This easy One Bowl Chocolate Zucchini Bread yields two moist, chocolatey loaves that are absolutely delicious! Keep one for yourself and give the other one to a friend, coworker, or neighbor!
Why you’ll love this recipe
This moist, one-bowl chocolate zucchini quick bread recipe is a favorite of mine!
It comes together easily in a single large mixing bowl and bakes for 50 minutes to 1 hour, yielding two super-moist, chocolatey loaves of bread packed with freshly shredded zucchini, cinnamon, nutmeg, and semi-sweet chocolate chips! You can also bake them as mini loaves, which make perfect gifts for friends and neighbors!
If you love this easy, one-bowl dessert recipe, then definitely check out my Salted Caramel Banana Nut Bread and my Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread recipes!
Enjoy!
Table of Contents
Ingredients Needed
The following ingredients are needed to make this homemade chocolate zucchini bread recipe. Items noted in the bulleted list are key ingredients that need a bit more explanation.
- All-Purpose Flour. My brand preference is King Arthur All Purpose Flour, but use what you have on hand!
- Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips. Semi-sweet chocolate chips are preferred, but you can also use milk chocolate. My go-to brand is usually Ghirardelli.
- Shredded Zucchini. You can leave the peel on or off (if it has a wax coating, remove it). And make sure to leave the excess liquid in to give your chocolate zucchini bread that super moist texture!
- Unsweetened Cocoa Powder. You can also try this with Dutch-processed cocoa powder.
For quantities and instructions, please see the recipe card below.
How to Freeze Grated Zucchini Without Blanching
The following instructions are only for freezing shredded or grated zucchini intended for baking recipes.
- Rinse the zucchini with water, then dry it and cut off the ends.
- Using a medium grater or a food processor, grate the zucchini into a bowl.
- Fill each quart-size freezer bag with 2 cups of the grated zucchini (including the liquid)— the typical amount for zucchini bread, cakes, and muffin recipes.
- Then label, date, and freeze flat in the freezer for up to 1 year.
- When you’re ready to use it for baking, defrost the bag, then add it to the recipe!
Mini Chocolate Zucchini Loaves
- This chocolate zucchini bread recipe can also be made into eight mini loaves! Bake for 35-40 minutes at 350ºF. I recommend placing all the mini loaf tins on one large baking sheet. It makes it much easier to move them in and out of the oven!
- Mini loaves can be left out at room temperature for 2-3 hours, covered with plastic wrap or aluminum foil.
- To freeze them, double-wrap the mini loaves of chocolate zucchini bread in plastic wrap, then in aluminum foil, and place them in the freezer. Mini loaves will be good in the freezer for up to a month. Place in the refrigerator the day before to bring to room temperature and, if desired, heat for 15-30 seconds in the microwave, then enjoy!
- To get eight mini loaves, I used aluminum foil bread pans (found at most grocery stores) that are approximately 6 inches by 3 3/4 inches at the top, with it tapering to a bottom length of about 3 3/16 inches by 2 1/2 inches. The pans have a depth of 2 inches.
Recipe FAQs
To help make your chocolate zucchini bread-making experience go smoothly, I’ve included some suggested tips and recommended baking tools below!
For this zucchini bread recipe, I used my two Jamie Oliver non-stick loaf tins. Besides the pretty light blue color, they’re well-made and wash well after baking!
You can choose to spray your loaf tins with a flour-based baking spray (like Baker’s Joy) or grease them with shortening or butter, then sprinkle a little flour.
With grating the zucchini, you can choose to leave the peel on or off. Some people leave it on, while others remove it. Personally, I removed it for this recipe. If your zucchini has a wax coating, I recommend peeling it off.
No! Leave it in—it will give your chocolate zucchini bread that super moist texture.
50-60 minutes at 350ºF. I initially checked my loaves at the 55-minute mark and ended up leaving them in for the remaining 5 minutes.
Yes! Zucchini can be difficult to find when it’s out of season, so freezing any extra you have now is a great idea!
If you tried this Chocolate Zucchini Bread Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know what you thought in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Chocolate Zucchini Bread
Ingredients
- 2 cups Granulated Sugar
- 3 large Eggs, room temperature
- 1 cup Vegetable Oil
- 1 tbsp Vanilla Extract
- 3 cups All-Purpose Flour
- 1/2 cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- 2 tsp Ground Cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp Ground Nutmeg
- 2 cups Grated Zucchini (do not drain excess liquid), approximately 3 medium zucchinis
- 12 oz Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips, divided (8 oz or 227 grams for the bread mixture, remaining 4 oz or 113 grams for topping)
Instructions
- Adjust the oven rack to the middle rack (or the one just above it) and preheat the oven to 350ºF.
- Generously spray 2 bread loaf tins with a flour-based baking spray or grease with vegetable shortening and lightly flour. Set aside. Optionally, add a parchment paper sling to each tin, then lightly spray again with baking spray.
- In a large-size bowl, whisk together the granulated sugar, eggs, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract.2 cups Granulated Sugar, 3 large Eggs, 1 cup Vegetable Oil, 1 tbsp Vanilla Extract
- Add in the all-purpose flour, unsweetened cocoa powder, salt, baking powder, baking soda, ground cinnamon, and ground nutmeg, and mix until combined.3 cups All-Purpose Flour, 1/2 cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder, 1 tsp Salt, 1 tsp Baking Powder, 1 tsp Baking Soda, 2 tsp Ground Cinnamon, 1/4 tsp Ground Nutmeg
- With a spoon, stir in the grated zucchini and 8 ounces of chocolate chips.2 cups Grated Zucchini (do not drain excess liquid), 12 oz Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
- Evenly divide the batter into the two prepared loaf tins, top with remaining 1/2 cups of chocolate chips, and bake for 50-60 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool the chocolate zucchini bread loaves in the pans for approximately 5-10 minutes before removing them from the tins, and transferring them to the cooling racks to cool completely.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information provided above is an estimate only and will vary based on specific ingredients used. See Nutritional Disclaimer for more info.
Exactly Perfect!!!!YUMMY
Thank you, Catrina!
?when you say bake on the second rack are you counting from top of the oven
Hi! It will be the next rack up from the middle rack position. Every oven has a different number of rack placements so I usually recommend the 2nd rack or the center/middle rack.
Ok ty!
How do you make the parchment paper sling?
I just took a sheet of parchment paper and cut it to fit the loaf pans making sure there was overhang on both sides.
I thought as much ,just had to make sure.Thank you!
You’re welcome! Hope you enjoy the bread!
I made this yesterday and it was so so good! I only used 1 medium zucchini though as it made 2 cups. I really appreciate that the ingredients are also listed in the directions so that I don’t have to keep scrolling up to see the measurements! Very helpful!
This feels like a silly question, but do I peel the zucchini first or can I grate it right after I wash it?
It’s up to you (either way is fine), but I like to leave it on for the extra nutrients (which I know sounds silly talking about a chocolate dessert bread).
I’m a bee person and have lots of honey, could I substitute some of the sugar for honey. What would you recommend.
Hi! I never tested the recipe this way, but you’re more than welcome to try it out. I definitely recommend googling substituting sugar for honey to see what others recommend for how much, etc.
Just made this for the first time. I used a 9×13 pan instead of 2 loaf pans, turned out great!
That’s awesome, Julie! Thank you for making it and for the feedback!
Great loaves!
Thank you for adding the ingredients into the instructions, so helpful!!
You’re welcome! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Hi, can this be made with applesause instead of oil, or maybe half and half.
I read where one commenter used 1/2 the sugar, which I would likely do since the choc. chips may add to the sweetness?
Lastly, does it make a difference if I use bread flour instead of All Purpose?
I’m new to baking and want to avoid another disaster before I try this delicious looking loaf! Thanks!
I didn’t test the recipe using applesauce instead of oil or a combination of the two, but I think that would be fine. As for the flour, I would stick to using just the AP flour because bread flour has a higher protein % and could give you a dryer bread.
Oh my. The best zucchini bread ever! Can not even tell theirs zucchini in it! Moist, not bitter from chocolate…amazing! I’m sure it’s calorie free too, lol
Lol, oh yes, totally calorie free 😉 Thank you for making it!