This classic chocolate chip zucchini loaf combines warming spices, whole grain flours, and chucks of chocolate

Late summer means nobody is in the mood for baking much. Yet the excess of fruits and veggies means it's sometimes hard to avoid. This time of year the gardens and markets are overflowing with produce.
There are so tomatoes and zucchini, and you can only rack your brain so much before you run out of ideas of how to use them all up.
Whenever we were graced with an abundance of zucchini growing up we'd also make two things
1) fried zucchini fritters (SO good!)
and if we were lucky
2) zucchini bread.
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Ingredients
- Stone ground flour
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Sea salt
- Cinnamon
- Cardamom
- Nutmeg
- Avocado oil
- Coconut sugar
- Ground chia or flax
- Plant-based milk
- Lemon juice
- Vanilla extract
- Zucchini
- Chocolate chips
Tips + Notes
Chocolate zucchini bread is one of those classic hippie recipes. Much like carrot cake, and banana bread, it showed up in every 'back to the land' granola cookbook. Although adding grated sweet vegetables to desserts dates back to European Middle Ages, zucchini bread really didn't take off until the '60s and '70s when every post-depression/WWII North American garden grew it in abundance.
Like carrot cake in the '70s, it was promoted as being "healthy", but of course that all depends on how you make it, and if you're willing to go into the realm of cardboard-like hippie baking.
This version of chocolate chip zucchini loaf falls somewhere in between healthy and dessert. it's perfectly moist and tender, and a far cry from that dry cardboard texture that often results from cutting out the fat and sugar.
Made with stone-ground red fife flour, low glycemic coconut sugar, and plenty of chocolate it can be enjoyed as a decadent breakfast or a casual dessert.
Personally, I'm all about topping mine with almond butter and devouring as a mid-day snack. Plus, this makes a great loaf to freeze (once sliced) so you can relive that summer abundance come October.
Substitutions
- Swap whole wheat flour for spelt or even white flour
- Add chopped nuts along with chocolate chips and zucchini
- use any liquid oil, or melted vegan butter
Recipe
Chocolate Chip Zucchini Loaf
Equipment
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Loaf pan
- Parchment paper
- 2 mixing bowls
- Wire rack
- Wooden spoon or spatula
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 2 cups stone ground flour I used Flourists Sifted Red Fife
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon cardamom
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
Wet Ingredients
- ⅓ cup avocado oil melted coconut or olive oil would work too
- ¾ cup coconut sugar
- 2 tablespoons ground chia or flax
- ½ cup water
- ⅔ cup plant-based milk
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Mix-ins
- 1 ¾ cups loose grated zucchini I like to grate mine fine
- 1 cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- First prepare a loaf pan with parchment.
- Preheat the oven to 180° (350° F).
- Next combine the flax or chia and water in a medium bowl. Set aside to gel for a few minutes. In another bowl combine the dry ingredients.
- Add the remaining wet ingredients to the chia/flax gel. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry.
- Squeeze the grated zucchini to remove the excess water. Stir in the squeezed zucchini and chocolate to the batter.
- Spread batter into prepared pan and bake for 60-70 minutes, or until the top strings back when lightly touched. Cool on a wire rack before slicing.
thanks for sharing this tasty recipe!!!
Hey, looks great! I was wondering if I could swap the chocolate, or at least half of it, with walnuts? Just in case I want something a little less sweet...
Thank you, it looks great and I can't wait to try it!
Thank you! Yes, you can totally swap the chocolate for walnuts, that would be delicious. I originally wanted to add a few, but we were out. <3 Enjoy!
Just pulled these as muffins out of the oven.....delicious! Really so good, moist and so flavorful. Thanks for such a great recipe, I have baked zucchini loafs before, this will be my go to from now on. I used a combination of coconut and avocado oil (didn’t have enough avocado oil), one tablespoon of flax and three of water plus one organic egg and almond coconut milk 👌🏼
Aw, this makes me so happy to read, Adriana! Love those additions you made - almond coconut milk sounds so yummy <3 Lol, feeling inspired to make another loaf now!
How many muffins did this recipe make?
Hi, it really depends on your pan size, but you should get about a dozen.
Just made this, replacing the sugar for maple syrup as you suggested, and it turned out so so well!! Thanks for the recipe, I'll definitely be making it again <3
Hello Allegra! I'm so happy you loved the loaf! ah, that makes me seriously so happy. <3 xoxo
Hi, this looks so yummy! Can I sub another flour in the same amount to do gluten free? Coconut or almond or a blend or something totally different? I'm new to gluten free. Not happy about it. Trying to get an auto immune thyroid thing under control.
hi Beth, sorry to hear about the gluten issues. I tried making a almond loaf as a test, but it was pretty dense. I think a good gluten free blend like cup4cup should be able to replace the flour 1:1. Best of luck figuring out the thyroid issues <3
We just bought way too much zucchini from the local market, so this beautiful loaf is definitely getting made this week! Zucchini bread is a nostalgic childhood favorite for me, coming from two hippie-baking parents 🙂 Can't wait to try it xx
Oh what perfect timing! I bet you have access to the most amazing produce and zucchinis 🙂 Hope this loaf can live up to those of your childhood <3 xox