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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.]
Video
Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread
Size note: Very key here is the size of your loaf pan because this will fill out every speck of it before it is done. Mine holds 6 liquid cups; it’s 8×4 inches on the bottom and 9×5 inches on the top. If yours is even slightly smaller or you’re nervous, go ahead and scoop out a little to make a muffin or two on the side. When making this for the first time, place a sheet pan underneath, just in case it spills over but I can promise you that in several tests, mine never has.
- 2 cups (13 ounces or 370 grams) grated, packed zucchini, not wrung out, grated on the large holes of a box grater
- 2 large eggs
- 2/3 cup (160 ml) of a neutral oil, olive oil, or melted unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup (95 grams) packed dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 3/4 teaspoons kosher salt (Diamond brand; use half of other brands)
- 1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon (optional)
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 1/3 cups (180 grams) all-purpose flour
- 2/3 cup (55 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 1/3 cup (8 ounces or 225 grams) semisweet chocolate chips, divided
- 2 tablespoons (25 grams) raw or turbinado sugar
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 (updated) and check for doneness, returning to the oven until set, up to 10 to 20 minutes more. 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. [Note: The original baking time was 1 hour 25 minutes, but many of you have commented that yours were done in an hour so I’ve adjusted the estimate for you to to check sooner.]
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.
Previously
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
