Chocolate Zucchini Bread {Gluten & Dairy Free}

This easy Chocolate Zucchini Bread recipe is moist, chocolatey, & lightly sweetened with unrefined coconut sugar. It hides the vegetable so well you won’t know you are eating it! {Gluten & Dairy Free}

This Chocolate Zucchini Bread has been a huge hit with our entire family this summer. I’ve had the opportunity to share it with friends and they have asked for the recipe every time—even those who previously didn’t care for zucchini!

It seems that most people have a favorite time of year, and I personally LOVE summer. Maybe it’s from growing up in Colorado: there’s nothing like crisp, clear blue skies, rugged mountains, and warm summer evenings. This bread (and the few fresh peaches we have left) is my way of holding onto summer, even though many of the trees here in Washington are already sporting bright red and yellow leaves.

Maybe you would like to hold onto summer for a few more days too? You can use up zucchini from your garden or catch it on sale at your local farmer’s market or grocery store. If you have an overabundance of zucchini, I would suggest shredding it and freezing (1 1/2 cups makes one loaf) in plastic storage bags so that you can make Chocolate Zucchini Bread this winter to warm your tummy while bringing back a few summer memories!

A note on freezing: thawing out frozen zucchini will produce lots of liquid. Don’t drain it off. Put it in the bread because it’s necessary to reproduce the nice moist texture.

I am a huge fan of using raw cacao (instead of cocoa) in this bread. I previously covered the health benefits of this ingredient in my recipe Chocolate Coconut Candies.

The second important ingredient is bitter chocolate chips; 70% cocoa or darker is ideal. Dark chocolate contains fiber, iron, copper, manganese, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, and selenium.¹ The fatty acid profile is mostly saturated & monounsaturated (very few polyunsaturated). Dark Chocolate is also rich in antioxidants such as polyphenols, flavanols, catechins, and more.¹

Where do you buy 70% dark chocolate chips?

We buy organic bitter chocolate chips (free of allergens as well) in five-pound bags from Azure Standard.

Other options to try include Amazon, Thrive Market, & your local health food store.

When using gluten-free flour blends, make sure to source blends that are free from arsenic. I wrote about which companies I recommend in my post, Gluten Free Sandwich Bread.

But …. what if you’re thinking, “I don’t want to use gluten-free flour”?

That is totally fine! My top recommendation would be to use a spouted grain that has been freshly ground into flour. Look for organic brands that label their products “Unifine Milling” or low temperature milling (this ensures more nutrients are left intact) or use an ancient grain such as Einkorn.

Last, let’s talk about my recommendation to use coconut sugar in this Chocolate Zucchini Bread instead of brown sugar. Coconut sugar can be found as organic & unprocessed. It has a glycemic index 35 (compared to cane sugar at 50). It contains measurable amounts of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, chlorine, magnesium, sulfur and other micronutrients.²

Earth Circle Organics states that “Coconut sugar is made by evaporating the coconut sap, which is hand-harvested by traditional sugar farmers who climb high into the canopy of coconut palms to slice the blossoms from their stems and collect the sweet nectar. The collected nectar is then kettle-boiled into a thick caramelly syrup, dried, and ground into crystals.”²

We buy coconut sugar in 25 pound bags from Azure Standard. If you want to try it, I would also recommend Anthony’s Brand from Amazon.

I really hope you give this Chocolate Zucchini Bread a try! The kids are going to love it (mine do!), and it is a great addition to a school lunch or a nice treat to send to work with your husband. When you make this recipe be sure to tag The Nourished Family on Instagram @thenourishedfam. We would love to see your picture!

Don’t forget to pin this Chocolate Zucchini Bread to your favorite Pinterest board for later!

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Chocolate Zucchini Bread {Gluten & Dairy Free}

This easy Chocolate Zucchini Bread recipe is moist, chocolatey, & lightly sweetened with unrefined coconut sugar. It hides the vegetable so well you won't know you are eating it! {Gluten & Dairy Free}

Course Bread, Dessert, Kid Food, Snacks

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 50 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Servings 1 loaf

Author Rashele Birmingham

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup refined coconut oil
• 2 large eggs room temperature is best
• 3/4 cup coconut sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup raw cacao powder
• 1 cup Namaste Organic Gluten Free Flour Blend or substitute wheat flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp Celtic sea salt
• 1 1/2 - 2 cups shredded zucchini see notes
• 1 cup dark chocolate chips >70% cocoa, divided

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease 9 x 4 inch loaf pan.
2. Mix wet ingredients until well combined.
3. Add dry ingredients and mix until combined (be careful not to over mix).
4. Add zucchini & fold in by hand with a spatula.
5. Add 3/4 cup bitter chocolate chips. Fold in by hand with a spatula. Batter should be moist and easy to work with (if it looks dry or crumbly add another 1/2 cup of zucchini to equal 2 cups total).
6. Pour batter into greased loaf pan. Sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup of chocolate chips on top. Bake at 350 F for 50-55 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out almost clean.
7. Cool 15 minutes before removing from loaf pan.
8. Stores on counter in airtight container for 4 days or in the fridge for up to one week.

Recipe Notes

1. If the batter looks dry or crumbly increase your shredded zucchini to 2 cups total to help add more moisture to the batter.
2. When serving this bread for breakfast I like to cut the chocolate chips down to 1/2 cup and decrease the coconut sugar to 1/2 cup. Still tastes excellent but it is less sweet!
3. This batter makes great cupcakes (16 cupcakes usually). Fill cupcake linter 2/3 full & bake for 20 minutes.

Tools used to make this recipe (click photo or link to learn more):

1. KitchenAid Mixer: We love this mixer because it is such a time saver and allows us to multitask in the kitchen. They area good investment and last pretty much forever. My Mom’s first mixer was given to her as a wedding gift 32 years ago and has been passed down to my oldest brother (even bachelor’s need this mixer!). It’s still going strong.
2. Cuisinart Food Processor: It must have been starting our food blog that caused both my Mom & I to purchase food processors this summer. We can’t believe that we didn’t do this sooner …. such a lifesaver! Especially for soups or when you literally can’t chop the food because a baby or grandkid needs held.

Don’t forget to pin this Chocolate Zucchini Bread to your favorite Pinterest board for later!

References:

(1) Ried, K. (2012). Dark Chocolate and (Pre-)Hypertension. Chocolate in Health and Nutrition, 313-325. doi:10.1007/978-1-61779-803-0_23

(2) Coconut Palm Sugar – Bulk. (n.d.). Retrieved September 25, 2017, from http://earthcircleorganics.com/product/coconut-palm-sugar-bulk/