Savory Zucchini Muffins (with Green Chiles and Cheese)
These Savory Zucchini Muffins are flavored with green chiles and cheese and anyone who likes that combination will love this recipe. This zucchini muffin recipe is made with white whole wheat flour; check in the post for links to some muffins made with almond flour.
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These Savory Zucchini Muffins flavored with green chiles and cheese are the perfect recipe to try when you still have zucchini and have tried all the other possible way of cooking it! And I’ve made a few variations of sweet zucchini bread and muffins, but for this recipe I wanted a savory zucchini muffin recipe that included cheese and a fair amount of zucchini. And I’m more of a cook than a baker, so it took me seven tries to get a recipe I was satisfied with! But the happy result of all that recipe testing was these Savory Zucchini Muffins (with Green Chiles and Cheese).
I’m glad I persisted until I had a winner because I loved these muffins eaten warm with a bit of butter! The savory muffins do use white whole wheat flour, so check the nutritional information to see if that makes this recipe too much of a carb splurge for you. And if you prefer a flourless zucchini muffin, scroll down to see zucchini muffin recipes that are lower in carbs and gluten-free.
What ingredients do you need for this recipe?
(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe with ingredient amounts.)
- grated zucchini or yellow squash
- Whole Roasted Green Chiles (affiliate link)
- grated Mexican Blend cheese
- finely grated Parmesan
- buttermilk
- eggs
- White Whole Wheat Flour (affiliate link)
- Granulated Monkfruit Sweetener (affiliate link)
- sea salt
- baking soda
- baking powder
What makes the Savory Zucchini Muffins so flavorful?
These zucchini muffins have roasted green chiles, Mexican blend cheese, grated parmesan, and buttermilk, for so much savory flavor.
How many carbs are in the Savory Zucchini Muffins?
When they’re baked in small muffin cups, the savory muffins with zucchini have about 10 net carbs per muffin, with 5 grams of protein.
Want low-carb and gluten-free zucchini muffins?
If you like the idea of zucchini muffins but want or need a recipe for almond flour zucchini muffins that are low-carb and gluten-free check out this muffin recipe with zucchini and feta or these Keto muffins with zucchini for more tasty options.
How to make Savory Zucchini Muffins (with Green Chiles and Cheese):
(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)
- I used a combination of grated yellow squash and zucchini, but use whichever you have a surplus of. I grated it with my food processor, but a large hand grater will work too.
- My first few tries were way too wet, so some good bakers gave me the tip of putting the zucchini inside a dish towel and squeezing out all the liquid. I highly recommend doing that! You’ll be amazed at how much water comes out.
- Drain a small can of whole green chiles, then stack them up and chop into very small pieces. Then take a paper towel and cover the diced chiles, pressing down so the towel absorbs even more of the juice. They should look fairly dry like this when you put them into the bowl. (When I used green chiles that come already diced, they were too wet.)
- In a medium-sized bowl, combine the grated zucchini or squash, diced green chiles, grated cheese, and finely grated Parmesan. Then beat together the buttermilk and eggs and mix it into these wet ingredients.
- In a small bowl, combine the White Whole Wheat Flour (affiliate link), sweetener, sea salt, baking soda, and baking powder.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until the flour is all incorporated into the batter. (The dough will be stiff and hard to stir.)
- Spray muffin tins or silicone baking cups and fill them full but not overflowing. (I had a tiny bit of dough left, which I baked in a mini-loaf pan.)
- Bake the muffins at 350F/180C for about 45-50 minutes, or until the outside is nicely browned and muffins are cooked through. I would start checking them a bit sooner than that in case your oven cooks hotter than mine. (They will be moist inside when they’re still hot. I was surprised they took so long to bake until I realized how many wet ingredients there were.)
- Let muffins cool about 15 minutes before eating them. They keep well in the fridge and reheat well in the microwave (only about 30 seconds.)
Make it as part of a Meal:
I think this savory zucchini muffin recipe would be great any time of day, and it would be great with any of these main dishes:
- Southwest Breakfast Skillet
- Chicken Cutlets Recipe with Mustard Sauce
- Avocado Frittata with Cotija and Mozzarella Cheese
- Creole Pork Chops with Tomato-Pepper Relish
- Mushrooms and Spinach Egg Skillet
Want more recipes using Zucchini?
- There’s a whole category for Zucchini Recipes on Kalyn’s Kitchen!
- Check out 50 Amazing Zucchini Recipes to see most of my ideas with zucchini.
- The Top Ten Low-Carb Zucchini Recipes will show you popular zucchini recipes that are low in carbs.
Savory Zucchini Muffins (with Green Chiles and Cheese)
These Savory Zucchini Muffins (with Green Chiles and Cheese) are loaded with amazing savory flavors. And this is a great muffin to eat any time of day.
Ingredients
Wet Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups grated zucchini or yellow squash, squeezed in a dish towel until no more liquid comes out
- one 4 oz. can whole green chiles, drained well and finely diced
- 3/4 cup grated Mexican Blend cheese
- 1/4 cup very finely grated Parmesan (the kind in a can is fine)
- 1/4 cup buttermilk
- 2 eggs
Dry Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cupsย white whole wheat flour
- 1/4 cup Granulated Monkfruit Sweetener
- 1 tsp. sea salt
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. baking powder
Instructions
- Preheat oven or toaster oven to 350F/180C.
- Spray muffin pan or silicone muffin cups with non-stick spray or oil.
- Grate zucchini or squash, using a food processor or the large side of a hand grater.
- Put grated squash into a dish towel and squeeze until no more water comes out.
- Measure the squash and put into a medium-sized bowl.
- Drain the whole green chiles, and pick off any seeds (unless you want it extra spicy.)
- Stack up the chiles on a cutting board and dice them into small pieces, then place a paper towel over the diced chiles and press down to absorb any extra water. (You may need to do this with a couple of towels.)
- Add chiles and both types of cheese to the bowl with the squash.
- Beat together the eggs and buttermilk and then mix into the wet ingredients.
- In a smaller bowl, stir together the white whole wheat flour, sweetener, sea salt, baking soda, and baking powder.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, stirring together until all the flour is incorporated. (The batter will be stiff and hard to stir.)
- Fill muffin cups so they are full but not overflowing. (If you only have a small muffin pan with 12 cups, bake the extra in a small loaf pan.)
- Bake muffins about 45-50 minutes, or until the outside is nicely browned and muffins are cooked through. I would start checking them a bit sooner than that in case your oven cooks hotter than mine.
- Muffins will have a slightly crisp crust and be somewhat moist inside.
- Let muffins cool about 15 minutes before eating.
- These muffins kept well in the fridge and were easily reheated (in a microwave for about 30 seconds.)
- I liked the Savory Zucchini Muffins hot, with a bit of butter.
Notes
You can make about 15 small zucchini muffins or 12 muffins and a small mini-loaf of zucchini bread. Or if you have larger muffin cups, this recipe will be perfect to make 12 muffins.
I'm a fan of Monkfruit Sweetener (affiliate link), but use any sweetener of your choice.
Recipe created by Kalyn after many tries and a lot of consulting zucchini bread recipes on other blogs.
Nutrition Information
Yield
15Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 91Total Fat 3gSaturated Fat 2gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 1gCholesterol 32mgSodium 339mgCarbohydrates 12gFiber 2gSugar 2gProtein 5g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.
Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
Using white whole wheat flour and mostly low-fat cheese plus a generous amount of zucchini makes these Savory Zucchini Muffins (with Green Chiles and Cheese) good choice for phase 2 or 3 of the original South Beach Diet. Muffins with flour may be too high in carbs for low-carb diets, although with all the zucchini and cheese these zucchini muffins have only 10 net carbs per muffin.
Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Desserts and Baking to find more recipes like this one! Use the Diet Type Index to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalynโs Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes Iโm sharing there.
Historical Notes for this Recipe:
This recipe for Savory Zucchini Muffins was posted in 2011. It was last updated with more information in 2025.
32 Comments on “Savory Zucchini Muffins (with Green Chiles and Cheese)”
This sounds lovely, I’ll try it tomorrow. However – I wonder why a savoury muffin needs any sweetener at all? Guess I am going to omit that…
Of course you can make it the way you prefer. But 1/4 cup of dry ingredients is a lot to omit.
Hope you enjoy! And lucky you to have all that shredded zucchini.
Great timing!!! I just shredded the last of this week’s CSA zucchini to freeze for future baking and we have some lovely poblanos growing like gangbusters on our back deck. I always prefer a savory muffin to sweet, cannot wait to try these out!!
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So glad you enjoyed the muffins!
I made these muffins along with some butternut squash chili, and they went together perfectly! I love the slight hint of spiciness. Thanks for the recipe ๐
Kristie, so glad you enjoyed them. I tried the recipe several times and couldn't figure out why mine were taking so long to bake (unless it's because I have an enormous oven.)
Thank you for the wonderful recipe! I tried these tonight and they were wonderful. I took them out at 30 minutes and they looked just like yours, so our ovens must cook a little differently. They would be perfect with soup. Thanks again!
I do think this is a completely different take on traditional zucchini bread.
Deborah, hope you will enjoy the muffins!
My mother in law just brought over a ton of zucchini – I think these will be gracing our dinner table this week!
I'm a huge fan of my mother's zucchini bread, but this is taking it to a whole new level! Looks amazing!
Mickle (and Elise) thanks for that idea! I don't have a potato ricer but I will have to look for one just for this use.
Try popping the grated zuch/squash into a potato ricer and give it a squeeze – an incredible amount of liquid comes out.
This is also a great method for grated raw potato (think rosti/hash browns) or grated cucumber (tsatsiki/raita). And the potato ricer is way easier to rinse and wash than the cloth is!
The idea isn't my own – I got it from Elise at simplyrecipes.com
Anyone else notice that zucchini is almost always used for things where people would have to ask — "what's zucchini doing in a ______?"
I mean, I'm all for it, but it's a trend.
that is really making me hungry right now!! thank you for sharing this with us.
Cooking Creation, thanks!
Kelly I think this would work well for cornbread (but it's not allowed for South Beach, sigh.)
I love this recipe. It isn't often that I see something savory with zucchini, and with green chilies as well. Sounds pretty tasty. I admire your persistence working on this, too. Clearly it paid off bigtime :). How do you think the combo would work in a cornbread? Mmm…
They look wonderful!
Some of the first batches of muffins went right into the trash, that's how bad they were! The later ones are in the freezer; they're tasty but just not quite blogworthy.
Yes, I do love the trick of squeezing the moisture out in a towel. I was amazed how dry the zucchini was after I did that.
Tom, I do sub white whole wheat 1-1 for white flour and haven't ever had a problem with it. Of course, what do I know, look how many tries it took me for these? I used whole wheat pastry flour in a couple of the early tries at this, but I liked them better with the white whole wheat flour.
I love the idea of using a dish towel to squeeze out the moisture from the zucchini. Do you substitute white whole wheat for white flour cup-for-cup? I have 5 pounds that I'd like to try but I don't see a lot of recipes using it. I've had great luck doing half and half with white flour and whole wheat pastry flour, though.
Great recipe and a really great tip on squeezing the zucchini in a towel. Much easier and I imagine more efficient than the squeeze method i do.
I really need to get on this savory zucchini bread bandwagon! Muffins and quickbreads like these always sound so good to me!
Okay, what happened to all of those first six batches of muffins? I'm thinking that if you have enough freezer space, they can hang out until Thanksgiving and become a great stuffing for turkey. I'm always amazed at how much liquid comes out of squash, cucumbers, eggplant, etc., when they drain first.
I love this recipe.This is tasty and delicious recipe.It looks great from the outside.Both vegetarian and non vegetarian can take this recipe.
These look wonderful and I love the pictures
Yes, I can be pretty persistent when I get my mind set on something! And the first tries did taste good, but they were all too wet, so I thought I could get it right if I kept trying. Glad people are liking it and happy I can help you use your surplus of zucchini!
These savory zucchini muffins would go perfectly with a bowl of soup, great way to use up all the zucchini that's sitting around! You must have had a lot of muffins after seven attempts – but I'm sure you had some eager taste testers.
Just got more zucchini in our CSA box today – perfect timing! ๐
Seven tries? Wow! You are persistent. I'm impressed. I think I would like these much better than the sweet ones although I would eat one right now if somebody handed it to me. ๐
wow that looks so delicious, I so love savory versions and this seems simple too ๐
These really look fantastic, Kalyn! A great way to use all the surplus zucchini from the garden.