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 didn’t have chocolate chips so I increased the cocoa powder to 1 cup. very delicious and moist!
I’m so glad it worked out for you!
I’m excited to try this zucchini bread , love that it’s gluten free and chocolate winner winner !
It’s SO good! Hope you love it as much as we do!
This might be my first ever comment on a recipe, but this bread is just that good! I’m not even gluten free (a friend is) but you can’t even tell. Her 5 year old didn’t even know there was zuchini in it. It’s so moist and chocolatey and perfect. And easy to make!
omg, this totally made my day! I’m so glad it was a win for you! We LOVE it!
It was my first time making zucchini bread & it turned out perfectly! My family’s who’s not gluten free tried and said it’s so good. It’s very moist and fluffy and the perfect amount of sweetness, I will definitely be making this again! Super happy with it 😊 I baked it in my air fryer at 325 for 37 minutes
So glad you loved it! And thanks for sharing your air fryer tip! I would never have thought to try that!
I loved this recipe. I also added some walnuts, and used both a large, green zucchini and a large, roundish gold zucchini someone gave us, but so good! The recipe took less baking time in my oven, and I doubled the recipe, adding 2 smaller loaf pans, but all 3 pans took less time. Delicious!!
Hi! Doubling the recipe but dividing it between 3 pans would definitely decrease the bake time. So glad you were able to sort it out for your oven!
This was an absolute hit at my women’s small group this week! A lot of them have food restrictions and this was such a treat- they were all raving! Thanks for helping us have such a special morning 💛
Oh, I’m SO glad to hear that! It’s always such a win when it works for a variety of dietary needs! So glad you loved it. Thank you so much for taking the time to leave such a kind review!
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.