Put your summer produce to work in these super soft, power packed paleo cinnamon raisin zucchini muffins!
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Weekend escapes!
We have spent the last few weekends escaping to our favorite Lake Michigan shoreline spots both up North and South of us, soaking in as much sand and lake time as we can before that school bell rings!
Portable nourishment
Portable nourishmentOne of my tricks to keep the food real for travel is taking a bit of time before we leave to prep a bit of food. Not only does this save money, but it keeps us from needing to eat out where there may be questionable ingredients. I’m not against heading out to eat here and there (we have done this, still do this, and ENJOY it!), but in my house, going out to eat is an occasional treat, so I’ve got to have some recipes up my sleeve that travel well and will keep my busy girls sustained for all of their adventures!
Breakfast on the go
Breakfast on the goLast week, I perfected these grain free zucchini muffins using a pile of zucchini I picked up. The recipe testing I worked on made for a fantastic, portable breakfast for us while we headed up North for the weekend, and the girls just loved these sweet little muffins.
Revisiting an old recipe…
Revisiting an old recipe…Some of you that have been around here long enough might know that I already have a gluten free cinnamon raisin zucchini muffin here on the blog! I hesitated posting this recipe because of that, but because the ingredient amounts are quite different to accommodate the grain and dairy free nature, and because I have had a number of readers ask how to swap the flours in that recipe for grain free, I decided it would be worth investing some time for those of you that truly need a grain free and dairy free version. If you tolerate grains and dairy, and like my original gluten free version, these muffins taste exactly like those! If you like to change things up, and get some variety of nutrients into your diet by using different flours, give this one a try! You’ll see it is just as easy, feels just as soft, and tastes amazing.
On that note…some flour tips!
On that note…some flour tips!In the recipe as written, I’ve given you 2 grain free options for the flours. I have baked both of these versions at least twice each, and I love both – truly. So, pick which one fits your diet requirements the best. I tend to opt for the combo of cassava with almond flour just because I like the added protein/fat that the almond flour brings. However, I do understand there are those of you with either nut allergy and can’t have almond flour, and so there is a cassava flour only option too. Note that I have tried this recipe with a combo of cassava and coconut flours and the results weren’t my favorite. It worked, but it wasn’t my favorite.
Why cassava flour?
Why cassava flour?Cassava flour is dried and ground up yucca. Yucca is a ground tuber that is a good source of fiber, folate, and potassium. Cassava flour is also a great source of PRE-biotics, which feed the good bacteria in your gut so that your gut flora can stay at a healthy population and thrive. Not only is cassava flour a healthy, grain free choice for baking, it creates fantastic baking results. Instead of dense, dry grain free baked goods, cassava flour muffins are light and fluffy. The only way I can describe it to help you understand, is that it feels the closest to a muffin with gluten as you can get!
Freezer friendly?
Freezer friendly?Absolutely! If you have an abundance of zucchini from your garden, or find a steal of a deal at the farmer’s market while zucchini is in season, camp out for a couple hours in your kitchen and stash some zucchini muffins away for the school year. It will make for a quick morning breakfast, OR lunchbox addition to go with a thermos of soup. To freeze these muffins, cool them completely first, and then put them in a freezer bag to freeze. When I thaw out muffins, I just leave them on the counter overnight, or pop them in a warm oven for a bit. You can put them in a lunchbox frozen and they will thaw by lunchtime.
A note on the “sweet”
A note on the “sweet”You can definitely play around with the amount of “sweet” in this recipe, as well as the source. I enjoy coconut sugar for the taste and the lower glycemic index, but bake with raw honey or real maple syrup sometimes too. If that is what you have, go for it. If you have real little ones in the house, I would back off the sweet to about quarter of a cup. They won’t know any better, and that what I do often with my girls still.
Paleo Cinnamon Raisin Zucchini Muffins
Ingredients
- 3 eggs
- ¼ cup full fat plain coconut yogurt or coconut milk
I get 32oz tubs of plain full fat So Delicious Coconut Yogurt at the store - ⅓ cup olive oil avocado oil or melted coconut oil/butter would be fine too
- 1/3 cup coconut sugar If you have real little ones around you can get away with 1/4 cup for sure. Raw honey or pure maple syrup would work here too.
- 1 TB apple cider vinegar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups of cassava flour OR 1 cup cassava flour plus 1 cup blanched almond flour works lovely too if you can tolerate nuts (This is also my favorite version. Please note that brand of cassava flour DOES matter. I use THIS brand – if you use a different brand, you may get different results – that has always been the case for me with cassava.)
- 1 tsp aluminum free baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- 1 TB cinnamon
- 2 cups packed shredded zucchini
- ½ cup raisins
works lovely too if you can tolerate nuts (This is also my favorite version. Please note that brand of cassava flour DOES matter. I use 
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line your muffin tin with silicone muffin liners or grease them with butter or coconut oil.
- Blend the eggs, coconut yogurt, olive oil, coconut sugar, vinegar, and vanilla extract in a medium mixing bowl for 1 minute.
- Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sea salt, and cinnamon and blend until combined. It will feel a bit dry but the zucchini will provide plenty of moisture - do not add more liquid!
- Stir the shredded zucchini and raisins into the batter with a spatula.
- Scoop the batter into a 12 cup muffin tin and bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. Cool the muffins in the pan for 5 minutes and then remove the muffins to a cooling rack to cool the rest of the way.
More real food ZUCCHINI recipes you might like!
Hello! Ive never worked with Cassava flour. Is it recommended to purchase it organic?
Hi Amy! I have tried multiple brands and seriously the Otto’s is the only one that actually works in recipes really well. I think because the yucca is peeled, you really don’t have to worry about the organic part of it. I like how Otto’s prepares their flour versus others – you can read about it on their site :: https://www.ottosnaturals.com/about/
Exciting recipe! I’m sure so many of us will appreciate your time and effort with the new recipe.
Thanks for the great suggestions. I first thought … mmm I’ll try coconut flour but won’t bother now.. as you have mentioned cassava is best. I have both so — thanks for the experienced ‘heads up’!
Looking forward to making this recipe asap!!
I love using zucchini for baking. Great recipe!
Zucchini perfection!! Can’t wait to give these a whirl, LOVE zucchini muffins!
Love hiding veggies into desserts and these looks so delicious! So great that they are freezable as well.
I love this recipe and it’s simple ingredients! I also love how these muffins are such a great on-the-go snack. Recipes like this one make it so much easier to eat well when out and about!
Great to have cassava flour in these!! What a great recipe for our family this time of year!! We LOVE zucchini and LOVE zucchini bread! Can’t wait to try your muffins!!
I love a portable breakfast that keeps us healthy AND tastes as good as these babies do!! You had me at cinnamon. That’s all it takes!
I love those photos! Everyone looks like they are having so much fun. Great portable breakfast too!
I love all of the healthy ingredients for these muffins. They will be just perfect once we are back into full swing of the fall!
I can’t wait to try this! Do they keep long?
Hi Vanessa! They will keep in an airtight container on the counter for a couple days, in the fridge for about a week, and in the freezer in a freezer bag for a months 🙂
I love cinnamon raisin baked goods, and what a great use for all the abundance of zucchini right now! Also you just can’t beat portable food in these last days of summer!
Wow these sound so good, love all the ingredients. can’t wait to make them.
Love this! Should make it to bring in to work and share with my coworkers 🙂
How yummy are these muffins! I love zucchini, especially in a muffin.
Another lovely, delicious, kid-friendly recipe. Thank you. YUM!!
I LOVE all the ideas you’ve given us for using up zucchini! I’ve been in such a muffin mood lately; can’t wait to make these!
I love the yogurt and zucchini combo! Perfect for a moist and healthy muffin. 🙂
Love this recipe! ❤️ We cannot tolerate eggs here – any recommendation on a substitute for them?
We love zucchini muffins and this looks like a great recipe!I love the non dairy yogurt idea – I have never tried before 🙂
OH my! I need these in my life so bad! I want them!
I have been drooling over these! Yum!
I love a portable breakfast that keeps us healthy AND tastes as good as these babies do!! You had me at cinnamon. That’s all it takes!
Would never have thought zucchini would be an option for muffins, thanks for broadening my horizons!
Can the cassava flour be replaced with a different type of flour? Cassava is an avoid for me (type AB blood type).
Hi Suzanne! You can use my original gluten free zucchini muffin recipe that is linked at the beginning of the post – it isn’t grain free but it will work better without the cassava.
Have you experimented with an egg free version by chance?
Hi Sunnie! This GF muffin is what I based this recipe on – I would imagine the same egg sub I made in this recipe would work here ::https://www.raisinggenerationnourished.com/2014/08/cinnamon-raisin-zucchini-muffins-gluten-egg-nut-dairy-refined-sugar-free/
I am super excited to try these😀 I was curious if you think adding frozen or fresh blueberries instead of raisins would work. Thank you so much!!
Hi Jen! The blueberries will have more moisture than the raisins, so if you do that maybe back off on some liquid elsewhere?