This soft and moist chocolate zucchini bread is for chocolate lovers! A combination of cocoa powder and chocolate chips makes this flavorful and delicious quick-bread extra chocolaty.
Is this one of the most delicious ways to get in your vegetables? Yes, yes, absolutely YES. If you’re looking to use up a bounty of summer zucchini, and/or satisfy a chocolate craving, this bread is it!
Key ingredients
Brown sugar: Using brown sugar instead of white sugar adds extra moisture and a slightly richer flavor.
Cocoa powder and chocolate chips: Two kinds of chocolate! Unsweetened cocoa powder gives this loaf its dark color and base flavor, and chocolate chips add little pockets of melty, fudgy goodness throughout.
Zucchini: Shredded zucchini adds moisture, texture, and a nutritional boost to the bread (don’t worry, the flavor does not come through).
Recipe overview
*Full recipe below in recipe card*
- Combine dry ingredients: flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt.
- In a separate bowl whisk oil, eggs, vanilla, and brown sugar.
- Stir shredded zucchini into wet ingredients.
- Stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients.
- Transfer to a loaf pan and bake.
Recipe tips
- Do not overmix. Overmixing can lead to bread that is tough, and it can also make your loaf sink in the middle. Mix just until the dry ingredients are incorporated into the wet ingredients.
- Use the medium holes on a box grater to shred the zucchini. Using the small/fine holes will break down the zucchini too much and you will end up with a watery mess. The medium holes on a box grater (or food processor) produce the perfect size shreds of zucchini, which almost disintegrate into the loaf while baking. If those seem too large for your liking, you can rough chop the shredded zucchini after grating (I don’t find this step necessary).
- Don’t skip the chocolate chips! The little bits of melty chocolate are what make this loaf extra fudgy and rich. Use your favorite variety: milk, semisweet, or bittersweet. If you don’t have chocolate chips, you can used a chopped chocolate bar.
- Make sure your brown sugar is fresh and soft. In addition to sweetening the loaf, this ingredient also adds moisture. Dry, hard, crumbly brown sugar will not mix in as well and give us the texture we’re looking for.
Draining zucchini
The first step of this recipe is to lay out the shredded zucchini on a kitchen towel or paper towels. This allows the excess moisture to be absorbed so that the bread is moist without being too wet.
I advise against squeezing the zucchini dry because leaving some of the liquid in the zucchini is what makes this loaf so tender and soft.
Recipe
Chocolate Zucchini Bread
Ingredients
- 2 cups (180g) grated zucchini, loosely packed, see note*
- 1 cup (125g) all purpose flour
- scant ½ cup (40g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅔ cup plus 2 tablespoons chocolate chips, divided
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup (108g) vegetable, canola, or mild olive oil
- ¾ cup (150g) brown sugar, packed, it should be fresh and soft
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 10×5 loaf pan and set it aside.
- On a clean kitchen towel or several paper towels, spread out the shredded zucchini in an even layer. Allow the towels to soak up any excess moisture while you continue with the rest of the recipe.
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and ⅔ cup chocolate chips. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk eggs, oil, brown sugar, and vanilla until well combined. Add the grated zucchini** and whisk until combined. Add the dry ingredients and use a rubber spatula or wooden spoon to stir the mixture until combined, being careful not to overmix.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and smooth the pan. Sprinkle the additional 2 tablespoons chocolate chips on top of the batter. Bake for 40-50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean (if there are melted chocolate chips on the toothpick, that's OK, just not raw batter). Place the loaf pan on a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes, then remove the bread from the pan and place directly on the rack to cool completely.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Information is an estimate based on third-party calculations and may vary based on products used and serving sizes.
Tried this recipe?Leave a comment and rating below!
Micki
This was absolute perfect timing! I had a garden overflowing with zucchini, and this was the perfect way to use up some of it! Yum!
Celebrating Sweets
Awesome! Thanks for stopping by.
Isabella Lynch
This was great. I added a tsp scoop of instant espresso coffee. It is a favorite of mine to add to a chocolate recipe.
norene Carmen
Do you flip the bread out of the pan right away?
Allison
Hi there! I usually remove it from the pan after 10-15 minutes. I just updated the recipe with that note. Enjoy!
H Rose
Hi! Would it be okay to sub pumpkin puree for the oil in this recipe and still come out okay? Thanks! Can’t wait to try!
Allison
You should be able to swap half of the oil for pumpkin puree, but I think if you swap all of it the bread might be too dense and rubbery.
Shelly
This is AMAZING!!!
Allison
I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Margaret Morrow
The best zucchini bread I have ever had…
Allison
That’s great to hear! Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
Sherry
I made this recipe today. I found it to be delicious and quite easy to make. However, I feel it could be a little sweeter. My next batch, I will use a full cup of brown sugar. I made mine into mini loaves and jumbo muffins. I freeze them and use them later.
Allison
Thanks for sharing your experience. 🙂