Description
Discover the perfect way to sneak vegetables into dessert with this incredibly moist and decadent Chocolate Zucchini Bread! This gorgeous loaf is so rich and chocolaty, no one will ever guess it’s packed with nutritious zucchini. The secret is in the perfect balance of cocoa, brown sugar, and melted chocolate chips that create a fudgy texture rivaling any bakery treat. Perfect for using up garden zucchini, weekend baking projects, or anytime you want to feel good about indulging in chocolate. One slice and you’ll be completely hooked!
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup Dutch process cocoa powder (or unsweetened cocoa)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- ¼ cup canola oil, vegetable oil, or melted coconut oil
- ¾ cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1½ cups packed shredded zucchini (about 1 medium zucchini)
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips, divided
Instructions
- Prep Your Baking Setup: Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Generously grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray—this ensures easy release of your gorgeous loaf!
- Mix Your Dry Foundation: In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and sea salt until well combined. This creates the perfect chocolaty base for your bread.
- Create the Wet Mixture Magic: In a large bowl, combine eggs, melted butter, oil, vanilla extract, and brown sugar. Stir until smooth and glossy—a few small brown sugar clumps are totally fine and add lovely texture!
- Combine with Care: Gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet mixture until just combined. Don’t overmix—this keeps your bread tender and moist.
- Add the Star Ingredients: Stir in the shredded zucchini until evenly distributed, then fold in ¾ cup of chocolate chips. The zucchini adds incredible moisture while staying completely invisible!
- Bake to Perfection: Pour batter into your prepared pan and sprinkle the remaining ¼ cup chocolate chips on top for that bakery-style finish. Bake 50-60 minutes, until a toothpick comes out mostly clean (melted chocolate on the toothpick is perfectly fine!).
- Cool Like a Pro: Let the bread cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then run a knife around the edges and turn out onto a wire rack. Cool until slightly warm before slicing—this prevents crumbling and gives you perfect slices every time.
Notes
The secret to amazing chocolate zucchini bread is proper zucchini prep—shred it finely and pack it lightly for best results. If using coconut oil, make sure it’s melted and cooled to prevent scrambling the eggs. This bread actually gets more moist after a day! Store wrapped in plastic wrap for up to 4 days, or freeze for up to 1 month. Dutch process cocoa gives the deepest chocolate flavor, but regular unsweetened cocoa works great too. Perfect for gifting or sneaking veggies into picky eaters!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice (1/12 of loaf)
- Calories: 305
- Sugar: 22g
- Sodium: 207mg
- Fat: 17g
- Saturated Fat: 7g
- Unsaturated Fat: 10g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 35g
- Fiber: 3g
- Protein: 4g
- Cholesterol: 38mg
Keywords: chocolate zucchini bread, healthy chocolate bread, zucchini recipe, moist chocolate loaf