If you love zucchini, but are looking for a lighter zucchini recipe, you'll love these Chocolate Weight Watchers Zucchini Muffins! At only 3 points each, with no artificial sweeteners, they make a great dessert, breakfast, or mid-morning snack! And you don't need to be following the Weight Watchers program to love these muffins...
Zucchini muffins are especially popular in July and August, but these can be made with frozen zucchini any time of the year! This recipe was inspired by my WW Rhurbarb Muffins and my Chocolate Blender Zucchini Bread on this site. These muffins are so rich, moist, chocolatey, and yummy that no one will even suspect they are Weight Watchers friendly!
Jump to:
It's not always easy to find healthy zucchini recipes and that's why I also created these Healthy Zucchini Bars! Loaded with wholesome ingredients, they are a unique and delicious guilt-free treat!
🥘Ingredients
As far as I’m concerned, chocolate is a necessity, whether or not you’re following the WW program! And chocolate and zucchini are the perfect combination!
You will need the following ingredients for this recipe:
- 2 large eggs
- ¾ cup non-fat plain Greek yogurt 0%
- 1 ½ tablespoons oil *I use Canola oil
- ½ cup unsweetened applesauce
- ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅔ cup packed brown sugar (tightly packed)
- 1 ½ cups finely shredded zucchini (packed tightly)
- 1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup cocoa (unsweetened)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
🔪Instructions
Prep:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F/ 204 degrees C. Line muffin pans with paper liners.
Shred zucchini with food processor or box grater. There is no need to peel it first. *If you are using frozen zucchini, defrost it, drain it, then squeeze out excess moisture. Be sure to measure it AFTER you do this.
- Step 1: In a large bowl beat eggs until fluffy with an electric mixer. Then beat in oil.
- Step 2: Whisk in yogurt, sugar, applesauce and vanilla, preferably with a whisk (or a spoon).
- Step 3: Stir in shredded zucchini.
- Step 4: In a separate bowl, combine flour, cocoa, cinnamon, baking soda, and baking powder.
- Step 5: Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir to combine.
- Step 6: Pour muffin batter into lined muffin tins to about ¾ full, dividing batter evenly by all 16.
- Step 7: Bake 400 degrees F/204 degrees C for 5 minutes. Turn down to 350 degrees F/175 degrees C. for the remainder of time. *approximately 20 -25 minutes or until a toothpick or cake tester inserted int the center of a muffin comes out clean. *Turn halfway through for even baking. Let cool in pan 10 minutes
- Step 8: Remove from pan and cool completely on wire rack. Wait until they are completely cooled (they taste best this way) and they won't stick to the muffin liners.
Hint: For even baking, turn muffins halfway through the baking time.
📖 Variations & Substitutions
- Brown sugar- you can use monk fruit instead of sugar but only use ⅓ cup and increase unsweetened cocoa by ¼ cup
- Oil - you can use canola, olive oil, or any vegetable oil.
Top tip
Fill empty muffin cups with ⅔ water for even baking. Be sure to turn the pan halfway through the cooking process to ensure even baking!
🍽Equipment
You will need an electric mixer (or hand mixer), a food processor or box grater, and a whisk for this muffin recipe. *See recipe card for recommended equipment photos and links
🌡️Storage
Store these healthy zucchini muffins at room temperature in a sealed container for 2 days.
These muffins freeze really well for up to 3 months in an airtight container.
👪 Serving Size
This recipe makes 16 servings. However, you can half, double, or triple the recipe by clicking on the serving number and selecting the number of servings you'd like. The ingredient quantities will automatically adjust.
🔢WW Points
According to my ww app, these healthy chocolate zucchini muffins are Weight Watchers friendly @ 3 WW points each. You can use monk fruit (but only use half the amount - ⅓ cup and also be sure to increase unsweetened cocoa powder by ¼ cup ). This will bring down the points to 2 Weight Watchers points per muffin.
❔FAQ
Muffins are a great way to use up zucchini! Zucchini is very healthy, low in saturated fat and sodium, very low in cholesterol, a good source of protein, vitamin A, thiamine, niacin, phosphorus, and copper, and a very good source of dietary fiber, vitamin C, vitamin K, riboflavin, vitamin B6, folate, magnesium, potassium, and manganese.
Zucchini adds moisture and volume to baking, and serves as a wet ingredient because it's 95% water. However, it doesn't necessarily replace any binders (such as eggs) or fat (such as oil).
🥗 Pairing
These are my favorite recipes to serve with these ww zucchini muffins:
🦺Food safety
- Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw eggs
- Wash hands after touching raw eggs
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Never leave cooking food unattended
- Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove
See more guidelines at USDA.gov.
Did your family❤️this recipe? Did you know that commenting and⭐rating recipes is one of the best ways to support your favorite recipe creators? If you LOVED this recipe, please comment and rate it in the recipe card or share photos on social media using the hashtag #foodmeanderings or tagging @foodmeanderings !
If you're looking for a rich, moist, and chocolatey zucchini muffin that won't break the calorie bank, you'll love this one! And be sure to try my Chocolate Zucchini Biscotti!
📋Weight Watchers Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
Equipment
- food processor *or box grater
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs
- ¾ cup non- fat plain Greek yogurt 0%
- 1 ½ tablespoons oil * I use canola oil
- ½ cup unsweetened applesauce
- ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅔ cup packed brown sugar (tightly packed)
- 1 ½ cups finely shredded zucchini (packed tightly)
- 1 ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
Instructions
- Prep: Preheat oven to 400 degrees F/204 degrees C. Line muffin pans with paper muffin liners.Shred zucchini with food processor or box grater. There is no need to peel it first. *If you are using frozen zucchini, defrost it, drain it, then squeeze out excess moisture. Be sure to measure it AFTER you do this.
- In a large mixing bowl beat eggs until fluffy.2 large eggs
- Beat in oil.1 ½ tablespoons oil
- Then whisk in yogurt, sugar, applesauce and vanilla.¾ cup non- fat plain Greek yogurt, ½ cup unsweetened applesauce, ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract, ⅔ cup packed brown sugar (tightly packed)
- Stir in shredded zucchini.1 ½ cups finely shredded zucchini (packed tightly)
- In a separate medium bowl, combine flour, cocoa, cinnamon, baking soda, and baking powder.1 ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1 cup all-purpose flour, ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda
- Add dry mixture to wet mixture.
- Spoon batter into lined muffin tins to about ¾ full, dividing batter evenly by all 16.
- Bake in preheated oven at 400 degrees F/204 degrees C for ONLY 5 minutes, then turn down to 350 degrees F/174 degrees C for approximately 20 -25 minutes or until a toothpick or cake tester inserted comes out clean.*Turn halfway through for even baking**Fill empty muffin cups with ⅔ water for even baking (see Top Tip)
- Let cool in pan 10 minutes, then remove from pan and cool completely on cooling rack.
- ***Wait until they are completely cooled (they taste best this way) and they won't stick to the muffin liners.
Notes
Nutrition
More Healthy & WW Friendly Zucchini Recipes
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Terri Gilson
These Chocolate Zucchini Muffins are seriously awesome! They are super rich and chocolatey, even at just 3 WW points each. No fake sweeteners here - just real, delicious ingredients that make these perfect for breakfast, snack time, or when you need a chocolate fix. No one will guess these are Weight Watchers friendly!