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The BEST (healthy) Zucchini Chocolate Chunk Coconut Bread. One large bowl, pantry staple ingredients, super quick to mix up, healthy…ish, the great use for all that summer zucchini, and SO DELICIOUS! Yes, that pretty much sums up this zucchini bread. It’s the perfect bread to bake up today, tomorrow, this weekend, WHENEVER. With just a couple of zucchini, some good honey, and your favorite chocolate bar, this is sure to become your favorite way to use up all your garden or farmers market zucchini. Good for breakfast, as an afternoon snack, or a late-night dessert.
I wasn’t sure I was going to bake anything with zucchini this summer. To be honest, it just sounded boring and kind of overdone. And let’s be real, why bake with zucchini when I could bake with peaches, you know?
But then, I made this chocolate zucchini bread and it changed my mind about baking with zucchini forever and ever. If you think baking with zucchini is weird, I get that. BUT, I’m here to tell you that baking with zucchini can actually be a really good thing. Read, VERY GOOD.
Here’s the story. I never had plans to bake anything with zucchini, but after asking you all on Instagram what you wanted to see in recipes this month, I got so many of you requesting a zucchini bread. So, after a little back and forth, and some recipe brainstorming, I decided I’d take the last two zucchini I had in the fridge (that were very much on their last leg) and give a new zucchini bread recipe a try. I’ve made banana zucchini bread, but never just zucchini bread. As in grated zucchini is really the main ingredient with nothing else to help it shine.
I was nervous, but I figured I really had nothing to lose…other than two zucchini past their prime.
I tried a few things, played around with some flavors, jotted a few things down in my notebook, and about half a day later I had this bread. My kitchen smelled…well it smelled incredible. Nothing like zucchini, but everything like sweet, buttery, cinnamon-infused, chocolate bread. Almost fall-like, but with a mix of summer in the air too. Twas the perfect thing to bake on a very rainy day.
And then? I cut into the warm bread, added whipped browned butter (the best), and I was SOLD. Nothing at that moment could be better. This bread. You guys – it’s GOOD!
Best part? It could not be easier to make.
You need ONE bowl, 10 (pantry staple) ingredients, 20 minutes of time to prep, and about an hour for baking.
First step, the zucchini. Here’s the thing, when baking with zucchini it’s really important to remove any of the excess moisture (so the water). You want to do this so your baked goods don’t end up super dense and watered down. Simply grate the zucchini, let it sit on paper towels for 10 minutes, then ring the zucchini out to squeeze out all the water. It’s really easy. The drier you can get the zucchini, the lighter your loaf is going to be.
Now that your zucchini is squeezed of excess water, the rest is so quick and easy.
In a bowl, mix up the wet ingredients: melted coconut oil, a couple eggs, honey – for some sweetness, and a splash of vanilla. Then stir in the shredded zucchini. Now add in the dry ingredients: some whole wheat pastry flour, almond flour, baking soda, cinnamon, plus a touch of salt. Last up, add chocolate chunks.
Bake in loaf pans. Wait…this is the hardest part, so do something fun while you wait. Maybe your favorite TV show? Work through emails? Or if you’re like me, stand by the oven impatiently waiting for the timer to go off. Yes, I am that person.
Once the quick bread is out of the oven, you can let it cool or you can enjoy warm. You all know I’m all about a warm loaf of bread. So after letting this cool in the pan for 5 or so minutes, I turned it out onto a cutting board and made the first slice.
The bread comes out steaming and smells so good. It actually looks good too…I was nervous the zucchini would turn the bread a weird color.
And the taste? The warm and sweet hints of cinnamon, together with the puddles of chocolate are so delicious!
Oh, and the texture? Super soft and so incredibly moist.
Every last bite leaves you wanting another. You can make this bread even better with a smear of butter. Ok, and maybe a drizzle of honey too, but it’s truly delicious on its own as well.
My favorite part? This bread is really pretty healthy too. Well, healthy to my standards at least. Honey is the sweetener, coconut oil the fat, whole flour + almond flour make it whole grain, and yeah, it’s made with zucchini. So basically we can eat this for breakfast every day until we move on to pumpkin bread.
Sounds like a plan to me. Happiest Tuesday baking to you all!
Lastly, if you make this Zucchini Chocolate Chunk Coconut Bread bread be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Watch The How To Video:
Chocolate Chunk Coconut Zucchini Bread.
Servings: 8
Calories Per Serving: 816 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Watch the How-To Reel
Ingredients
- 2 medium zucchini, grated (about 2 cups grated before squeezing out water)
- 1/3 cup coconut oil, melted
- 1/2 cup honey or maple syrup
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour, or all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup almond flour (or additional whole wheat flour)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup semi-sweet or dark chocolate chunks
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9×5 inch bread pan.2. Lay a clean towel on the counter and spread the zucchini out in an even layer, sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt, cover with another towel, and let sit 10 minutes, then squeeze out any excess water. 3. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the coconut oil, honey, eggs, and vanilla until combined. Mix in the squeezed out zucchini. Add the flour, almond flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt, mix until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chunks. 4. Pour the batter into the prepared bread pan. Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until center is just set. If the bread is browning before it's done cooking, cover with foil. Remove and let cool for at least 30 minutes before cutting…or just eat it warm with a smear of butter…preferably with a drizzle of honey too. Enjoy!
Notes
To Make Gluten Free: Use an equal amount of your favorite gluten free flour blend in place of the all-purpose flour. I recommend Cup4Cup gluten free flour.
Storing: this bread keeps well for 2-3 days at room temperature.
Freezing: cool the bread, wrap well with plastic wrap, then store in a freezer safe container. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw for a few hours on the counter.
This post was originally published on August 6, 2019
How do recommend making this gluten free???
Hi there! You can use your favorite GF flour blend. That works great! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
Hey T, I was wondering if I could swap out of the whole wheat for gluten free flour?
Hi Yolanda! Yes, you can use your favorite GF flour blend. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
Made surprisingly fluffy muffins, thanks for the recipe!
Thank you so much Christine! xTieghan
I used carob, and it was delicious. Toddler asked for more which is always a great sign! Will be making this again – thankyou.
Thank you Tanya! xTieghan
This looks amazing, do you think it would work ok with just flour? I don’t have any almond flour
Hey Cassie! Yes, using all flour will be great! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
The chocolate looks so gooey and delicious. I’ve only added grated zucchini to a choc cake before and it made it nice and moist – must try your recipe as it looks so good : )
Thank you so much Lyndsey!! I hope you love this recipe! xTieghan
I made this recipe tonight; I used semi sweet chocolate chips and regular flour instead and it turned out amazing!! Thanks for the recipe!
I am so glad you loved this! Thank you Kristen! xTieghan
Such a gorgeous looking zuchinni bread..love the addition of coconut oil..?
Thank you so much Arpita! xTieghan
O I am sooo excited to try this!!! I’m sure it will be as good as your one bowl banana chocolate chunk bread; we have made that quite a few time and LOVE it. You probably have your recipe for Friday figured out, but I hope it’s ice cream 🙂
I hope you love this one, Jacklyn! Thank you so much! xTieghan
Hi! Could you use oat flour in this recipe? Looks great.
Hey Megan! I am sure oat flour will be just fine, though I have not tested it so I can’t say for sure. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe and let me know how the oat flour goes! Thank you! xTieghan
Do you think this recipe could be made with yellow squash instead of the green zucchini? A friend gave me some yellow ones from her garden. Thanks!
Hey Jane! Yellow squash has larger seeds than zucchini, so I worry those could leave the bread with an odd texture. Honestly, I am not sure…it could be totally fine, but it could be a little weird too. I am sure it would still taste great though! Sorry, wish I could help more! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
This looks amazing! Totally trying with the zucchini we have on hand!
Paige
http://thehappyflammily.com
Thank you Paige! xTieghan
Terrific! A tasty zucchini bread. Like the touch of coconut. Glad you finally have baked with zucchini. The trick is to get all the water out (as much as possible). Great low cal veg. and easy to add in in many dishes an “an extra veg”. Will make this weekend or so. Just bought peaches and blueberries…so.
How about zucchini pancakes or fritters next? ?
Hey Joyce! So glad you like this recipe so much! 🙂 I will try and work on some pancakes next! I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
it looks really really good!!
Thank you Ruth! xTieghan
Well I may have to give this recipe a whirl, Tieghan. I made not one, but two darn loaves of zucchini orange bread the other day and I don’t know what happened, but it was like eating sawdust! Such a waste of ingredients. Never had that happen before! So, I trust you. I still have some zucchini left, so I may just go for it! If I do, I shall let you know the results! Have a happy day!
OH NO! That does not sound good and I am sorry that happened! I hope this recipe turns out SO much better for you Colleen! xTieghan