Sourdough Discard Zucchini Muffins (So Easy!)

Name: Sourdough Zucchini Muffins Recipe
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 1/2 cup Butter (Melted); 1 1/4 cup Brown Sugar; 1 tsp Vanilla; 2 large Eggs; 3/4 cup Sourdough Discard; 1/2 cup Whole Milk; 2 cups All purpose flour; 2 tsp Cinnamon; 2 tsp Baking Powder; 1 tsp Baking Soda; 1/2 tsp Salt; 2 cups Zucchini (Shredded, no need to peel); 3/4 cup Chopped Walnuts

As someone who bakes with sourdough every single week, I can tell you these Sourdough Discard Zucchini Muffins are one of the best ways to put extra starter to work. They bake up soft, moist, and full of warm spice, and they’re an easy go-to when the garden (or your neighbor!) hands you way too much zucchini. I’ve tested this recipe again and again, and it’s the perfect balance of wholesome, flavorful, and simple. Just stir, bake, and enjoy!

The sourdough discard zucchini muffins are piled high in a bowl.

If you plant zucchini in your garden, you know that one plant can give you a ton of zucchini! In the Summer I am always looking for new zucchini recipes like sourdough zucchini fritters. I love making sourdough zucchini bread, zucchini fritte, and even zucchini casserole with Bisquick.

Not only are these muffins great for breakfast, but they are also great for an afternoon snack with a cup of coffee. In less than 30 minutes you'll have delicious muffins your whole family will enjoy!

You can also use your sourdough discard to make lots of different sourdough recipes including lemon poppyseed sourdough discard muffins and my favorite, sourdough discard chocolate chip muffins!

Jump to:

What is Sourdough Discard?
Ingredients You Need for Sourdough Zucchini Muffins
Sourdough Discard Zucchini Muffins Variations & Substitutions
How To Make Sourdough Discard Zucchini Muffins
Tips and Tricks
How to Store Sourdough Zucchini Muffins
Best Zucchini Muffins Recipe FAQs
More Sourdough Discard Recipes
📖 Recipe

What is Sourdough Discard?

Sourdough discard is the portion of your sourdough starter that you are not feeding. When you are "feeding" your starter to make Dutch oven sourdough bread with, you add equal parts flour, water, and starter to a mason jar and let it rise.

You can't feed your entire starter, as it doubles and sometimes triples in size, and that's a lot of starter to have on hand! If you are new to sourdough, be sure to check out how to feed and maintain a sourdough starter post all about how to keep your sourdough starter happy.

Ingredients You Need for Sourdough Zucchini Muffins

You only need a few simple ingredients to make these delicious muffins!

The ingredients for the sourdough discard zucchini muffins are laid out and labeled.

Sourdough discard. When feeding your sourdough starter, keep the extra that you aren't feeding. I love to keep mine in a mason jar in the refrigerator and bake with it! I love making sourdough brownies or sourdough cinnamon rolls with it! If you are new to sourdough, you can make your own sourdough starter, buy one, or get one from a fellow sourdough friend.
Zucchini. Two small zucchini or one large zucchini will do. When shredded, you'll want about 2 cups of shredded zucchini.
Brown sugar. Brown sugar gives the muffins a little bit of a deep flavor than regular white sugar does.
Seasonings. Cinnamon gives the muffins a warmer flavor, while vanilla rounds out the flavor of the muffins.
Leavening agents. Even though we are using our sourdough starter, we still need baking powder and baking soda. The sourdough discard isn't enough to make the muffins rise on it's own.

See printable recipe card for full recipe information on ingredients and quantities.

Sourdough Discard Zucchini Muffins Variations & Substitutions

Change the flour! Add a mixture of whole wheat flour and all purpose flour for a little more of a nutty flavor. You can also use bread flour instead of all purpose flour. There's a little but of a difference when talking about bread flour vs all purpose flour, but both would work in this recipe.

Add more mix ins to the batter! Instead of walnuts, use chopped pecans or chopped almonds. Just like in sourdough morning glory muffins, you can also add dried fruit, chocolate chips, or some unsweetened cocoa powder to flavor the muffins a little differently.

Make it into a bread! Instead of scooping the batter into the muffin liners, pour the batter into two loaf pans that have been greased. Bake them for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick is inserted and comes out clean.

Instead of melted butter, you can use applesauce, mashed bananas, or your favorite neutral oil.

How To Make Sourdough Discard Zucchini Muffins

The dry ingredients are mixed together in a small bowl.

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a muffin tin with muffin liners. Shred the zucchini, set that aside. In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Mix well.

The melted butter and brown sugar are in a large bowl.

Step 2: In a large mixing bowl, add the butter and sugar. Mix well.

The eggs, sourdough discard, milk, and vanilla are added to the bowl.

Step 3: Add the sourdough discard, milk, eggs, and vanilla to the bowl. Mix well until all the ingredients are combined together.

The dry ingredients are added to the wet ingredients.

Step 4: Pour the dry ingredients into the bowl with the wet ingredients. Mix until all the ingredients are just combined. It's ok if there are a few lumps left in the batter.

The shredded zucchini and walnuts are added to the bowl.

Step 5: Fold the zucchini and the walnuts into the batter. Fold 5-8 times until the ingredients are evenly distributed.

The muffins are in muffin liners in a muffin tin.

Step 6: Scoop the muffin batter into the prepared muffin tins. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick is inserted into the center and comes out clean.

Tips and Tricks

You don't have to peel the zucchini before shredding them. The peel of the zucchini is very thin, so you won't notice the peel at all.
Do not overmix the batter. Overmixing the muffin batter will lead to tough muffins. It's ok if there are a few lumps left in the batter.
Shred the zucchini as tiny as you can. You can use a cheese grater or you can use a food processor for even smaller pieces.
Rotate the muffin tin halfway through the baking process to ensure that the muffins are baked thoroughly and evenly.
You can use active sourdough starter if that is what you have on hand. Since we are mixing and then baking, the starter won't have much time to active as it would with same day sourdough bread.

How to Store Sourdough Zucchini Muffins

You can make the batter ahead of time, cover it with plastic wrap or place it in an airtight container, and keep it in the refrigerator until you are ready to bake them. The batter will stay fresh in the refrigerator for up to 48 hours. This is also known as long fermenting the batter.

Once the muffins have cooled to room temperature on a wire rack, place them in an airtight container and keep them on the counter for up to 5 days.

You can also freeze the muffins by wrapping them in plastic wrap and place them in a Ziploc bag in the freezer. Take out a muffin as you would like and enjoy them throughout the month.