with a whisk or fork.

12. Add your oil and beaten egg. Continue to mix until smooth.

13. Add your sugar to the bowl and mix until dissolved.

14. In a separate bowl, add your gluten free flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Mix until well combined.
15. Next, add your salt and cinnamon to the dry ingredients bowl and mix again.
16. Pour your dry ingredients into the wet ingredients bowl.
17. Mix by hand with a spatula or fork until well combined. You don't want to see any dry spots of flour.
18. Add paper liners to your muffin pan.

19. Fill muffin cups 2/3 of the way full with batter.

20. Bake for 20 minutes, until a fork comes out clean and they're firm on top.

Recipe Notes

1. Pulse the carrots and zucchini in a food processor until they're almost minced in size. Longer strips from a grater are ok too, but picky eaters that are texture eaters will prefer the veggies in very small pieces.
2. For uniform cupcakes, use a medium size cookie scoop or a 1/4 cup measuring cup to scoop the batter.
3. Drain the excess water from the zucchini to avoid overly wet muffins. Once you've measured out the amount of zucchini you need, wrap it in a paper towel, and squeeze over the sink or a bowl. Discard excess water.
4. These muffins freeze very well. For best results, let them cool completely and then store them in an air tight container for up to one month. Remove from the freezer as needed and let them thaw in the oven at 200 degrees until warm. 

Nutrition Facts

Gluten Free Carrot Zucchini Muffins

Amount Per Serving

Calories 145 Calories from Fat 45

% Daily Value*

Fat 5g8%

Saturated Fat 4g25%

Cholesterol 13mg4%

Sodium 163mg7%

Potassium 122mg3%

Carbohydrates 23g8%

Fiber 2g8%

Sugar 11g12%

Protein 2g4%

Vitamin A 940IU19%

Vitamin C 3.5mg4%

Calcium 27mg3%

Iron 0.7mg4%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.