No one will ever know these Lemon Blueberry Muffins have summer squash in them! You already know what grated zucchini does for zucchini bread. It makes it moist without adding extra fat. Grated yellow squash works the exact same magic in these blueberry and lemon muffins. If your garden is overflowing with squash right now, this one bowl recipe is a great way to use it.
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Yes, there is squash in these muffins, and no, you will not taste it one bit! Think of it like zucchini bread, but with yellow squash doing the heavy lifting. It keeps these muffins impossibly moist and tender without adding any veggie flavor, and once they're baked, those little shreds practically disappear into the batter.
These lemon blueberry summer squash muffins are fresh and bright from the tangy lemon zest and juicy blueberries. The shredded squash in there adds moisture without any flavor, and automatically makes these a healthy blueberry lemon muffins! At the very least, it's a "healthy-er" choice.
I’m obsessed! And if you are into quick breads like this one, check out my Breads collection when you get a chance.
When summer squash starts piling up on my counter (and my friend's porches, bless their hearts), I start baking. I've been making my Pineapple Zucchini Bread for years as a way to use up the zucchini, and these lemon blueberry muffins are cut from the same cloth! Sneaky vegetables, big flavor, and a recipe that always delivers.
Featured Review
These are outstanding. You would never guess it had yellow squash in it. This recipe is a keeper.
Shortcuts
- One bowl, no mixer needed. Everything comes together with just a spoon or fork and a single large bowl. No stand mixer, no hand mixer, no extra equipment. Fewer dishes means more time to enjoy the muffins, and that's a trade I'll make every day!
- Use an ice cream scoop for the batter. Filling muffin cups is so much faster and neater with an ice cream scoop. It measures a consistent amount every time and keeps the drips off the pan (mostly!).
- No need to peel the squash. The skin on yellow squash is thin and tender, so you can shred it right on a box grater without peeling. Just trim the ends, shred, and pat dry, that's it!
Ingredients
Scroll down to printable recipe for exact ingredient quantities.
- Eggs – The eggs bind the batter and give the muffins structure.
- Vegetable oil – Oil keeps these muffins moist and tender for days!
- Shredded yellow squash – About 1 small squash. Be sure to pat it dry with paper towels or squeeze out the excess liquid with your hands, since too much moisture can make the muffins dense.
- Sugar – You’ll need sugar for the muffin batter, and for sprinkling on top, which gives the muffins that crunchy top!
- Lemon – You'll use both the zest and the juice. The zest really lends that bright, lemony flavor!
- All-purpose flour – Spoon the flour gently into your measuring cup rather than scooping directly from the bag.
- Baking powder – This is what gives the muffins their lift and that beautiful domed top!
- Salt – Balances the sweetness.
- Fresh or frozen blueberries – Fresh blueberries are ideal, but frozen work great too. Don't thaw them first. Tossing the blueberries in the flour mixture before stirring the batter together helps keep them from sinking to the bottom!
How to Make Summer Squash Muffins
Scroll down to the bottom for the printable recipe with detailed instructions.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a muffin pan with paper liners or grease with cooking spray.
- Lightly beat the eggs in a large bowl, then stir in the oil. Shred enough yellow squash to measure 1 cup, pat it dry with paper towels, and stir it into the egg mixture.
- Add 1 cup of sugar, the lemon zest (about 1 tablespoon), and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and stir to combine.
- Spoon the flour gently into your measuring cup and pour it over the squash mixture — don't stir yet. Sprinkle the baking powder and salt over the flour and stir them into just the dry ingredients on top.
- Add the blueberries and toss them gently in the flour mixture to coat. Now stir everything together just until the dry and wet ingredients are combined — don't overmix.
- Scoop about ½ cup of batter into each lined muffin cup. Sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar evenly over the tops (about ½ teaspoon per muffin).
- Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the tops spring back when lightly touched. Cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes before turning out.
Expert tip! Grate the lemon peel/rind before juicing the lemon. It's much easier to zest a whole lemon than trying to grip half a lemon that is dripping lemon juice!
Gild the Lily
Want to take these yellow squash muffins completely over the top? Add a simple lemon glaze. Whisk together about ½ cup powdered sugar with 1 to 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice until smooth and drizzle it over the cooled muffins!
Pro Tips
- Don't skip patting the squash dry. Yellow squash holds a lot of moisture, and if you skip this step, that extra liquid can make your muffins dense. A quick squeeze over the sink or a blot with paper towels makes all the difference.
- Don't overmix the batter. This is the golden rule of muffin baking. Stir just until the dry and wet ingredients are combined. A few lumps are totally fine. Overmixing develops the gluten in the flour and leads to tough, chewy muffins instead of soft, tender ones.
- Toss the blueberries in flour first. Before stirring the batter together, toss the blueberries in the flour mixture sitting on top of the wet ingredients. This light coating of flour helps them stay suspended in the batter during baking instead of sinking to the bottom!
Substitutions & Variations
- Orange Cranberry Muffins. Swap the blueberries for dried cranberries and trade the lemon zest and juice for orange zest and juice. A lovely variation for fall and the holidays!
- Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins. Omit the blueberries and stir in 1 tablespoon of poppy seeds. Simple, classic, and delicious.
- Lemon extract. If you don't have a fresh lemon on hand, 1 teaspoon of lemon extract can be substituted for the zest and juice.
- Sugar topping. The sugar sprinkled on top can be left off entirely, or swapped for cinnamon-sugar for a warmer, spiced variation.
- Melted butter. Substitute ½ cup melted butter (cooled, not hot) for the vegetable oil for a slightly richer flavor.
- Self-rising flour. If you have self-rising flour, use it in place of all-purpose flour and simply omit the baking powder. It works just as well and saves an ingredient!
- Frozen blueberries. Frozen blueberries work great, but don't thaw them before adding. Toss them straight from the freezer into the flour mixture.
What to Serve with Lemon Squash Muffins
These summer squash muffins are wonderful pretty much any time of day, which is honestly one of their best qualities. For breakfast or brunch, serve with my Banana Nut Bread Mini Muffins and Sheet Pan Omelette! They're bright and lemony enough to feel special without being overly sweet first thing in the morning.
As an afternoon snack, they're perfect on their own or spread with a little softened butter or cream cheese.
Storage
- To Store: Keep muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or refrigerate for up to 5 days.
- To Freeze: Allow muffins to cool completely, then place in a zip-top freezer bag or airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature or microwave for 20 to 30 seconds.
- Make Ahead: These summer squash muffins are a great make-ahead option. Bake a batch on the weekend and grab one each morning throughout the week.
- Muffin batter: The batter can be mixed and refrigerated for up to 24 hours before baking. Give it a gentle stir before scooping into the pan.
FAQ's
Yellow squash is summer squash. The terms are often used interchangeably! Zucchini is also a summer squash.
Absolutely! Zucchini works perfectly as a 1:1 swap. The flavor and texture will be virtually identical, so use whichever one your garden (or grocery store) is offering up in abundance.
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Nutrition analysis on GritsAndGouda.com recipes are mostly calculated on an online nutrition calculator. I am not a dietitian and nutritional information is an estimate and can vary based on products used.
Lemon Blueberry Muffins with Summer Squash
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Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup vegetable oil (or melted butter, cooled)
- 1 cup shredded yellow squash (also called summer squash) (about 1 small squash)
- 1 cup sugar plus 2 tablespoons for topping
- 1 lemon
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour (If using self-rising flour, omit baking powder)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries (If frozen, do not thaw)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°
- Start with lightly beating the eggs in a large bowl with a spoon or fork. Add the oil and stir.
- Shred enough yellow squash to make 1 cup. Use paper towels to pat the squash dry or squeeze out any liquid with your hands over the sink. Add to the bowl and stir.
- Add 1 cup of the sugar to the bowl. Using a zester or microplane hand grater remove the zest (or yellow only portion of the peel/rind). Avoid the white part (pith) because it has a bitter flavor. Add the lemon zest (about 1 tablespoon) and 1 tablespoon lemon juice to the bowl and stir.
- Measure the flour into a dry measuring cup by spooning it in gently with a spoon, then level it off with a knife. Never scoop a measuring cup into the flour bin. It will pack in more flour than you need or want. Pour the flour over the squash mixture. Do not stir, yet.
- If using all-purpose flour, sprinkle the baking powder and salt evenly over the flour. Gently stir the baking powder and salt into just the dry ingredients on top-not the squash mixture, yet.
- Add the blueberries, tossing them around gently in the flour mixture only. This will help them not sink to the bottom of the muffin when baking.
- NOW, you can stir together the entire mixture. Be careful not to over-stir the batter. Stir just until the dry and liquid ingredients are combined. You aren't beating it like a pancake batter.
- Spoon ½ cup of the muffin batter into muffin pans lined with paper cupcake liners. If you don't have paper liners, coat the pans with cooking spray, oil, or butter.
- I like to use an ice cream scoop to disperse the batter. It's quick, consistently measures the same amount each time, and no drips land on the pan... usually.
- Sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar evenly (about ½ teaspoon each) over each muffin.
- Bake at 350° for 20minutes or just until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or the tops spring back when touched. The muffins will be ever so slightly browned around edges.Let the muffins cool on a wire rack 5 minutes before turning them out to cool completely...if you can wait that long to eat them!
Notes
You can substitute zucchini for the shredded yellow squash.
Storage
- To Store: Keep muffins in an airtight container at room temperature forup to 3 days, or refrigerate forup to 5 days.
- To Freeze: Allow muffins to cool completely, then place in a zip-top freezer bag or airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature or microwave for 20 to 30 seconds.
- Make Ahead: These yellow squash muffins are a great make-ahead option. Bake a batch on the weekend and grab one each morning throughout the week.
- Muffin batter: The batter can be mixed and refrigerated for up to 24 hours before baking. Give it a gentle stir before scooping into the pan.
Pro Tips
- Don't skip patting the squash dry. Yellow squash holds a lot of moisture, and if you skip this step, that extra liquid can make your muffins dense. A quick squeeze over the sink or a blot with paper towels makes all the difference.
- Don't overmix the batter. This is the golden rule of muffin baking. Stir just until the dry and wet ingredients are combined. A few lumps are totally fine. Overmixing develops the gluten in the flour and leads to tough, chewy muffins instead of soft, tender ones.
- Toss the blueberries in flour first. Before stirring the batter together, toss the blueberries in the flour mixture sitting on top of the wet ingredients. This light coating of flour helps them stay suspended in the batter during baking instead of sinking to the bottom!
Nutrition
This post was updated May 28, 2026 with new images and more detailed information that is helpful to the reader.
husband :-).
Delicious .. my wife may have modified it a bit .. don't know but sure is good
Kathleen
Isn't it crazy how the yellow squash makes the muffins so moist and tender? So glad you loved the muffins your wife made for you!
Tina
Any suggestions on cooking this in a bread tin vs muffins?
Kathleen
While I haven't made it as a loaf bread, I do think it would work! Given the amount of batter and comparing it to my Pineapple Zucchini Bread, I would suggest dividing the batter into one 9x5 or two 8x4 loaf pans and baking them at 350F for 40 to 50 minutes until a wooden pick inserted in center came out clean. Please let me know if you try this and I can add that to the recipe post!