Lifestyle

Chocolate Zucchini Bread – Fit Foodie Finds

July 10, 2022

Make a loaf of this delicious chocolate zucchini bread for a chocolatey twist on the classic zucchini bread recipe. A perfect sweet treat or snack!

Slice of chocolate zucchini bread on a plate.

Best Ever Chocolate Zucchini Bread

It’s zucchini season, people! Which means it’s time to start making alllll our delicious zucchini recipes like these fun baked zucchini chips, this fresh zucchini salad, and of course, this chocolate zucchini bread!

We’re using both chocolate chips and cocoa powder for an extra chocolatey flavor in this amazing bread. And it will be ready to enjoy in just over an hour. Does it get any better?!

Why you’ll love it!

Fresh grated zucchini: this chocolate zucchini bread calls for an entire large zucchini, which means you’re getting your greens while enjoying this decadent bread.

Chocolate x 2: not only does this recipe call for cocoa powder, but we’re also using semi-sweet chocolate chips!

Natural sweeteners: from bananas and maple!

Ingredients You Need

Dry Ingredients

All-purpose flour
Cocoa powder
Baking soda
Baking powder
Salt
Grated zucchini
Semisweet chocolate chips
Brown sugar

Wet Ingredients

Unsalted butter
Maple syrup
Eggs
Mashed banana
Unsweetened plain almond milk

try it!

Easy Zucchini Bread

If you love this chocolate zucchini bread, try our traditional zucchini bread recipe!

get recipe

Dry and wet ingredients combined in a bowl for chocolate zucchini bread.

How to Make Chocolate Zucchini Bread

For the full recipe, scroll down to the recipe card for a list of ingredients and instructions.

Preheat & Prep Loaf Pan

First, preheat the oven to 350ºF and spray a standard loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray or line the pan with parchment paper.

Prepare Zucchini

Remove moisture from the zucchini by using a coarse grate cheese grater to grate the zucchini. Keep the skin on and grate zucchini. Next, place grated zucchini in the middle of a tea towel or cheesecloth and ring out as much moisture as possible.

Combine Dry Ingredients

Next, place the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and shredded zucchini into a large bowl and mix to combine.

Combine Wet Ingredients

In a separate large bowl use a hand mixer to cream the brown sugar, butter, and maple syrup together. Add the egg and mashed banana to the creamed ingredients and mix to combine.

All together now

Next, add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix. Add the almond milk and mix again. Fold the chocolate chips into the bread batter.

Bake Chocolate Zucchini Bread

Transfer the batter into the greased loaf pan and bake for 30 minutes at 350ºF.

Place a tin foil tent over the zucchini bread and bake for an additional 25-30 minutes.

Remove from the oven when the bread is done (stick a toothpick in the bread and if the toothpick comes out clean, it’s done!).

Let cool & enjoy!

Let cool for 10 minutes before removing from the loaf tin to continue cooling. Slice & enjoy!

Top Tips for Chocolate Zucchini Bread

Use ripe bananas: the riper the bananas you use, the sweeter your chocolate zucchini bread will be.
Remove moisture from zucchini: nobody likes a mushy bread! Removing the moisture from your zucchini before mixing in with the rest of the ingredients will prevent this from happening.
Tent if needed: zucchini bread looking too brown on the sides while it’s baking? Simply tent it with a piece of foil.
Let cool completely: always let your chocolate zucchini bread cool completely before slicing or it may crumble!

Loaf of chocolate zucchini bread ready to go in the oven.

Chocolate Zucchini Bread FAQs

Do you use the skin in zucchini bread?

Yes, we do leave the skin on zucchini for this chocolate zucchini bread. It adds great color, nutrition, and it’s a lot less hearty of skin compared to other vegetables! If you’re not a fan of zucchini skin, feel free to leave it off.

How do you grate zucchini for zucchini bread?

To grate zucchinis for zucchini bread, use the largest grate on a box grater, food processor, or your grater of choice.

Do you squeeze water out of zucchini for zucchini bread?

Yes, you want to remove the moisture from zucchini! You do this by grating the zucchini and then placing it in a tea towel or paper towel. From there you squeeze the moisture from the zucchini into the sink or a bowl.

How to Freeze Zucchini

Freezing zucchini is as easy as 1-2-3. If you have a plethora of zucchini from the garden or if zucchini is on sale at the grocery store freeze it for next time you’re craving this chocolate zucchini bread.

Wash the zucchini and shred it with a cheese grater. What grate you use depends on what you’d like to use it for. We typically use a larger grate for zucchini bread. Grate the zucchini into a bowl.
Next, place the zucchini in the middle of a tea towel or an in-between double-ply paper towel and squeeze the water out of the zucchini.
Finally, place zucchini in a freezer-safe container or bag. Label the container with the date and place it in the freezer and leave the zucchini in the freezer for between 3-6 months.

When you are ready to use the zucchini, remove it from the freezer, let it thaw, and repeat the process of squeezing excess water out of the zucchini. Your zucchini is ready for this chocolate zucchini bread!

Storage

Let the chocolate zucchini bread cool completely. Then, store on the countertop for up to 3 days or in the fridge for 3-5 days (fridge is recommended).

To freeze chocolate zucchini bread, let the loaf cool completely before wrapping it up in a freezer safe bag, plastic wrap, or container. Freeze for up to 3 months.