Whip up scrumptious gluten-free zucchini muffins with a trio of cheeses: cottage cheese, feta, and Cheddar. These savory muffins are perfect for a snack, lunchbox or as a side dish. Made with fresh zucchini, almond flour and coconut flour, these muffins are light and moist, low in carbs and high in protein.
Jump to: ℹ️ Overview | 🛒 Ingredients | 📷 How To Make | 📹 Watch The Video | 👩🍳 Recipe Tips | 🥗 Serving Suggestions | 📝 Full Recipe Card | 🍽 More Zucchini Recipes
These savory zucchini muffins are packed with flavor and have a tasty mix of textures from the cheeses.
As with most zucchini muffins, the texture is a little more moist than regular muffins, and in this recipe, it’s also due to the use of almond flour and coconut flour, which are used to make gluten-free and low-carb muffins.
The flavors are savory and cheesy, with a little hint of garlic and herbs.
I love making these zucchini muffins for a quick breakfast or a snack, or even as a side to light soup or salad. They are high in protein and fibre, low in carbs and full of cheesy goodness.
👩🍳 For more healthy muffin recipes, check out these paleo savory zuchcini muffins, broccoli bacon egg muffins, gluten-free banana chocolate chip muffins, or these other high–protein muffins. You might also like these healthy breakfast burritos.
What You’ll Need
Here is what you’ll need for this savoury, gluten-free zucchini muffins recipe. Find the full measurements in the recipe card below.
- Zucchini: fresh green zucchini, which is grated with the juice squeezed out; I suggest using medium to small zucchini as they have less moisture and fewer seeds compared to very large green zucchini. If you have a lot of squash, you can also use it to make my breakfast pizza with zucchini crust or some gluten-free zucchini bread.
- Dry ingredients: almond flour (or almond meal), coconut flour, baking powder, and baking soda. You can swap out coconut flour with ¾ to 1 cup of regular gluten-free flour. If you want to make it without almond flour AND without coconut flour, use about 2 cups of regular gluten-free flour.
- Wet ingredients: eggs, Greek yoghurt (you can also use sour cream), and butter.
- Cheeses: Cottage cheese (adds extra protein), Feta cheese (you can use smooth Danish or Greek), and Cheddar cheese (you can also use Tasty, Greyer or even Mozzarella). If you have leftover cottage cheese, check out these 20 cottage cheese recipes you can make.
- Seasonings: salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and dried oregano.
How To Make Gluten-Free Zucchini Muffins
Find the full recipe and nutritional information below. Here are some handy step-by-step photos for how to make these savory cheese and zucchini muffins.
- Preheat Oven: 350°F (175°C). Line or grease muffin tin. I use a silicone muffin tray, which makes it easier to remove the muffins.
- Prepare Zucchini: Grate and squeeze out moisture. Set aside.
- Mix dry ingredients: Combine almond meal, coconut flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, garlic powder, and dried oregano.
- Combine wet ingredients: Beat eggs, and mix in butter and yogurt.
- Add cheeses and zucchini: Stir in cottage cheese, feta, and cheddar.
- Fill muffin tin: Fill cups ¾ full.
- Bake: 20-25 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool: 5 minutes in tin, then on wire rack. Enjoy!
Watch The Video
Recipe Tips
- Squeeze that zucchini: Make sure to squeeze out as much moisture as possible from the grated zucchini. This helps prevent the muffins from becoming soggy.
- Cheese options: Feel free to experiment with different cheeses. Mozzarella or gouda can be great alternatives to cheddar. You can add some gorgonzola or blue cheese for an extra gourmet touch.Herb variations: If you’re out of parsley, try using fresh basil, thyme, or dill for a different flavor twist.
- Add-ins: Enhance the muffins with extras like sun-dried tomatoes, chopped olives, or even some diced bell peppers. You can also add diced ham or salami.
- Gluten-free options: This recipe is naturally gluten-free thanks to the almond meal and coconut flour. You can swap out coconut flour with ¾ to 1 cup of regular gluten-free flour. Don’t love almond flour OR coconut flour, use about 2 cups of regular gluten-free flour.
Serving Suggestions
- I will often make these savory muffins for a quick breakfast, served with a side of fresh fruit. You can also serve them for brunch or lunch with a simple green salad for a balanced meal.
- These are high in protein and are perfect as a quick and healthy snack before or after a workout or as something to grab on the go. You can bring them to a picnic, on road trips or on long hikes.
- These muffins can be enjoyed at room temperature or warmed up slightly.
- Pair zucchini muffins with a bowl of soup, such as tomato basil or butternut squash, for a comforting and satisfying lunch or dinner.
Want to Save This Recipe?
Enter your email & I’ll send it to your inbox. Plus, get great new recipes from me every week!
By submitting this form, you consent to receive emails from Cooked & Loved
Video
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups grated zucchini about 2 medium zucchinis, squeeze out the juice!
- 1 ¼ cup almond meal about 110 grams or 4 oz
- ½ cup coconut flour about 35 grams or 1.2 oz
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ cup cottage cheese about 125 grams or 4.4 oz
- ½ cup crumbled feta cheese about 100 grams or 3.5 oz
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese half in the batter and half for the tops, 95 grams total or 3.4 oz
- 3 large eggs
- ¼ cup melted butter about 1 oz / 28 grams, or olive oil
- ¼ cup plain Greek yogurt or sour cream 1.8 oz / 50 grams
Instructions
- Preheat the oven: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a muffin tin with paper liners or grease it well. I used silicone muffin tray, which is super easy for muffin removal.
- Prepare the zucchini: Grate the zucchini. Squeeze out as much moisture as possible. I use my hands and do this in batches. You can also place zucchini in a clean kitchen towel and squeeze through that. This step is crucial to avoid soggy muffins.
- Mix dry ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk together the almond meal, coconut flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, garlic powder, and dried oregano.
- Combine wet ingredients: In another bowl, beat the eggs. Add the melted butter (or olive oil) and Greek yogurt (or sour cream), and mix well.
- Combine wet and dry ingredients: Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined.
- Add the cheeses and zucchini: Stir in the cottage cheese, crumbled feta, and shredded cheddar, making sure they're evenly distributed. Fold in the zucchini.
- Fill the muffin tin: Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups, filling them about ¾ full. Add extra grated cheese on top of each muffin.
- Bake: Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.
- Cool: Let the muffins cool in the tin for about 5 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy warm or at room temperature.
Notes
- Zucchini: Make sure to squeeze out as much moisture as you can from the zucchini to prevent the muffins from becoming too wet.
- Cheese variations: Feel free to play around with the types of cheese. Goat cheese or a sharp provolone would also work well.
- Storage: Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 3 months. Reheat in the microwave or oven before serving.
I would like to try this, but I don’t have sour cream or yogurt on hand (I do have everything else) What would be a good substitute?
Hey Jennifer, you can add extra cottage cheese (same amount).
Thank you for sharing this recipe
Hi Irena
Do you think it would work with gram flour?
Thanks
It should work. Gram flour is denser/coarser than all-purpose or gluten-free flour, which can affect the final texture of baked goods, but in theory it should still work fine in this recipe.
Looks fantastic! Making it now. The butter amount is 1/4 C but the weight seems smaller than that?
Thanks!
Hi Cari,
Go with the weighted measurements. It was loosely packed. To be honest 10 grams more will still work, definitely don’t go under.
Irena