These Healthy Zucchini Cupcakes with cinnamon buttercream frosting are so delicious you won’t believe they are packed with vegetables. They are super moist, have just a hint of spice and are topped off with a light and fluffy cinnamon buttercream frosting.
Just a bit sweeter than a regular zucchini muffins recipe and topped with a sweet and creamy cinnamon buttercream frosting, there's no denying these are meant to be dessert. But as desserts go, they are a super healthy choice. If you’re in the mood for something a little less sweet, you can also check out our Zucchini Bread.
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The Best Healthy Zucchini Cupcakes
We recommend adding this recipe to your dessert repertoire as soon as possible. If you’ve got a garden, this is a great way to use up some of that zucchini that just never seems to stop coming. And if you've got picky eaters, you’ll have your kids eating their vegetables in no time.
Much like carrots, zucchini works like magic in baking, keeping these healthy zucchini cupcakes incredibly moist for days. If you’ve never tried baking with zucchini, this recipe is a great place to start!
If you're looking for more amazing cakes or muffins, be sure to try our Carrot Cake Recipe, Pumpkin Cake or Pineapple Cake. They can all be made into muffins too. And if you're after more ways to use up zucchini, be sure to try our zucchini chips, zucchini fries, and zucchini bread recipe.
Key Ingredients
- Zucchini - you should wash and trim the ends off of your zucchini, but don’t peel before you grate.
- Sugar - this recipe calls for white granulated sugar. You can also try with half brown sugar and half granulated sugar if you’d like.
- Orange Juice - this flavors the cupcakes and adds a bit more moisture.
- Almond Extract - almond tastes amazing with the spices in these cupcakes. If there is a nut allergy, this can be omitted.
- Flour - this recipe calls for all-purpose flour. If you want to make the recipe a bit healthier, you can substitute half of the flour with white whole wheat flour. I don't recommend substituting all of it, however, or they will turn out dry.
- Spices - we love to use cinnamon and ground cloves as they taste great with zucchini. Allspice would also taste great.
- Baking Powder and Baking Soda - these are what make your cupcakes rise in the oven.
For Cinnamon Buttercream Frosting:
- Butter - you’ll want this to be room temperature. If you forget to pull it out ahead of time, you can microwave for about 5-10 seconds at a time just until soft (do not melt!).
- Cinnamon - cinnamon in the frosting gives the entire flavor profile of these cupcakes a boost. During the Fall, you could also substitute pumpkin pie spice.
- Powdered Sugar - you should always sift your powdered sugar to remove any lumps that have formed.
- Milk - you can substitute heavy cream or even evaporated milk if you’d like.
How to Make Zucchini Cupcakes
- Combine the wet ingredients. In a large bowl or electric stand mixer, combine the shredded zucchini, melted butter, sugar, eggs, orange juice, and almond extract and mix to combine.
- Mix in the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and ground cloves until well-combined. Add the flour mixture to the zucchini mixture and stir until all the ingredients are combined. Do not overmix!
- Bake. Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners and lightly spray with pan spray. Fill each of the cupcake liners ⅔ full with the cupcake batter. Bake in preheated oven for 20-22 minutes.
- Cool and frost. Remove from the oven and let the cupcakes cool completely on a wire rack until ready to frost. They can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature if you aren’t ready to frost them right away.
Tips for Piping Like a Pro
Sure, you can frost your Zucchini Cupcakes using a spoon or a spatula but it doesn’t take much more than a little practice to pipe them like a pro! Here are a few tips to get you started:
- Play around with tips to see which you like, but our recommendation for a simple design would be either a star or a round tip.
- You can purchase disposable and reusable piping bags, or in a pinch you can use a plastic freezer bag. In the case of a freezer bag, place the piping tip that you have chosen to use inside the empty freezer bag and let it fall to one corner. Cut the corner so that the tip stays inside the bag but the bag isn’t in the way of the tip. Fill with buttercream and pipe away!
- It’s best not to overfill your piping bag because your hands will warm up the frosting.
- If you mess up, just carefully scrape the buttercream back into the bowl and try again!
Recipe Variations
- Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes - simply substitute ½ of a cup of the all-purpose flour with cocoa powder and toss a cup of chocolate chips into the batter, and you’ve got yourself some zucchini chocolate cupcakes.
- Zucchini Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting - the cream cheese frosting in this Cream Cheese Frosting would taste amazing on these cupcakes.
- Add dried fruit and nuts. Walnuts, pecans, dried currants, raisins or dried cranberries are all great additions to zucchini cupcakes so feel free to mix and match. We recommend adding no more than 1 ½ cups of extra mix-ins total.
Frequently Asked Questions
If your zucchini are still pretty small, under a foot long, nope! Just give it a quick rinse, cut the ends off, and grate away. The peel helps the grated zucchini keep a bit of structure while baking, and it looks pretty, too.
We find that using a box grater is the easiest to grate the zucchini. If you notice a lot of liquid being released from the zucchini, you can gently pat it with a paper towel. Some have more liquid than others, so this may not be necessary.
You can freeze the not-yet frosted cupcakes by storing them in an airtight container, or freezer bag, for up to 3 months in the freezer.
You can thaw them out overnight in the fridge, or if you want to eat it more immediately, you can also thaw it out in a 325-degree oven for about 20 minutes. Just be sure to let them cool completely before frosting.
Storing Instructions
- Refrigerator: store your leftover frosted cupcakes in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. We recommend bringing them to room temperature slightly before eating.
- Freezer: unfrosted cupcakes freeze great for up to 2 months. Store in an airtight container or freezer bag and thaw out in the fridge overnight or on the countertop for a few hours before you plan to frost and serve.
Healthy Zucchini Cupcakes Recipe
Ingredients
- 1½ cups Zucchini shredded with skin on
- ½ cup Butter melted
- 1 cup Sugar
- 3 large Eggs
- ½ cup Orange Juice
- 1 teaspoon Almond Extract
- 2½ cups All-Purpose Flour
- 2 teaspoon Cinnamon
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- 2 teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- ½ tsp Ground Cloves
Cinnamon Buttercream Frosting
- ½ cup Butter room tempreature
- 2 teaspoon Cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 4 cups Powdered Sugar sifted
- 2-3 Tablespoons Milk can substitute heavy cream or evaporated milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a large mixing bowl or electric stand mixer, combine the shredded zucchini, melted butter, sugar, eggs, orange juice, and almond extract and mix to combine.
- In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and ground cloves. Whisk the ingredients together until combined.
- Add the flour mixture to the zucchini mixture and stir until all the ingredients are combined. Do not overmix!
- Line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners and lightly spray with pan spray. Fill each of the cupcake liners ⅔ full with the cupcake batter.
- Bake in preheated oven for 20-22 minutes, or until lightly brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and let the cupcakes cool completely on a wire rack.
How to Make Cinnamon Buttercream Frosting
- In a large mixing bowl, add the butter and then beat with a whisk, or whisk attachment, until light and fluffy, or about 3 minutes.
- Add the cinnamon and vanilla extract and whisk.
- Add the powdered sugar and 2 tablespoons of milk, whisking again until light and fluffy.
- Add an additional 1 tablespoon of milk, if needed, to get the desired light and fluffy consistency.
- Spread or pipe the frosting on the cooled cupcakes, or store in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to use.
Notes
- If you have leftover buttercream frosting, you can store it in your fridge for a couple of weeks. Just put your buttercream frosting in a covered container with a lid.
- When you're ready to use it again, take the frosting out of the fridge and let it get to room temperature again. Using a hand-held mixer, whisk the frosting again until it is light and fluffy again.
- You can store your buttercream in an airtight container (or freezer bags) in the freezer for up to 3 months, then thaw in the fridge overnight when you are ready to use.
Nutrition
More Quick and Easy Dessert Recipes
- Carrot Cupcakes Recipe
- Peanut Butter Cookies
- Twisted Cinnamon Bread
- Fruit Pizza
- Coconut Filled Chocolate Bundt Cake
- Double Chocolate Einkorn Brownies
- Orange Dreamcicle Sugar Cookie Bars
- Pumpkin Baked Rice Pudding
- More Dessert Recipes
- More Summer Recipes
These Zucchini Cupcakes with Cinnamon Buttercream Frosting are super moist, have just a hint of spice and are a breeze to throw together. They're also so delicious that you won’t believe they are loaded with vegetables!
Virginia
This were so moist and delicious was a great way to use up the tons of zucchini from my garden
Jill Baird
I'm so glad you loved the cupcakes too! The best way to use up all the zucchini!