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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
I made this and as good as it looks it’s still gooey inside. I laid out the zucchini on paper towel and salted it but forgot to also wring out the excess moisture too. Do you think this is why it’s still gooey? I cooked for the suggested time and then some and it’s still not working. Any suggestions?
Hi Casey! Yes, that is most likely why it is! The zucchini holds a lot of extra water. Please let me know if there is anything I can help with! xTieghan
Wait so is it really 1tsp salt? 1/2 tsp w/zucchini & 1/2 tsp w/ the batter?
Hi Shannon,
It is 1/2 teaspoon with the zucchini and 1/2 teaspoon with the batter. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Hands down THE BEST zucchini bread i have ever had!!!!
It was gone in 2 days!!
This recipe is definitely a keeper!! Thank you so much for sharing!!!
Wow that is so amazing to hear!! Thank you so much for trying this recipe Bindu! xTieghan
Delicious!!!
Thank you so much Deb! I am really glad this recipe turned out so well for you! xTieghan
Looks delicious. I am not a fan of coconut, so can I omit the coconut oil?
Thanks.
Hi Debora,
Yes I would use canola oil or olive oil in its place. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
This was unreal… I asked my husband if he wanted me to change anything from the recipe next time I make it and he said “there’s no reason to change perfection!” Thank you. So delicious. We are it slightly warm after dinner, but the plan WAS to eat it for breakfast…
Haha wow! That is so amazing! Thank you so much for trying this Lydia! xTieghan
I’m excited to try this! Can i use regular vegetable oil? No coconut oil right now 🙁
Hi Jessica! Yes, that should work fine! I hope you enjoy this recipe! Please let me know if there are any other questions I can help with! xTieghan
Made this bread yesterday and must say I’m really impressed with the texture and taste! I used all-purpose flour only and it worked out fine. I feel like I squeezed the zucchini too hard as it turned out just a tad too dry for my taste, but otherwise absolutely delicious! As almond flour is not really available in Austria, I was wondering if I could replace it with ground almonds instead. Or would that be too coarse and another consistency?
Hi Katie,
Thanks so much for trying the bread, I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe. I would not recommend using ground almonds as it is not quite the same as almond flour. Please let me know if you have any other questions. xTieghan
Just made this recipe during this time of quarantine when my zucchini squash was starting to spend too long in my fridge.
Straightforward recipe. I used dark brown sugar instead of honey, because honey is a luxury now in my house, and it turned out delicious.
My husband couldn’t believe there is zucchini in it. That’s how yummy it is. Thanks for sharing this great recipe!!
Hi! I am so glad this turned out so well for you! Thank you so much for trying this, Zenitra! xTieghan
I’ve made this 5 times this week… after I served the first loaf at a dinner party, everyone wanted their own!! This recipe is amazing – thank you for sharing it!!
That’s fantastic to hear Andie! Thank you! X Kelly
This was super quick and easy to make. The coconut is subtle, and the dark chocolate pairs well with the zucchini 🙂
Love that! Thank you Annie! xTieghan
I have a “go to” zucchini bread recipe that everyone loves, but it uses a ton of sugar (and applesauce, which I don’t have on hand right now) so I thought I’d try this one to use up some zucchini. I subbed well-mashed banana for the coconut oil, and used only all purpose flour, and it came out great. I like the depth of flavor the honey gives! I was careful to only mix until combined, as I know overmixing can produce a denser result. It was delicious and I’m looking forward to adding this to my recipe box for the future! Thank you for your delicious and appealing recipes!
I am so glad this turned out so well for you Ellary! Thank you so much for trying this! xTieghan
Just made this last night and it turned out amazing! Although I quickly realized that I didn’t have enough all purpose flour (and no WW pastry flour),, soo had to just use 1 cup all purpose, and 1/2 cup Ww flour. The batter was thick so I added a tiny bit of almond milk and it worked! Question, if you don’t have WW pastry flour, can you use just regular WW flour? Or was my blend the right approach (1 cup all purpose, 1/2 WW flour). Thanks so much for the recipe!
Hey Laura! If you don’t have whole wheat pastry flour, yes you can use regular WW flour, but your bread will be denser. You can also just use only all-purpose flour. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I am so glad you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
This is, by far, my favorite zucchini bread recipe! It is perfect in every way and turned out beautifully!
So good!! Best zucchini bread recipe I’ve ever made.
Thank you so much Anne! xTieghan