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This vegan double chocolate zucchini bread is rich, ultra moist, and fudgy. Simple, pantry-friendly ingredients create the most heavenly chocolatey flavor and texture!
Originally Published: August 2021 | Updated: July 31, 2024
Is it really summer if you haven’t made zucchini bread? We got some fresh zucchini from a farm stand the other day and of course, I had to make a recipe with it. Today, I’ll show you how to make this Vegan Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread, that happens to be dairy-free and egg-free! This is a decadent, jazzed-up version of your favorite classic zucchini bread.
Emily’s Recipe Notes:
- Flavor: So chocolatey, rich and sweet.
- Texture: This quick bread is soft, fudgy and ultra moist thanks to the zucchini.
- Difficulty: Very easy- and no need to squeeze the moisture out of the zucchini and no egg replacers are needed!
Why We Love This Vegan Chocolate Zucchini Bread: Okay, confession time…when I first heard about zucchini bread as a kid, I’ll be honest I was confused. I mean why would you put veggies in your baked goods? But now as an adult I get it. When grated, Zucchini is a magical ingredient that adds so much moisture to quick breads and cakes. This double chocolate zucchini bread is fudgy, it’s moist, it’s basically chocolate heaven in bread form.
Ingredients
Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
Chocolate and zucchini go so well together and believe me when I tell you that no one will know this bread has vegetables in it. It’s made with about 11 ingredients (one of which is salt) that make it flavorful, sweet, and tender. Below are a few notes about the ingredients in this chocolate zucchini bread:
- Vegan Butter: I used melted and salted vegan butter to add another layer of flavor to this loaf bread. You can use melted coconut oil or avocado oil instead. Be sure to increase the salt by 1/4 tsp if you make this substitution.
- Brown Sugar: This helps add moisture and richness to the vegan zucchini bread. You can use coconut sugar if you’d like.
- Zucchini: The main ingredient! I use one large zucchini (210 grams when grated).
- Vanilla Extract: A touch of pure vanilla extract helps enhance the flavor.
- Instant Coffee or Espresso: This helps enhance the chocolate flavor.
- Dairy Free Milk: Oat milk, soy milk or almond milk work great here. You could even use full fat coconut milk in this recipe if you’d like. It will add tons of richness. Make sure this is at room temperature.
- Cocoa Powder: Like with my vegan brownies, I used Dutch Process Cocoa Powder for an intense chocolatey flavor. You can also use natural cocoa powder or another unsweetened cocoa powder instead of Dutch cocoa.
- All Purpose Flour: I used King Arthur’s All Purpose Flour. I don’t recommend using other flours like oat flour in this recipe.
- Baking Powder: This helps leaven the bread.
- Dark Chocolate: I used a combo of chopped dark chocolate and chocolate chips.
Helpful Equipment
Here are a few tools that will make creating this recipe extra easy:
- Large Bowl: For making the batter
- Box Grater: To grate the zucchini squash
- Loaf Pan: To bake the loaf bread
Step by Step Instructions
This vegan double chocolate zucchini bread is super easy, fast, and only requires 1 bowl to make. It makes a super thick chocolate batter which creates a moist, fudgy bread.
STEP 1: Preheat the oven to 425F. Line a 8.5×4.5″ loaf pan with parchment paper for easy removal once it’s done baking.
STEP 2: Grate the zucchini with a box grater (or a food processor) and measure it out. Since this recipe uses fresh grated or shredded zucchini, accurately measuring it is super important. This recipe calls for 1 1/2 cups of packed, shredded zucchini. I lightly blotted the zucchini with paper towels. But I did not squeeze liquid out. I measured my zucchini after lightly blotting it.
STEP 3: Whisk together the melted vegan butter and brown sugar. Then whisk in the cocoa powder until combined. Add the dairy free milk, instant coffee and vanilla extract.
STEP 4: Fold in the grated zucchini.
STEP 5: Mix the dry ingredients together in a small bowl, then add to the wet ingredients. Mix to form a cake like batter.
STEP 6: Fold in the chocolate chips or chopped dark chocolate.
STEP 7: Transfer to the prepared loaf pan. Then, sprinkle a few extra chocolate chips on top.
STEP 8: Bake at 425F for 8 minutes. Then decrease the temperature to 350F and bake for another 50-60 minutes.
Serving & Storage
Let the vegan chocolate zucchini bread cool in the baking pan for about 3-4 minutes, then use the parchment paper to lift it out.
For the best results, let it cool completely on a wire rack before slicing!
I love enjoying a thick slice of this bread with a cold glass of almond milk. You can even serve it with some vanilla ice cream or whipped cream like you would actual chocolate cake!
If you have leftovers, you can wrap the loaf in plastic wrap and keep at room temperature for 2-3 days. Or you can store it in an airtight container.
If you’d like to store it longer than that, I recommend freezing the slices in freezer baggies.
Zucchini Bread Tips & Tricks
Below are some tips, tricks, and faqs to help you make the best vegan chocolate zucchini bread!
Of course! You can add nuts like walnuts or pecans to make this chocolate zucchini nut bread. You could also add in other flavorings if you’d like. Just be sure not to add in any ingredients that have too much moisture as they could affect the baking time and texture of this bread.
Yes! This bread is dairy-free since it uses vegan butter for the fat to add moisture.
Absolutely! This recipe would make the best chocolate zucchini muffins. All you need to do is decrease the baking time to be about 25-26 minutes at 350F instead of about an hour.
More Vegan Baked Goods
- Lemon Poppyseed Muffins
- Fluffy Vegan Carrot Muffins
- Almond Blueberry Biscotti
- Easy Pear Almond Cake
- Vegan French Toast Casserole
- Jumbo Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Bisquick Zucchini Bread (Vegan & Eggless!)
- Banana Gingerbread Loaf
Vegan Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread
Ingredients
- ½ cup melted salted vegan butter, 113g, or coconut oil, see notes
- 1 cup light brown sugar, packed, 200g
- ½ cup Dutch processed cocoa powder, 40g
- ½ cup dairy free milk, room temperature, like almond milk
- 1 tsp instant coffee, 1g, optional
- ½ tbsp pure vanilla extract, 7g
- 1 ½ cups shredded zucchini, packed, lightly blotted with a paper towel 210g
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, 180g
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder, 7g
- ½ tsp salt, 2g
- ¾ cup vegan chocolate chips or chopped dark chocolate, 115g, plus more for topping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425℉.
- Line a 8.5×4.5" loaf pan with parchment paper for easy removal once it's done baking.
- Grate the zucchini with a box grater (or a food processor) and measure it out. This recipe calls for 1 1/2 cups of packed, shredded zucchini, lightly blotted with paper towels (see notes for tips).1 ½ cups shredded zucchini
- In a large bowl, whisk together the melted vegan butter and brown sugar.½ cup melted salted vegan butter, 1 cup light brown sugar
- Then whisk in the cocoa powder until combined. Add the dairy free milk, instant coffee and vanilla extract.½ cup Dutch processed cocoa powder, ½ cup dairy free milk, 1 tsp instant coffee, ½ tbsp pure vanilla extract
- Gently mix in the shredded zucchini.1 ½ cups shredded zucchini
- Mix the dry ingredients together in a small bowl, then add to the wet ingredients. Mix to form a cake like batter.1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, 1 ½ tsp baking powder, ½ tsp salt
- Fold in the dark chocolate chips or chocolate chunks.¾ cup vegan chocolate chips or chopped dark chocolate
- Transfer to the prepared loaf pan and sprinkle a few extra chocolate chips on top.
- Bake at 425℉ for 8 minutes. Then, decrease the temperature to 350℉ and continue baking for another 50-60 minutes.
- The bread is done when the center is no longer jiggly and a toothpick can be removed cleanly with a few moist crumbs from the center of the loaf.
Recipe notes
- If using coconut oil or unsalted vegan butter, increase the amount of salt by 1/4 tsp.
- I measured my zucchini after lightly blotting it. You’ll need around 1 large to medium sized zucchini or about 210 grams.
- If you don’t have instant espresso/coffee powder, that’s okay. You can omit this ingredient. The espresso helps enhance the chocolate flavor.
- This recipe has been tested with a 8.5×4.5″ loaf pan. If a larger pan is used (like a 9×5″ loaf pan), it can cause the zucchini bread to bake faster. The batter spreads out more, creating a shorter loaf with more surface area. This can lead to the top and sides cooking faster than the center.
Did You Make This?
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Categories:
10 Ingredients or Less, Baked Goods, Breakfast & Brunch, Chocolate, Desserts, Recipes, Seasonal, Summer, Vegan Cakes,
Fantastic! Just finished making it and couldn’t wait to dive in. It’s soo incredibly moist and decadent without being too sweet or rich. So glad I found your recipe. Thank you so much for sharing!
so glad you enjoyed it!
This recipe is AMAZING! I LOVE IT. The only thing I would do differently is shred the zucchini smaller. I didn’t enjoy feeling like I had strings in my mouth but it didn’t stop me. Delicious! Thank you for sharing. I signed up 🙂
One question – what is the best way to store it? I am afraid it will lose its moisture.
Hi Lily, I’m so glad you enjoyed it! I recommend wrapping it well in plastic wrap or storing in an airtight container at room temp. for about 2 days. If storing longer, you can slice it and freeze individual slices for up to 2 months.
The most delicious chocolate zucchini bread ever!!! You cant even taste the zucchini. It has an amazing fugdy texture. I will be making it over and over again! Love it!!💖
I’m so glad you liked it!
So excited to make this! Is it possible to do it in the air fryer rather than the oven?
Hi Maddy, I haven’t tested this recipe in the air fryer, so I can’t guarantee it will turn out.
I made this with gluten free flour and it was delicious!!! Thank you so much everyone loved it
So glad you enjoyed it!
My zucchini bread turned out too dense and hard on top? It has almost a fudge texture but nothing like bread. I followed the recipe, what could cause this to happen.
Hi Bonnie, thanks for commenting and I’m sorry your bread didn’t turn out as expected. A couple things can cause a dense texture:
1. If it was also a bit gummy, this could be from over-mixing the batter. When the gluten in the flour is overworked it can lead to a dense texture.
2. If the oven runs hot or the zucchini bread is baked for too long, it can cause the bread to be dense and hard on top.
3. Too much flour can also create a dense texture. Too much flour can happen when scooping directly from a flour bag which compacts the flour into the measuring cup vs. spooning flour from the bag into a measuring cup and leveling off the top. This can lead to almost 1/4 cup extra flour per cup.
Did you bake the bread closer to 50 minutes at 350F or closer to 60 mins? I suggest a range since ovens can vary a bit- some run hot and some run cooler. Also did you use a convection bake setting? Some ovens (especially ones outside of the US) automatically use convection bake, however 350F is without convection. If your oven uses convection bake, this would be equivalent to 325F.
Let me know if you have any other questions, happy to help troubleshoot!
The same thing happened to me. I was careful about everything the other reply said, too. I kept it in for 55 minutes at 350. It still tasted good, though, and it’s only my third time baking so maybe it was me. Thanks for sharing the recipe, and best of luck to everyone who’s planning on making it!
Hi Kate, thank you for your comment! Another thing that could cause this is pan size. This recipe has been tested with an 8.5×4.5″ pan. If a larger pan is used (like a 9×5″ loaf pan), it can cause the zucchini bread to bake faster which can result in a hard top. A 8.5×4.5″ pan holds 5.5-6.5 cups of batter and a 9×5″ pan holds 7-8 cups of batter. With a 9×5″ pan, the batter spreads out more, creating a shorter loaf with more surface area. This can lead to the top and sides cooking faster than the center. Do you know what size pan you used? If it was larger, you might want to reduce the baking time a bit next time. Let me know if you have any other questions!
Soo amazing
Any tips for baking this loaf at high altitude? Can’t wait to try it!!
Hi Maddie, since I haven’t tested this recipe at high altitudes, I can’t guarantee the results, however King Arthur Baking has some really great tips and baking guides here: https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/learn/resources/high-altitude-baking
Since I don’t know what altitude you’re at, it would be best to follow the tips and adjustments in their chart. If you give this recipe a shot, I’d love to know how it goes!
Would it be ok to use a gluten free flour in this recipe?
Hi Catherine, I haven’t tested this recipe with gluten free flour so I can’t guarantee how it will turn out. However, another reader commented saying that they made it with GF flour and it turned out well. Your best bet would be to use an all purpose gluten free flour blend like King Arthurs 1:1 GF Flour. In the past when I’ve used this specific GF flour for other recipes, the end result is usually a bit fudgier in texture and took a bit longer to bake. If you give it a try, I’d love to know how it turns out!
omg I never comment on recipes but i had to let you know this is SO good. tastes just like a yummy brownie but without eggs and without a TON of oil/butter like I’m used to. so moist and yummy!! tysm for the recipe
Thank you so much for your comment! I’m so glad you enjoyed it 🙂
I am definitely going to try this out at the right time. But I do have one thing to ask, what type of dark chocolate you recommend for baking this?
I used a mixture of chopped Ghirardelli 72% Intense Dark Chocolate which is dairy-free and semi-sweet chocolate chips. I think any chocolate around 60-80% cacao will be delicious!
Hi!! I still have to try it but since i’m european i don’t understand cups, and there’s not millilitres for the milk… could you please tell me the exact measurement?? thank you so much!!
Hi Angelica, 1/2 cup of dairy free milk is about 118 ml. Let me know if you have any other questions!
Hi I attempted this recipe for the first time and my zucchini is very obviously in the bread! You could see it in batter and you can taste the chunks of it in the bread. Any tips for avoiding this problem? I measured exactly the amlunt you listed in grams. Do you think I should grate the zucchini smaller or could it be something else?
You can definitely grate the zucchini smaller to avoid seeing it, and you could also peel the zucchini first which will remove some of the flavor and any harder parts of the squash.
What if I just have regular 2% milk?
That should work too!
Will this still work if I use non-vegan substitutes like regular milk and butter?
Hi Maddie, it should still work! Vegan butter and dairy free milk can usually be subbed 1:1 with regular dairy versions, especially when the butter is melted like in this recipe.
Hello, this recipe looks great! I wanted to know if it was possible to reduce the amount of sugar in the recipe to get a less sweet loaf, but I’m concerned it might affect the texture. Any advise? Thanks.
Hi Amy, I haven’t tested this recipe with less sugar, so I can’t guarantee how it will turn out. Sugar plays a role in helping baked loaves retain moisture, so reducing the sugar will most likely impact the texture.
Hi, nutritional info estimates are for one slice but it doesn’t say how many slices per loaf /how big your slices are.
Hi there, nutritional info is auto generated. For the most accurate nutritional info, I always recommend inputing your exact ingredients into your nutrition software of choice (like MyFitnessPal).
Delicious. Do yourself a favor and make this for dessert.
can you use regular milk and regulate butter?
Yes, dairy milk and butter can be substituted 1:1 with the dairy free butter and milk.
I really want to try this recipe!! Looks sooo tasty but i just had a question regarding allergens. Do you have any experience with substituting the flour and gluten products for gluten-free (coeliac) products? I just wasn’t sure if this would mess with the texture or rising of the bread.
Thanks so much!
Hi Sophie, thanks so much for your comment! I typically use King Arthur’s 1:1 Gluten Free All Purpose Flour when baking gluten free. I haven’t tried it in this exact recipe, but I have used it in others and it always turns out very good. The texture is usually a bit grainier, but this flour holds the slices of the baked goods together beautifully. If making this recipe gluten free, I highly recommend using this brand of gluten free all purpose flour if you can find it. You’ll want to use the same amount as called for in the recipe (180g).
Let me know if you have any other questions!
I LOVE THIS RECIPE SO MUCH!!!! I substituted out the all-purpose flour for gluten-free plain flour and used dairy products. It came out rather moist/more gooey than expected (i think that’s me not dabbing out the moisture from the zucchini properly). I love the taste, you can’t tell the zucchini is there, and it’s fairly easy to make.
Will be making again!!
Is it okay to use white sugar?
White sugar should work fine! Brown sugar helps add a bit of moisture and some caramel flavor, so the texture and flavor may be slightly different.
This recipe is amazing and so delicious!! But everytime i’ve made it, the cake, while very moist and soft, is also very crumbly, any idea how i could fix this?
Hi Navya, thanks so much for your comment! I haven’t had an issue with this zucchini bread being crumbly before. Are you slicing it before it is completely cooled? Slicing while it is still hot can cause the slices to have a crumblier texture, but once cooled they should hold together very well. Zucchini that’s more coarsely grated could also cause the slices to have a crumblier texture.
Can I use wheat flour instead of all purpose flour. Also what else can I add instead of zucchini?
Hi Zoe! I haven’t tested this bread with wheat flour, but you should be able to substitute it 1:1 for the all-purpose flour. Just keep in mind that the texture might turn out a bit denser. As for the zucchini, I wouldn’t recommend substituting or omitting it—it’s key to the recipe because it adds a lot of moisture. Without it, the bread might end up too dry. Let me know if you give the wheat flour a try—I’d love to hear how it turns out!