Almond Zucchini Muffins (Keto & V)
I love food a lot. A lot, a lot. And I almost always eat everything that I make (wanna know the secret to how food bloggers stay fit? Check out this post). But sometimes I turn to single-serving or small-batch recipes so that I can have my cake and eat it too, without going overboard. So, I recently baked up these small batch Almond Meal muffins to satisfy one of those cravings. I just halved the recipe so that it whipped up six muffins instead of 12, and I was oh-so happy with that.
Yes these muffins are keto-friendly, yes they are vegan, but the MOST important thing about these muffins is that they taste really, really good. I was inspired to make this after seeing that Trader Joe's recently introduced the new Almond Meal Muffins in their stores, and at first I was all about it. I LOVE a good muffin. My mom ate raisin bran muffins with coffee for breakfast every morning when I was growing up, so I've been a muffin gal for a long, long time. But, when I found the Trader Joe's muffins in the store I made the fatal mistake of turning it over to take a look at the nutrition facts, and was like ohhh nooo: one muffin is almost 400 calories with 33 carbs and 17 grams of sugar.
Like, yikes. As you'll learn from my previously linked 'How I Stay Fit As A Food Blogger' post (and from this blog in general), I'm not a total calorie snob when it comes to food. I obviously love every carb on the planet, but I like my carbs to be honest with me. It's one thing to eat a chocolate cake and know I'm eating a chocolate cake, it's another thing to eat a chocolate cake that brands itself as 'healthy' when it really isn't. That grinds my gears, which is why I felt compelled to make a copycat Trader Joe's Almond Meal Muffins recipe. You're welcome!
I remixed the Trader Joe's version by adding grated zucchini and chia seeds to these muffins, which makes them oh-so divine. You get the moistness from the zucchini, and the added protein from the chia seeds. This isn't the classic breakfast muffin recipe your mom used to make, but every generation's duty is to improve on what the generation before it built, right?
The second best part about these muffins is the crumb topping. I take my crumb topping recipes very seriously. I like my crumbs to have the right amount of crumb-iness, if you know what I mean? As in it has to ball up to a certain point, retain its shape and not be too hard or too wet. Basically, I'm asking for a lot but what I'm asking for isn't impossible. Clearly, because I have the recipe right here.
I hope these keto and vegan Almond Meal Muffins with a *bonus* Perfect Crumb Topping brighten up your week the way it did mine. Enjoy!
Recipe
Ingredients
Muffins
2 1/2 cup almond flour
1/2 cup Erythritol
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp Sea salt
1/3 cup coconut oil, melted
1/3 cup almond milk
3 flax eggs (1 flax egg = 1 tbsp flax meal + 3 tbsp water)
1 cup of grated zucchini
1/4 cup of chia seeds
PerfectCrumb Topping
1 cup almond flour
2 tbsp coconut oil, melted
1 tbsp erythritol
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin pan with 6 muffin liners.
Mix all of the crumb topping ingredients together in a small bowl. Set aside.
In a large bowl, stir together the almond flour, erythritol, baking powder and sea salt.
Mix in the melted coconut oil, almond milk, flax eggs, and vanilla extract. Fold in the zucchini and chia seeds.
Use an ice cream scoop to portion the batter evenly among the muffin cups. Sprinkle the crumb topping evenly on top.
Bake for about 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Cool and enjoy!
Adapted From: Wholesome Yum