double chocolate zucchini bread

Oh you wanted a chocolate zucchini bread recipe? Don’t you know this is a food blog? I’m contractually obligated to tell a meandering and infuriatingly irrelevant story in each headnote, keeping you from the recipe as long as possible for nefarious, possibly witchy, purposes, and I don’t want to disappoint. Next week, I’ll be celebrating my 20th wedding anniversary with a guy I met because I wrote some rambling things on a blog about, like, dating and New York City and funny things that had happened, he read it, we went for a drink, I stopped dating, needed a new subject to fill the void, and Smitten Kitchen came to be one year later. [Some people have honeymoon babies, I, uh, had you.] “Impossible!” I expect you’ll say now, “you’re too young to have been married for 20 years!” And I couldn’t agree more! I’m pretty sure we just met. I’m pretty sure little has changed (well, except those two awesome kids and a smattering of gray hairs on him I take personal credit for and pride in). We still like to have people over, still like to go out, still love Paris and New York, and — here it comes, the actual point! — he’s still trying to convince me to put chocolate in more recipes. In 2014, he successfully lobbied for me to put chocolate in my banana bread, and from a glance at the 899-long comment section, it sounds like you’re glad he did. And now it is time for what he insists is the perfect zucchini bread, so long overdue that AI thinks it already exists. This is a phenomenally fudgy chocolate loaf cake with a crunchy top that has the better part of a pound of zucchini in it and while I’d never try to put zucchini in the corner — we spotlight zucchini on the Smitten Kitchen, thank you very much — the reality is that if your eyes were closed, and possibly even with them open, you’d never know that there was a vegetable inside. Is this the best news ever? An abomination? Should zucchini bread taste like a brownie? I’m going to let you sort this out for yourself, you and all of the friends you’re going to make when you bring this wherever you’re going this weekend. Cheers! And thanks for being a part of our story. It’s here! The 2025 SK Classroom Wishlist Project, in which we try to get teachers what they need to set their classrooms up for success, has kicked off. If you cannot figure out where to start, let me help! I recommend picking a school in your area, or perhaps where you grew up, or searching the descriptions for classrooms that might focus on something particularly meaningful to you. Help out if you feel you’re able. There is no purchase too small to unquestionably make a teacher’s (and their students’) day. Plus, buying crayons, pencils, and books that help kids learn and succeed feels really good. [Project information. Direct link to spreadsheet.] It’s here! The 2025 SK Classroom Wishlist Project, in which we try to get teachers what they need to set their classrooms up for success, has kicked off. If you cannot figure out where to start, let me help! I recommend picking a school in your area, or perhaps where you grew up, or searching the descriptions for classrooms that might focus on something particularly meaningful to you. Help out if you feel you’re able. There is no purchase too small to unquestionably make a teacher’s (and their students’) day. Plus, buying crayons, pencils, and books that help kids learn and succeed feels really good. [Project information. Direct link to spreadsheet.] This is a towering brick of a 2.5-pound zucchini bread, easily 1.5x of most standard recipes, so please don’t balk at the oil or sugar levels — they’re all to scale, and the result is just moderately sweet. If you have a scale, this is a one-bowl recipe. You can use any kind of cocoa powder here, but my preference is Dutch-processed, or basically the kind you’d get from any European brand. Just a heads up: The baking time is long. It’s taken me 1 hour 25 minutes the last three tests, but I know that ovens range. You can cut into it right away but I really like it better on day two, when the moisture settles into an even crumb and the top is extra crunchy. 2 cups (13 ounces or 370 grams) grated, packed zucchini, not wrung out, grated on the large holes of a box grater2 large eggs2/3 cup (160 ml) of a neutral oil, olive oil, or melted unsalted butter1/2 cup (95 grams) packed dark brown sugar1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar1 teaspoon vanilla extract1 3/4 teaspoons kosher salt (Diamond brand; use half of other brands)1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon (optional)3/4 teaspoon baking soda1/2 teaspoon baking powder1 1/3 cups (180 grams) all-purpose flour2/3 cup (55 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder1 1/3 cup (8 ounces or 225 grams) semisweet chocolate chips, divided2 tablespoons (25 grams) raw or turbinado sugar Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly coat a 6-cup or 9×5-inch loaf pan with nonstick spray. For easier removal, line the bottom and two long sides with a sling of parchment paper. Place grated zucchini in a large bowl and add oil, eggs, sugars, vanilla, and salt. Whisk until combined. Sprinkle cinnamon, if using, baking soda, and baking powder over the surface of the batter and mix until combined — and then, for extra security that the ingredients are well-dispersed, give it 10 extra stirs. If your cocoa is lumpy, and mine always is, sift it over the batter. Add flour and mix until combined. Set 2 tablespoons chocolate chips aside and add the remaining to the batter, stirring to combine. Pour into the prepared loaf pan and smooth the top. Sprinkle with reserved chocolate chips and the raw or turbinado sugar — don’t skimp. Bake for 1 hour 20 to 30 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the center of the cake won’t come out clean, because this bread is so fudgy, but it shouldn’t look like raw batter. If you can bear it, letting it cool completely in the pan helps it set up. I leave mine in the pan overnight, unwrapped. To serve, carefully remove from the pan and serve in slices. Do ahead: This zucchini bread keeps for up to one week in the fridge, yes, fridge — although it won’t go bad at room temperature (for 2 to 3 days). It’s so fudgy, I think it’s best kept cold. I store the double chocolate zucchini bread in the cake pan with the top uncovered, to keep it crunchy. I press a piece of plastic or foil only against the cut end of the cake. 6 months ago: Ziti Chickpeas with Sausage and Kale 1 year ago: Napa Cabbage Wedge with Miso Dressing 2 years ago: Corn Cacio e Pepe 3 years ago: Corn Butter Farro 4 years ago: Baked Farro with Summer Vegetables 5 years ago: Mathilde’s Tomato Tart 6 years ago: Black Pepper Tofu and Eggplant 7 years ago: Foccacia Sandwiches for a Crowd 8 years ago: Blackberry-Blueberry Crumb Pie 9 years ago: Summer Squash Pizza, Peach Melba Popsicles, and Chile-Lime Melon Salad 10 years ago: Raspberry Crushed Ice 11 years ago: Cold Noodles with Miso, Lime, and Ginger and Apricot Pistachio Squares 12 years ago: Charred Corn Crepes, Burst Tomato Galette with Corn and Zucchini and Strawberry, Lime, and Black Pepper Popsicles 13 years ago: Pink Lemonade Bars and Charred Pepper Steak Sauce 14 years ago: Sugar Plum Crepes with Ricotta and Honey 15 years ago: Everyday Chocolate Cake and Zucchini and Almond Pasta Salad 16 years ago: Asparagus with Chorizo and Croutons and Sour Cherry Slab Pie 17 years ago: Cantaloupe Salsa and Plum Kuchen and Roasted Carrot and Avocado Salad 18 years ago: Huevos Racheros, Blueberry Crumb Bars, Napa Cabbage Salad with Buttermilk Dressing, and Quick Zucchini Sauté 19 years ago: Moules Frites Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked * Comment * Name * Email * Website Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. New here? You might want to check out the comment guidelines before chiming in. I Made This I Have a Question Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Δ I dreamed about this. You have an uncanny sense for what we need exactly when we need it! I’m going to make it and then comment again but shout out to Deb for her psychic abilities, and kudos on everything you’re doing for teachers and students. Made this today and it is INTENSE. But very tasty OMG! I’m first with a comment! Which is: can a cake this fudgey freeze well? Or at all? Thank you for 19 years of fabulous recipes, photographs and wonderful writing. pb Thank you! And yes, it will freeze very well. Curious when freezing how do you keep the top crunchy upon thawing? It likely won’t be as crunchy upon thawing. I just ate the last piece of the King Arthur Flour Chocolate Zucchini Cake (from the recipe on their website). I’ve been making it for the past couple of years when the zucchini plants in my garden start going crazy. It is AMAZING! SO GOOD! It makes me want to throw out all other chocolate cake recipes…and start using it for all birthday chocolate layer cakes. I always include the optional espresso powder. Will have to try your recipe now to see how it compares… I use the KA recipe and double it because it freezes beautifully and we can enjoy it all winter! Hmmm, I’m glad you decided to have a food blog, since the dating blog worked out so well! Congratulations on 20 years! I love zucchini bread; I’ve never made a cocoa/chocolate version. Even though my fridge is somewhat bonkers and froze my fresh zucchinis solid… so I won’t be using those. Absolutely incredible. Made it as cupcakes and worked perfectly. So delicious. Thank you. I just took a loaf of your Ultimate Zucchini Bread out of the oven (really! Not even 10 minutes ago!) and my kids all sighed and wished for something with chocolate. So I guess I know what needs to happen with the rest of the zucchini in the fridge! Can I cut the sugars in half or will it ruin the consistency? It will likely end up dry. Maybe swap some with a little yogurt for moisture? Wonder if I could interchange for yellow squash? We have an abundance this year and I’m intrigued! Yes. In most cases, it’s a 1:1 swap as zucchini is also a kind of summer squash. Sometimes yellow squash (such as crookneck) are a little more dry, however, but this cake is so moist it will probably be forgiving. Made as written, using coconut oil as the neutral oil. THIS TASTES LIKE REALLY GOOD CHOCOLATE CAKE. That is all. I’m Hi, love all your recipes and looking forward to trying this one! Would it work ok in a 9” (or larger) square or round (springform?) pan? Thank you! I almost always bake “loaf” recipes in an 8×8 pan, so they don’t take so long. I’ve done this with Deb’s chocolate banana bread and ultimate banana bread. It works fine! It just takes some guessing about the length of the bake. For this recipe I’d probably start checking around 45 minutes. Thank you! Happy 20th Anniversary! I will celebrate with you in spirit adding this to my SK Bread Recipe toolbox. Okay, so I LOVED seeing your wedding photos?!! Thank you for linking that ♥️ We just celebrated 16, and not sure how 😂 Excellent recipe! My mom used to sneak zucchini into everyyything in the summer. But this would be a hit here! My 9-year-old child considers your Ultimate Zucchini Bread a top-tier food, probably one of his top-5 late-summer food experiences. When I revealed that this new recipe existed, he replied, “MAKE IT. I’ll die if you don’t.” Anyway, I know what I’m doing tonight! Gotta keep my kid alive. Happy anniversary! I READ THAT AI GOOGLE IMAGE AS IF IT SAID “AN INSANELY *FUGLY* RECIPE* and god that made me smile! Also, this looks delicious. I want it. 🤣 Ha! Lumpy brown cakes kinda are. Congratulations on your 20th wedding anniversary!! I have been following you for at least 18 years and will continue to do so. Thank you for the stories and fabulous food. Cheers to many more years of Smitten Kitchen! Oh, AI… So what recipe were they talking about? The chocolate olive oil wacky cake? 😂 (Which is, to be fair, insanely fudgy.) Congrats on the anniversaries of your marriage and the blog! FANTASTIC. Your regular (ultimate) zucchini bread recipe is the only one my children will happily eat, but we’ve tired of all things zucchini. I’m excited to try this! PS As someone about to celebrate my 19th wedding anniversary, I hear you on the “But…we practically just met! [These teenage children notwithstanding.]” Send recipe I love the classroom project and just sent a globe to a teacher in a rural California town. Will she know that it came from your site? If she only shared it here, I believe so. But I’m honestly just a vessel for these lists, sharing them with my wider audience. I’m not involved in any other way and don’t need credit. There actually IS a recipe, on Buttermilk by Sam, and she credits you…probably why AI got confused. I made it and it was excellent. My 4 yo devoured most of it without any clue of the vegetable context. Happy 20, Deb!! Oh I see it now! It looks gorgeous. Also, one of the reasons I dragged my feet about sharing this is that I felt that I sort of already had. Each time someone asked how to make my Ultimate Zucchini Bread chocolate instead, I’d respond that a 1/3 flour swap with cocoa is my go-to method. (Here’s a response from 2019, 2020, etc…) However, burying a recipe in the comments of another isn’t actually very user-friendly. :) And doing the testing allowed me to check other proportions, salt levels, toppings, etc. This looks amazing! I need a gift for neighbors so plan to make this as mini loafs. Any advice on cooking time for mini loafs? Thank you! It will depend on the size but I’d check them at 30 to 40 minutes to start. Loved your wedding photos! Our wedding photos are terrible because a friend volunteered to take them and cut my husband off mid-forehead in most of them, but we just celebrated our 54th anniversary! Ha! It’s okay, we’ve been saying we’d get our wedding album printed for … 20 years. Still just have the printed proofs in a box, and some scanned. BTDT…so I dare you to print the album Deb…and to have it all sent in by next week! It’s a beautiful thing to have for your children. Just give it to a company who does it and tell them to surprise you. Congrats on 20 years. So special. Hi there, My partner has recently become gluten free. Do you think I could get away with using ground almonds instead of flour? I haven’t tested it with this swap but I bet if you circle back in a day or so, there will be advice. In general, commenters seem to really like Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free flour mix for swaps, and I think it will work better than almond flour here. FWIW, it works very, very well in the chocolate banana bread. To be clear, this is the BRM 1-to-1 gf flour, not their other one, which I cannot vouch for. When I swap flour to make quick breads gluten free, I use a commercial blend (kind Arthur or bobs red mill usually) for 2/3 to 3/4 of the flour and use almond flour for the remainder. It does make it slightly more prone to falling apart, but the almond flour is coarser and improves the crumb considerably. Gluten free flour blends can give a gummy crumb because they are generally rice flour plus starches/gums. Sometimes I add an egg to help it be sturdier, and often up the baking powder by 1/4 teaspoon. Usually bakes a bit longer too. Thank you for the great gluten-free tips! There is a legendary story in our family. I had made chocolate zucchini muffins (using an old Australian Woman’s Weekly recipe that lives permanently on our fridge) and my niece, who was about 8, loved them but would not eat vegetables. At one point, I was about to ask if she wanted another chocolate zucchini muffin, and my brother just about flew across the room to stop the word “zucchini” from coming out of my mouth. Can you use yellow squash? Yes. In most cases, it’s a 1:1 swap as zucchini is also a kind of summer squash. Sometimes yellow squash (such as crookneck) are a little more dry, however, but this cake is so moist it will probably be forgiving. Congratulations on your 20th anniversary! Thanks for sharing your wedding pictures (and of course for sharing all your fabulous recipes over the years)! I baked this last night, let it rest as instructed, and am reporting back after breakfast: this is delicious. Absolutely delicious. Even my 10-yo-son, who harbors deep suspicion of any food involving zucchini, loves it. Thank you, Deb, for writing so very many recipes that my family adores and that *work* 100% of the time: your writing and recipes have brought joy to my life for…15? 17? (many!) years. For others who live at high elevations (I’m at 7,500′): this was done for me at 1 hour and 25 minutes. Old time reader here. Doesn’t feel like 20 years! A baking project for an unseasonably cool day in August — you have great timing. Happy anniversary! Thank you for all you do. Okay I am so excited to try this, but Deb, seriously? Are you suggesting it’s best if I wait until the next day to eat it? Who has that kind of patience?! It’s like I don’t understand the nature of chocolate or cake whatsoever! Let me parse it: It’s fantastic on the first day. It really comes into its own/becomes the best version of itself on day two. This makes such a big loaf, I bet you’ll have a chance to try it on both and see what I mean! Opened your site to look up the zucchini bread recipe and I’m so delighted to find this chocolate version ( which I begged for in response to your weekly email) so going to make it right after I write this :-) I’m going to use Bob’s 1-1 GF flour as my daughter is highly gluten sensitive but – especially in a recipe with this much flavoring ingredients and moisture -we always find it works great! Thanks always and Happy Anniversary!!!! Happy 20 years!! 💃🏽 You’re amazing, Deb. We are so grateful for you. It’s the time of year I have zucchini coming out of my ears. This was a great variation on the typical quick breads I make. Super fudgey, smelled decadent while baking, and curbs the urge for chocolate. Came together quickly, measurements were perfect (as always with Deb’s recipes), and a hit in our house. According to my math 8 ounces of chocolate chips should be 227 grams. The 170 grams listed is correct for 6 ounces. It was when I started weighing out the chips I realized the error. I went with 8 ounces instead of 6 ounces but the correct amount should be clarified. Thanks. King Arthur ingredient weight chart says 1 cup of chocolate chips (volume) = 6 oz (weight) or 170 grams (weight). The bag in front of me says 11.5 oz (weight) = 326 grams (weight). I say: they’re chocolate chips! Eyeball it and throw them in! Add some joy! The recipe calls for 1 and 1/3 cups (8 ounces or 170 grams). 8 ounces = 227 grams. 6 ounces = 170 grams. One ounce = 28.35 grams so 11.5 oz does indeed equal 326 grams. You are correct — now fixed! Absolutely delicious! A very chocolatey, fudgy, not too sweet desert. Thanks Deb! Easy to make and truly delicious! Thank you! Made it this morning. Got rave reviews. Definitely a keeper. Thanks Deb. Congratulations on your 20th anniversary! This recipe sounds so very yummy! Unfortunately, I must use gluten-free flour for all of my baking. Sometimes, the end result can be overly moist especially in recipes using zucchini, pumpkin, or applesauce. Would this recipe work with King Arthur Gluten-Free Flour? I haven’t tested it with gluten-free flour but I am sure someone will shortly and will comment to tell us how it went. Yes, It’s great! I used Bob’s 1 to 1 (blue packaging) and a scale. Decadent delicious perfection. YUM. Love zucchini + chocolate. Is there a way I could tweak this recipe to make cookies instead of a loaf? Do you think this could be doubled and baked in a Bundt pan? Yes. But you’ll want a 12-cup bundt not a 10-cup. My first reaction was indeed the one you anticipated: “this blog can’t possibly be that old!” but then it occurred to me that I must have been following both your recipes and rambling for at least 17 years. I mostly read blood for the ramblings nowadays since I often lack the time to cook the more involved stuff and also your idea of a meal drifted away from mine over time. But I still open up this blog a couple of times every week waiting for a new post. I’m pleasantly surprised that your anniversary recipe is exactly what I want from a cake. I’m looking forward to baking this asap. Keep up the good work and I really hope, that you’ll still be here in 20 years to post recipes (and that I’ll still be here to check for updates) I made this into muffins and it worked beautifully. Baked about 20-25 minutes. Thanks, I was wondering about this 😊 How many muffins did you get? I enjoy reading the story with each recipie on your blog! They invariably make me excited to make the recipie, even if I start reading thinking I won’t. Congrats on 20 years of marriage! I’ll be at 16 in two weeks, and so many of our favorite meals are from your site. Could this be baked in a Bundt pan without having to increase the ingredients? First off any zucchini recipe that doesn’t require you to endlessly wring the water out is definitely for me! This bread is, unsurprisingly, so good! Barely sweet enough to be breakfast with coffee, but has chocolate chips so totally perfect for dessert! This is the best loaf cake I’ve ever made. Used gluten-free flour and a scale. Followed instructions exactly. I was craving brownies and this totally hit the spot. Just so delicious. Thank you. Added a touch of granulated espresso for extra deep chocolatey flavor. Thank you for another perfect recipe Deb! Made this last night as muffins (I got 13 filled to the top of the muffin liners, and they baked for around 25 mins at 350) and as you foretold, they were delicious last night, and INCREDIBLE this morning. Wow. Worth the wait—both for the recipe and for it to sit overnight. Tried some after it had cooled and thought I had done something wrong—it was only fine. But the next morning, cold from the fridge? Impossible to not keep cutting little slivers of. Incredible. Oh also, if your oven is janky and/or your loaf pan is slightly larger than standard, start checking at 50 minutes–mine was done at 55! Is this kosher? I’m rubbing my hands together in anticipation of your answer, Deb. Any advice if I wanted to bake these as muffins? How many would it make? Two days before you posted the recipe I was searching your website for chocolate and zucchini. Perfect timing! I made this in 3 mini loaf pans. I forgot to time it but I think it was about 30min? I forgot to use the cinnamon and substituted half the chocolate chips with chopped up semi-sweet chocolate bar (Trader Joes). Delish!!! I may try to use espresso powder instead of the cinnamon next time. Thanks Deb! This is absolutely fabulous! The only change I made was half semi-sweet chocolate chips and half 60% dark chocolate chips. And don’t overtake, just like the recipe says! So good! FYI, recognizing every oven is different, this bread only takes 50 minutes to cook in my oven! Start checking at 45 minutes to prevent over baking.