The very first thing you do when gifted several pounds of zucchini?  You make healthy chocolate zucchini muffins of course!  The *very best* healthy chocolate zucchini muffins that are also vegan, naturally sweetened, and made with whole grains, that is. {WINNING.}

Just check these beauties out, will you?  I don’t know if this photo does their size any justice, but they’re huuuuuuuge.

And begging to be turned into these insanely good chocolate zuchinni muffins by Relishing It.  For real, they taste more like cake than any other muffin I’ve eaten before.  Insanely good.  We’re talking by far the very best healthy muffin I’ve ever tasted…  To the point where I regularly pass them off as chocolate birthday cupcakes {and even our pickiest little guests gobble up TWO}.

Now here’s my public service announcement…  If you’re just a regular person wanting a regular healthy muffin recipe, pop over to Laurie’s post and make them exactly as she tells you to. They’re absolutely perfect as is – no need to change anything.

Now if you’re like me and are attempting to minimize the amount of animal products your family consumes, try our version below.  They’re every bit as delicious, but they don’t contain the egg or honey, which makes them healthy, whole grained, naturally sweetened, and VEGAN.

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Here’s our line up of ingredients…  First up, whole wheat pastry flour.  Every bit worth the effort it takes to find, in my opinion. In Kuwait we used this one by Bob’s Red Mill and in Canada we use one from Nature’s Fare.  Whole Foods stocks whole wheat pastry flour too and my guess is that it is decent.  Next, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, sea salt, and dark chocolate chips that are optional, but delicious.  The wet ingredients include coconut oil, flax ‘eggs’ {which is just ground flax seeds and water}, and vanilla, and of course you’ll need the zucchini too.

The most important part of any baking session though?  Little helpers.  Little helpers who undoubtedly make the process longer and messier and way more fun.

Here’s how this recipe goes down…  First, measure out the dry ingredients and whisk them together well.

Then in a separate bowl {we use a big glass measuring cup}, measure out the wet ingredients and give them a good whisk before adding them to the dry mixture.

Lastly, add in loads of finely grated zucchini that will pretty much just disappear during the baking process and leave you with the cake-iest, most delicious muffins ever.

Gently stir it in…

And then enlist your little ones’ help to prep the muffin tin {silicone muffin liners like these are the BEST} and divide the batter evenly between the 12 cups.

Patiently wait as they bake….

Let them cool for a couple of minutes…

And dive in!

SOOOO good.  {Find Sam’s construction spoon here.}

So good that we almost always make a double batch – otherwise they disappear too quickly.

The Very Best Healthy Vegan Chocolate Zucchini Muffins  (adapted from this recipe on Relishing It)

• 2 tablespoons of ground flax seed
• 6 tablespoons of warm water

• 1 cup of whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/2 cup of cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt

• 1/2 cup of coconut oil {in its liquid state}
• 1/2 cup of pure maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon of good vanilla

• 1 1/2 cups of finely grated zucchini, deseeded if necessary
• 1/2 cup of dark chocolate chips

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

In a small bowl, measure out the ground flax seed and warm water.  Stir to combine and set aside to thicken.  {This mixture is two flax ‘eggs’.}

In a large bowl, add the flour cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and sea salt. Whisk until thoroughly combined and sprinkle the dark chocolate chips on top.

In a separate smaller bowl, whisk together the liquid coconut oil, pure maple syrup, and vanilla.

Add the liquid mixture and the flax eggs into the dry mixture and gently mix until almost combined.  Add the finely grated zucchini and give the mixture a few more gentle stirs. {A word on the zucchini…  If you pre-grate your zucchini like we usually do, by the time you go to use it, there will most likely be some liquid that has drained off.  No need to include this.  Simply pick up the zucchini by the handful, allow it to drip over the bowl for a few seconds, and then add it to your mixture, tossing out any liquid that’s left in the bowl afterwards.  Do not squeeze your grated zucchini dry before adding it… The moisture from the zucchini is what makes these muffins so dang good.}

Line your muffin tin with silicone muffin liners and distribute the batter evenly amongst the cups.  Bake for approximately 20 – 25 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick comes out clean.

Remove the muffins from the oven and allow them to sit for several minutes before removing them from the pan and placing them on a cooling rack.

These will last for several days in an air-tight container on the counter, but because of there high veggie content, I pop them in the fridge if they’re going to be around longer than a few days.

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