Made with grated zucchini, ham and sun-dried tomatoes, these savoury zucchini muffins are gluten-free, paleo, and dairy-free. Serve with a dollop of butter, ghee or mayonnaise. Great for lunch boxes, as a snack or as breakfast on the go.
I don’t bake very often but the other day I felt like a muffin and not a sweet kind, but a savoury, warm muffin with some creamy butter melted into it. I had some leftover zucchini in the fridge (who doesn’t?) and some ham, so I grated and decided it all up to whip up these paleo-friendly, grain-free savoury muffins. I also added some sun-dried tomatoes for a little tang and sweetness.
These zucchini muffins are very portable, which makes them the perfect healthy food on the go while travelling or to bring to parties and picnics. I like packing these for lunch with a side of cherry tomatoes, carrot sticks and a dip.
👩🍳 You might like to also try my gluten-free cheesy zucchini muffins (low-carb but not paleo) or this high-protein zucchini slice. Plus, check out this collection of summer squash and zucchini recipes.
Ingredients For Savoury Zucchini Muffins
First, we have grated zucchini, diced ham (the best quality you can get), chopped sun-dried tomatoes, eggs, plus some seasoning.
At the time of making these, I want to use paleo-friendly flour alternatives so the batter has a mixture of almond meal, coconut flour and tapioca flour. You could use cassava flour or arrowroot instead of tapioca.
Almond meal can be replaced with other nut flours such as hazelnut meal. Tapioca flour can be found in most supermarkets near Asian ingredients or from health food stores. Cassava flour or arrowroot flour can also be used.
Tapioca flour is high in carbohydrates but you only need a third of a cup, so per muffin, the carbohydrates are still low compared to regular flour muffins. However, check nutritional info below if you’re doing keto or very low-carb paleo to see if this recipe suits you. You can always use more almond meal and coconut flour and omit the starchier tapioca.
Note On Using Coconut Flour
These muffins use a bit of coconut flour, which can make the texture a little drier than a regular muffin, but that’s when the zucchini comes into play, providing some needed moisture. Sun-dried tomatoes add a little flavour boost, which goes well with other ingredients.
Vegetarian Version
For a vegetarian version simply omit the ham. These would also be nice with some goat’s cheese or halloumi cheese if you can tolerate dairy, or with some chopped up olives.
How To Make These Paleo Zucchini Muffins
Step 1. Combine the flours and gluten-free baking powder in a bowl. In another bowl, whisk the eggs and add grated zucchini, ham and sun-dried tomatoes. Combine wet and dry mixtures until well incorporated. It will look something like this. It might look drier than your regular muffin batter but zucchini will give out some juice while cooking.
Step 2. Grease the muffin casings with a little oil (I used a silicone muffin tray). Divide the mixture equally and bake for 25 minutes in a 180 C/355 F oven.
Step 3. Remove from the oven and cool in the casings for a few minutes before transferring out onto a rack. Allow cooling completely before storing.
More Muffins & Paleo Baking Recipes
- Sweet Potato & Chicken Breakfast Muffin Nests (AIP, Paleo, Nut-Free)
- Paleo Blueberry Banana Muffins
- Egg Muffins With Onion & Salami
- Best Paleo Muffin Recipes Roundup
- Savoury Paleo Bread (Gluten-Free)
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Savoury Zucchini Muffins With Ham & Sun-Dried Tomatoes
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup tapioca flour or starch
- 3 tablespoons coconut flour
- ½ cup almond meal
- 1 teaspoon gluten-free baking powder
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder or freshly chopped garlic
- 3 eggs
- 1/3 cup olive oil or melted ghee, coconut oil can also be used
- 1 medium zucchini grated
- 1/3 cup ham chopped
- 1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes or semi-dried tomatoes, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180 C / 355 F. Grease 6-9 muffin casings with some olive oil (coconut oil or ghee is also fine).
- Combine all flours, baking powder, salt and garlic powder. Using a whisk, mix through well.
- In another bowl, whisk the eggs, olive oil and a splash of water (about 2 tbsp). Add the grated zucchini, ham, sun-dried tomatoes, and stir through.
- Add the mixture to the dry ingredients. Mix through with a wooden spoon until well incorporated. You should have a very thick batter. Using a spoon, fill the muffin casings with the mix until almost full. Leave about ½ cm off the top as they will rise a bit.
- Bake the muffins for 20- 25 minutes. Take out of the oven and let them cool down for a few minutes before removing from the tray. Place on a wire rack and serve with butter while they’re still warm.
- Store in an air-tight container or freeze wrapped in a cling film.
Notes
Nutrition
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hi, i love the sound of all your recipes. just wondering, i am allergic to nuts – do you know a good substitute for almond meal?
Hi Lisa, not sure if coconuts fall in your allergy group but coconut flour or tapioca flour are good alternatives to wheat flours. Baking with pumpkin & sweet potato is also quite good.
thanks for that. will give these a try.
Hello…looks yum and just want to check the 1/2 almond meal is cup?
Sorry, yes!
I made these today and whilst they are delicious, they are extremely moist inside despite cooking them 10mins longer than indicated and they appear very oily. Just checking it is 1/2 cup olive oil? thanks in advance
Hi Diana,
That might have been an error. I haven’t visited this recipe for a while but from memory it’s about 1/4 cup and we must have typed the wrong number when publishing the recipe. They should definitely not be oily. I apologise for a ruined batch of muffins in that case. Give them a go with less oil next time and I will certainly make another batch to double check.
Best,
Irena
I just made these for the childrens school lunches and only used 1/4 cup of coconut oil instead of the olive oil, and it worked beautifully! Also added 2 TBSP of home made pasata and they are delicious! thumbs up here this recipe is a keeper. 🙂 Thank you
Just made these for the childrens school lunches. I used 1/4 cup of coconut oil instead of the olive oil, and added 2TBsp of home made pasata, they turned out amazing! Excellent recipe and definably a keeper. 🙂 Thumbs up here, thank you.
Thanks Chloe 🙂 Passata is a great idea, would be keep them a little moist as well.
What could I replace the coconut flour with?
You can use some almond meal and tapioca flour, or even buckwheat flour. Double the amount used here as coconut flour is highly absorbent and you usually use less.
This seems to be your only recipe that doesn’t have a print link. I think I’ve printed off more recipes from you than ever, but this one is frustrating to me. Could you send me a print version?
How much almond meal please?
Do you drain the zucchini? I wondered if you don’t drain the zucchini and also add the water – too much liquid?
They look delicious! I love all your recipes and books and make them often. We have so many favourites!
Do you know what the calorie count is on these zucchini muffins?
Hey Danelle, not off the top of my head but you can paste the ingredients into something like MyFitnessPal calorie calculator and get per portion count http://www.myfitnesspal.com/recipe/calculator
Hey in your method it says combine olive oil eggs and water but your ingredients list doesnt state any water. .
Agh. How much water? It says to add oil and water but it doesn’t say how much water.
Hey Sharon,
Apologies, it’s a splash of water (2 tablespoons). We’ve updated the recipe.
Hello again. What kind of dried tomatoes should I use? The kind that come in a bag that are called sun dried organic tomatoes or the kind a come in a jar with oil?
Go for the ones in the oil as they will be a bit more moist and work better in the batter.
Hi I was just looking at the part that says to add water but no water measurements have been provided. Also just to confirm, is it 1/3 cup or 1/4 of oil?
Hi Maggie, Sorry, it’s meant to be a splash of water (about 2 tablespoons). I’ve amended the instructions. Yes, 1/3 cup of olive oil or about 75ml. Coconut flour is quite moisture hungry, so the oil keeps these from getting dry.
I tried this recipe and its really great. It will become one of my go-to recipes!
I didn’t have zucchinis, so substituted some butternut squash. I doubled the recipe and it’s all gone!
Thanks, Anne. Glad you enjoyed them. Like the idea of butternut squash as well.
Hi. I have made this recipe time and time again and I absolutely love them. However, I am now without the required types of flour and I only have regular wheat flour and tapioca flour. Do you think I could use the wheat flour to replace the almond and the coconut flour? I realise that the coconut flour retains more water but I’m thinking that maybe, if I drain the zucchini, it could work? Thank you so much!
Yes, Anca, you can use wheat flour instead of the other two. You can squeeze and drain the zucchini AND you can also add more of the regular flour if it looks a little to wet.
Can you sub bacon for ham?
Yes! I would pan-fry it first.