Vegan Chocolate Zucchini Bread

Ultra rich and moist vegan chocolate zucchini bread that no one will know is healthy! Incredibly decadent yet low sugar, this chocolate zucchini bread is the perfect excuse to use up that extra zucchini!

Why make this healthy vegan chocolate zucchini bread

I could go on and on about this healthy chocolate zucchini bread. It’s truly quickly becoming my favorite of all my healthy zucchini recipes on the blog.

I mean, how could you not love a decadent and rich chocolate bread that’s secretly packed with veggies and entirely gluten free, vegan, diary free, soy free, nut free, and low sugar?

And yet, this chocolate zucchini bread recipe tastes anything but.

One bite and you’ll see that this bread is:

Moist yet not gummy

Rich with fudgy chocolate flavor

Incredibly easy to make (only one bowl!)

Tastes anything but healthy

The perfect quick breakfast, snack, or dessert with hidden veggies!

Downright irresistible after one bite

Healthy Chocolate Zucchini Bread Ingredients

Now that I’ve bragged a bit about how delicious this vegan chocolate zucchini bread is, let’s go over the ingredients.

You only need a few plant based vegan ingredients that are simple, mostly pantry friendly, and definitely not out of the ordinary:

• Flour: I recommend all purpose or gluten free 1:1 baking flour here. When using gluten free flour, just make sure that you use a flour with xanthan gum, as this will help the flour create that glutinous effect. Alternatively, you can also use homemade oat flour.
• Coconut sugar: just a bit for added sweetness! Coconut sugar in particular not only keeps this decadent bread refined sugar free, but also adds an extra caramelized flavor to it, allowing us to use even less sugar.
• Cacao powder: I recommend using cacao over cocoa powder, as the cacao powder will be richer in flavor and also add some more benefits to the bread.
• Zucchini: grating the zucchini makes this an extra hidden veggie vegan treat! You won’t spot even a speck of green once it’s baked! The perfect recipe to use up all of that extra zucchini at the end of the season, I might add!
• Plant-based dairy free milk: you can use any dairy free milk that you prefer here. I love using homemade oat milk, but coconut milk and cashew milk are great alternatives as well.
• Unsweetened applesauce: this will simulate an egg, and help the bread hold together.
• Vegan chocolate chips: I absolutely love the chocolate chips by Lily’s Sweets, as they’re slightly lower in sugar (stevia sweetened!), and completely vegan!

Now, for recommended equipment, I used a handheld grater to grate my zucchini. I find it imperative to grate the zucchini so that you can really squeeze out the water.

However, I recently discovered that you might also be able to use a juicer if you have one. After making some zucchini juice in my juicer, I realized the pulp is actually the same texture as would be needed for grated and dried out zucchini!

How to make Vegan Chocolate Zucchini Bread

As I mentioned above, this vegan gluten free chocolate zucchini bread is incredibly easy. You just need one bowl and a loaf pan, and you’ll end up with the most decadent and rich chocolate zucchini bread that no one will know is healthy!

To start, simply:

1. Whisk together the dry ingredients.
2. Add in the wet ingredients (at room temperature!), and mix them into the dry until fully combined.
3. Fold in the zucchini and chocolate chips, and then pour the batter into a loaf pan.
4. Bake until ready and remove from the oven!

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I like to let my zucchini bread loaf cool in the loaf pan for a few minutes after baking. I find this helps the rest of the bread finish baking (as technically it is still baking while it’s warm), and creates a really nice moist texture to the bread.

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Tips for the Best Chocolate Zucchini Bread

Make sure that you whisk together the dry ingredients! This ensures that the leavening agents are evenly distributed throughout the zucchini bread.

Your wet ingredients must be at room temperature. Many skip this step, but it’s so crucial to baking, especially vegan baking. When the ingredients aren’t room temperature (i.e. a mix of hot and cold), you could end up with an extremely gummy texture! Not ideal!

The trick is in the egg replacement. The cool part about this vegan chocolate zucchini bread is that not only is it packed with hidden veggies, but it also has some hidden fruit in there as well! The unsweetened applesauce acts as a wonderful egg substitute, and adds a bit of moisture and structure to the baked loaf.

Use parchment paper in the loaf pan for easy removal. I like to make sure that my parchment paper goes over the edges of the loaf pan. That way, once the bread is baked and cooled, I can easily remove it whole from the loaf pan without ruining any of the pretty chocolate chips on top!

Make this a gluten free chocolate zucchini bread! Or keep it as is: for gluten free flours, I recommend oat flour or a gluten free 1:1 baking flour. The 1:1 is crucial as this means the flour will most likely resemble a regular all purpose flour.

Add in nuts, seeds, or spices for a customized chocolate zucchini bread! You can add in a dash of cinnamon, some pumpkin seeds or walnuts for a crunch, or just keep the bread as is!

Can I make this chocolate zucchini bread into muffins, cake, or a sheet cake?

You can absolutely bake chocolate zucchini bread batter into muffins instead! They will bake much faster, so check the muffins after 25 minutes, and decide how much longer they need to bake. The top should bounce back at a light touch.

I already have a vegan chocolate zucchini cake recipe, so I recommend checking that out! However, you can absolutely bake either recipe into a sheet cake as well.

For the frosting, I recommend using my Paleo vegan chocolate buttercream found on my healthy chocolate zucchini cake.

How to store this healthy chocolate zucchini bread

Honestly, you can store this zucchini bread at room temperature for up to 5 days, and it will remain perfectly moist and decadent. I recommend slicing the entire loaf and store it in an airtight container or wrapping the whole loaf with plastic wrap.

You can also store this chocolate zucchini bread loaf in the fridge for up to 5 days or even in the freezer (sliced!) for up to 3 months.

When reheating the bread, simply place a slice on a piece of tin foil and heat for 5 minutes at 350F in the oven.

I hope you love this vegan chocolate zucchini bread as much as I do! If you make it, let me know down below in the comments section, as well as giving it a rating as to how it went! This helps others see and decide if they should make the recipe as well 🙂

As always, I absolutely love to see your beautiful creations on Instagram and Pinterest, so be sure to tag me there!

Happy Zucchini Bread Baking!

More healthy vegan zucchini recipes

Healthy Zucchini Bread

Vegan Instant Pot Zucchini Bread Oatmeal

Healthy Zucchini Banana Bread

Paleo Vegan Chocolate Zucchini Cake

Flourless Zucchini Brownies

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