This Yogurt Chocolate Zucchini Bread is so moist and rich that I could even call them zucchini brownies in a loaf shape. Do you hear me zucchini haters? This bread will make you love zucchini! I’m pretty sure that you will be making this bread quite often and regret those years when you used to refuse eating zucchini. Video included in the post!
You should try this recipe before zucchini season ends. I know you can still find zucchini in winter, but they are not good enough and you will probably end up with a less moist or even a dry bread. Also, I don’t think winter zucchini has even the half of the vitamins summer zucchini does.
Why We Like It
The best thing about this bread for chocolate lovers is that it’s almost guilt-free because it is made with yogurt, which helps the moistness and a little olive oil. I used plain yogurt in this recipe and I didn’t have to add much olive oil, which is another great thing about this chocolate zucchini bread. Homemade Greek yogurt would work fine too, but the amount might need to be increased a little.
What's more, it contains LOTS of shredded zucchini. It is the secret ingredient which makes the bread wonderfully moist. You end up with a super yummy chocolate bread packed with zucchini, which doesn't taste in the bread at all. Can you imagine that?
How to prepare zucchini
As you can see in the video below, we don't need to peel the zucchinis. Just use them with their skin on, they cook through in the oven. What's more, those tiny green pieces make a nice texture inside the bread when it is sliced.
Use a big hole cheese grater to grate the zucchinis. If you use a small one, you will end up with a pile of watery zucchini and it will effect the baking of your bread even if you squeeze it.
Grate the zucchinis on a piece of paper towel and then squeeze lightly in your hands. Don't try to remove all the juice. The zucchini shreds should still be moist so that the bread is perfectly moist when baked. Watch the video below to see how I do this step.
If you love your chocolate bread very chocolaty, then use chocolate chips in this bread just like I did. You can never have enough chocolate, right? Don’t forget to top your bread with extra chocolate chips before baking! It will have a sublime tempting look with chocolate chips.
These ingredients make two loaves of chocolate zucchini bread and my humble suggestion is that you should take one of the loaves to your neighbour because believe me the tempting smell of this bread will even reach next door. Another suggestion could be giving one of them to a friend who hates zucchini and don’t tell him the secret ingredient until he finishes the loaf!
Tips
After receiving several questions, I think it would be better to make some points more clear.
- Some readers had doubts about the amount of flour. They think it should be more. Well, my cup size is 250ml and the amount of flour in this recipe is definitely enough. If you add more, your bread will not be that moist.
- I sometimes bake it in one loaf pan and 6 muffin liners instead of using two loaf pans. The size of my loaf pan is 20x10x6cm (8x4x2 ½ inches).
- Some readers had trouble with the amount of grated zucchini. Could that be because they measure the zucchini before squeezing? You should grate and squeeze and then measure it to 3 cups. Don't try to squeeze all the juice though, just squeeze it in your hands in batches.
Hope these help you to have a great result from my recipe.
Are you following a vegan diet? Here is my alternative that is as yummy as this bread: Vegan Zucchini Bread
Need a gluten-free version? Check the following recipe out! You might just need to add a little cocoa powder more chocolate flavor.
Gluten-Free Zucchini Bread from Making Thyme for Health
More Chocolate Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Yogurt Chocolate Zucchini Bread
INGREDIENTS
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup sugar
- ⅓ cup olive oil or vegetable oil
- ½ cup yogurt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup cocoa powder
- 1 and ½ cups flour
- 1 and ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 3 cups grated and squeezed zucchini
- 1 cup chocolate chips plus ¼ cup for topping
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 350F (180C). Grease 2 loaf pans (8 x4 inches) and set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat eggs and sugar. Add in olive oil, yogurt and vanilla extract. Mix well.
- Add in cocoa and mix with a spatula.
- Mix flour, salt, and baking powder in a bowl and sift into the egg wet mixture. Stir until smooth, but don’t overdo it.
- Add in grated zucchini and stir just until it is coated with the batter.
- Put 1 cup chocolate chips into a medium bowl. Sprinkle a little flour over them, stir and fold in the batter. Don’t overmix it.
- Share the batter into the pans. Top each with extra chocolate chips and bake for 60-65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out slightly moist and with tiny pieces around.
- Let it cool completely before slicing and serving.
Video
NOTES
NUTRITION
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Kareen says
I made this recipe-followed the instructions as written-and it was absolutely delicious. Moist, chocolatey, and not too sweet. Thanks so much! I will definitely make again. : )
Zerrin says
Thank you Kareen! Happy to hear that you loved it!
Lulu T says
I was very nervous about this recipe after many reviews of failed attempts. I went online and read other recipes to get an idea where the problem may be, but then some reviewers also had great success with Give Recipe's way, and I decided to go for it. My zucchinis came fresh from the garden but strangely when I grated them they had very little juice at all and squeezing them was a waste of time. I followed Zerrin's recipe , to a T, right to the end until I had to put it in the pans. At that point I felt the mixture seemed a little dry. I poured half the batter into one cake tin and then I added a dash more milk to the second half of the mixture. Both cakes are fabulous but perhaps the one where I added just a little more milk was just a little bit nicer. However, the one with a bit more milk did not rise as much. Out of interest, if you live in Turkey and can get hold of Basak cocoa powder, I think it has to be rated as one of the best in the world, leaps and bounds ahead of Bournville or Cadbury etc. It's amazing and I go to great lengths to always use this one. It also makes brilliant hot chocolate drinks in winter time and gives a far stronger chocolate flavour to cakes and brownies than any other cocoa powder I have ever used.
Thank you Zerrin. It's a keeper.
Zerrin says
Thank you Lulu for sharing your expereince with us. This is the most controversial recipe on the blog I guess. I don't know how but some readers are really happy with it while the other readers are disappointed. I've never thought of adding extra milk into the batter as mine is always wet enough. I don't know why your zucchini is dry when grated, mine is always too juicy. But of course it's a good idea to add milk (or yogurt) if you think the batter is too dry. You made a great test with the recipe. So you can add that extra milk at the beginning the next time and then the cake will rise well and the taste will be as good.
I've never heard or seen Basak cocoa powder, I mostly use Dr Oetker or Ulker and quite happy with them. But will have to check for Basak now!
Thanks again Lulu for sharing your experience here!
Catherine says
Just made this recipe. The bread did not rise at all and like others have said is kind of gummy. Taste is ok. Edible but not exactly good.
Zerrin says
Sorry to hear that the recipe didn't work for you Catherine. Probably it's because the type of yogurt you use. I use plain homemade yogurt.
me says
omg!!! yummy, yummy, yummolicious! i made few slight changes. instead of the full amount of sugar, i reduced it and added some: agave, raw honey and sun crystals; next time i might even reduce the sweetener a bit more, the chocolate adds sweetness of it's own. instead of only milk chocolate chips i added some dark chocolate. i didn't put extra chips on top. i snuck some flax seeds, chia and oatmeal in it as well. the final thing i did was add cinnamon. all told the flavors were like a party in my mouth. even my fussy gus 10 year old loved it!! yay!! to the creator of this recipe and thank you for sharing. 🙂
Zerrin says
Thank you for sharing your experience with the recipe! The stuff you added in to this bread all sound so good and healthy, so I'm sure yours turned out much better than mine. Happy to hear that your kid loved it too! Isn't this a great way to make kids eat zucchini and other healthy ingredients like chia, flax seed or oatmeal?
Yvette says
I made this today and am happy with it. I did NOT squeeze the zucchini as I think I would have had to put weights on it to really get much water out of it. Each loaf ended up being about 1.5 inches tall. I'd say it compares a bit to brownies. What I like, that others may have complained about is that it is so moist it is somewhat gooey inside. Personally, I love this. It reminds me of molten lava cakes! My only negative remark is that I wish it had risen higher (which it seemed to do in the oven, but as someone else pointed out, it dropped upon cooling). Obviously the density of the zucchini is the culprit and this was to be expected I suppose. Maybe an additional egg might have helped it hold its risen height. I will make this again I'm sure. Next time I might add walnuts. Thank you.
shari says
can you make this gluten free?
Karlee says
This recipe was a complete waste of time and ingredients. I made mine in muffin tins, which doesn't usually make a difference. It was WAY too much zucchini for the ingredients. The insides are gooey, not in a good way, and practically solid zucchini. I am very not pleased with the outcome. I do NOT recommend.
April says
I used coconut oil and vanilla Greek yogurt. Didn't rise like I thought but very moist and Yummy.
Kelsey says
Hey! I'm so exited to make this bread! I had a quick question about the zucinni...is the three cups packed or "fluffed" after squeezing? Thanks for the great recipie!
Zerrin says
Hi Kelsey, just place the grated zucchini in the cup when measuring, no shaking or pressing on them.
Jeanette says
Unfortunately I had the same disappointing results. I used applesauce instead of oil, finely grated zucchini, and vanilla regular fat Greek yogurt. I baked for the recommended time, stuck a toothpick in and it came out clean so I assumed it to be done. Let it cool for a little bit then I got too hungry to wait so I sliced it open. It was pure gooey, uncooked dough inside! I cooked it for an additional 45 minutes but it was still gooey and now very cooked crusts. It also did not rise at all.
A few things that I did a bit different from the original: I did have to let the dough sit a bit while I grated the zucchini. I did sift the dry ingredients but did not mix them first. These are the only things I could think of that I did different that could have resulted in a different outcome. I was extremely bummed that it didn't turn out!
Jordan says
Hello ! I tried making this bread with my cousin and unfortunately it didn't turn out as well as I had hoped . I was wondering what kind of yogurt everyone used ... Non-fat or full fat ... Could that be why it remained doughy ?
Maureen says
Well, I want to mail a special, homemade gift to a friend. I have frozen, shredded zucchini in freezer from the garden. I use it all winter for side dishes and breads. Wonder if this will hold up in the mail? Also, when I defrost my three cup packages, most of the moisture has separated and I simply drain. Think this will work? Oh, and I don't care if I have to pay for over nite shipping:-)
Jessie says
Zucchini is almost $4 each here, does anyone know how many I need to be approximate so I don't overbuy.
Zerrin says
Hi Jessie, we need 3 cups squeezed zucchin for this recipe, but I can't say how many zucchinis you need. It depends on the size of zucchini. About 1 pound might be enough.
Amanda says
3 zucchinis will make 3 cups easily.
Emily says
Just made this, 2 loaves and it is absolutely gorgeous,can't stop eating it! I substituted 1/2 cup xlytol and apple sauce for the sugar and used half oats and half wholewheat flour. Squeezed the water before measuring the 3 cups and it is Perfect thank you!! (Going to freeze one loaf so I don't eat it all in one go!)
Zerrin says
Thank you Emily for this positive comment! I really needed to hear it after receiving several negative ones. I really don't know what is the problem with those who had bad experiences with the recipe. And thank you for sharing what you changed in the recipe. Yours sounds definitely healthier. I need to try it that way soon.
dor says
Sooo I guess this is probably an amateur question.... Did you peel the skin off the squash first and then grate it or did you grate it and cook it with its skin?
Thanks
Zerrin says
With the skin. I never peel zucchinis as their skin is so thin.