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When zucchini season hits, I’m all in—especially for these moist, fluffy Sourdough Zucchini Muffins. They’re quick to make, freezer-friendly, and the perfect way to use up both fresh zucchini and sourdough discard.
I’ve never had much luck growing zucchini myself (thanks, neighborhood deer), but the farmers market always delivers. Based on my popular Sourdough Zucchini Bread, these muffins are a staple in my kitchen—easy, flavorful, and perfect for breakfast or a snack.
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Why You’ll Love Sourdough Zucchini Muffins
- Discard Recipe – Sourdough muffins are a quick and easy way to make the most of your sourdough discard. Check out all of my sourdough muffin recipes for a full range of fun flavors!
- Easy Breakfast – Just like my Chocolate Sourdough Zucchini Muffins, these are quick, easy, and make for a sweet breakfast that is perfect on the go.
- Hidden Nutrients – This is a kid-friendly, healthy zucchini muffin recipe, like my Spinach Banana Sourdough Muffins, and a great way to get some extra nutrients in for little ones who struggle to eat their veggies.
Sourdough Discard Tip: I keep a jar in my fridge that I continually add sourdough discard to. Discard is a by-product of your sourdough starter and there is no reason to throw it away. Instead, use it in incredible sourdough discard recipes where it adds moisture and great flavor. Use older, more tangy discard in savory recipes like this Skillet Sourdough Cornbread and young/fresh discard in sweeter recipes like my favorite Maple Pecan Sourdough Muffins.
Important Ingredients
- Sourdough Discard – To avoid a strong sourdough flavor, use sourdough discard that is fresh or no more than a day or two old. If you want to play up the tang in these zucchini muffins, use discard that is a couple of days old.
- Zucchini – Fresh zucchini is shredded and wrung out for this recipe so the muffins don’t get too moist.
- Sugar- I like using a combination of brown and white sugar to sweeten these muffins.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities
Substitutions
- Greek Yogurt: Sour cream can be substituted instead of yogurt.
- Coconut Oil: I don’t think there is a strong coconut flavor, but vegetable oil, melted butter or any neutral-flavored oil can be used if you prefer.
- All-Purpose Flour: Freshly milled soft white or red wheat flour can be substituted for the all-purpose flour in this recipe with good results. The muffins may not rise quite as high, but they will have a delicious flavor.
- Allspice: Substitute with an equal amount of cinnamon or a pinch of cloves.
- Nuts: These muffins would be delicious with 3/4 cup chopped walnuts, pecans or raisins mixed into the batter. I would even try adding chocolate chips!
How to Make Sourdough Discard Muffins with Zucchini
Grate and Wring Out zucchini
Step 1: Shred the zucchini using a box grater until you have 200 grams of zucchini.
Step 2: Use a paper towel to wring out the shredded zucchini, releasing as much water as you can.
Note: Taking a moment to squeeze out some of the excess liquid of the grated zucchini ensures your zucchini muffins bake up with the ideal texture—moist, not soggy, and full of flavor.
Mix The batter
Step 3: Add the dry ingredients to a medium mixing bowl and fluff together with a fork.
Step 4: In a separate liquid measuring cup, combine sourdough discard, eggs, oil, Greek yogurt, and milk. Whisk wet ingredients together until completely combined.
Step 5: Add shredded zucchini to the dry ingredients and whisk with a fork until combined.
Step 6: Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until combined.
Long Fermentation Option: To long ferment these muffins for the sourdough benefits, use double-acting baking powder. Stir up the batter and stick the mixture in the refrigerator overnight or up to 48 hours before scooping and baking straight from the fridge. The muffins may need a minute or two extra baking time with the batter being cold from the refrigerator.
Fill The Muffin Tins
Step 7: Prepare a muffin tin with paper liners or spray with cooking spray.
Step 8: Use a large cookie scoop to scoop muffin batter into the prepared muffin tins.
Muffin Liners: Homemade muffins can sometimes stick to paper liners. To prevent this, spray the paper liners with cooking spray or cut parchment paper into squares and use them as liners instead. I also like to spray my muffin tins with baking spray and not use any liner.
Bake The Muffins
Step 9: Bake the zucchini muffins in a preheated oven for 5 minutes at 425ºF. After 5 minutes, reduce the temperature to 350ºF and bake for an additional 12-14 minutes.
Step 10: Pull the muffin pan from the oven and let sit for about 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. You’ll know these muffins are ready when a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
How to Store Leftovers
Once cooled, store leftover muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 24 hours. For longer storage, freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Just thaw, warm in the microwave and enjoy! We love serving them warm with butter or sticking in school lunchboxes.
Amy’s Recipe Tip
Did you know that 1 cup of shredded zucchini is about 90% water? That’s why it’s a good idea to gently squeeze out some of the moisture before adding it to your batter. This quick step helps keep your zucchini muffins from turning out too dense—and gives you that perfectly moist, tender crumb every time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! Check out my recipe for Sourdough Discard Zucchini Bread for adjustments to this recipe to make it in a loaf pan instead.
Yes—it’s a thick batter! Don’t worry, the zucchini releases more liquid as it bakes, keeping the muffins moist. If you think it’s took thick, you can add a few splashes of milk to the batter. However, the zucchini will release more of the liquid (even though you squeezed some out) as it bakes which adds more moisture to these muffins, so you don’t need to add much more!
Sourdough discard zucchini bread has sourdough discard in it – which has fermentation benefits. It also has a whole lot of zucchini and Greek yogurt and eggs. If you substitute whole wheat flour, it can be a whole grain recipe. With that said, there is also a lot of sugar and oil. We like to eat it in moderation.
I haven’t tried it yet, but I do think this recipe would work well if you used gluten-free sourdough discard and a gluten-free flour blend. Let me know if you try it out!
Related Recipes
If you tried these Sourdough Zucchini Muffins or any other recipe on my website leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. Happy Baking!
Sourdough Zucchini Muffins
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Equipment
- box grater
Ingredients
- 200 grams zucchini, shredded and lightly squeezed, about 1 1/2 cups, see recipe notes
- 180 grams all-purpose flour, about 1 1/3 cup, see recipe notes
- 75 grams granulated sugar, heaping 1/3 cup
- 75 grams brown sugar, about 1/3 cup
- 4 grams baking powder, about 1 teaspoon
- 2 grams baking soda, about 1/2 teaspoon
- 5 grams salt, about 3/4 teaspoon
- 3 grams ground cinnamon, about 1 teaspoon
- 1 gram allspice, about 1/2 teaspoon
- 100 grams sourdough discard, scant 1/2 cup
- 50 grams liquid coconut oil, or any neutral-flavored oil, about 3 Tablespoons
- 2 large eggs, about 100 grams
- 75 grams Greek yogurt, scant 1/3 cup
- 40 grams milk, whole or 2%, about 2.5 Tablespoons
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425ºF and prepare a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners or spray with cooking spray.
- Wash the zucchini and trim off the ends. Using a box grater, shred the zucchini until you have 200 grams. Wring out excess moisture by squeezing the shredded zucchini over the sink, once or twice, allowing the liquid to drain away.
- To a bowl, add the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and allspice. Stir together with a fork until fluffy and combined. Add the zucchini and stir until the zucchini is spread throughout the dry mixture and thoroughly combined.
- To a liquid measuring cup, combine sourdough discard, eggs, oil, Greek yogurt and milk. Whisk together until completely combined. Discard can be used straight from the fridge cold or room temperature.
- Pour the discard mixture into the flour mixture and mix together with a fork or spoon until just combined. Scoop zucchini muffin batter into the wells of the muffin tin, filling them about 2/3 to 3/4 of the way full.
- Bake for 5 minutes at 425ºF. After 5 minutes reduce the temperature to 350ºF. Bake for 12-14 minutes. The zucchini muffins are ready when they have domed and baked all the way through. The tops of the muffins should spring back when gently touched and a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffin will come out clean.
- Let the muffins cool for about 5 minutes in the tin and then remove and place on a cooling rack to cool completely. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Hi Amy. I am one of the few % of the population that can taste the soapy flavor when using baking soda. I read somewhere that replacing 3x the amount of baking soda with baking powder can have the same rising affect. Can I do this with this recipe?
Thank you.
Susie
I haven’t tried it that way, but let me know how it turns out if you do! I’m sorry you have to work around baking soda like that!
Delicious, thank you! I didn’t have yogurt so I used sour cream, otherwise I followed your recipe. Loved them!
I’m so glad you love this recipe! Thank you so much for sharing your review.
I’m glad the substitution worked well for you! Thanks for the review!
I tripled the recipe and it made 30 cupcakes and 6 mini loaves!!! I may eat them all by myself. I did substitute a couple of ingredients, sour cream and pumpkin spice for the yogurt and allspice. We added mini chocolate chips and roasted pecans on top. Delicious and moist and awesome! 👏🏻
Glad you loved this recipe!
Can I make it vegan?
The eggs could be replaces with chickpeas water? What do you recommend as replacement?
I haven’t tried replacing the egg in this recipe, so I’m not sure. I’m sorry. Let me know if you try it and how it turns out.
I have been veganizing all of your recipes to much success! I used vegan Greek yogurt (forager or kite hill), aquafaba for the eggs (3 tbsp equals one egg). I doubled the recipe and used half shredded zucchini and half shredded carrot. Soooo delicious!
So glad those modifications are working well for you!
My whole family loves these!