This Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread is moist, fluffy and chocolatey and has all the qualities of an amazing loaf cake! No one will guess that the secret ingredient for this decadent moist chocolate loaf cake is shredded zucchini!
Imagine a Zucchini Bread with a bit of everything. It’s a sweet bread, but it’s also a really nice cake. It’s not just a cake, it’s a really fluffy chocolate cake with tons of chocolate flavor from the cocoa powder and chocolate chips. Oh, and there’s also dates!
So does Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread sound good to you? Awesome, because I want to tell you all about it:
Why This Zucchini Bread Recipe
This Zucchini Bread Recipe is a light, fluffy, super moist and intensely chocolate-y loaf studded with chocolate chips and tiny pieces of dates!
The added zucchini helps the cake stay fresh for a while—at least 4 days! And I promise, even though there are about 2 cups of shredded zucchini in this Zucchini Bread, you won’t get a bite of zucchini in your mouth that will spoil your chocolate moment! It completely absolutely all disappears while and becomes a smooth part of the cake
So obviously, there’s no way anyone will notice the shredded zucchini added in this Zucchini Bread recipe! We sneak it in to boost the moisture level of this chocolatey loaf cake and to lighten it up, making this a healthier cake! A must try recipe for chocoholics who want to eat better.
A word about the dates: They add some more moisture to this Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread. And of course, they also add sweetness. A nice faint sweetness that perfectly balances the chocolate without any date flavor to take mess with your chocolate moment.
How to make Chocolate Zucchini Bread
To make this moist and fluffy Zucchini Bread, you’ll need a whisk and 2 bowls. One bowl for dry ingredients and one bowl for wet ingredients.
A word about pan sizes: I bake my Zucchini Bread in this mini loaf pans and they only need 20 mins. However, you can bake them in a loaf pan for an hour, or in a square pan and cut them into squares.
To make the batter for this Zucchini Bread recipe, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a mini loaf pan with baking spray and set aside. In a small bowl, whisk the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
In another bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients, namely the egg, sugar, yogurt, oil, vanilla and cocoa powder, until smooth.
Using a rubber spatula, fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients without overmixing the Zucchini Bread batter. Just make sure there are no visible white specs of dry ingredients. Some lumps in the batter are ok.
With the same spatula, fold in the chocolate chips and chopped dates. Then pour the Zucchini Bread batter into a mini loaf pan and bake the loaf for 20-24 mins.
Tips for Zucchini Bread success:
- If baking this Zucchini Bread in a loaf pan, line the pan with parchment paper and bake for an hour.
- Should you decide to bake this Zucchini Bread i8-inch inch square pan, line the bottom with parchment paper and bake the cake for 45 mins.
- Feel free to go nuts here and add some chopped almonds, pistachios or walnuts to your zucchini bread batter for extra crunch.
- Make sure your zucchini is well drained before adding it to the batter.
- The sweetness of the zucchini bread can be heavy if you’re using certain types of dates (with higher sugar content) so feel free to lower the sugar by 1/4 cup.
More Healthy Bread Recipes:
Chocolate Banana Chocolate Chip Cake –this is the banana version of this zucchini bread, moist, intensely chocolate-y with a banana flavor that’s unbeatable! Whole Wheat Banana Bread Make this whole ehat or regular, it’s the BEST banana bread out there! Cheddar Zucchini Cornbread Recipe a savory one but seriously just as divine! Ultimate Blueberry Raisin Bran Muffins A delicious blueberry twist on the classic bran muffin!
Double Chocolate Date Zucchini Bread
This Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread is moist, fluffy and chocolatey and has all the qualities of an amazing loaf cake! No one will guess that the secret ingredient for this decadent moist chocolate loaf cake is shredded zucchini!
Ingredients
- 2 cups shredded zucchini drained
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
- 1/3 cup oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup finely minced pitted dates
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 2/3 cup dark chocolate chips
- 1 1/4 cups flour
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- pinch of salt
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a mini loaf pan with baking spray and set aside.
-
In a small bowl whisk in the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
-
In another bowl, whisk in the wet ingredients well: the egg, sugar, yogurt, oil, vanilla and cocoa powder until smooth.
-
Using a rubber spatula, fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients without over mixing the batter. Just make sure there are no visible white specs of dry ingredients. Some lumps in the batter are ok.
-
Using the same spatula, fold in the chocolate chips and dates. Then pour the batter into a mini loaf pan and bake for 20-24 mins.
-
If baking in a loaf pan, line the pan with parchment paper and bake for an hour.
-
If baking in an 8-inch square pan, line the bottom with parchment paper and bake the cake for 45 mins.
Recipe Notes
- If baking this Zucchini Bread in a loaf pan, line the pan with parchment paper and bake for an hour.
- Should you decide to bake this Zucchini Bread i8-inch inch square pan, line the bottom with parchment paper and bake the cake for 45 mins.
- Feel free to go nuts here and add some chopped almonds, pistachios or walnuts to your zucchini bread batter for extra crunch.
- Make sure your zucchini is well drained before adding it to the batter.
- The sweetness of the zucchini bread can be heavy if you're using certain types of dates (with higher sugar content) so feel free to lower the sugar by 1/4 cup.
The recipe looks fantastic but I am confused about the amount of batter it will make. The recipe itself says “12 mini-loaf pans” but directions are given for only one mini-loaf pan. I will be using a regular 9 x 5 loaf pan and would like to know if one recipe makes sufficient batter for that?
Hi Linda, Yes the batter makes the 12 mini loaf pans or 1 large 9X5 loaf pan. So either way the batter will be enough, but the baking times will have to be adjusted. 🙂
Thanks for great recipe! I made these today, with a little changes; I left out the sugar (I think the dates are sweet enough) and oil, used plant based yoghurt and instead of chocolate chips I used cacaonibs and some raw chocolate. I also used almond and coconut flour, so it was gluten free. It was sooo good! Moist, rich and delicious! 🙂
Oh that sounds amazing Annie! Thanks for all the tips on making it perfectly gluten free and refined sugar free! So glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Thanks Lindsey–it’s one of my favorites! 🙂
This is so much my guilty pleasure 😉 Looks really soft and delicious.
Thanks Molly–it really is moist, tender and so chocolate-y! Hope you make it and enjoy 🙂
I love zucchini, but I never would’ve thought of dates and chocolate. What a great combo!
Thanks Cheryl–hope you try it and enjoy 🙂
These pics make me want to run out and try your recipe! (Using gf flour, of course.) Love the idea of combining chocolate with dates and zucchini! Fantastic idea!
Thanks you Anne!! That would be fabulous to try it with gf flour!! Enjoy 🙂
Mahy this bread/cake, or whatever we want to call it, looks like a real treat! I’ve always meant to bake with courgette (as we call it here in the UK) but never seem to get around to it. Love adding dates to it too – I can’t get enough of them at the moment! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Erika, thanks so much for the sweet compliments! I hope you make this soon–it’s really a good chocolate cake with the courgette bonus 😉