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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Delicious, moist, and the perfect size!
Such a tasty zucchini bread!
AMAZING Recipe!!! I am so glad I’ve found you! I LOVE to bake- just not so much in the summer heat. With a surplus of zucchini at this time of year, and accidently coming across your site and this recipe, I gave in to turning on my oven last night. OMGOSH, Jen, I absolutely love this bread! I tried it while it was still very warm and the chocolate chunks were melt-y and sooooo…good! This weekend I am doubling the recipe, and making smaller loaves to give out to some of my fellow church goers on Sunday-they’ll be happy they showed up! ; ) Thank you for sharing your wonderful gifts-(baking and cooking)- with us! Have a great day! Kim
I tried this last night and it was so moist, and decadent…my family loved it. The zucchini was not noticeable at all (I used a smaller grater). I made sure I did not packed the zucchini, too much (I think that it may cause the center of the bread not to rise properly or to be wet–it happened to me once when I put too much carrot on my carrot cake). My bread baked exactly as on the picture. ..love it and will make it again!!!
Wow! This is the first chocolate zucchini bread I’ve tried and I am now hooked! I loved how dense it was, but not dry. It smelled divine while baking and tasted even better. My husband kept asking if it had cooled enough so he could try it. Definitely a keeper! Next time I might try smaller pans so I can share with friends and neighbors.
I just tried the Double Chocolate Zucchini and this recipe is so easy to make and so good. I love Zucchini Bread but is so much better. I was so excited I took some to my neighbor and she called me wanting the recipe. Thanks for my new Chocolate Fix.
It looked exactly like the picture and I cut it after resting 10 min. I couldn’t wait. I wish you had more stars to rate.
Joyce
I skipped the coffee, and I rate this a 5. I made it last night with fresh zucchini from my garden. I pureed the zucchini and used half semi sweet and half milk chocolate chips as thats what i had on hand. It is moist amd the gooey chocolate chips are yummy. Great recipe, glad I found it. I reserved a couple of canning jars full of pureed zucchini….good thing because I will definitely make this again. Thanks!
If using pureed zucchini, how much did you use in the recipe? Do you need to alter other ingredients?
I made this recipe today and it was easy to put together. Loafs look awesome. I have one out of its pan, however the bottom did not want to release. So I did lose part of the bottom. I did not have non-stick spray so I used my olive oil spray and it worked well for the sides, but not the bottom. I’m cooling the other pan a bit longer to see if it will come out better. The batter tasted delicious so I can only imagine the loaf tasting wonderful as well. Thank you for the recipe.
I don’t know how to edit my first post so I’m replying to my own post. Lol! The bread is AWESOME! Every one loved it! We had it for lunch and I served it as a dessert with a little side of cool whip mixed the sliced strawberries. So yummy! Again thank you for the recipe. This will be a great way to use up the Zucchini’s I’m growing in our garden.
We had company for brunch over the weekend and I made this bread along with your sausage casserole. Both received rave reviews!
This looks great! I’m going to try it with coconut oil instead of butter because I’m finding it works great in sweet baked goods.
This reply is to Rebecca – I was curious as to why you want to try with coconut oil and how it turns out. I have coconut oil but have not used it yet. I tasted a teeny bit of it thinking it would taste like coconuts, but, to me, it didn’t. Would it make the zucchini bread moister than the butter? Thanks!
LOVE this! Our three year old grandson thinks it is chocolate cake. He shoves it in his mouth. Have shared this recipe with family and friends!