Introducing this vegan chocolate zucchini bread that is so fudgy and moist it tastes like a cake. I’m serious, you wouldn’t even guess there’s zucchini in this loaf.
Not only does this zucchini bread taste phenomenal, but it’s also oil-free, wheat free, and refined sugar-free! Like what’s not to love?
And like all of my recipes, this double chocolate zucchini bread is nutrient dense and packed with healthy fats and fiber. Making it perfect for both dessert and breakfast alike!
Ok, ok, I’ll stop bragging. Let’s get into the recipe!
Vegan Chocolate Zucchini Bread Ingredients
Here’s everything you’ll need to make this healthy vegan chocolate zucchini bread.
- Spelt flour: I love One Degree Organics sprouted spelt flour; I use it in every one of my baking recipes.
- Cocoa powder: Make sure to use an unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa powder; Rodelle is my favorite. Although, Whole Foods 365 does have wonderful organic cocoa powder as well.
- Zucchini: Duh!
- Banana: Mashed banana helps bind the bread together, similar to how an egg would work in a traditional quick bread recipe.
- Tahini: Soom tahini is the best, IYKYK.
- Coconut sugar
- Vegan buttermilk: Vegan buttermilk is a combo of cashew milk (or any plant milk) with lemon juice. This not only helps make the bread fluffy but keeps the loaf moist.
- Leaveners: Both baking powder and baking soda
- Kosher salt
- Chocolate chips: I love Hu Kitchen’s date-sweetened chocolate chips.
Tips For The Best Vegan Chocolate Zucchini Bread
- Measure or weigh your ingredients carefully: I included gram measurements in this recipe for a reason, because it’s so much more accurate. And when it comes to baking, accuracy is key. If you’re using cup measurements, spoon the flour and cocoa powder into a cup, rather than directly scooping it out of the bag.
- Use room temperature ingredients: I always forget to include this tip in my recipes, because I naturally keep ingredients room temperature for baking. But, make sure every single one of your ingredients, from the tahini to the flour, is room temperature. If your ingredients aren’t room temp (i.e. a mix of hot and cold) you could end up with a super gummy loaf. Not fun!
- Grease your pan or use parchment paper for easy removal: I typically spray my pan with avocado oil, but you can also line the pan with parchment paper for easy removal.
- Use a smaller loaf pan for taller bread: Speaking of pans, I use a smaller loaf pan, 8×4, to get that super tall dome-shaped loaf. I’ll link my bread pan here!
How to Store This Easy Chocolate Zucchini Bread
This easy vegan chocolate zucchini bread will stay good at room temp for up to 3 days. After that, I feel like it starts to dry out. It’ll last a little longer in the fridge, about 5 days.
But it tastes best the day after baking when the flavors have had a chance to sit and meld together.
In terms of storing, I recommend slicing the loaf and storing it in an airtight container or wrapping the whole loaf with plastic wrap.
To reheat the bread, wrap the slice in parchment paper and heat for 5 minutes at 350°F in the oven. Wrapping the whole slice in parchment paper will ensure the loaf doesn’t get crispy and retains its moisture. Just a little trick of the trade!
FAQ’s
- Can I make this chocolate zucchini bread into muffins, cake, or a sheet cake? Absolutely! Muffins will bake much faster than the bread, so check them after 25 minutes and decide how much longer they need. Additionally, if you bake this in a sheet cake or cake pan, it will only need 25-30 minutes in the oven. Make sure a toothpick comes out clean (like relatively clean, there will be some crumbs sticking to it).
- Can I make this gluten-free? Calling all my gluten-free girlies because you can easily make this recipe into a gluten-free vegan chocolate zucchini bread. I recommend using a 1:1 GF flour swap, like Bob’s Red Mill or King Arthur for best results.
- Can I add in any mix-ins? Walnuts, extra chocolate chips, and cinnamon taste amazing in this bread. Or if you’re feeling a little spicy, you can add 2-3 tbsp of instant coffee to make this into the ultimate mocha zucchini bread perfect for breakfast!
More Vegan Loaf Recipes
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Fudgy Vegan Chocolate Zucchini Bread
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours 55 minutes
- Yield: 8 slices 1x
- Category: Breakfast, Dessert
- Cuisine: American
Description
Introducing this vegan chocolate zucchini bread that is so fudgy and moist it tastes like a cake. It’s also oil-free and refined sugar-free!
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup (190g) Spelt flour
- ½ cup (50g) Cocoa powder
- 2 tsp Baking powder
- 1 tsp Baking soda
- 1 tsp Kosher Salt
- ½ cup Chocolate chips
Wet Ingredients
- 1 cup (120g) squeezed and grated Zucchini ((2 cups with water, about 2 medium zucchini))
- 1 ¼ cup (250g) Cashew milk
- 1 tbsp Lemon juice
- ⅔ cup (82g) Coconut sugar
- ⅓ cup (71g) Tahini
- ⅓ cup (82g) Mashed banana
- 2 tsp Vanilla extract
Instructions
Preheat and Prep
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) and grease an 8"x4" loaf pan. You can line the pan with parchment paper if you want to make it easier to remove the loaf.
- Start by prepping the dry ingredients. Sift the flour and cocoa powder into a small mixing bowl, and add in the baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk to combine. Add in the chocolate chips and whisk to combine again. Set aside.
- Next, prep the zucchini. I used the smallest side of my grater so the zucchini strands almost disappear into the bread. Once grated, dump the zucchini onto a kitchen towel and squeeze out as much water as you can. I included measurements for how much zucchini you should have with and without water for extra accuracy. Set aside.
- Last step of prep is to make the vegan buttermilk. Pour the cashew milk into a cup along with the lemon juice. Whisk together and set aside to curdle for 5 minutes.
Mix and Bake
- In a large mixing bowl, add in the coconut sugar, tahini, mashed banana and vanilla extract. Whisk together until thoroughly combined. Pour in the vegan buttermilk and whisk to combine. Finally, add in the grated and drained zucchini and whisk to combine again.
- Dump in the flour mixture and fold into the wet ingredients using a flexible rubber spatula.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 40-45 minutes. The top will be cracked and a toothpick inserted in the loaf should come out relatively clean. They'll be a few crumbs, but that's totally normal!
- Let the bread cool on the counter (in the pan) for 1 hour. Remove the loaf from the pan and let it cool on it's side for an additional 1 hour or until it's room temperature before slicing.
Hello! Can we substitute coconut sugar with another sweetener? Like agave syrup or honey? Thanks! Love your recipes!
Hi Cristina! Unfortunately not, honey and agave (and other syrups for that matter) aren’t a 1:1 swap for coconut sugar. The only other sugars I would recommend using are granulated monk fruit sugar or cane sugar. I haven’t tested the recipe with these sugars, but they should work just as well.
Love your recipes, but what’s with the “print recipe” in white on a light background??? Obviously you want it hard to find?? Makes no sense…
I’m so sorry, it’s a glitch with the recipe plugin I use on my website. We’ve been trying to fix it for the past week and so far nothing. Sitting down with tech this weekend to get it fixed so hopefully it’ll be back next week. Again, so sorry for the inconvenience; the last thing I would want to do is make anything difficult.
p.s. so happy to hear you’re liking my recipes!!!