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Brown Butter Zucchini Muffins with Walnuts: Easy Homemade Recipe

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Moist, nutty zucchini muffins made with brown butter and walnuts. A quick and easy recipe that tastes like a bakery treat, perfect for summer mornings or using up garden zucchini.

Ingredients

Scale
  • ½ cup (1 stick or 113g) unsalted butter
  • 1 ¾ cups (220g) all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
  • ¼ cup (50g) packed light brown sugar
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ¼ cup (60ml) whole milk or buttermilk
  • 1 ½ cups (about 1 medium zucchini) grated and squeezed dry zucchini
  • ½ cup (60g) chopped walnuts, toasted
  • 2 tablespoons turbinado sugar (for topping, optional)
  • 2 tablespoons extra chopped walnuts (for topping, optional)

Instructions

  1. Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C). Position the rack in the center. Line your muffin tin with paper liners or grease it well with butter or cooking spray.
  2. Brown the butter: Place the ½ cup unsalted butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Let it melt completely, then continue cooking, swirling the pan occasionally. The butter will foam up, then the foam will subside, and you’ll see brown specks forming at the bottom. This takes about 5-7 minutes. The moment it smells nutty and looks amber-colored, remove it from the heat immediately. Pour it into a heatproof bowl to stop the cooking process. Let it cool for 10 minutes—it should be warm but not…
  3. Prepare the zucchini: While the butter cools, grate your zucchini using the large holes of a box grater. You should have about 1 ½ cups. Place the grated zucchini in the center of a clean kitchen towel, gather the corners, and squeeze firmly over the sink. Keep squeezing until barely any moisture remains. Set aside.
  4. Toast the walnuts: If you haven’t already, toast the ½ cup chopped walnuts in a dry skillet over medium heat for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently. They should smell fragrant and look slightly darkened. Set aside to cool.
  5. Mix the dry ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk together the 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, and ½ teaspoon salt. Make sure everything is evenly distributed.
  6. Mix the wet ingredients: In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the ½ cup granulated sugar, ¼ cup packed light brown sugar, and the 2 room-temperature eggs until smooth and slightly pale, about 1 minute. Add the cooled brown butter (make sure it’s not hot—you don’t want to scramble the eggs), 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, and ¼ cup milk or buttermilk. Whisk until fully combined and smooth.
  7. Combine wet and dry: Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Use a rubber spatula to fold everything together gently. Stir just until you no longer see streaks of flour—about 10-12 strokes. A few lumps are totally fine. Overmixing will make the muffins tough.
  8. Fold in the zucchini and walnuts: Add the squeezed-dry zucchini and the toasted walnuts to the batter. Fold them in with the spatula using as few strokes as possible. The batter should look thick and slightly shaggy. That’s perfect.
  9. Fill the muffin cups: Use a cookie scoop or a spoon to divide the batter evenly among the 12 muffin cups. Each cup should be about ¾ full. If you’re using the topping, sprinkle a pinch of turbinado sugar and a few extra chopped walnuts over each muffin.
  10. Bake for 18-22 minutes: Bake until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs. Mine are usually perfect at 20 minutes. If the tops are browning too quickly but the centers aren’t done, tent the pan loosely with foil for the last 3-4 minutes.
  11. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes: This is important—the muffins need time to set. After 5 minutes, transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. If you leave them in the pan too long, the bottoms will get soggy from the steam.

Notes

Don’t skip browning the butter—it’s the key flavor. Squeeze the zucchini thoroughly to avoid soggy muffins. Measure flour correctly by spooning and leveling. Let brown butter cool before adding to eggs. Use room temperature eggs. Don’t overmix the batter. Check for doneness at 18 minutes.

Nutrition

Keywords: brown butter zucchini muffins, zucchini muffins with walnuts, easy zucchini muffin recipe, moist zucchini muffins, summer breakfast muffins

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