Chocolate Zucchini Bread
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Rich, deeply chocolaty, and incredibly moist, this chocolate zucchini bread tastes more like chocolate cake than vegetable bread. It’s easy to make with simple pantry ingredients, freezes beautifully, and is the perfect way to use up summer zucchini.
Every summer, when zucchini starts taking over the garden, I make at least one loaf of this chocolate zucchini bread. It’s one of those recipes that surprises people because, despite containing two whole cups of shredded zucchini, it doesn’t taste even remotely like vegetables. The zucchini simply melts into the batter as it bakes, creating an incredibly moist, tender loaf with an intense chocolate flavor.
Enjoy it as an afternoon snack, dessert, or even breakfast with a cup of coffee. And if you’re looking for more sweet ways to use up zucchini, don’t miss my classic zucchini bread and chocolate chip zucchini muffins. If you love chocolate quick breads, my chocolate banana bread is another reader favorite.
“This was ridiculously delicious! Moist and deeply chocolatey, using dutch processed cocoa plus espresso powder made a huge difference.”
What you’ll need to make Chocolate zucchini Bread
- All-purpose flour: Provides structure while keeping the loaf tender.
- Dutch-process cocoa powder: Gives the bread a deep chocolate flavor and rich dark color. Natural cocoa powder works, too, if that’s what you have on hand.
- Brown sugar: Adds sweetness along with a subtle caramel flavor that pairs beautifully with the chocolate.
- Butter: Melted butter keeps the recipe simple while adding richness and flavor.
- Eggs: Add structure and moisture.
- Baking powder and baking soda: Working together, they help the loaf rise evenly.
- Espresso powder (optional): You won’t taste coffee—it simply deepens the chocolate flavor.
- Zucchini: You’ll need about two medium zucchini. There’s no need to peel them or squeeze out the moisture—the zucchini’s natural moisture is what keeps the bread so tender.
- Chocolate chips: Folded into the batter for pockets of melted chocolate in every slice.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Shred 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.
Step 2: Combine the wet ingredients. Melt the butter in a large mixing bowl and mix in the brown sugar. Once combined, stir in the eggs and vanilla.
Pro tip: 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.
Step 3: Combine the dry ingredients. Next, combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a mixing bowl. Whisk to combine.
Step 4: Mix the batter. Combine the egg mixture with the flour mixture and stir to combine—the mixture will be quite thick. Next, mix in the grated zucchini and chocolate chips.
Step 5: Bake and cool. Transfer the batter 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, then 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!
More Quick Bread Recipes You’ll Love
Chocolate Zucchini Bread
Ingredients
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
- ¾ cup + 2 tablespoons (packed) light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1⅔ cups all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off
- 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 (175°C) degrees and grease an 8½ x 4½-in (22 x 11-cm) 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.
Notes
Nutrition Information
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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This bread was easy to throw together on a Sunday morning and did not disappoint! My family of 6 gobbled it up as soon as it came out of the oven.
Loved this bread and so did my family. It tastes like chocolate cake only not as sweet. The best part is that my picky kids had no idea there was zucchini in it 🙂 thanks Jenn!
Made this with my kids this morning and it was delicious! We didn’t have any Dutch process cocoa so we substituted Hershey’s natural cocoa powder. We also had only one zucchini so we had to use some grated yellow squash. Was nervous about the substitutions but it came out great. Thank you!
Did exactly everything the recipe called for and somehow mine came out dense and very wet. Was I supposed to have drained the grated zucchini before adding? Can’t understand why it was such a disaster!! When I put the toothpick into it to test it, it came out clean. After it cooled, it was glue!! Go figure!
Hi Pat, So sorry you had trouble with the recipe. The zucchini does not need to be drained for this recipe. Are you sure you added both the baking soda and the baking powder?
Yes, added everything exactly as you indicated, but I think I may have grated the zucchini too finely and it caused it to be too wet. Definitely going to try again. And this time I won’t hand grate it, I will use the food processor. Somehow, I thought finely grated was better, but it was wet. My batter looked exactly like your photos, except the last one, my zucchini was not like that, which now makes me realize what went wrong…my friends still liked the taste of it, despite it being kind of dense and gluey! 🙂 Will report back when I try again…hopefully next week sometime. Thanks for your quick reply! And what I think will be a great recipe once I get figure out it!
Need to know calories and carbs.
Is the flour supposed to be 1 cup plus 2/3 cup or 1-2 thirds of a cup? I tried it as 1 & 2/3 cup last night and couldnt even mix it, it was beyond dry and didnt look like the picture at all. Hoping to try it again tonight but just wanted some clarification. Thanks!
Hi Sylvia, It is supposed to be 1 cup plus 2/3 so you definitely measured correctly. It’s a very thick batter because of the water content in the zucchini. As long as you don’t make any substitutions, it should come out just fine. Please let me know how the next one turns out. Thanks!
This was soon good! I will add some walnuts next time.
I want to make this but I’m not sure when to add the instant coffee. Do I need to dissolve the granules first or just add to dry ingredients as is?
Hi Dalila, Just add it as is…it will dissolve on its own in the batter.
I used a flat grater to prep the zucchini since I am way too lazy to bust out the food processor – turned out great and less clean up afterwards!
made this with the abundance of zucchini from my Garden this summer. Delicious!!