Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread

5 from 10 votes

Sinful and delicious, this Double Chocolate Zucchini bread will make you do a double-take! Even though it's loaded with garden fresh zucchini, the chocolate flavor and moist, dense texture will remind you of your favorite chocolate cake.

Prep Time30

Cook Time50

Total Time1 50

Course: Breakfast, Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: loaf

Calories: 515kcal

Author: Rachel

Ingredients

3 large eggs
½ cup applesauce
½ cup oil
1 ¼ cup White Sugar
¾ cup Dark Brown Sugar Light Brown Sugar will also work
2 teaspoon Vanilla
2 cups Zucchini
2 ½ cups All Purpose Flour
½ cup cocoa powder I used regular cocoa
1 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
½ teaspoon Baking Powder
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup walnuts optional

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350. Grease 2 5x9 or 4x8 bread loaf pans with butter or use parchment paper.
Shred the zucchini with a grater or food processor. If the zucchini is super wet, spread it out on paper towels while preparing the batter.
In a mixing bowl, blend oil, applesauce, and eggs together. Add vanilla, sugar, and brown sugar. Mix until smooth.
In a separate bowl, whisk flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon together. One cup at a time, add dry mixture to wet and blend slightly before adding next cup the batter is smooth but not overmix. Using a spoon, stir in the shredded zucchini, chocolate chips and nuts.
Spoon batter into pans. Bake for 45-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow bread to cool completely in the pan set on a wire rack before serving.
Slice as needed and serve. The recipe can be served at room temperature or zap it in the microwave for 10 seconds.

Notes

I only substitute half the oil for applesauce. I find that if you substitute applesauce for oil or butter in a 1:1 ratio (1 cup =1 cup), the texture often suffers in baking.
Choosing Zucchini. Size varies a lot but it should feel firm and evenly dark green. While scratches are common, it shouldn’t have soft spots. Smaller ones tend to have less or smaller seeds than larger ones.
Use fresh baking powder. This will ensure that the bread will rise correctly. If your baking powder is older than a year, it’s time for a replacement.
Don’t overmix the batter. Mix the flour into your wet ingredients until it’s just smooth. Batter that has been over mixed may turn out denser.
I used a natural cocoa powder rather than a Dutch processed. Dark cocoa powder works as well.
You can also use espresso powder or steeped tea to enhance the chocolate flavor. It will be incredibly rich and explode with chocolatey goodness. Try it out and experiment for fun!

Nutrition