Super Moist Vegan Chocolate Zucchini Bread

Ultra rich and moist vegan chocolate zucchini bread that no one will know is healthy and gluten free! Incredibly decadent yet low sugar and refined 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.

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. I’ve included both gram measurements and cup measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of this post. The gram/weighted measurements will give you the most accurate bake.

• 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. See the recipe card notes section for exact measurements on the gluten free 1:1 baking flour and the 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. You can also use organic granulated sugar as another vegan option.
• Cacao powder or cocoa 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. We’ll be weighing the zucchini for the most accurate measurements, and soak up the excess moisture in the zucchini to prevent our zucchini bread from becoming gummy.
• Dairy free milk: you can use any non-dairy milk that you prefer here, such as soy milk, almond milk, or oat milk. I love using homemade oat milk, but coconut milk and cashew milk are great alternatives as well.
• Vegan butter: You can also swap in coconut oil or a neutral oil.
• 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!

For recommended equipment, I used a handheld grater to grate my zucchini.

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!

Please note that the full recipe instructions and ingredient measurements are found down below in the recipe card. However, we’ll go over a brief overview of steps here along with photos.

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!

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.

Tips for the Best Chocolate Zucchini Bread

• Measure or weigh out your ingredients before beginning. And it’s even better if you use the gram measurements rather than the cup. This just helps to ensure you don’t miss anything as you’re making the zucchini bread.
• Read through the instructions once before beginning. It’s always a good idea to make sure you understand the basics of how to make the bread so that you’re not missing any steps!
• 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!
• Stick with using applesauce over flaxseed “egg” as a vegan 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 vegan chocolate buttercream. It’s super rich, and no one can tell it is dairy free.

I just know you’re going to absolutely love this super rich and decadent healthy chocolate zucchini bread. You won’t even know there’s any zucchini in there!

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!

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If you make this recipe, please be sure to leave a comment and a rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ below. This helps others to find the recipes! As always, I absolutely love to see your beautiful creations on Instagram and Pinterest, so be sure to tag me there as well!

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