Zucchini Protein Powder Muffins (low carb, gluten free)

Looking for a healthy keto breakfast? Try these zucchini protein powder muffins as they are low carb, high protein, sugar free and gluten free. Using protein powder adds flavor without gluten or carbs. Sneak in some summer zucchini from the garden for a serving of veggies too! Each healthy zucchini muffin has only 1.2 grams net carbs and 6.3 grams of protein!

You might also like these chocolate protein keto balls!

Last week or so I made a keto banana bread using protein powder and since then I’ve made a few variations in the flavors because everyone in my family likes it!

Well today the surge of zucchini from my husband’s garden started and so I made these zucchini protein powder muffins. Not only are they low carb but they are high protein and gluten free. They are also nut free so no almond flour either nor coconut flour.

All you have to do is mix and bake for easy nutritious breakfast or keto sweet snack. I use Lily’s chocolate caramel chips for added flavor but later in the post I’ll show you various ways to change up the flavors.

What is the texture of these healthy zucchini muffins?

Using protein powder instead of wheat flour in baked goods sometimes makes them dry and spongy. These zucchini muffins are moist and chewy just like regular flour muffins.

Below you can see what the texture looks like.

Recipe Ingredients I used.

I do use quite a few ingredients in these low carb protein muffins. It’s based off a soul bread recipe I used for my keto banana bread.

So all of the recipe ingredients are fresh zucchini, cream cheese, butter, eggs, olive oil, Sweetleaf vanilla drops, Swerve brown sugar sweetener, Isopure Zerocarb Vanilla protein powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cream of tartar, xanthan gum, flaxseed meal and Lily’s chocolate salted caramel chips.

Of all of these healthy ingredients the ones below are the most unusual and necessary for this recipe. Isopure Zerocarb protein powders add protein, flavor and no carbs so that’s very helpful.

Lily’s chocolate chips us erythritol and so have very few net carbs. The xanthan gum gives baked goods a bit of chewiness which is very helpful in keto baking and you can usually find it in a bigger grocery store in the gluten free section.

So while you might need to initially purchase a few things, you will definitely use them. You can find these gluten free, low carb baking ingredients in my Amazon storefront.

How to make zucchini protein powder muffins.

1. First thing you need to do is shredded the zucchini with a hand grater. Place the zucchini into a tea towel or a bunch of paper towels and squeeze as much water out of the zucchini as you can. This is important to do.
2. Next add the cream cheese and butter to a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 30 seconds. Place them into a large mixing bowl and blend together with a hand mixer.
3. Next add in the wet ingredients: eggs, liquid stevia, olive oil as well as the Swerve brown sugar sweetener and zucchini. Blend well.
4. In a separate bowl mix the dry ingredients: 2 scoops protein powder, baking soda, baking powder, cream of tartar, salt, xanthan gum and ground flaxseed meal.
5. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and stir by hand. The muffin batter will be a bit runny but it’s ok.
6. Spray a muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray and then spoon the muffin mixture into the muffin cups.
7. Add the chocolate chips separately. Because the batter is thin, they tend to sink to the bottom when baking but it still tastes delicious.
8. Bake in a preheated 325°f oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown. Baking time will vary depending on the size of your muffin tin so check them towards the end. Mine took 20 minutes.
9. Place the muffin pan on a wire rack and let them cool completely before eating. Store them an air-tight container and they should last for quite a few days.
10. I have recipe tips and ways to vary this recipe in the Recipe & Tips section below. Also please scroll down to view and print the recipe card.

Below is what these healthy protein muffins look like coming out of the oven. You can see the chocolate chips sink. And they don’t see rise much. But take my word (and my family) that they are really tasty!

Recipe Notes and Substitutions

• It is very important that you squeeze out as much of the water from the zucchini as you can. I just place the shredded zucchini into a tea towel and squeeze it out over the sink. When you are done the zucchini show be stuck together in a big clump.
• I used Lily’s chocolate salted caramel chips for added flavor but you can try Chocozero dark chocolate chips for another keto alternative. Both are low in net carbs and are another way to add flavor.
• You could also add other flavors through your protein powder. I used a vanilla flavor but you can try chocolate, banana or whatever flavor you want. Note that I use Isopure Zerocarbs because it doesn’t have carbs and it’s the only whey protein powder I have use this recipe with.
• Another idea is to use different flavor extracts. A vanilla extract or maybe caramel, lemon, maple, raspberry etc would be great. I’ve added them to my Amazon storefront to check out.
• When mixing the bread it is important that you only use a mixer on the wet ingredients and just to hand mix the dry ingredients to keep the light texture.
• Lastly you can add nuts, seeds, unsweetened coconut, cacao nibs, and any other low carb mix ins for added flavor. You can also play around with low carb berries like blueberries, blackberries and strawberries.

Other high protein low carb recipes.

If you enjoy the added boost of protein in your keto recipes here are 29 protein powder recipes. Below are a few of my favorites.

• keto peanut butter banana pudding
• coconut cake protein balls
• creamy chocolate gelatin squares
• peanut butter banana fudge
• berry chia seed pudding
• chocolate pudding protein popsicles
• banana bread granola

Well I hope you give these protein powder muffins a try. They are really tasty and versatile. There is nothing like a warm muffin a bit of butter for a keto sweet snack or healthy breakfast.

The nutritional information and carb count for 1 muffin is 113 calories
8.8g fat / 3g carbs / 1.8g fiber / 6.3g protein = 1.2g net carbs

Continue to Content

Zucchini Protein Muffin Recipe

Yield: 12

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Looking for a keto sweet snack or breakfast? Try these zucchini protein powder muffins which are gluten free, low carb, high protein and sugar free. This healthy muffin recipe makes for moist, sweet and delicious zucchini muffins.

Print

Ingredients

• 3 oz cream cheese
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup zucchini, shredded (water squeeze out)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ½ teaspoon liquid stevia
• ½ cup Swerve brown sugar sweetener
• 2 cups Isopure Zerocarb Vanilla protein powder
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 ¼ teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon xanthan gum powder
• 2 tablespoon ground flax meal
• ¼ cup Lilly's chocolate salted caramel chips

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F.
2. First thing you need to do is shredded the zucchini with a hand grater. Place the zucchini into a tea towel or a bunch of paper towels and squeeze as much water out of the zucchini as you can. This is important to do.
3. Next add the cream cheese and butter to a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 30 seconds. Place them into a large mixing bowl and cream together.
4. Add in the wet ingredients: eggs, liquid stevia, olive oil as well as the Swerve brown sugar sweetener and zucchini.
5. In a separate mixing bowl, mix the dry ingredients: protein powder, baking soda, baking powder, cream of tartar, salt, xanthan gum and ground flaxseed meal. Then pour them inot the wet ingredients and stir by hand. The batter will be a bit runny but it’s ok.
6. Spray a muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray and then spoon the batter into muffin tin.
   Add the chocolate chips separately. Because the batter is thin, they tend to sink to the bottom when baking but it is still tastes delicious.
7. Bake for 20 minutes. Cooking times will vary depending on the size of your muffin tin so check them towards the end. Mine took 20 minutes.
8. Let them cool completely before eating. Store them an airtight container and they should last for quite a few days.

Notes

Recipe Tips & Notes

• It is very important that you squeeze out as much of the water from the zucchini as you can. I just place the shredded zucchini into a tea towel and squeeze it out over the sink. When you are done the zucchini show be stuck together in a big clump.
• When mixing the bread it is important that you only use a mixer on the wet ingredients and just to hand mix the dry ingredients to keep the light texture.
• I used Lily’s chocolate salted caramel chips for added flavor but you can try Chocozero dark chocolate chips for another keto alternative. Both are low in net carbs and are another way to add flavor.
• You could also add other flavors through your protein powder. I used vanilla but you can try chocolate, banana or whatever flavor you want. Note that I use Isopure Zerocarbs because it doesn’t have carbs and it’s the only whey protein powder I have use this recipe with.
• Another idea is to use different flavor extracts. A caramel extract or maybe lemon, maple, raspberry etc would be great. I’ve added them to my Amazon storefront to check out.
• Lastly you can add nuts, seeds, unsweetened coconut, cacao nibs, and any other low carb mix ins for added flavor.

The nutritional information for 1 muffin is 113 calories
8.8g fat / 3g carbs / 1.8g fiber / 6.3g protein = 1.2g net carbs

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 113