This super easy Vegan Chocolate Zucchini Bread has an absolutely delicious, moist, fudgy chocolate crumb filled with crunchy pecans and chocolate chips. It’s the best vegan chocolate bread you will ever eat! Bonus, this zucchini bread is also surprisingly healthy, made with healthy olive oil, no egg, no dairy, and only plant-based ingredients to add nutrients and pleasure to your day.
I love baking with zucchini. It turns any classic recipe into a moist and healthy dessert. Just try my Vegan Zucchini Muffins, Healthy Zucchini Carrot Bread, or Healthy Banana Zucchini Bread.
So say hi and welcome my easy, fudgy chocolate zucchini bread and enjoy a chocolate treat that is good for you!
What’s Vegan Chocolate Zucchini Bread?
A vegan chocolate zucchini bread is a chocolate bread made with shredded zucchini. The zucchini make the bread perfectly moist and turn the crumb into a brownie-like texture with the added nutrients and healthy bonus of adding vegetables to your vegan dessert.
Ingredients and Substitutions
It’s very easy to make this vegan chocolate zucchini bread using only a few basic ingredients. Instead, all you need are natural plant-based ingredients that create the most decadent fudgy zucchini chocolate bread texture.
- Flour – All-purpose flour or gluten-free all-purpose flour if you are making vegan, gluten-free zucchini bread.
- Baking Soda and Baking Powder – For a fluffy texture.
- Unsweetened Applesauce – This is the magic ingredient that replaces the classic eggs and egg yolk used in chocolate bread. Believe me, you don’t want to replace this with eggs, or your bread won’t be as fudgy and moist. In fact, apple sauce combined with cocoa powder and zucchini creates a truly fudgy chocolate zucchini bread.
- Zucchini – That’s the main ingredient of this chocolate zucchini bread. Shredded zucchini add the best moist texture to the bread.
- Unsweetened Cocoa Powder – This adds a strong chocolate flavor to the bread.
- Soft Brown Sugar – or coconut sugar.
- Almond Nilk or any non-dairy milk you love.
- Light Olive Oil – or canola oil
- Cinnamon – for flavor.
- Vanilla Extract
- Dark Chocolate Chips – Or any chocolate chips you like.
- Pecans – Raw or roasted.
How To Make Vegan Chocolate Zucchini Bread
- First, preheat your oven to 350°F (180°C). Grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan with coconut oil and cover the pan with lightly greased parchment paper. Set aside.
- To prepare the zucchini, first, trim their ends and keep their skin on.
- Next, shred the zucchini with a hand box grater or food processor using the smaller grating blade.
- Finally, place the grated zucchini in a clean kitchen towel and squeeze them to release and extract excess moisture from the vegetable.
- Discard zucchini water and set aside the shredded zucchini in a mixing bowl.
- In a large bowl, stir flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
- In another large bowl, whisk unsweetened apple sauce, canola oil, almond milk, brown sugar, and vanilla. Then, stir in the shredded zucchini.
- Finally, combine the flour mixture with the wet ingredients, adding the dry ingredients in 2 additions to avoid lumps.
- Stir until just combined, and shiny chocolate batter forms with no lumps.
- To finish, stir in 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips – or 1/4 cup chopped pecans and 1/4 cup chocolate chips.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
- Bake for about 50 minutes at 350°F (180°C) until a pick inserted in the center of the bread comes out with a little crumb on it but not wet.
- Let the bread cool down for 5 minutes in the pan, then pull the hanging pieces of parchment paper to release the vegan chocolate zucchini bread.
- Cool completely on a wire rack before slicing.
Storage
Store the bread in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days or freeze in individual slices in zip-lock bags. Thaw in the fridge the day before serving.
Healthy Swaps
You can make this chocolate zucchini bread healthier using the swaps options below.
- Sugar-free – replace brown sugar with brown erythritol and use sugar-free chocolate chips.
- Oil – use healthy omega-3-loaded oils like light olive oil or almond oil.
More Chocolate Dessert Recipes
Below are more easy, intense chocolate recipes for you to try:
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Vegan Chocolate Zucchini Bread
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup Shredded Zucchini - excess water removed, measured after being shredded and drained
- 1 cup All-Purpose Flour
- ⅓ cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- ½ teaspoon Baking Soda
- ½ teaspoon Baking Powder
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
- ½ cup Unsweetened Applesauce - or mashed bananas
- 4-6 tablespoons Unsweetened Almond Milk - at room temperature
- ¼ cup Light Olive Oil - or canola oil
- ⅔ cup Light Brown Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- ⅓ cup Dairy-Free Dark Chocolate Chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a 9-inch loaf pan with parchment paper. Slightly oil the paper with cooking spray or olive oil. Set aside.
- Trim the zucchini ends, keeping their skin on, and shred with the smaller grating side of your grating bow. Place the shredded zucchini in the center of a clean kitchen towel, gather the corners, and wrap to squeeze the zucchini and remove its excess water. Discard the zucchini water. Measure 1 cup and 1/2 cup of packed shredded and drained zucchini. Set aside in a bowl.
- In another bowl, whisk evenly together: flour, unsweetened cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
- In another mixing bowl, whisk apple sauce, almond milk, olive oil, brown sugar, and vanilla extract. Stir in the shredded zucchini.
- Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients in 2 additions, stirring between each addition to incorporate the dry ingredients gently into the wet ingredients and avoid forming lumps. If the batter is too dry, add more almond milk up to 2 extra tablespoons.
- When the batter is smooth, shiny, and consistent, stir in the dark chocolate chips.
- Transfer the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 50-65 minutes in the center rack of the oven until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean or with a little crumb on it.
- Cool down for 3 hours on a cooling rack before slicing. This time prevents the bread from falling apart when sliced and creates an extra fudgy texture.
Storage
- Store in a cake box in the fridge for up to 4 days or freeze in slices for later.
This bread is fantastic! The only change I made was the oil. I swapped coconut oil for the olive oil. I will be making this again and again!
Thank you!!
Can you use soy milk instead of almond milk?
Absolutely
I can’t do gluten so substituted my favorite Gluten free flour and it turned out great!
It is super moist and tasty. I used miniature loaf pans and made 8 smaller ones. This helps with the serving and the slicing issues. Baked for 35 minutes.
Does this double well?
Yes, but if you double it, the best is to cook it in two similar pans. If you instead make it thicker, it will take very long to cook inside and the edges will be overcooked.
Made this today and it was so rich and fudgy. This is a great recipe and I will definitely make it again!!!
Love this recipe !! Thank you
Absolutely amazing!!!
Can’t wait to try this recipe!!!
Cooking time?
Is it 50 minutes to start with?
Yes it is and depending on bread, pan it can take longer. Like for other bread recipes, insert a toothpick in the center of the bread and if it comes moist keep baking but extra 10 minutes burst until just a little crumb stay on the pick. Enjoy