Chocolate Zucchini Bread

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When its summertime and zucchini is in abundance then you need to make my recipe for Chocolate Zucchini Bread! This is the perfect summer breakfast treat or afternoon dessert, and it’s so easy to make. The combination of the moist chocolate bread and the shredded zucchini makes for a delicious and tasty treat. No mixer is needed, and mixes up in minutes!

sliced chocolate zucchini bread on a cutting board

I love making this bread because it’s so easy and delicious. The combination of the adding cocoa powder to a quick bread batter and the grated zucchini makes for a delicious treat. I was swimming in some zucchini and had a craving for chocolate so I thought why not make a chocolate zucchini bread? I Mean

I’ve made a chocolate zucchini cake before, but this bread is even easier! The zucchini makes for a moist loaf and its full of chocolate flavor.

Sure you could make a regular zucchini bread loaf, wonderful easy zucchini muffins, or a lemon zucchini bread version, but when the chocolate craving hits, then this is the bread you need to make.

Why You Will Love Chocolate Zucchini Bread Recipe

Quick To Throw Together. You have to love a good quick bread recipe. No mixer is required and this zucchini bread comes together quickly.
Great for freezing – Freeze a couple loaves now so when zucchini is no longer in season, you can have this wonderful chocolate zucchini bread all year round!
It’s delicious. The combination of the rich chocolate flavor and the shredded zucchini makes for a delicious and satisfying treat.

Ingredients Needed for Chocolate Zucchini Bread Recipe

Flour- Be sure to measure your flour properly or you will end up with a dense bread or a dry bread. I recommend using a kitchen scale, but if you’re using measuring cups, then be sure to stir your flour first, then spoon into your cup and level it off. Do not pack it down.
Granulated Sugar- For sweetness, but also for tenderness and browning. You could also substitute with brown sugar.
Unsweetened Cocoa Powder- For this recipe, it is important to use unsweetened cocoa powder. Unsweetened cocoa powder is acidic and will react with the baking soda to help the chocolate zucchini bread rise.
Sea Salt- To help balance the sweetness. I used sea salt, but table salt or kosher salt will also work. If using kosher salt, do a heaping 1/2 teaspoon as the kosher salt crystals are bigger so you don’t end up with as much salt in your spoon.
Baking Soda- Baking soda reacts with the unsweetened cocoa powder to help the bread rise
Baking Powder- To help the chocolate zucchini bread rise. Do not use baking soda. Baking powder and baking soda are not the same ingredient and will not react the same.
Eggs – Use room temperature eggs.
Butter- I prefer unsalted butter.
Vanilla- For flavor. I like to use pure vanilla extract, but imitation vanilla extract.
Shredded Zucchini- About one to two small zucchinis. There’s no need to squeeze out the grated zucchini. The excess moisture helps to make for an incredibly moist bread. Otherwise the quick bread will be too dry. Grate your fresh zucchini with a box grater or you can use a food processor.

ingredients for chocolate zucchini bread

How to Make Chocolate Zucchini Bread

Preheat and Prepare Pan.

Preheat the oven to 350^oF (177^oC). Grease a 9×5 loaf pans cooking spray. Another option is to line the pan with parchment paper for easy removal.

Combine Dry Ingredients.

In a small mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Set aside.

Combine Wet Ingredients.

In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, melted butter, and vanilla extract.

Combine Wet and Dry Ingredients.

With a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, stir in dry ingredients until just combined. Stop mixing once the last of the dry ingredients have been mixed in.

chocolate zucchini bread in a bowl without zucchini added yet

Fold in Zucchini.

Gently fold in shredded zucchini and add it to the mixture.

shredded zucchini added to chocolate bread batter

Bake.

Pour into a greased loaf pans.

Bake for one hour or until zucchini bread is cooked through and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and top springs back to the touch.

baked chocolate zucchini bread in a loaf pan

Allow Bread to Cool.

Remove from the oven and allow Chocolate Zucchini Bread to cool completely in the loaf pans. Remove from the loaf pans, slice, and serve!

slices of chocolate zucchini bread on a plate

Recipe Tips

Do not wring out the zucchini. The extra moisture makes for moist loaf!
Measure your flour accurately. I use the spoon and level method. You can learn how to measure your flour in this post.
Careful to not over mix. I like to use a spatula and fold in the dry ingredients by hand. You want to stop mixing once they have been incorporated. Too much mixing = too much gluten forming. Gluten is what will give a bread its chew, but for a zucchini bread you want less gluten to form. So we can accomplish that by making sure we don’t overmix!

Recipe Variations

Add extra flavor. You can add semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips, chopped walnuts, or pecans. You can also add brown sugar for additional flavor as well. An easy way to incorporate this is to substitute half of the granulated sugar for brown sugar.
Chocolate Zucchini Muffins: Instead of making zucchini bread, you can make muffins! You will want to preheat oven to 425°F (218°C) and spray a 12-count pan with nonstick spray or line with cupcake liners. Prepare batter exactly the same way, fill each liner to the top with batter and bake the muffins for 5 minutes at 425°F (218°C). Keep the muffins in the oven, lower the temperature to 350°F (177°C) and continue to bake for an additional 14–15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. This makes 10–12 chocolate zucchini muffins.
Sour Cream. If you tend to like extremely moist cakes/breads, then you can swap out the butter for sour cream or greek yogurt.
Vegetable Oil. Another alternative for the butter is to use vegetable oil.
Coconut Oil. The healthiest alternative for the butter would be coconut oil.
Gluten free flour. You can swap out the all purpose flour for gluten free flour.

sliced chocolate zucchini loaf on a wooden cutting board

Recipe FAQs

How can I store my Chocolate Zucchini Bread?

You should store the zucchini bread in an airtight container or wrap in aluminum foil on the counter for up to 5 days.

Can I freeze my Chocolate Zucchini Bread?

Yes, you can freeze the zucchini bread for up to 3 months. Wrap in aluminum foil or plastic wrap and freeze. Allow the zucchini bread to thaw in the refrigerator for a day before eating.

Do I need to peel the zucchini before using it in this Chocolate Zucchini Bread?

Peeling the zucchini is a personal preference. The taste and the texture is the same either way. Sometimes there are small, tiny specks of green in the zucchini bread when you do not peel the zucchini, so if you are concerned about picky eaters, then you may want to just go ahead and peel it.

How do I shred my zucchini?

Slice the bottom end of the zucchini, hold onto the stem end, and scrape it against the shredder side of a box grater until you get all the way to the stem that you’re holding. You want to use the shredder side, which is the side with the largest holes.

Can I use frozen zucchini in this recipe?

Yes, you can use frozen zucchini in this recipe. Just make sure to thaw the zucchini completely before adding it to the zucchini bread batter. If you add frozen zucchini directly to the batter, it will make the batter very watery and the bread will be too wet.