If you’re like me and always in search of ways to use zucchini, here’s a delicious recipe for you to try! Healthy chocolate zucchini bread is one of my favorite sweet breads to make. Every summer we have a plethora of zucchini and I always shred and freeze it in two cup quantities. This makes it easy to add to zucchini bread, quiche or lasagna. I love making a batch of zucchini bread in the middle of winter using our preserved zucchini from the garden. Not only is this sweet bread delicious, its healthy too!
This zucchini bread is easy to make and is made with healthy, real food ingredients. The original recipe for this zucchini bread was one my mom passed on to me. Unfortunately the original recipe called for cooking oil and a lot of sugar. Those are two things we don’t really consume in our house. We instead use healthier alternatives like coconut oil and honey.
To give this bread the deep dark brown color and rich chocolate flavor, we use raw cacao powder (this is the kind we use) instead of cocoa powder. Raw cacao powder has a high level of anti-oxidants and also contains magnesium, calcium, zinc, iron and potassium. Add in the zucchini and you have this delicious healthy chocolate zucchini bread!
Little A loves to help cook in the kitchen. One of the first things she ever helped me bake was this chocolate zucchini bread. This recipe is easy enough to have a two year old help with, although the kitchen always seems to be a bit messier with my little toddler assistant! She mainly loves to dump the measured ingredients in the bowl and stir, stir, stir.
Healthy Chocolate Zucchini Bread Recipe
-3 eggs
-1 cup coconut oil
-1- 1.5 cups honey (adjust the amount of honey you use depending on your preference for sweetness)
-2 cups shredded zucchini
-2 tsp. vanilla extract
-2 cups flour (we use unbleached white flour)
-3/4 cup cacao powder
-1 tsp baking powder
-2 tsp baking soda
-1 tsp cinnamon (optional)
-1 tsp salt
-1 cup raisins (optional)
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, mix eggs, coconut oil honey, zucchini and vanilla.
3. Add the flour, baking powder, cacao, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Mix well.
4. Stir in the raisins. Pour into loaf pans (we use glass loaf pans greased with coconut oil). Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes. The bread is done when a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.
This recipe makes two loaves of bread. I typically keep one out and freeze one to eat another time.
Want to make this healthy chocolate zucchini bread but it is too hot out to turn on the oven? Bake it in a dutch oven! Instead of pouring it into loaf pans, line a 10 quart deep dutch oven with parchment paper and pour the bread batter in. Bake with coals to heat it to 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes. If you’re new to baking with a dutch oven, here are our tips on how to bake with a dutch oven.
This sounds and looks amazing! I’ve never had zucchini bread with cacao in it, I will definitely need to try it out.
It really is so delicious, its hard to believe it has a vegetable in it!
Can you use almond flour in this recipe?
Zucchini is my absolute favorite vegetable. I can’t wait to try this!
Yum. This recipe brings together some of my favorite foods: chocolate + coconut oil + zucchini.
Oh I totally want to try this! Must see if there’s zucchini at the farmer’s market this weekend!
Oh, this looks so good
I love zucchini and I always plant one too many plants, this looks delicious! Going to have to try it! Thanks for sharing your post on the HomeAcre Hop, hope to see you again tomorrow! – Nancy
The HomeAcre Hop