Zucchini Banana (Zucchinana) Muffins
In typical my-mother fashion, my mom gifted me a huuuge zucchini and a pair of over-ripe bananas this past weekend. I originally planned to bake a few loaves of zucchini bread and freeze the bananas for smoothies.
But then I thought, these bananas look perfect for a loaf of banana bread! And THEN I realized that it was 90 degrees outside and I did not want to have my oven on for several hours baking multiple loaves of bread. So I pivoted to muffins and combined my zucchini and bananas! And thus, these zucchinana muffins were born!
This recipe is a cross between my Mom's Zucchini Bread and my Nutty Banana Bread. It uses just as much zucchini and bananas as these recipes and a combination of all-purpose and white whole wheat flour. Enjoy these muffins for breakfast, snack or dessert! Or lunch or dinner...there are no rules here!
Let me know what you think of the recipe and don’t forget to follow the sustainability tips below!
Time: 45 minutes
Makes: 12 muffins
Ingredients
1 1/4 cups white whole wheat flour
3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup neutral oil
2 eggs
1 cup mashed banana, from about 2 medium bananas
2 packed cups grated zucchini
Note: be sure to squeeze the excess liquid from your zucchini. To do this, wrap the shredded zucchini in a tea towel and squeeze it over the sink!
Methods
Preheat oven to 400 F. In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and baking soda.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, oil, eggs, mashed banana and grated zucchini. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, using a spatula to fold until just combined.
Separate the batter between 12 greased standard-sized muffin wells. Bake at 400 F for 5 minutes. Then, turn the oven down to 350 and bake for 15-25 more minutes, or until the edges are golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Eat up!
Sustainability Tips
Sugar: I like to buy coconut sugar because it's easy to find fair trade varieties, but organic or fair trade granulated sugars are other sustainable options here. Read all about it in my sustainable cane sugars post!
Eggs: Local eggs are really easy to find if you look for them. Buying locally means your eggs won't have to travel as far, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and energy use.
Zucchini: Your best option here is to grow the zucchini yourself, but local or organic zucchini is another great option. Be sure to make this recipe during the summer, when zucchini are in season. This way, your zucch won't have to travel very far to get to you.
Bananas: Look for organic, fair-trade bananas. Organic means that no synthetic pesticides were used to grow your bananas and that fair trade logo means that the banana plantation workers are getting a fair price for their crops and labor. Read all about it in my bananas sustainability profile!
Flour: I like to buy King Arthur brand flour because King Arthur Flour is a B Corp, which means that they're held to a high environmental and social standard. Alternatively, you could seek out a farmer who grows and mills flour locally. Buying locally can help connect you to your local food system and cut back on the miles your food has to travel.