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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
Made this and loved it! Huge success, thank you Tieghan! Definitely will repeat.
Would I be able to make and freeze this for future baking?
Hey Kim! This freezes wonderfully! I have a loaf in the freezer myself! 🙂 Please let me know if you have any other questions. I am so glad you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
Made these into muffins and baked them for 20 minutes and they were excellent!!
Amazing! Thank you Lindsay! xTieghan
Can’t wait to make this! Going to try subbing oat flour for the almond flour. Is the calories based on the whole loaf or per slice?
Thank you 🙂
Hi Spencer! The calories are for 2 slices. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
Yowsa! Yum city! Made this as muffins in my silicone pan – baked 32 mins. Excellent! My hubby was skeptical but one bite and he joined the team. Really delicious, moist, fluffy, perfect sweetness and I love the cinnamon! I doubled the recipe, and I still have a whole counter full of huge zucchinis, and more in the garden growing as we speak, waiting to be Tieghan-ized. Thank you for developing this, it is a keeper.
For those who wonder, you can’t taste the zucchini at all, It just lends a tender, moist, fluffiness to the batter.
So glad you both loved this recipe Julie! Thank you for trying it! xTieghan
I made this loaf and loved it! Best out of the oven or reheat a little. Followed the recipe as written and think it baked about 50 minutes. Will definitely make again – Thankyou!
Thank you so much Canuck! I am so happy to hear that this turned out amazing for you! xTieghan
Made this last night and used the absolute dark chocolate bar that Trader Joe’s sells — delicious, My colleagues are begging for the recipe (which I’ll share). Baked it in three small mini-loaf pans too which makes it easy to share.
So amazing! And I am really glad this turned out so well for you Jules! Thank you! xTieghan
I made this as written and it is delicious. I think my co-workers are really going to appreciate the treat tomorrow.
So sweet of you to share with them! Thank you for trying this Lauren! xTieghan
Seems like a yummy recipe, but 50-60 min was way too long for me. I cooked mine 48 min (with tin foil) and it was burned. I’ll have to try it again after I replenish my ingredients and shoot for 35-40 min.
Hi Leesa! I am sorry about that! I will try this again and adjust the time… I hope you love this next time! xTieghan
Hi Tieghan, I was wondering if you have tried any gluten free recipes. I have the 1:1 gluten free flour and I really want to make zucchini bread. It normally turns out good when the bread is hot but when it cools down it’s like eating cardboard ?♀️ Any tips?
Thanks
, Issraa
Hi Issraa, this recipe works really well with a gluten free flour. I recommend cup4cup gluten free flour blend. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
Incredible bread! Have never used zucchini like this before so I was a little skeptical but it is AWESOME! Will make again for sure.
Thank you so much Kristen! I am so glad you loved this bread! xTieghan
I made this exactly to your recipe and it was incredibly dry. It also wasn’t nearly as tall as yours. I baked it for 50 minutes (and for the last 10 it was covered with a foil tent). Should it be about 1.5 cups of zucchini before you squeeze out the excess moisture or after? It seems that, for the ultimate height of the loaf, it should have baked for less time or I should have put it in an 8.5×4.5 pan (if not an 8×4).
Hey Grace, I am sorry you had trouble with this bread. It should be around 2 cups shredded zucchini before squeezing out the water. How much zucchini did you use? I’m not sure why your bread ended up dry. Did you check to see if your baking soda was fresh? Also, is it possible that your oven runs a little hot? This could have caused the bread to bake faster than mine. Any details you can give me on exactly how you made this and what ingredients you used would be helpful in problem solving. Others have had a lot of success with this recipe, so I want to make sure it’s great for you too! Please let me know if you have any other questions. Thank you! xTieghan
I tried this because it reminded me of my Halloween surprise bread- it’s a great way to use the leftover candy. This was by far better than my recipe and will become the new and improved Halloween Surprise Bread!
As it was baking, I scrolled through your summer favorite recipes and am making the peach burrata pizza tonight. Like you, I have many heirloom tomatoes and am planning on the galette for tomorrow. Love following you on Instagram:) and can’t wait to get the new cookbook.
Many thanks:)
Love that! I hope you loved this recipe Cathleen! Also, I hope you continue to love my recipes and photos! Thank you so much! xTieghan
Would this work as muffins?
Hi Elise! Yes, this is great as a muffin. It will make about 16-18 minutes. I would bake 20-25 minutes. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
So my garden has this strange quirk where it will only produce one, GIGANTIC zucchini at a time. Even knowing this will happen, and keeping an eye out to try and catch the zucchini early while it’s still small, I still go out one day and find one GIGANTIC zucchini. I’m talking 6 cups shredded! I had to stop and empty out my processor halfway through shredding!
In light of this GIGANTIC zucchini I had to use up, I did a triple batch of your bread – subbing out all purpose flour for the whole wheat and almond flour, because I simply did not have nearly enough of either. It was SO good! And I’m actually very glad I made so much, because the guys got into the first loaf right after dinner last night (your ramen carbonara reheats beautifully btw), and then into the second loaf this morning for breakfast… At this rate, it’ll all be gone by noon! Thanks for sharing!
Oh my goodness!! They must taste amazing coming from your garden though! Also, so glad you are all loving this bread! So amazing to hear! Thank you Kate! xTieghan
Delicious! This recipe is a keeper!