This Grain-Free Almond Flour Zucchini Muffins recipe really pushes baking principals to their limits. There are no eggs and no grain flours, which are the two principal ingredients that hold, form and make a muffin, right? Let me show you otherwise. My friend asked me “why complicate life?”, which is a good question. The truth is: I myself don’t feel great on grain flours in baked goods, even if they are gluten free; I feel rather lethargic after eating them. I’ve also been working more with the GAPS diet which is ideal for people with seriously compromised digestive tracts. GAPS, however, does not allow grains in the healing phase. Yet, a successful transition is one when a person has many substitution options and feels abundant and not deprived. And who doesn’t like a good muffin?
The other thing I’m doing here is going away from sweet muffins to savory muffins; we get enough sugar from so many foods (even the healthy ones like dried fruit), so this is a creative way to enjoy a muffin sans sugar. A delicious and wonderful recipe for healthy thyroid nutrition.
Warning: the muffin will be dense and moist. It will also be yummy. So be prepared for a different but delightful experience.
- 3 cups almond flour/meal
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 2 small zucchinis, grated
- a handful of black olives, pitted and chopped roughly
- ½ cup coconut oil
- 2 large tbsp of ground flaxseed (This is to replace eggs. If you can tolerate eggs, go ahead and use them.)
- 6 tbsp warm water (This is to replace eggs. If you can tolerate eggs, go ahead and use them.)
- 1 large tbsp of honey (or stevia if avoiding fructose)
- 2 tsp dry oregano
- 2 tsp dry tarragon
- ½ tsp sea salt
- Preheat the oven to 375F or 190C.
- To make a flax egg, combine flaxseed meal + warm water and let it stand for a few minutes to thicken.(If you tolerate egg, you can use egg instead, and omit this step).
- Combine all dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking powder).
- Combine all wet ingredients; zucchini, olives, oil and honey and mix them well.
- Mix dry, wet ingredients, herbs and flaxseed into a liquid mixture; if it’s not liquid enough, add some oil.
- Dish out mixture to about 12 muffin cups.
- Bake for 25-30 min or till tops are firm.
How many eggs?
Hi Grace,
2 eggs if you are not using the flax ~Deanna HB Team
Can i omit the tarragon or is there any substitute .
Thank you
Hi Lili,
You can omit it or use an italian seasoning you like 🙂 ~HB Team
So delicious! Muffins are very moist. I used liquid MCT oil instead of the coconut oil and I used Italian seasoning blend instead of the tarragon and oregano. Thank you for the great recipe!
That sounds very good Dee! Thank you for sharing your experience 🙂 ~HB Team
I can’t tolerate olives, any substitute at all? Please let me know as I want to make these as soon as I can! Thank you!
Hi J,
You could omit the olives or add nuts or berries. If you add the berries, you may want to take out the savory seasoning. ~HB Team
I wanted these to be good but they just weren’t! I used the flax egg and baked them for 25 minutes but they were not done in the middle. I’m also not sure about the spice combo, they needed more salt and more sweetness in my opinion.
Hi Alicia,
Thank you for your feedback. You might try cooking them a bit longer. some times ovens can work a little differently from home to home. Feel free to try different spices that you’d like.
Healthy Regards,
HB Team
These muffins are absolutely delicious!! I’m a savory over sweet person so these really do it for me. I made them with 2 eggs (I have no digestive issues with eggs, plus, I have organic eggs from my backyard chickens!). They came out perfect. Even my husband loved them, and he’s typically not as much of a savory type when it comes to baked goods.
Hi Dominique! Thank you for your feedback, we appreciate you!! HB Support