Chocolate Zucchini Bread
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This rich chocolate zucchini bread makes the perfect afternoon snack whenever you’re in need of a chocolate fix.
This chocolate zucchini bread makes the perfect afternoon snack whenever you’re in need of a chocolate fix. It has a deep chocolate flavor from unsweetened cocoa powder and semi-sweet chocolate chips, yet it’s not so sweet that it tastes like dessert. Plus, it’s loaded with zucchini, so there’s some virtue in it.
What you’ll need to make Chocolate zucchini Bread
How to make Chocolate zucchini Bread
Begin by grating the zucchini. I use a food processor as it’s a bit quicker, but you can also do it by hand with a box grater.
Next, melt the butter in a large mixing bowl.
Add the brown sugar.
And stir until smooth.
Stir in the eggs and vanilla, then set aside. (Note: it’s important to stir the brown sugar into the melted butter before adding the eggs, as the hot butter alone could cook the eggs.)
Next, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a mixing bowl.
Add it to the wet ingredients.
And stir to combine — it will be very thick.
Next, add the grated zucchini and chocolate chips.
Stir until well combined. It will still be very thick — that’s okay.
Transfer the mixture to a greased loaf pan, and spread the batter evenly with a spatula.
Bake for about an hour, then let the loaf cool in the pan for about ten minutes.
Turn the loaf out onto a rack to cool completely. It’s delicious right out of the oven but it’s best to wait at least an hour to slice it, otherwise it may crumble a little. Enjoy!
Note: My starting point for this recipe was this recipe from King Arthur Flour. I replaced the vegetable oil with butter, swapped out the honey for more brown sugar, and reduced the salt.
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Chocolate Zucchini Bread
This rich chocolate zucchini bread makes the perfect afternoon snack whenever you’re in need of a chocolate fix.
Ingredients
- 1 stick (½ cup) unsalted butter
- ¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons light brown sugar, packed
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1⅔ cups all purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled off with a knife
- ⅓ cup Dutch-process cocoa powder (ok to substitute natural cocoa powder)
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon espresso powder or instant coffee (optional)
- 2 cups shredded zucchini, gently packed (you'll need about 2 medium zucchini; do not wring out the liquid)
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F degrees and grease an 8½ x 4½-inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- Place the butter in a large microwave-safe mixing bowl and microwave for one minute, or until just melted. Stir in the brown sugar until completely smooth. Add the eggs and vanilla and stir until incorporated. (Be sure to add the eggs after the brown sugar is mixed in, as the hot butter alone could cook the eggs.)
- Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking powder, baking soda and instant coffee (if using) in a medium bowl. Add to the butter mixture and stir until well combined. It will be very thick.
- Stir in the shredded zucchini and chocolate chips. (It will still be thick -- that's okay.)
- Spoon the batter into the prepared loaf pan and spread evenly. Bake for 60 to 65 minutes, or until a toothpick or cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean (save for perhaps a smear from the melted chocolate chips). Let the loaf cool on a rack for about 10 minutes before turning out onto a rack to cool completely.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The bread can be frozen for up to 3 months. After it is completely cooled, wrap it securely in aluminum foil, freezer wrap or place in a freezer bag. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before serving.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (16 1/2-inch slices servings)
- Serving size: 1 slice
- Calories: 231
- Fat: 10g
- Saturated fat: 6g
- Carbohydrates: 33g
- Sugar: 21g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 3g
- Sodium: 184mg
- Cholesterol: 41mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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I made your recipe first and then made my older standby chocolate zucchini bread recipe, it uses white sugar, melted semi sweet chocolate instead of chocolate powder and oil instead of butter is just a bigger recipe and yields two loaves instead of one. This will be my new go to recipe. I may experiment with adding the melted chocolate to it as well making it triple chocolate.
I was recently gifted a very large zucchini. Having never made zucchini bread before, I started with this recipe, as I have used several of your other bread recipes, including all of the banana bread ones, before with great success. The double chocolate zucchini bread was fantastic. Not too sweet, but just enough chocolate that my three year old son gobbled it up. As I had a great deal of extra zucchini, I made a double batch, and used half for the bread and the other half for one dozen muffins, as I find muffins are ideal for freezing for later use. As with every recipe from this site that I have used, I love this recipe!
Just made this recipe into muffins and it was fantastic!!! I doubled it and substituted the butter for 1/2c of coconut oil and 2 bananas, and used agave syrup in place of the sugar (lowered the amount by about 1/4c for the double recipe). It turned out so moist and chocolatey…absolutely fantastic!! As some others said…not over baking is the key! YUM!
I’ve made this recipe multiple times in the last two years and it’s always a hit. A few weeks ago I made it and it was too dry. I wondered what I did wrong, well I cooked it too long. I made the mistake of thinking that because my tester came out with chocolate on it that it needed more time, I had forgotten to take into account the melted chocolate chips. So now it’s an hour in my oven and that’s it. It’s amazing! It doubles well too! Again thanks for this awesome way to use up my zucchini’s!?
Excellent! My family gives this a thumbs up!
I made this yesterday and it turned out excellent, so moist and chocolatey. I was able to use my danish dough whisk to stir everything together and it worked like a charm. Do you know if i can bake this in my smaller loaf pans? And how long would I bake it for? Thank you for this excellent recipe.
Hi Penny, So glad you enjoyed! You can definitely bake in smaller loaf pans. The cook time will depend on the size of the loaves but I’m guessing 35-40 min.
It is zucchini season up here in the Pacific Northwest. It seems like everyday, some zucchini shows up at the office. I had seen this recipe online and thought this would be a good way to use some of these squash.
It is a good recipe. It is easy, uses common pantry ingredients. I have followed the recipe exactly twice but with one small twist on the loaf I just made. I sprinkled the top with sugar. Not a lot but enough to see that sugar was added before I put it in the oven. I am just about to take it out and cannot wait to share with friends.
I made the recipe into 12 muffins last night and it was superb! I checked at 20 mins and the were still wet but 25 was perfect.
This recipe is a keeper for sure.
Thank you for your amazing website. I have never reviewed before but have made numerous recipes that have all been amazing.
Thanks for leaving a review, Gemma! Glad the muffins turned out well.
can i make these into muffins if so changes in temp or time?
Hi Sandi, Yes — I’d start checking at 20-25 min. Oven temp will be the same. Please let me know how they turn out 🙂
thanks I will!
I don’t understand why some reviewers said the theirs came out dry. This was so moist and delicious. I am diabetic so I avoid sugar like the plague but I bake for my friends, plus I had so many zucchinis from my garden. My friends and their children thought it was the best they’ve had in a long time.