These incredibly moist lemon zucchini muffins are coated with an easy lemon glaze to satisfy your morning sweet tooth the healthy way!
Remember last month when I was the Mystery Dish guest blogger and made that cilantro lime hummus? Well, I somehow tricked that fine group of ladies into inviting me to stay on as a regular! My life is pretty predictable, so I could use some mystery in my life! This month is hosted by Chez CateyLou, and she put together a fun list of ingredients to choose from:
- raspberries
- peanut butter chips
- edamame
- lemon
- yeast
- whole wheat pastry flour
- bacon
- buttermilk
- basil
- zucchini
We were required to use at least two ingredients, but I wanted to challenge myself and use more. These lemon zucchini muffins include zucchini and lemon (obviously) plus buttermilk. They also include whole wheat flour, but I didn’t see the pastry flour part when I first read the list. Can I get partial credit for that one? 
These muffins are unbelievably moist. The dough looked a bit dry before baking, but they were definitely not lacking in the moisture department. I can’t wait to make these all summer with the plentiful zucchini available! I probably won’t glaze them every time, but that was a treat that made them almost like a cupcake. Even with the sugary lemon glaze, these muffins were still a much healthier (and dare I say tastier?) breakfast option than a doughnut! 
Before we get to the recipe, let’s see what creative recipes everyone else came up with!
1. Raspberry Lemon Sweet Roll Cake with Buttermilk Glaze – Baking a Moment 2. Twice Baked Zucchini Boat – Chelsea’s Messy Apron 3. Buttermilk Panna Cotta with Raspberry Mint Compote – Blahnik Baker 4. Lemon-Raspberry Bundt Cake – I Dig Pinterest 5. Peanut Butter Chip Cookies – The Dessert Chronicles 6. Mini Coconut Cupcakes with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting – I Want Crazy 7. Zucchini Noodles with Meat Mushroom Tomato Sauce – Joyful Healthy Eats 8. Baked Wonton Cups Filled with Edamame Corn Salad – The Well Floured Kitchen 9. Easy 30 Minute Orange Rolls – Yummy Healthy Easy 10. BBQ Chicken Salad with Jalapeño Basil Ranch Dressing – The Pajama Chef 11. Mini Reese’s Peanut Butter Cupcakes – Culinary Couture 12. Zucchini Muffins with Lemon Glaze – The Weary Chef 13. Lemon Bundt Cake – Chez CateyLou
| Prep Time | 10 minutes |
| Cook Time | 20 minutes |
| Servings |
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- 1 c. buttermilk
- 1/3 c. vegetable oil
- 1/3 c. sugar
- 1 egg
- zest of one lemon
- 2 c. grated zucchini about 3 small
- 1 c. all purpose flour
- 1 c. whole wheat flour
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 c. powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp. lemon juice
- 1 tbsp. plus 1 tsp.cold water
Ingredients
Muffins
Glaze
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Rate this recipe!
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- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spray a muffin tin with cooking spray, and set aside.
- In large bowl, stir together buttermilk, oil, sugar, and egg until smooth. Stir in lemon zest and zucchini, then add flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir dry ingredients into wet just until combined.
- Evenly scoop muffin dough into muffin tin. (I use a large disher or ice cream scoop to make this easy.) Bake in preheated oven for 18-20 minutes until golden brown and toothpick inserted into largest muffin comes out dry.
- Allow muffins to cool a few minutes in the pan, and then transfer to a wire rack to cool.
- When muffins are cool, whisk together powdered sugar, lemon juice, and water until smooth. Dunk and swirl the top of each muffin in the glaze, and allow the excess glaze to drip off before placing it back on the wire rack to set. (Put parchment or wax paper under the wire rack to catch drips.) Glaze will harden and be ready to eat in just a few minutes.
Glazed muffins are best eaten within a few hours before glaze begins to soak into the muffin.
These muffins are also delicious (and healthier) on their own without the glaze. For more lemon flavor, add 1-2 tbsp. lemon juice to the muffin dough with the lemon zest.
These unglazed zucchini muffins are a perfect healthy breakfast!
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Maybe I’m overthinking but shouldn’t there have been sugar in the muffin? Or were these supposed to be savory? I thought maybe the glaze was what sweetened them but then you said that was optional. I tasted the batter before baking and it was quite flat so I looked at the recipe thinking I’d accidentally left out sugar but …no sugar in the recipe. Just curious if that was a typo or they were supposed to be savory unless you glaze them which would sweeten them. Thanks!
Linda, I am so sorry for this mistake! The muffins should include 1/3 c. sugar. I will correct the recipe and email you separately about how I can make it up to you if you did not enjoy the muffins! Thank you for bringing this to my attention.
Congrats on being added as a regular, Andi! I love zucchini bread so I love that you made it in muffin form with a delicious glaze to boot! :)
Thanks, Marcie! I think this group only runs through the summer, so I’m still up for starting another group if you want!
Totally up for it, Andi — I’d love it! Let’s talk further.
Sounds good!
You rocked this mystery dish recipe Andi! I love the sound of these lemon zucchini muffins – they look incredible especially with that lemon glaze – yum!
Thanks so much! If I stick with this gluten-free diet I’m going to have to figure out how to revamp this recipe so I can make them again :)
I love that photo where you are icing the muffin and the frosting is just deliciously dripping. Double yum. Whole wheat in the dough—zucchini as a veggie in the dough—then to heck with all the healthy, let’s eat FROSTING. My sentiments exactly.
Lol.
The whole wheat and zucchini TOTALLY outweighs the frosting! They are good even without the glaze though if you are feeling virtuous ;)
Welcome to Mystery Dish! We are so happy to have you! I love what you came up with this month – zucchini baked goods are the best. It makes me feel much healthier when I inevitably eat more than I should :) These look delicious!
Thank you so much! I haven’t actually baked with zucchini much before this, but I will definitely be trying it more often now. Thanks for the great list and inspiration!
OMG that picture of you dipping the muffin into the glaze had me drooling. I must try this recipe ASAP! With zucchini and buttermilk, they have to be super moist! So happy to have you in the group for good!! xo!
Thank you, Jen!! It was hard not to eat the leftover glaze with a spoon ;)
Awesome first mystery dish post! This looks like a great recipe and I am totally on board with anything involving glaze!
Thanks, Rachel! I am crazy for glaze too and usually prefer it over heavier frosting. Have a great weekend!