Let’s Make Gluten-Free Chocolate Zucchini Bread! This ultra chocolatey gluten-free zucchini bread is AMAZING. The perfect way to use up extra zucchini in the summer! (Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free)
It’s that time of summer where All The Zucchini are ready to be used, and we’re looking for ways to use this green summer vegetable!
I’m happy to tuck shredded zucchini into chicken meatballs or roast them with some tomatoes, but my favorite way to eat zucchini is probably always going to be paired with chocolate. Because yum.
Last year, it was a CRAZY delicious Almond Flour Chocolate Zucchini Cake. This year, it’s Gluten-Free Chocolate Zucchini Bread.
This ultra-chocolatey chocolate zucchini bread is made with an all-purpose gluten-free flour blend so it’s easy to pull together (no need to mix and match flours!), and the end result is fudgy, tender, and perfectly studded with chocolate chips.
Here’s what you need to get started on our easy gluten-free chocolate zucchini bread recipe…
Gather Your Ingredients
Here’s what goes into our gluten-free chocolate zucchini bread:
- GRATED ZUCCHINI. Grated zucchini makes our gluten-free chocolate zucchini bread nice and moist. I know that’s the grossest word ever, but it’s true! (See the FAQ for a tip for grating zucchini!)
- EGGS + AVOCADO OIL. Eggs + avocado oil give this chocolate zucchini bread plenty of body and prevent it from getting dry.
- COCONUT SUGAR + VANILLA. To round out the wet ingredients, you’ll add coconut sugar and vanilla. You can totally use white or light brown sugar if you prefer in your chocolate zucchini bread.
- DARK COCOA POWDER. To give this gluten-free chocolate zucchini bread that ultra chocolatey look and taste, I use dark unsweetened cocoa powder, sometimes labeled Dutch-processed cocoa or alkalized cocoa powder. Dark cocoa powder tends to be less expensive and easier to find. Dutch processed cocoa is nice if you can find it!
- GLUTEN-FREE FLOUR. I use a simple 1:1 gluten-free flour to keep things simple. I prefer King Arthur Flour Measure-for-Measure gluten-free flour blend. It’s got a nice mix of flours, no strange taste or smell, and no grittiness. If you use other blends, you may have slightly different results.
- BAKING SODA + SALT. To finish up the dry ingredients, I add baking soda and salt. This will help the chocolate zucchini bread rise and balance the flavors nicely.
- CHOCOLATE CHIPS. Aaaaand I love adding plenty of chocolate chips for even more chocolate flavor. A few on the top and plenty inside mean that you’ll get a little chocolate in every bite. Which is exactly how I like my chocolate zucchini bread.
How to Make Gluten-Free Chocolate Zucchini Bread, Step By Step
As always, you can find the full recipe, with ingredient amounts, detailed instructions, and tips in the recipe card below!
- Preheat & Prep. To start, preheat oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Grease a loaf pan (mine is a 9″x5″ loaf pan) and line with parchment paper.
- Combine Dry Ingredients. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Whisk to combine well.
- Combine Wet Ingredients. In a large bowl, combine eggs, oil, coconut sugar, cocoa powder, and vanilla. Stir or whisk to combine well.
- Add Dry Ingredients to the Wet Ingredients and stir until almost fully combined, with just a few white floury patches left.
- Fold In Zucchini & Chocolate Chips. Add grated zucchini and chocolate chips to the batter and fold in until evenly blended.
- Bake Zucchini Bread. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan and sprinkle with remaining chocolate chips. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean with only a few moist crumbs. (A little melted chocolate chip is ok, but you don’t want any wet batter.)
- Cool. Place pan on a cooling rack for about 15 minutes, then run a knife around the edges of the bread and transfer the bread out of the pan and onto a wire rack to finish cooling before slicing. (If you’ve used parchment, you can usually just lift the bread out of the pan using the parchment as “handles.”)
- Store leftover chocolate zucchini bread in an airtight container at room temperature 2-3 days, or freeze up to 2 months in a freezer bag.
FAQ + Tips For The Best Gluten-Free Chocolate Zucchini Bread
A TRICK FOR GRATING ZUCCHINI. If you’ve got a food processor, grating zucchini takes less than 30 seconds. Just use the grating attachment, cut your zucchini in half, and get to work! Otherwise, I love this style of grater, which gathers everything up for you nice and tidily.
WHAT’S THE BEST GLUTEN-FREE FLOUR FOR ZUCCHINI BREAD? I recommend using a 1:1 or measure-for-measure gluten-free flour blend for our chocolate zucchini bread. We highly recommend King Arthur Flour’s Measure-for-Measure flour. Our second choice is Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 gluten-free flour blend.
CAN I MAKE THIS WITH REGULAR COCOA POWDER? Yes, though it won’t look or taste *quite* as chocolatey. You can find dark cocoa powder at lots of regular grocery stores, or you can order Dutch-processed cocoa here.
HAVE YOU TRIED THIS WITHOUT EGGS? I haven’t yet. I’d probably start with flax eggs or powdered egg replacer if I were going to try a substitute.
HOW DO YOU STORE LEFTOVER CHOCOLATE ZUCCHINI BREAD? With most gluten-free baked goods, I prefer to put them in the refrigerator or freezer. This will keep in the fridge 2-3 days and in the freezer for about a month. (I like freezing it cut in slices so I can pull one out at a time.)
Did You Make This Recipe?
Tell me all about it! Leave a star rating below when you try our Gluten-Free Chocolate Zucchini Bread recipe. I can’t wait to hear how it goes!
Gluten-Free Chocolate Zucchini Bread
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups packed grated zucchini (don't peel)
- 3 large eggs
- 1/2 cup avocado oil or another neutral/melted oil*
- 3/4 cup coconut sugar or brown sugar
- 1/2 cup dark cocoa powder sometimes labeled alkalized or Dutch-processed
- 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup gluten-free measure-for-measure or 1:1 gluten-free flour** (120 grams)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips (2-3 Tbsp. set aside)
Instructions
- Preheat & Prep. To start, preheat oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Grease a loaf pan (mine is a 9″x5″ loaf pan) and line with parchment paper.
- Combine Dry Ingredients. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Whisk to combine well.
- Combine Wet Ingredients. In a large bowl, combine eggs, oil, coconut sugar, cocoa powder, and vanilla. Stir or whisk to combine well.
- Add Dry Ingredients to the Wet Ingredients and stir until almost fully combined, with just a few white floury patches left.
- Fold In Zucchini & Chocolate Chips. Add grated zucchini and chocolate chips to the batter and fold in until evenly blended.
- Bake Zucchini Bread. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan and sprinkle with remaining chocolate chips. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean with only a few moist crumbs. (A little melted chocolate chip is ok, but you don’t want any wet batter.)
- Cool. Place pan on a cooling rack for about 15 minutes, then run a knife around the edges of the bread and transfer the bread out of the pan and onto a wire rack to finish cooling before slicing. (If you’ve used parchment, you can usually just lift the bread out of the pan using the parchment as “handles.”)
- Store leftover chocolate zucchini bread in an airtight container at room temperature 2-3 days, or freeze up to 2 months in a freezer bag.
Notes
- Oil. You can use canola oil, melted & cooled coconut oil, melted vegan butter, or melted butter.
- Gluten-Free Flour. We recommend King Arthur Flour Measure-for-Measure Gluten-Free Flour for this recipe. Our runner up is Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 gluten-free flour. If you use another brand, be sure it contains xanthan gum, or the zucchini bread will not turn out properly. Do not substitute almond flour or coconut flour here as they will not work in this recipe.
- Zucchini. There’s no need to squeeze extra liquid out of the zucchini for this recipe. You can just wash it, trim off the ends and grate it!
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition facts are an estimate only and will vary based on brands and amounts used.
I followed the recipe precisely and it was delicious!! I was worried about the liquid from the zucchini since I grated it super fine but I trusted the process and it paid off. The consistency is between a bread and cake which the whole family loved. I will absolutely make it again. Thank you!
So, so glad it was a win for you, Arlene! Thank you SO much for taking the time to leave such a kind review!
Rise was great! Finished product moisture / texture was really good too. Chocolate flavor was good I used Ghirardelli and added 1/2 tsp espresso powder. Next time I will bump the sweetness up a bit use brown and white sugars as I found it not sweet enough. Will make again, thank you!
I LOVE this recipe! Have made it four times already since discovering it this summer. I followed it to a T and it came out perfectly chocolatey, delicious and moist every time. I’m wondering how you would adapt it for a non-chocolate version. I’ve tried other gluten-free zucchini, bread, recipes, and have been disappointed. I’d love any advice you have. Thanks!
Hi Donna! I’m SO GLAD You’re loving it! In addition to this blog, I also run a gluten-free baking blog called Sweets & Thank You, and over there I have a few more zucchini bread recipes worth checking out! This one can be made with or without chocolate chips and has great texture and flavor!
I baked it at 325 convection for 55 minutes. It turned out dry. Maybe I baked it too long. Usually recipes on this site are fabulous.
The brownies are a favourite of my family.
Convection is definitely impacting your bake! This is a super moist, fudgy bread, so don’t write the recipe off yet!
When you bake convection, you reduce the baking time by about 25% AND should lower the temperature by 25 degrees, so you definitely accidentally over-baked the bread.
Using these guidelines, 325 F would be a good starting point for temperature, but you should start checking for doneness around the 35-37 min mark (though it may not be done till up to 45 min, depending on your pan material, your exact oven temperature, humidity, etc.). You likely over-baked significantly by going up to 55 minutes. In essence, you actually over-baked by 25%!
I hope you get to try the recipe again! I highly recommend baking on a regular (not convection) setting, if you can, but if you must do convection, I’d start checking for doneness around 35-37 min.
So delicious and decadent. My non-glutenfree adult son loved it and asked for more!! I used butter and mixed the cocoa with the dry ingredients; used a blend of brown/white sugar
I’m so glad you loved it Rita! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review & share your adaptations!
SO Delicious! I used half Bob’s Red Mill and half Sorghum flour. Turned out great! This one’s a keeper, thanks for the recipe!
So glad it worked out for you!
This is a go-to recipe for our family – we have made it and loved it for several years. We grow a lot of zucchinis so turning them into healthy choc muffins/bread is perfect. I use the Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Flour, because it has higher protein than most gluten free flour blends (got growing boys to feed). Thank you for the recipe 🙂
So glad you love it!
Hi,
going to try this as muffins, with 1/2 c maple syrup.
Any suggestions for muffins sticking to liners and tray, even using oil/butter in both cases?
Hi Jo-Anne! Sticking will actually probably get worse with maple syrup, so I don’t recommend it here. My favorite trick for preventing sticking is Paper Chef brand parchment liners and a metal muffin pan. They work insanely well!
Hi, That’s good to know, but I don’t want to use refined sugar.
any suggestions please 😊
Hey Jo-Anne! Coconut sugar is a natural sweetener and is not considered refined sugar. Coconut sugar is made from the sap of coconut palm trees and only minimally processed (the liquid is simply evaporated from the sap so crystals form), so it retains much of its inulin preobiotic fiber and natural minerals, like potassium, magnesium, iron, and zinc. (The same way maple syrup does.) Coconut sugar has a higher nutrition value and lower glycemic index than refined sugars (white sugar/brown sugar).
I don’t recommend liquid sweetener in this recipe.
Absolutely delicious! I used melted vegan butter and brown sugar as suggested substitutes. This recipe will be on repeat!
Yay! So glad you loved them Angela! Thanks so much for taking the time to share & leave your review!
I made this recipe with two pans 7×4, baked for 40 minutes! Can’t find the best way to say how AMAZING this was. It was so moist, mildly rich, and light. Almost cake like! Will make it again and again!
Oh, I’m SO GLAD you loved it, Nancy! Thanks so much for sharing your baking times & tips!
Totally yummy GF recipe. I used Robin Hood GF flour, melted cool coconut oil, and monk fruit / stevia as my sweetener. Turned out perfectly. Absolutely delicious.
I’m so glad to hear that Denise! Thanks so much for sharing your swaps!
What a great way to use zucchini! “Ultra chocolatey” is right! Amazing
Made this today! It is amazing. I used butter as the oil and King Arthur 1 for 1 GF flour. Served it with ice cream. AMAZING.
YUM! So glad you loved it Trish!
Followed the recipe and it turned out great. Even my wife was impressed, and she’s fussy. Used Carob powder instead of chocolate and really couldn’t tell the difference. Now I’m going to try your other recipes. 😉😊
Oh, I’m so glad to hear that! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave such a kind review!
can you make this into muffins?
Hi Vicki! I haven’t made it into muffins before, but it will likely work just fine. I usually bake muffins 17-20 minutes at 350.
The bread was amazing! So chocolately and moist. It was almost like eating chocolate cake. We had friends over and I served this for dessert and they loved it. A great way to put a dent in the over abundance of zucchini 😊
I’m so glad it was a win for you!
Talk about decadent! This was absolutely delicious!
I’m so glad you loved it Aimee!!
Took this to a function so they would have a gluten free option. It was a hit. I “save” a lot of recipies but print few. Printed this one!
I’m so glad you loved it Sharon!!!
Have you tried this as mini loaves?
Hi Brandy! I haven’t yet, but this is my go-to resource for converting pan sizes!
Used coconut oil and half coconut sugar, half brown sugar. Delicious! Thank you! Will definitely be making again!
So glad you loved it Maggie!
How many grams are you considering one slice for the macros?
Hi Melanie! The macros are based on 12 slices. I haven’t weighed the individual slices, but if you cut into 12 even slices, 1 slice = 1 serving.
I had so much zucchini I made two loaves. One barely made it to cool completely and the other I had to hide so it could cool and I could freeze it for later! My three teen devoured the first loaf!
This was absolutely delicious! I had olive oil on hand, so I subbed that for the avocado. Otherwise I followed the recipe, and my kiddo and I both loved it. 😋
Made this for my GF daughter and family – they LOVED it. This was super moist and choclatey and uncomplicated to make. This is a winner for family and guests – you can’t go wrong.
Made this for my sister who was advised to go gluten free, recently. I used a different brand of flour alternative, than those mentioned. Only because those were not available at the store on the day I was shopping. I did use avocado oil, the Dutch processed cocoa, etc. per the recipe. I baked in a dark loaf pan for 60 minutes, I checked at 50 minutes. It was still not ready and at 60 minutes was perfect. Honestly this was very delicious, not at all a “gluten-free” good enough kind of quick bread!
I’m so glad it was a win for you!!! Thanks for sharing your notes, too!
So good! first gluten free zucchini recipe I’ve tried that was actually tasty!
Can I use almond flour to make this? and Monkfruit sweetener?
Hi Judy! This recipe wasn’t developed for either. If you’d like an almond flour recipe, I recommend our Chocolate Zucchini Cake. 🙂
Amazing Recipe! I used chopped walnuts instead of chocolate chips and only a half cup of sugar. So, so good!
Thanks for the recipe 🙂
SO glad you loved it Dorene! That’s fantstic!
Sounds amazing…can flax eggs or any other egg substitute be used?
I haven’t tried this with any egg substitutes, but I’d love to know how it goes if you do!
I’ve made this twice with the Bob’s Red mill egg replacer and it comes out AMAZING!! I use coconut oil and brown sugar. besides that, I follow the recipe above. it’s amazing and comes out fudgy!!
I’m so glad it was a win for you Meg!
I have two batches made with home grown yellow squash in the oven baking right now! I added 1 tsp. Of espresso powder, and used almond flavoring instead of vanilla to change it up slightly. I snuck a taste of the batter, and it tasted fantastic. It looked amazing going in, and I
I can’t wait to taste it.
Ooh, that sounds delicious!
Just made this and it came out amazing! Thank you!!
I’m so glad you loved it Katherine! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review. 🙂
Looove this!! So delicious and rich without being sweet! So easy to make. Thx for posting this!! My new fave!!
Oh, good! I’m so glad!
I need to use coconut flour-would it work?
Not for this recipe, I’m sorry Lisa! Coconut flour isn’t a 1:1 substitute for any other kind of flour without adjusting the amount of flour use and/or the amount of liquid in the recipe since it absorbs several times its volume in liquid. I’m sorry!
Made this but as muffins bc I didn’t have a loaf tin. All the adults wanted seconds! And kids loved it too!
Oh, that makes me so happy! I guess I need to make a batch as muffins now! 🙂
This was delicious! More cake like than bready, but not crumbly.
I used canola oil and brown sugar, also flour blend from America’s test kitchen with a little xanthan gum.