Chocolate Zucchini Oat Bread

Soft, moist and delicious chocolate bread with zucchini that you can't even taste! This easy chocolate zucchini oat bread is a great dessert or snack made with simple ingredients. [Dairy-free and gluten-free adaptable]

My simple chocolate zucchini oat bread recipe is made from rolled oats, cocoa powder, chocolate chips, grated zucchini, egg, vanilla, sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda.

The rolled oats and zucchini adds fiber to this sweet treat making it slightly healthier. You can barely taste the vegetables as zucchini is very neutral in taste.

It's great for picky-eaters, like kids, who want to add more fiber to their diet without it feeling like a chore.

The recipe is very easy and you can even use a food processor to help you quickly grate the zucchini with a grating tool.

This can also be dairy-free and gluten-free with substitutions that I share below.

Ingredients & Substitutes

Please scroll down to below recipe card for exact measurements. 

• Melted Coconut Oil: or substitute with a neutral tasting oil like vegetable oil, avocado oil, canola oil. Avoid using olive oil as a substitute as it's too overpowering in taste.
• White granulated sugar: or substitute with cane sugar.
• Large Eggs
• Vanilla Extract
• Rolled Oats: or substitute with instant oats, steel cut oats or 1 cup of ground oat flour or all-purpose flour. If you're gluten-free, make sure you're using certified gluten-free rolled oats.
• Cocoa powder
• Salt
• Baking Powder
• Baking Soda
• Zucchini: both the green or yellow kind will work.
• Regular-Sized Chocolate Chips: milk or dark chocolate chips both work. If you're dairy-free, substitute with vegan chocolate chips. You can find these type of chocolate chips at select grocery stores or health food stores or online.

Instructions

Below are step-by-step instructions on how to make chocolate zucchini oat bread:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a loaf pan with coconut oil using a clean paper towel or line the loaf pan with enough parchment paper. Set aside.
2. Remove the ends of a unpeeled zucchini. Grate the zucchinis on a box grater using the largest setting and set aside. If you have a food processor with a grating blade, you can also use that.
3. Next in a blender, blend rolled oats on high until you have a fine flour and set aside. If you're using oat flour, skip this step and substitute with 1 cup of ground oat flour.
4. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together melted coconut oil and sugar until combined. Then add eggs and vanilla extract and mix until combined. Set aside.
5. In another large bowl, whisk together oat flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking powder, baking soda until combined. Add this to your wet batter and mix just until combined but do not over mix.
6. Next mix in grated zucchini and half of the chocolate chips with a spatula. The mixture will be very thick, which is normal. Pour bread batter into your pan and smooth out the top with a spatula.
7. Then evenly sprinkle remaining chocolate chips on top of the batter.
8. Bake for 55-60 minutes until an inserted toothpick comes out 90% clean. You don't want the toothpick to come out completely clean or the bread will come out too dry and not moist.
9. Place the loaf pan on a wire rack and let the bread sit in the pan for 10 minutes to cool down.
10. Then run a knife around the edges of the loaf. Remove from the pan and transfer bread to a wire rack to cool down.
11. Lastly slice and serve to enjoy warm or at room temperature.

Storage

• Leftovers will last up to 4 days stored in an airtight container wrapped in plastic wrap at room temperature or up to 7 days in the fridge. To reheat, microwave each slice for 20-40 seconds.
• Freezer-friendly? Chocolate zucchini bread will last up to 6 months in the freezer. To freeze: let the bread cool down completely and slice into equal pieces. Then wrap each slice in plastic wrap and store into a freezer-safe bag. To reheat each slice: microwave for 1-2 minutes until warm.

Pairing Suggestions

This serves well with:

• coffee, tea or milk
• fresh fruit like bananas, apples, pears, or berries
• cookies like Cinnamon Oat Cookies
• brownies or my protein chocolate chip blondies
• pastries
• cakes like my Dairy-free Vanilla Bundt Cake, or Dairy-free Castella Cake
• ice cream or frozen yogurt

FAQ