Healthy Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread
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Moist Chocolate Zucchini Bread with chocolate chips is a healthy quick bread perfect for snacking. With just a few wholesome ingredients, this double chocolate quick bread will become a family favorite!
Tender, moist, double chocolate zucchini bread needs to be added to your bake list immediately. Packed with freshly grated zucchini, whole wheat flour, and chocolate chips, this indulgent quick bread will have you coming back for seconds and thirds. No wonder this recipe is also called Death by Chocolate Zucchini Bread.
While many of us, myself included, consider zucchini to be a vegetable, it is actually botanically classified as a fruit, which makes it a no-brainer for adding to desserts! The freshly grated zucchini gives this loaf an extra layer of moisture, making every bite tender and delicious.
How to make Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread
Ingredients
High-quality, wholesome ingredients truly make this chocolate zucchini bread recipe stand out. I divided the ingredients into two sections: dry ingredients and wet ingredients.
Dry ingredients:
- Whole wheat flour
- Unsweetened cocoa powder
- Sugar
- Baking soda and salt
- Chocolate chips
Wet ingredients:
- Zucchini- washed and grated
- Eggs
- Yogurt
- Oil – I prefer to use unrefined avocado oil or coconut oil
- Vanilla
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and prepare a 4X8-inch loaf pan by spraying with non-stick spray or coating with butter.
- In a mixing bowl, stir together whole wheat flour, unsweetened cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- Next, in another mixing bowl, stir together eggs, yogurt, oil, and vanilla until smooth.
- Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients bowl and stir together until combined. Do not overmix.
- Add the grated zucchini into the bowl and stir to combine.
- Next, pour 1/4 cup of chocolate chips into the bowl and fold into the batter.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and sprinkle the top with the remaining chocolate chips.
- Bake for 50-60 minutes until you insert a toothpick and it comes out clean.
- Remove the loaf from the oven and let the zucchini bread cool in the loaf pan for about 10 minutes. Run a butter knife through the edges to loosen it. Transfer to a wire cooling rack and allow time to cool completely.
- Slice the chocolate zucchini bread into pieces with a serrated knife.
Recipe notes
- Remember to squeeze the water from the zucchini – If the zucchini has a lot of liquid, you should squeeze out the excess water. Typically, if you use a large-hole grater, the water doesn’t ooze out much, and you can skip this step.
- Zucchini – I usually grate one whole zucchini, and depending on the size, it will yield about 1 – 1.5 cups in the recipe. Don’t use more than 1.5 cups in this recipe or else the bread won’t rise as much.
- Storage instructions – I usually refrigerate the leftovers. I sometimes make a double batch and freeze one. To freeze, chop them into slices and put them in a freezer-safe Ziploc bag. Before serving, microwave them for 10-15 seconds and enjoy it warm.
- Baking soda reacts well with cocoa powder and yogurt to provide the necessary lift needed for this bread. Make sure to bake the batter immediately after it is ready.
- Should you add baking powder? I have tested this recipe with and without baking powder. It does give the bread a slightly better rise, but not significantly enough, so I chose not to use it. But if you want to, reduce the baking soda to 3/4 teaspoon and use 1/4 teaspoon baking powder.
- Using coconut oil – If you are using coconut oil in this recipe, remember the following instructions –
- Use it in liquid form. If you have to heat it, allow it to cool briefly before mixing it with eggs to prevent it from cooking.
- Also, use eggs at room temperature; otherwise, the coconut oil will solidify.
- To make zucchini bread without chocolate, skip the cocoa powder and increase the amount of whole wheat flour by 1/2 cup.
- For chocolate zucchini muffins, grease the muffin tin and pour the batter into each mold until it is 3/4th full. Bake for about 35 minutes at 350°F.
Commonly Asked Questions about Zucchini Bread
Do you have to peel zucchini for this recipe?
I do, but you don’t have to. Instead, wash and dry the exterior of the zucchini to ensure the produce is clean and ready for baking.
How do you shred zucchini?
One of the best parts about zucchini bread is sneaking in the extra serving of vegetables without really knowing you are eating something healthy. To keep the right consistency in the bread shred the zucchini using a food processor or cheese grater, using the largest hole setting.
Why would you put zucchini in bread?
Most people add zucchini to bread and cakes to add extra moisture. Shredded zucchini practically melts into the baked goods, giving them a soft and moist texture.
Another reason to add zucchini to your bread is the added health benefits. Zucchini contains high levels of Vitamin A and antioxidants. This nutrient-rich produce also contains both soluble and insoluble fiber, which aid in digestion.
Why does my zucchini loaf have a crack at the top?
One of the most common features of a quick bread recipe is a large crack down the top. This happens when the loaf begins to set in the oven while baking but also continues to rise. It’s completely normal, and some people even think of it as a defining feature of quick bread.
Other quick bread recipes to try
If you enjoyed making this chocolate zucchini bread, you might also enjoy making these other quick bread recipes.
- Moist Banana Bread– A quick and easy way to make healthy and moist Banana bread that you can whip up using your blender in no time!
- Chocolate Banana Cake– This delicious and moist Chocolate Banana Cake recipe made with the goodness of coconut oil and banana makes for a healthy after-school treat for kids.
- Banana Oat Muffins– You’ll love these delicious Banana Oats muffins that are perfect after-school snacks.
- Whole Wheat Banana Muffins– Quickly and easily whip up these filling Whole Wheat Banana Muffins for the perfect after-school snack!
- Date Cake—A date cake made from luscious dates is probably one of the moistest cakes you have ever eaten! The best part—you can whip it up in a blender in no time.
- Chocolate croissant bread pudding – Flaky croissants are smothered in a sweet egg custard and baked to perfection with melty pockets of chocolate in this double chocolate croissant bread pudding.
Recipe inspiration – This recipe has been adapted from this moist banana bread recipe that we often make at home, Sally’s double chocolate zucchini bread recipe, and Meeta’s healthy chocolate zucchini recipe.
Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- Cooking spray or butter to grease the loaf pan
Wet ingredients
- 1 medium-sized zucchini, grated [see note] ~1-1.5 cups of grated zucchini
- 2 large eggs well beaten
- ¾ cup yogurt
- ¾ cup avocado oil or coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Dry ingredients
- 1 cup whole wheat flour or all-purpose flour
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips or milk or dark chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 4×8-inch loaf pan with cooking spray or butter.
- Mix all the dry ingredients – whole wheat flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt till they are combined. Set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, add coconut oil, yogurt, vanilla extract, and egg and mix them well.
- Mix the dry ingredients with the wet till they are combined. Do not overmix. Note: The batter will not be runny, it will be moist and thick.
- Add grated zucchini and mix it in.
- Add about 1/4 cup of chocolate chips and stir it in.
- Pour the batter into the greased pan and sprinkle the remaining chocolate chips on top.
- Bake for 50 – 60 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. (I checked at the 50-minute mark and the zucchini bread was done)
- Remove the loaf from the oven and let the zucchini bread cool in the loaf pan for about 10 minutes.
- Run a butter knife through the edges to loosen it. Transfer to a wire cooling rack and allow time to cool completely.
- Use a serrated knife to cut the bread into slices.
Notes
- Don’t forget to squeeze the water from zucchini – You should squeeze out the excess water from zucchini if it has a lot of liquid in it. Typically, if you use a large-hole grater, it doesn’t ooze out much and you can skip this step.
- Zucchini – I usually grate one whole zucchini and depending on the size it will yield about 1 – 1.5 cups in the recipe. Don’t use more than 1.5 cups in this recipe or else the bread won’t rise as much.
- Baking soda reacts well with cocoa powder and yogurt to provide the necessary lift needed for this bread. Make sure to bake the batter immediately after it is ready.
- Should you add baking powder? I have tested with and without using baking powder in this recipe. It does give the bread a slightly better rise but not significant enough so I chose to not use it. But if you want to, reduce the baking soda in the recipe to 3/4 teaspoon and use 1/4 teaspoon baking powder.
- Using coconut oil – If you are using coconut oil in this recipe, remember the following instructions –
- Use it in liquid form. If you have to heat it, allow it to cool briefly before mixing it with eggs to prevent it from cooking.
- Also, use eggs at room temperature otherwise the coconut oil will solidify.
- To make zucchini bread without chocolate, skip the cocoa powder and increase the amount of whole wheat flour by 1/2 cup.
- For chocolate zucchini muffins, grease the muffin tin and pour the batter in each of the molds till it is 3/4th full. Bake for about 35 minutes at 350°F.
- Storage instructions – I usually refrigerate the leftovers. I sometimes make a double batch and freeze one. To freeze, chop them into slices and put them in a freezer-safe Ziploc bag. Before serving, microwave them for 10-15 seconds and enjoy it warm.
Disclaimer: Approximate nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and can vary depending on the exact ingredients/brands used. If you have health issues, please work with a registered dietician or nutritionist.