Double Chocolate Zucchini Carrot Muffins are a delicious way to turn everyday ingredients into a soft, chocolatey treat the whole family will enjoy. Made with a basic chocolate muffin batter, chocolate chips, carrot, and zucchini, they bake up wonderfully moist with plenty of rich chocolate flavour.
These muffins are perfect for lunchboxes, afternoon tea, or keeping in the freezer for an easy snack. The vegetables blend beautifully into the batter, adding texture and moisture while letting the chocolate remain the star of the show.
Why add zucchini and carrot to chocolate muffins?
When I asked on my Facebook page for ideas, recipes with hidden vegetables were one of the special requests. While these muffins do have the usual suspects, flour, brown sugar and chocolate they also have some added nutrition by the way of zucchini and carrot – which add even more natural sweetness and moisture.
How do you hide vegetables in chocolate muffins?
These muffins end up tasting to me like my Chocolate Self Saucing pudding, they are rich and dense and definitely delicious. Only the fussiest will notice the vegetables in this one, but if you do have a super fussy food-spy then you could grate the vegetables even finer. Honestly, children make me laugh, they cannot find their shoes but a tiny piece of goodness will be spotted miles away! Haha.
Can you freeze these muffins for lunchboxes?
My kids lunch boxes tend to be different each day, the fruit and or vegetables is the easy part, then I like to put something else in as well as a sandwich or a wrap. And of course they all like different things! So the great part about making different sorts of muffins is that I freeze them so that I can add the right one to the right kids lunch box!
What do I pack in my kids’ lunchboxes?
I know there is so much controversy around lunch boxes these days and a few brave souls will share online what their child’s lunch had packed that day, and usually they are the victims of what you can only call cyber bullies. They will pick on the smallest thing that is not 100% healthy or organic.
But I have to be totally authentic and genuine with you, my kids lunch boxes will usually have baking or biscuits (sometimes both – shock horror!), fruits and or vegetables, sandwiches or wraps and often crackers. The poor things, they really are missing out on their organic paleo grass fed hemp infused goodness and for that I do not apologise. They are busy, sporty, they get fed well with a balanced diet and as long as I am not feeding them hot pies and coke I feel like I am on the winning side!
Do you need to squeeze the moisture from the zucchini?
There is no need to squeeze out the moisture from the zucchini as it adds to the moisture. I recommend one zucchini and one small carrot, which for me made a heaped cup of vegetables which was perfect. So use your judgement, no need to be too exact.
Other muffin recipes to try
If you’re always looking for new lunchbox ideas or easy ways to add a few extra vegetables to family baking, I have plenty more muffin recipes to explore. From savoury favourites to fruit and vegetable-packed options, muffins are one of my favourite make-ahead snacks to keep in the freezer for busy weeks. Here are some of my favourites:
- Pizza Muffins
- Deluxe Bacon & Vege Muffins
- Vege Loaded Muffins (pictured below)
- Apple & Carrot Muffins
- Tasty Apple, Banana, Carrot & Rolled Oat Muffins
And if you are looking for more inspiration, click here to view my full collection of my favourite muffin recipes on my website.
Having trouble with your muffins?
If you’re new to baking muffins, or you’ve ever wondered why a batch didn’t turn out quite as expected, I have a couple of helpful guides that might be useful. My Muffin Troubleshooting Guide covers common muffin problems such as dense, dry, or flat muffins, while my Common Baking Mistakes and How to Fix Them Guide shares simple tips to help you feel more confident in the kitchen. They’re both packed with practical advice to help make your baking a little easier and more successful every time.
Double Chocolate Zucchini Carrot Muffins Recipe
Double Chocolate Zucchini Carrot Muffins
Double Chocolate Zucchini Carrot Muffins are soft, moist, and packed with chocolate flavour, making them a great option for lunchboxes, snacks, or sharing with family.
Ingredients
- 3/4 Cup Brown Sugar (packed)
- 1/4 Cup Oil (I used Canola)
- 2 Eggs
- 1 1/4 Cup Milk
- 2 teaspoons Vanilla Essence
- 2 Cups Plain White Flour
- 1/2 Cup Cocoa Powder
- 2 teaspoons Baking Powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- 1 Heaped Cup Grated Vegetables - 1 medium Zucchini & 1 medium Carrot
- 1 Cup Chocolate Chips or Drops.
Instructions
Nutrition Information
Yield 12 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 430Total Fat 14gSaturated Fat 5gUnsaturated Fat 9gCholesterol 33mgSodium 227mgCarbohydrates 69gFiber 5gSugar 27gProtein 9g
JustAMumNZ.com, occasionally offers nutritional information for recipes contained on this site. This information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although justamumnz.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.
I really hope you love these Double Chocolate Zucchini Carrot Muffins as much as we do. They are such a delicious way to add a little extra goodness to a favourite chocolate treat, and I know they’ll be making a regular appearance in lunchboxes and snack tins for years to come.
If you give this recipe a go, I’d love to hear how it turned out for you in the comments. You can also leave a ⭐ rating in the recipe card above, it really helps others find and enjoy this recipe too.
You can also find me over on Facebook and Instagram for more baking and cooking inspiration, or join my newsletter to receive my latest recipes straight to your inbox.
Happy baking,
Anna x
Hannah says
Hello! Made these for my fussy bubba 🙂 question: at what point is best to add the chocolate chips? Just wasn’t mentioned in the steps but is in the ingredients list. I added them at the end after realising as never going to compromise on chocolate haha. So I might have over mixed :’-) Thanks!
Janet says
I used cup4cup gluten free flour, avocado oil, and a little less vanilla.
OMG so yummy!
Lyn Marshall says
Great no fail recipes every time. Just made the weetbix slice and carrot and zucchini muffins. The grand kids love them.
Lilly says
Just made these egg and dairy free due to allergies….substituted with flaxseed and oat milk and they turned out great!
Hannah Aitchison says
Thank you! My 2 year old rarely touches vegetables/fruit but absolutely loves these muffins xxx
Heather says
Wondering if I could add oats? I don’t want to take away from the moistness of the muffin, and I feel the oats may do that. Thoughts?
justamumnz says
Yes you would need to amend the recipe if you add oats depending on the amount.
Ursula says
Made twice in the last week, really yummy and very easy which is great. Still a guilty pleasure but at least a bit of vege in there, winner!
Amy says
Fabulous recipe! Made them with my 3yr old today and they were a hit with everyone!
justamumnz says
Wonderful to hear ☺️
Erin says
Just made them and they’re great!! Works well with whole wheat flour and chocolate protein powder since we didn’t have cocoa powder!! Thanks!
April Summer says
Hi. looks like a great recipe. Can I sustitute the white flour for fine wholemeal?
justamumnz says
I’ve not tried sorry, let me know how it goes if you do.
Kay says
Hi Anna, I just made these this afternoon and they are a HUGE hit! They are just perfect. Thank you for a easy and great recipe 🙂
justamumnz says
That’s awesome to hear! Enjoy ☺️
Joanna says
Wonderful muffins. My family love them. This was great recipe for these social distancing time to cheer up all the family members. Thank you, Anna and take care!
justamumnz says
Great! Enjoy
Erin says
I make these for my fussy 2.5 year old. We freeze half the batch and pull them out for dinner/dessert combo haha. Zap it for 15 seconds and voila. They are delicious and she loves them and so easy! Thank you for sharing
Fariha Raheem says
Hi Anna! If I want to make mini-muffins, how long should I bake them for? Thanks!
justamumnz says
Hi Fariha, I would check at 9 minutes and check often from there. I’m a serial over checker! ☺️
Anna Trewavas says
I have just made these, they are delicious, been devoured straight out of oven!
justamumnz says
That’s great to hear!
Emily says
My two year old rejects most vegetables but she LOVES chocolate. These are a huge hit with her. She keeps asking for more. She has no idea they have zucchini and carrots mixed in with all that chocolatey goodness. Thank you for this great recipe!
Smiler Davies says
I’ve made your double chocolate zucchini carrot muffins. They are moist and so delicous, so easy to make. The muffins came out exactly like the photo I’m so impressed.The muffins are a hit with my husband,waiting for my grandson to get home from school to try one I know he’ll will love them. Thank you for sharing for the recipe 🙂 🙂
justamumnz says
That’s wonderful to hear!! My kids loved them too ? Thank you for stopping by, Anna