LEMON ZUCCHINI MUFFINS

Lemon Zucchini Muffins are a favorite when the garden is bursting with fresh zucchini! Light & tender Lemon Muffins made with classic ingredients and fresh zucchini! Sweet homemade muffin recipe spiced with vanilla and cinnamon & brushed with a tangy lemon glaze.

My mother-in-law’s garden is going crazy with zucchini this year and since we only live a few minutes away, she’s nice enough to share! I found a similar recipe for these muffins and altered it considerably and I have to say, the results are absolutely delicious! I’ve made six (yes, 6!) batches of these Lemon Zucchini Muffins just this week and have passed them out to friends and neighbors. Everyone loves them! They’ve got a lovely light flavor and fantastic texture. Plus they’re super easy to make!

Lemon zucchini muffins made from scratch

Sweet muffin recipe made with a flavorful combination of cinnamon, lemon, and zucchini in a tender and moist muffin that’s both packed with sweetness and flavor. Every bite is so irresistibly good you can’t help but to reach for another. Adding the lemon glaze on top is just “icing on the cake.” (See what I did there?) Note: I know it sounds a little odd to have both cinnamon AND lemon in the recipe. Please, please, please just trust me on this- it works and tastes amazing!

Lemon Zucchini Muffins Ingredients

-Flour: We will need 1 3/4 cups of all-purpose flour but I have had successful and tasty results with switching out 1/2 cup of it for whole wheat flour (this would mean 1 1/4 cups all-purpose and 1/2 cup whole wheat).

-Sugar: 3/4 cups of sugar will make these muffins sweet and perfect.

-Salt: We need 1/2 teaspoon of salt to help enhance the flavors in these muffins.

-Leavening agents: We need 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda and 1 teaspoon of baking powder to get fluffy and light muffins.

-Cinnamon: Adding in one teaspoon of cinnamon will spice these muffins up and make them taste incredible- trust me.

-Zucchini: 2 cups of shredded zucchini is about 2-3 small zucchini. We want these muffins to be packed with these green shreds.

-Canola oil: Adding in 1/2 cup of canola oil will give our muffins the fat they need to remain nice and moist.

-Eggs: We want 2 large eggs to help our muffins turn out perfectly as the eggs work to bind them together.

-Vanilla: Adding in a teaspoon of vanilla will help to enhance the flavors, but using higher quality vanilla will yield even tastier results.

-Lemon: We want 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and 2 teaspoons of lemon zest. For fresh lemons, you can get about 2 teaspoons of zest and two tablespoons of juice per lemon.

For the lemon glaze you will need:

-Sugar: We need 2 tablespoons of granulated (not powdered) sugar to make this glaze nice and sweet

-Lemon juice: Adding in 1 Tablespoon of lemon juice will make the glaze thin enough for drizzling and add in a lot of lemony flavors!

How to make zucchini muffins recipe

To make the muffins:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium sized bowl, combine the dry ingredients.

Add in the zucchini and the other wet ingredients and stir to combine.

The dough will be thick. Try not to use a mixer with the muffins as they will have a better texture and rise if mixed by hand.

Let the batter sit for 5 minutes while you line a muffin tray with papers or spray with nonstick cooking grease.

Stir the batter again. The dough will be wetter and less thick by now.

Scoop about 3 tablespoons worth of batter into each to fill them up about 3/4 of the way full.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes or until a toothpick can be inserted and come out clean.

Let the muffins cool.

Brush the tops of the muffins with the lemon glaze and repeat until all have been coated.

To make the glaze:

In a small glass bowl, combine the sugar and lemon juice.

Stir the mixture together lightly and then microwave for 15 seconds.

Stir and microwave again for another 10 seconds.

Let the mixture sit while you make the muffins as the mixture will thicken as it cools.

Enjoy!

LEMON ZUCCHINI MUFFINS

Tender Lemon Zucchini Muffins made with classic ingredients and fresh zucchini overflowing from the garden! Sweet homemade muffins spiced with vanilla and cinnamon & brushed with a tangy lemon glaze. 

5 from 9 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: bread, Breakfast, Snack

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Lemon Zucchini Muffins

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes minutes

Servings: 16

Calories: 168kcal

Author: Jessica & Nellie

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups flour *See Notes
• 3/4 cups sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2 cups shredded zucchini
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 TBSP lemon juice 1 lemon yields 2 tsp zest + 2 TBSP juice
• 2 tsp lemon zest

Optional Lemon Glaze

• 2 TBSP granulated sugar
• 1 TBSP lemon juice

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Combine dry ingredients in a medium sized mixing bowl. Add in zucchini and other wet ingredients and stir to combine. Dough will be thick. (Try not to use a mixer with muffins- they have better texture and rise higher when you mix them by hand!)
• Let sit about 5 minutes while you line the muffin tin with cupcake liners. Stir again- dough will be less thick. Scoop about 3 TBSP into each muffin liner- about 3/4 full. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.
• Let cool. Brush with lemon glaze. Eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Repeat process as often as you have zucchini in the house.

Glaze Directions

• Combine sugar and lemon juice in a small glass bowl. Stir lightly. Microwave for 15 seconds. Stir. Microwave another 10 seconds. Let sit while you make the muffins- mixture thickens slightly with time.

Video

Notes

*You can make these muffins with 100% all-purpose flour, but I loved the texture when I switched out 1/2 cup with whole wheat flour! So you’d use 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour and 1/2 cup whole wheat flour. 

Nutrition

Calories: 168kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 20mg | Sodium: 118mg | Potassium: 128mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 89IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 23mg | Iron: 1mg

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What would make these lemon zucchini muffins more unique?

Adding in another fruit! Try adding up to a cup of fresh blueberries into the batch and watch how much it changes for the better. While these muffins are fantastic on their own, you can’t deny that the sweet bursting blueberries make them that much more incredible.

How long are lemon zucchini muffins good for?

I recommend eating these muffins within 3 days for the best tasting results. You can keep them stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-5 days but eating these muffins sooner means they’ll taste so much better. Yum!

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Tender Lemon Zucchini Muffins made with classic ingredients and fresh zucchini overflowing from the garden! Sweet homemade muffins spiced with vanilla and cinnamon & brushed with a tangy lemon glaze.