Paleo Chocolate Chunk Zucchini Bread
This Chocolate Chunk Zucchini Bread is soft and moist with a tender crumb, and it’s not too sweet. This quick bread is Paleo friendly, gluten-free, grain-free, and refined sugar-free.
**2017 Update** As summer continues and my crisper drawer is filled with zucchini, I had a hankering for zucchini bread – this Paleo Chocolate Chunk Zucchini Bread came to mind, and its original photos from August 2014 weren’t doing the recipe justice.
I reshot the recipe with some nice new photos, and have been devouring this bread slice by slice. Sometimes straight from the fridge, more often after 20 seconds in the microwave to melt those chocolate chips. It’s also scrumptious slathered with nut butter. This one is a must try – read the original post below for recipe details and enjoy!
Sooo this was the first time I’ve ever had zucchini bread, but now I totally get what all the fuss is about. This stuff is delicious!
Now I wish I was one of those people who had the problem of way too many zucchinis in the summer, because in addition to my spiralized zucchini dinners that I’ve been obsessed with this summer, I now want to make this zucchini bread all. the. time.
For my first time making zucchini bread, I decided to go the “healthy” route, because I figured what the heck is the point of putting a vegetable in your baked goods if you just go and overload with a whole bunch of sugar, oil, and flour? The best part about this healthy route though, is that not one of the people who tried it (which was a lot) noted that it was healthy. I take that as a major win, because isn’t that the whole point of making healthy desserts?
I read a lot about making zucchini breads before I dove into do it myself, and I noticed a lot of complaints about sogginess and too much moisture. I really wanted to avoid that, so I took two precautions: 1) squeeze the heeeeck out of that zucchini! I squeezed the grated zucchini over the sink to get as much water out as I could, and then I laid it out on a paper towel and squeezed it in that too. My zucchini was pretty dry by that point, and I recommend you follow the same steps so you don’t end up with a soggy loaf!
The second precaution is the use of coconut flour. Please don’t be tempted to switch it for something else – coconut flour is magical at soaking up that little extra bit of moisture in a recipe, because it acts like a sponge. You only need a little bit, but it makes all the difference in this recipe! (It’s also pretty easy to get now – they even have it at Trader Joe’s for a really good price!)
I’m in the camp that believes chocolate makes absolutely everything better, so of course I threw in some chopped chocolate chunks. The bread isn’t too sweet on it’s own, since it only uses 3 tablespoons of maple syrup, so the chocolate adds a nice bit of extra sweetness to the bread.
I didn’t use too many – just enough for a bit of the decadence chopped chocolate brings. In loaves like this, I prefer chopped chocolate over chocolate chips, because the waxes in chocolate chips prevent them from melting to that super ooey gooey melty texture that absolutely makes a bread like this that much better. Try it – you’ll see what I mean. If you want to make sure this bread stays Paleo/refined sugar free, try making your own paleo-friendly chocolate chunks!
The texture of this bread is amazing – it’s soft and tender and definitely not dry, but also not overly soggy or wet. I also love the green streaks running through it from the zucchini, though you may want to peel the zucchini if you’re trying to hide the veggies from your kiddos. Kids will absolutely love this as well. Though there isn’t a lot of added sweetener, the banana also helps sweeten the bread up so you definitely don’t miss the extra sugar so many quick breads call for.
I could ramble on more and more about how awesome this bread is, but I literally just got up from writing this post to go take another bite of the (very small) piece that’s left, and I don’t even know what else to say but…go try it. As far as quick breads go, this is up there as one of my favorites with my almond banana bread and chocolate chunk banana bread.
And I need to finish this post so I can go get another piece. Enjoy!
Want more quick breads?! Then you’ve got to try these delicious favorites…
- Paleo Chocolate Chunk Banana Bread
- Paleo Carrot Bread
- Paleo Double Chocolate Banana Bread
- Paleo Apple Cinnamon Bread
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Remember to #bakerita if you try the recipe!
PrintChocolate Chunk Zucchini Bread
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 12 slices 1x
- Category: Breakfast
- Cuisine: American
Description
This Chocolate Chunk Zucchini Bread is soft and moist with a tender crumb, and it’s not too sweet. This quick bread is Paleo friendly, gluten-free, grain-free, and refined sugar-free.
Ingredients
- 1½ cups (6 oz.) almond flour
- 3 tablespoons (0.75 oz.) coconut flour
- 1½ teaspoons baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 cup grated zucchini, water squeezed out after measuring
- 3 eggs, room temperature
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 medium banana, mashed
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil, melted
- ½ cup (3 oz.) dark chocolate chunks
Instructions
- Grease one 9″x5″ loaf pan (or 8″x8″ square pan) and preheat the oven to 350ºF.
- In a large bowl or mixer, combine the eggs, maple syrup, mashed banana, and coconut oil. Mix for medium for about 2 minutes. Add zucchini and stir to combine.
- Add the almond flour, coconut flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Stir until combined. Fold in the chocolate chunks.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread it evenly.
- Bake in the preheated oven for about 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool on a wire rack for about 1/2 hour. Flip out onto a cooling rack to finish cooling.
- Store in an airtight container for 2 days at room temperature, or up to 5 days in the refrigerator. Can also be stored tightly wrapped in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Notes
To keep this bread fully Paleo-friendly and refined sugar free, try making your own Paleo-friendly chocolate chunks.
Nutrition
- Calories: 136
- Sugar: 7
- Fat: 9
- Carbohydrates: 12
- Fiber: 2
- Protein: 4
Mmmm did you say chocolate zucchini bread which is also super super healthy?? SIGN ME UP FOR THIS! It looks absolutely amazeballs Rachel!
Gosh, it looks SO moist! I can’t believe this is healthy!!! Must try immediately…
This looks so incredibly delicious! Love the flavoring, looks so moist too. So great!
I agree; chocolate makes everything great!!
This bread will be a nice change to my daily zucchini uses of spiralizes noodles, quiches and more noodles!!
YES! I lurve that you made this healthy. That was always been my tiff with zucchini bread. I feel like I’m being all healthy, except I ain’t. Until now. Pinned!
Thanks Taylor! And yesss, now you can eat the whole thing, zero guilt :) my kinda zucchini bread!
Awesome that you discovered the amazing-ness of zucchini bread! Don’t you just want to eat it every day?! I totally could. ;) This is SUCH a gorgeous loaf and I love all the gooey chocolate you packed inside. I could totally go for a slice or 10 of this right about now. :D
Wow this bread looks amazing! I’m in awe of how chocolatey and delicious it looks. This definitely looks like the perfect zucchini bread to me!
I agree — chocolate makes everything better! Especially when we’re talking zucchini bread! I love those big chocolate chunks, and I’d love to try this bread with the almond and coconut flours. Sounds delicious!
Zucchini bread is the BEST. I can’t believe I haven’t made any yet this season, but when I do I’m going straight for this recipe. Because chocolate. :)
Look at those chocolate chunks! Delish! I love how much good stuff you crammed in here! Just perfect!
I was literally JUST thinking about making zucchini bread for my first time. Now I have a recipe! This looks amazing!
I can’t believe this is healthy!!! Looks so good and moist!! Another awesome and incredible recipe, Rachel ;-)
Omg, I completely agree with you on the healthy zuchhini bread thing! I have never understand why people make such a big deal about zucchini bread being healthy when it has exactly the same amount of sugar and butter as other quick breads. It just also has zuchhini in it. So I really love the changes you made to this recipe and that you actually made it healthier! :)
I’m loving this zucchini bread, I’m so glad that you added the chocolate chunks, that makes it even better! Great tips on getting the moisture out of the zucchini. Pinning to my beautiful breads board!
Yup, chocolate does make pretty much everything better!! This looks amazing! I really need to bake more with zucchini!
Oh, wow, this looks incredible! The chocolate bits in the zucchini bread look so luscious and all-melty and perfect – wow. Seriously delicious :)
I wish I were drowning in zucchinis, too! I even planted 8 zucchini plants this summer, but for whatever reason they’re not giving me any zucchinis :( This zucchini bread looks absolutely heavenly! Love the detailed instructions you give to avoid soggy bread. I could really go for a big old piece of this bread right now!
Isn’t zucchini bread delightful? And coconut flour – that is also amazing. I just recently tried using it and I find that it’s quite the miracle when you need a little liquid reduced. This zucchini bread looks incredible, I’m loving all the chocolate chunks going on. Swoon.
Pinning!
Thanks Abbie! And I absolutely love coconut flour – serves that purpose perfectly.
Ohhh I love zucchini bread and this looks fabulous. Awesome tip on the coconut flour!
Rachel, I’m SO glad you have joined Team Zucchini Bread! It is probably my favorite quick bread. And I adore that you put chocolate in yours. Brilliant!
Yay for healthy zucchini bread, it looks absolutely amazing! I love that you added chocolate and the coconut flour is such a great tip! Can’t wait to try this – pinning:)
Thanks for the pin, Kelly! :)
I want this nowwww! Just bought some coconut flour :)
Yum!! Gimme gimme!
This bread looks so perfectly moist! Yum!
I’ve been getting one big zucchini per day (at least) out of my garden and at first, I was loving it. But now I’m all “UNCLE!” I would be happy to give you some of mine! But first, I must make this bread, because it looks in-freaking-credible.
Oh, I wish I could have some of your zucchini!! Definitely try this bread before giving any away though :) I think you’ll love it!
If this is healthy than sign me up! This looks so moist and delicious I could probably eat the whole thing myself—would that still be healthy?
I’m so excited to try this recipe but unfortunately I don’t have neither a 9×5 nor an 8×8 pan. Is there any other alternative? Or if not will I have to change the baking time if I use a different sized pan?
Hi Nefeli. Another similarly sized pan would work, like a 9×9, but I wouldn’t go too much smaller – you don’t want it to overflow! If you use a larger pan, the baking time will be decreased because the bread will be thinner – it’s ready when a toothpick comes out clean. Hope this helps!
I can’t have bananas. Is there a sub for that?
You could use applesauce instead!
Looking forward to making this yummy treat! Appreciate your creativity and sharing! What could I substitute for the banana? I know it’s the perfect ingredient, but is there any other option for this one item?
Hi Alison, you could probably sub about 1/3 cup applesauce for the banana.
Oops! Just saw your suggestion of applesauce. Have you ever created zucchini bread without a banana ingredient? I love bananas but have currently eliminated them from my diet. I may add them back at some point. Just hoping you can point me to a similar, delicious one in the future if your creativity leads you there. But the applesauce just might do the trick too!
I wish people would write how it tastes …I can SEE how it looks!
Tired of just comments when no one has tried it.
Hi Jane, most comments from people who’ve tried it come to me via Instagram – a number of people have made this and really enjoyed it. Trust me, I wish people would remember to leave comments here too! I hope you’ll give it a go :)
I made this tonight and my 9 year old daughter (who doesn’t think she likes zucchini) and I gobbled this up. Delicious!
So thrilled to hear you and your daughter are enjoying it!! Thanks for the feedback.
Hi Rachel,
Is it also available in a Vegan version?
Love youre recipes.
Thanks so much Jolisca! Unfortunately I don’t have a vegan version at this time, hopefully I will soon though.
So you use blanched or unblanched almond flour here?
Thanks!
Hi Ashley, I always use blanched almond flour.
So excited to make these tomorrow! Thinking about making muffins with the batter though, not bread. Hope that works okay!
It should work just fine, you’ll just want to bake for around 20 minutes or until the muffins spring back when you press one with a fingertip. Enjoy!
Just made this quick bread and while it is good, the taste of baking soda is overwhelming. Is there something else I can use to gain the benefits of baking soda without using the full 1 1/2 teaspoons?
Love your recipes! Anxiously awaiting your cookbook to arrive on my doorstep!
Hi Sue, that’s interesting – I’ve never noticed that issue before! You can try reducing the amount of baking soda but it won’t rise as much, you can try replacing it with 1 tablespoon baking powder.
Hi Rachel. I’m excited to try this recipe. Sadly, I can’t have bananas. How
much and what can I use to substitute? Thank you
Hi Cathy, I would recommend about 1/3 cup of applesauce instead! Hope you enjoy :)
Do you think this would work with a flax egg or other egg-replacement?
Unfortunately, I don’t think it would work great – I think it would probably get too wet! I’ll try to develop a vegan zucchini bread this week :)