These gluten-free cheddar zucchini muffins are a savory and satisfying way to use up zucchini! Made with almond flour, cheddar, and garlic these savory zucchini muffins are an easy meal prep breakfast or snack.
These easy low carb muffins are made with savory zucchini. They are light, fluffy, and CHEESY! If you garden or like to visit farmer’s markets or even the supermarket this time of the year, you know that zucchini is abundant and cheap.
Use up that zucchini with these easy low carb muffins.
Ingredients for low carb zucchini muffins
These white cheddar zucchini muffins are made in the blender. You’ll need almond flour, zucchini, cheese, eggs and a handful of spices. I kept this recipe simple. You can try different types of cheese. Gruyere, Swiss, or Monterey Jack would work well. The key is to make sure you get as much water out of the zucchini as possible.
Add these gluten-free White Cheddar Zucchini Muffins to #mealprep this week for an easy breakfast or snack!How to prepare zucchini
The hardest part of the recipe is not really hard at all but you do have to prep the zucchini. I used a box grater to shred a large zucchini. You’ll only need half that amount though.
Get a little workout squeezing the excess water out of the zucchini. Don’t skip the squeeze. I got over a ½ cup of water out of there!
I am not a baker. So I will admit that I had to investigate how to bake with almond flour. I’ve baked almond flour shortbread cookies but had not attempted a muffin batter with it. Can you even substitute almond flour cup for cup with wheat flour? Yes! In this case, it works perfectly.
Tips for making almond flour muffins
To get the batter going, blend the almond flour, baking soda, spices, and eggs to make a thick batter. It will be just thinner than a paste.
Add the shredded zucchini and cheese. Blend again until combined.
The batter should still contain visible pieces of zucchini. No need to puree until completely smooth.
The batter will be on the thick side. And it may seem wrong. But it’s so right. Believe me. Just go with it.
Tip: Add extra cheese to the tops for even more golden brown color and cheese flavor.
After about 25 minutes in the oven, the muffins bake up light and a beautiful golden brown.
So that’s it! These muffins come together quickly so I like to include them in my Sunday meal prep for an easy breakfast or snack through the week.
Here’s the easy recipe. Be sure to PIN it and tag me on Instagram when you make it!
When a fellow blogger, Madison, asked me to join a group of bloggers to celebrate muffin week, I immediately wanted to challenge myself to make something savory. That’s how these flourless zucchini muffins were born. But you’ll find the full spread of savory, sweet, healthy and indulgent muffin recipes over at A Joyfully Mad Kitchen. Be sure to check it out for some new muffin recipes to try!
More healthy muffin recipes:
Healthier Blueberry Blender Muffins
Vegan Gingerbread Blender Muffins
Flourless Savory Cheddar Zucchini Muffins
Ingredients
- 1¼ cup almond flour
- 3 large eggs
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon coarse salt*
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 cup + 1 Tbsp shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 cup shredded and squeezed zucchini (½ a large zucchini or 1 small zucchini)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Pulse the flour, eggs, baking soda and spices in a blender until smooth. Add 1 cup cheese and the zucchini. Pulse until the zucchini is evenly incorporated but not pureed. Here you should still see noticeable flecks of green throughout the batter.
- Spoon the batter into a lined muffin tin about ¾ full. Top with the extra 1 tablespoon cheese. Bake at 350°F about 25 minutes until the muffins are golden and an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
- After about 3-5 minutes, or when the muffins are cool enough to touch, remove the muffins from the pan to cool on a cooling rack. Serve warm.
Anne
Absolutely delicious! There is now one less muffin cooling. Didn’t have garlic powder so I added some minced garlic. Also half a teaspoon of Old Bay seasoning. Thank you so much Marisa for sharing your talent!
bud elsaesser
It appears you forgot to instruct the reader when to add the 2nd cup of cheese, I assumed it gets added after incorporating the first cup and zuchini
Marisa Moore
The recipe states 1 cup + 1 tbsp of cheese. The extra tablespoon is explained in the instructions to add to the top of the batter.
Stephanie C
Could I use defrosted squash cubes instead of zucchini? Not sure about flavor combination.
Marisa Moore
Do you mean yellow squash? I would not. The flavor would be mild. But the defrosted squash would be way too watery and you’ll lose the structure needed for the muffins.
Sherry
Excellent recipe! Ate them with some lentil soup and it was a great pairing.
Lauri
I made this recipe as a flatbread. I pressed it onto a parchment covered baking sheet until it was about 8″ x 8″ or so. I coated my fingers with olive oil to spread it. I baked it until the edges were starting to brown…..sorry, but I don’t know exactly how long. Cut it into 8 equal slices. IT. WAS. AMAZING!!!!! Thank you for a delicious alternative to garlic bread that will help us keep our diabetes in check.
Marisa
What a great idea. Thanks for sharing!
Maureen Prenn
Good crumb and flavor! Made these today using my food processor to both grate the zucchini and later pulse the mix. I didn’t get any liquid from the zucchini, but the batter was not too wet. Instead of cheese, I topped them with chopped walnuts. Next time I will add chopped walnuts to the batter also for that added crunch.
Erin
Thank you so much for this recipe! I was recently diagnosed with gestational diabetes, so I need low-carb food options. I’m looking forward to trying these!
Sarah
Would yellow summer squash work here as well?
Marisa
Definitely works! You’ll follow the same procedure to remove excess liquid.
Krissy
Delish! Made these for brunch today with My Mom who is diabetic- perfect seasoning. I used a Monterrey Jack for the filling and Sharp Cheese for the topping – just a pinch on each muffin. I will definitely make these again! Also this was my first time cooking with almond flour – So easy to use in this recipe!!
Roxanne
Has anyone tried these usually actual onion and garlic, rather than just the powder? I usually like to use the real thing if I. have it.
Marisa
Hi Roxanne! Great question. I haven’t tried it but adding fresh garlic should be fine. However, I am not sure how fresh onion would turn out since it would add significantly more liquid. Please let us know if you give it a shot!
Roxanne
I added three garlic cloves, some fresh basil and a green onion. Also some Penzey’s “Justice” seasoning, which is a combination of onion, shallot, chive powder. They turned out nicely, I think. I almost feel like I squeezed just a little too much liquid out of the zucchini.
Old Grey Mare
Well, you know garlic powder and onion powder ARE real onions and real garlic just like dried beans are real beans. It is just that for “baked goods” the powder is the better consistency, unlike casseroles, stews, etc. where “the real thing” is desired as part of the dish, not just a flavor like salt and pepper.