If you, like me, are dealing with a glut of zucchini and blueberries, I have your fix. These healthy Whole Wheat Blueberry Summer Squash Muffins are a great way to sneak veggies, fruit AND whole grains in with your morning cuppa coffee. They're barely sweet, bursting with berry goodness, and just so happen to be vegan.
This time of year - when my crisper drawers are overflowing with all varieties of summer squash - I can't help but reimagine new ways to make zucchini bread. (Remember my Zucchini Bread Oatmeal?) These healthy morning muffins are one of my new favorite iterations of the quintessential late summer treat.
Table of Contents
About This Recipe
Lately, I've been on kind of a sweet kick and have been doing my darndest to reel it in. As such, I've been trying to find recipes that satisfy my sweet tooth without overloading myself with a bunch of added sugar. This particular recipe is an adaptation of Ambitious Kitchen's Zucchini Blueberry Muffins that caught my eye a few months back.
Made with wholesome ingredients like summer squash, fresh berries, whole wheat flour and apple butter, they are a far cry from the sugar bombs most of us associate with the word "muffin." This is good news for people like me, who prefer their muffins toasted and slathered with a pat of butter or a dollop of cream cheese.
While I mostly stuck to Monique's recipe, I made a few changes based on what I had on hand. The results were quite delicious, confirming my strongly held belief that with enough kitchen knowledge, you can easily swap ingredients to satisfy your own dietary/budgetary/whatever-is-in-the-pantry-tary preferences.
First, I swapped out the egg from her recipe for 3 tablespoons of aquafaba (a.k.a. the liquid from a can of chickpeas). It is an incredible vegan egg replacer, and since I recently made chickpea cookie dough dip to satisfy the bottomless pit of my hunger, I happened to have a mason jar of it in the fridge.
NOTE: For fluffier muffins, you can opt to whip the aquafaba with a pinch of Cream of Tartar first, then fold into the dough.
Secondly, while AK's recipe calls for maple syrup and unsweetened apple sauce, I swapped these for a homemade apple butter that I had recently made. The apple butter was sweetened with brown sugar, so I didn't want to add any more added sugars to the mix.
Finally, I swapped yellow summer squash for the zucchini in her recipe. For all intents and purposes, these squash varieties are the same with the exception of color.
Depending on what is on sale at your grocery store or farmer's market, or depending on what type of summer squash you're growing, feel free to make substitutions as needed. Other varieties of summer squash like zephyr or patty pan will also work just fine.
I also found the batter to be rather thick and dry, so I ended up adding the liquid that I had squeezed out of the squash back to the mix. Not only did the muffins turn out deliciously moist, I also appreciate being able to make these healthy muffins with one less step.
TIP: Want your muffins to be sweeter? Keep the step of squeezing the squash, then replace an equal amount of the liquid you remove with a sweeter alternative like apple juice.
How to Make Summer Squash Muffins
This simple and healthy recipe for breakfast muffins will be done before you know it. Grab your box grater for the squash, then a mixing bowl, whisk and spatula. Preheat the oven to 350F, then grate the squash.
In the mixing bowl, add the apple butter, vanilla, milk, and aquafaba (or egg or flax egg). Whisk to combine.
Sprinkle wet ingredients with baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Whisk to combine. NOTE: Most recipes will have you mix the seasoning and leavening in with the flour. I find that for wet batters like this, that is an unnecessary step and measure them directly into the bowl. Do what works best for you!
Working in batches, add the whole wheat flour and whisk to combine.
This batter ends up getting very thick before adding the squash, so when needed, switch from the whisk to a spatula. Don't overmix.
Add the shredded squash and mix to combine. The batter should loosen considerably and become glossy after adding the squash.
Add berries to batter, then fold to combine. I like to pour the rinsed berries into my palm before adding, giving me a chance to remove any errant stems or moldy berries that are caught in the mix.
TIP: Do your berries always go bad before you get to them? I find that rinsing blueberries in vinegar and water after getting home from the store, then drying them very thoroughly and placing them in a paper towel lined container before putting them in the fridge is the best way to prolong their life.
Fold carefully to prevent too much breakage of the berries, stopping just when the batter is fully combined.
Line your muffin tin with paper liners, then spray with non-stick cooking spray. Scoop even amounts of dough into each liner, filling them about ¾ of the way. NOTE: Using a disher makes this process easier and neater!
Once all the muffin batter is divvied into the cups, pop the tin in the preheated oven for 22-27 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick comes out clean. NOTE: Blueberry juice is bound to get on the stick, but there should be no lingering bits of undercooked muffin dough or crumbs.
Allow to cool in the muffin tin for about 10 minutes, then remove muffins to a wire cooling rack to continue to cool.
These healthy whole wheat summer squash and blueberry muffins are best served warm - especially with butter, jam, nut butter, yogurt or cream cheese - but also perfectly yummy for eating at room temp on the go.
If you don't plan on eating within 12 hours of baking, I recommend refrigerating these healthy muffins for up to a week, or freezing for up to a month. To reheat, the toaster oven is your best friend.
Frequently Asked Questions
I personally think they are best eaten within 12 hours of making them, which means they are an excellent snack to bring to share with work- or classmates. The longer they sit at room temperature, the juicier the berries become; this can lead to a bit of a messy muffin!
If you want to make them as meal prep material, I recommend keeping the muffins in the refrigerator for up to a week, or in the freezer for up to a month. To serve, reheat or toast in the oven.
To be able to keep at room temp for up to 5 days, I suggest removing the liquid from the zucchini, as per Ambitious Kitchen's original recipe.
Heck yeah! In fact, if blueberries are out of season or terribly expensive, I actually recommend going the frozen route. Frozen berries are picked at peak ripeness and will taste just as good as fresh in this yummy muffin recipe.
Any thin skinned summer squash (like zucchini, yellow summer squash, crookneck or zephyr) will work just fine here. Look for one that will yield about 1-1.25 cups of grated squash in total.
Optional Add-Ins or Substitutions
While these delightful blueberry summer squash muffins are just about perfect as is, there are plenty of opportunities for you to make them your own. Here are a few ideas to get your creative juices flowing:
- Swap in white whole wheat flour or bread flour if that's what you have on hand.
- Use any variety of summer squash in place of the yellow squash: zucchini, zephyr or patty pan will all do the trick.
- Add nuts and seeds for some healthy fats.
- Top with granola for a bit of crunch.
- Use a mix of almond and vanilla extract, or only almond extract if you prefer.
- Swap in your favorite assortment of berries - fresh or frozen will do just fine here
- Swap up to ¼ cup of flour for wheat germ, ground flaxseed or oat flour for toastier flavor.
- Squeeze and drain the squash per the original recipe, measure it, then replace the squash liquid with a sweeter option like apple juice.
More Late Summer Recipes
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Blueberry Summer Squash Muffins
Equipment
Ingredients
- ¾ C Apple Butter
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- ¼ C Milk of Choice I used oat
- 3 tablespoon Aquafaba or sub regular egg, flax egg
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1 tsp Cinnamon
- 1 tsp Kosher Salt
- 1 ½ C Whole Wheat Flour
- 1 small Summer Squash grated
- 1 pint Blueberries fresh or frozen
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F, then grate the squash. In the mixing bowl, add the apple butter, vanilla, milk, and aquafaba (or egg or flax egg). Whisk to combine. Sprinkle wet ingredients with baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Whisk to combine. Working in batches, add the whole wheat flour and whisk to combine. NOTE: This batter ends up getting very thick before adding the squash, so when needed, switch from the whisk to a spatula. Don't overmix. Add the shredded squash and mix to combine. The batter should loosen considerably and become glossy after adding the squash. Add berries to batter, then fold to combine. NOTE: I like to pour the rinsed berries into my palm before adding, giving me a chance to remove any errant stems or moldy berries that are caught in the mix. Fold carefully to prevent too much breakage of the berries, stopping just when the batter is fully combined. Line your muffin tin with paper liners, then spray with non-stick cooking spray. Scoop even amounts of dough into each liner, filling them about ¾ of the way. NOTE: Using a disher makes this process easier and neater! Once all the muffin batter is divvied into the cups, pop the tin in the preheated oven for 22-27 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick comes out clean. NOTE: Blueberry juice is bound to get on the stick, but there should be no lingering bits of undercooked muffin dough or crumbs. Allow to cool in the muffin tin for about 10 minutes, then remove muffins to a wire cooling rack to continue to cool.
Notes
- TIP: Do your berries always go bad before you get to them? I find that rinsing blueberries in vinegar and water after getting home from the store, then drying them very thoroughly and placing them in a paper towel lined container before putting them in the fridge is the best way to prolong their life.
- These healthy whole wheat summer squash and blueberry muffins are best served warm - especially with butter, jam, nut butter, yogurt or cream cheese - but also perfectly yummy for eating at room temp on the go.
- If you don't plan on eating within 12 hours of baking, I recommend refrigerating these healthy muffins for up to a week, or freezing for up to a month. To reheat, the toaster oven is your best friend.
Optional Add-Ins or Substitutions
While these delightful blueberry summer squash muffins are just about perfect as is, there are plenty of opportunities for you to make them your own. Here are a few ideas to get your creative juices flowing:- Swap in white whole wheat flour or bread flour if that's what you have on hand.
- Use any variety of summer squash in place of the yellow squash: zucchini, zephyr or patty pan will all do the trick.
- Add nuts and seeds for some healthy fats.
- Top with granola for a bit of crunch.
- Use a mix of almond and vanilla extract, or only almond extract if you prefer.
- Swap in your favorite assortment of berries - fresh or frozen will do just fine here
- Swap up to ¼ cup of flour for wheat germ, ground flaxseed or oat flour for toastier flavor.
- Squeeze and drain the squash per the original recipe, measure it, then replace the squash liquid with a sweeter option like apple juice.
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