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 is this chocolate zucchini bread so good?
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. I wonder how it would be if I had used Homemade Greek Yogurt and no oil at all to make it even healthier. Will be trying this soon! Please share the result with me if you try earlier.
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?
My first try with chocolate and zucchini combination when I made was a simple Chocolate and Zucchini Cake was a great success. It is already one of our favorites. I remember how my friends were amazed when they learnt that the chocolate cake they were enjoying had a lot of zucchini. The best thing they loved was that the cake was so light. I’m sure they would love my new chocolate zucchini bread recipe with yogurt too, maybe even more because this one is moister with more zucchini, yet without any zucchini flavor.
How to prepare zucchini for this bread?
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 About This Chocolate Zucchini Bread Recipe:
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 1/2 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 are my alternatives that are as yummy as this bread:
Vegan Chocolate 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
Both vegan and gluten-free? Here is the best option:
Vegan Gluten-Free Zucchini Bread Recipe from Vegan Richa
Yogurt Chocolate Zucchini Bread
Very moist chocolate bread loaded with zucchini. Noone can tell there is zucchini inside.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 16 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup olive oil or vegetable oil
- ½ cup yogurt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/3 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.
Notes
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.
The size of my loaf pan is 20x10x6cm (8x4x2 1/2 inches). I sometimes bake it in one loaf pan and 6 muffin liners instead of using two loaf pans.
You should grate and squeeze zucchinis and before measuring it to 3 cups. Don’t try to squeeze all the juice though. Just squeezing it with hands in batches is enough.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 loaves
- Calories: 207
- Sugar: 20.9g
- Sodium: 49.3mg
- Fat: 10.1g
- Carbohydrates: 28.6g
- Protein: 4g
- Cholesterol: 24.4mg
Keywords: zucchini bread, chocolate zucchini bread
This post was originally published in 2016 and has been updated with new pictures and additional information.
Sarah Russo says
07/11 at 00:21Added some dried Montmorency tart cherries. YUM!
★★★★★
B says
06/14 at 07:24Really disappointing. I made this just as instructed, I have a thermometer in my oven so I know the temp was correct, my baking powder is fine, and the loaves did not rise and were burned on the outside and completely raw in the middle after an hour and 10 minutes of cooking, even after I turned up the temp towards the end. I have to throw them away. Probably ought to take this recipe down or alter it, considering how many people have had trouble. It’s a real pain to dirty dishes and spend time only to have to throw food in the garbage. Really disappointed.
★
Sydney says
06/01 at 04:24I was skeptical after mixing up the ingedients and it seemed the zucchini outweighed the batter. I figured it would be a mess. However, it came out delicious! Didn’t rise very high but I did change ingredients. Coconut palm sugar, coconut oil, raw cacoa powder, and Fage Greek yogurt were my substitutions. I will make this again for sure since I have a pile of zucchini! Next time I will add nuts, oatmeal, and applesauce.
Yum!
Zerrin says
06/01 at 22:27Hi Sydney,
I’m so happy to hear that you loved it. Thanks for sharing what changes you made! There might be other readers out there planning to use those ingredients for this recipe and now they have an idea. Thanks again!
Kelsey says
05/23 at 15:28Hi! I read thru all these comments and had a couple thoughts. In the us 1 cup is actualy 200 mL. If ur using a 250 mL cup to measure the flour, thats actually 1 1/4 cup. This means u are probably adding an additional 1/4 and two tablespoons flour than people in the usa.
Also, homemade yogurt probably works best as store yogurt, even organic real yogurt is a little different. Id like to try this recipe but wanted to ask about the flour to get a more exact measurement. Weight is best but most ppl dont have a kitchen scale.
Also I saw a commentor say that if u use dutch process cocoa, the baking powder will not activate. Actually its baking soda that doesnt work well with dutch cocoa sometimes because it needs acid to activate, and dutch cocoa has been alkalized. So the type of cocoa shouldnt matter too much.
Laura says
05/18 at 01:16I read the reviews while the loaves were in the oven and I was so worried that they wouldn’t turn out. But, they were great and everyone loved them. I will say they weren’t the tallest loaves around but they sure we’re yummy.
Zerrin says
05/19 at 01:03Thank you Laura for sharing your opinion here! Happy to hear that you loved it!
Chocolate Lover says
10/02 at 21:42I didn’t read the reviews until the cake was in the oven, so it was a bit of nail-biter.
IT CAME OUT AMAZING.
Moist, rich and sinful tasting – at the same time, light and airy. This recipe is a keeper (next time, i will try less sugar, or maybe honey instead)
My changes: 1 package of vegan yogurt (may be more than half a cup? didn’t measure), chia seeds in water instead of eggs, and not quite 3 cups full of zucchini.
If you see your batter is runny, add some flour before putting it in the oven. But this recipe was amazing as is, for me.
Zerrin says
10/02 at 22:45Sooo happy to hear that you love the result! And thank you for sharing your vegan adjustments to the recipe.
Juanita W says
01/31 at 11:52My two loaves were a hit! They were very dense and moist, absolutely delicious! I think the major in the success or failure of this recipe is the zucchini. Mine wasn’t too watery so I didn’t squeeze any water out.
As someone else commented, perhaps add more flour if it’s too runny. I made no changes to the recipe and it turned out great.
Thank you for the recipe!
Zerrin says
02/03 at 15:44Thank you Juanita for sharing your experience with us. I’m so happy that the recipe worked for you!
Sandy says
09/27 at 22:46Made this a week ago and I am ready for round 2. The bread was delicious as written. So moist without being gummy and not too sweet. Best chocolate zucchini bread recipe I have ever made! Thank you.
Zerrin says
09/28 at 00:07Hi Sandy! So glad to hear that you are happy with the result. Hope the video is helpful too. Thank you for sharing your thoughts here!
Jarmom says
09/16 at 00:17I don’t know how this turned out for some people. I did everything and this is nothing like zuchini bread I’ve made before. The batter was too thin and cooked for over an hour and was still soupy and doughy. Ugh. This recipe is not for everyone I guess. Very disappointed.
Stacy says
09/01 at 05:07Made this bread yesterday. Used 2 cups zucchini and corn oil. The bread was PERFECT! I will make it again.
Dee says
08/07 at 17:08Hi! I thought I could offer some suggestions here. If people use dutch process cocoa, the action in the baking powder won’t occur; natural cocoa powder should be used. You will also get a much better rise if you use baking powder *and* soda. Even a quarter teaspoon will help and be activated by the acid in the yogurt. If you cut your zucchini amount in half, the bread will not be as dense and weighed down. Lastly, you suggest the toothpick come out wet but it should actually come out clean if the loaf is done. You are telling people to take the loaves out when they are undercooked. Hope this helps clear up the mystery about why so many are having issues with this recipe.
Zerrin says
08/07 at 22:03Thank you for your suggestions Dee! Well, I don’t need baking soda because the baking powder I use is enough to rise my bread. But using it with soda could be worth for those who don’t have the same result. 3 cups zucchini makes this bread wonderfully moist, that’s what I like in this bread. About the toothpick thing, I recommend it be slightly wet as I wanted it to be moist. It is definitely not undercooked. This is just how I make this bread and I feel really sorry when our readers don’t end up with the same result. You know baking needs experience and experiments to have the desired result, so all the suggestions you give here are definitely worth trying. Thanks again for sharing these here!
CP says
07/27 at 21:46Just made this and contrary to most other posts I am very pleased with the turn out. I made into 5 miniature loaves. I only used one zucchini so I didn’t get near as much as the recipe called for and I also used chobani plain Greek yogurt and it came out fabulous! Can’t wait to share with friends, thank you for posting this recipe!
Susan says
06/17 at 02:42I made this recipe today. I decreased the zucchini to 2 cups. Used almond and coconut flour and coconut sugar. Used 1 pan. Came out pretty good. Probably a little different with coconut ingregients but I really enjoy it.
Zerrin says
06/17 at 10:44Thank you for sharing your experience with us here Susan! Decreasing the amount of zucchini could solve others’ problems maybe.
Brenda says
05/15 at 02:38I should have read the comments before making this as unfortunately, my loaves did not turn out either. They were way underdone (even after extra time) and so flat. I divided into 2 pans but really, putting all the batter in one 9×5 loaf pan (which I usually use) would have been just fine. I bake A LOT and I thought the amount of flour seemed a little low so I think that might be it but either way, I’d definitely suggest retesting this recipe to see if any adjustments need to be made.
Megan says
04/13 at 02:32Made this today and didn’t really care for it. I made it as muffins and while they did cook, they sunk and were way too much zucchini. My kids wouldn’t eat them – they could see the zucchini and just thought they tasted off. Glad it worked for some – just not us, but a good try!
Kim says
02/05 at 06:42Winner, winner, chicken dinner! This worked awesomely. The only difference I made, was that I decreased the cooking time by 10 mins. Beautifully moist. Kids didn’t even notice the greenery👍
Zerrin says
02/06 at 21:44Hi Kim! So happy to hear that your kids love it. I always believe that kids have a better taste than we do.
Jessica says
12/29 at 03:30Were you able to figure out the calorie content in one loaf?
Zerrin says
12/29 at 23:08Sorry Jessica, but I don’t know about the calorie in this bread.
Cindy says
10/27 at 00:58I made this recipe and put it into my pan for small loaves. They were ready in 25 minutes and very delicious! I just put baking cups in the bottoms of the mini loaf sections and then didn’t have to cut into a large loaf, just handed everyone their own loaves. Very moist and chocolate flavored and everyone loved it. I will make this over and over again because it’s so easy and delicious and ready in a short time.. I didn’t even get out the mixer. I just mixed the eggs and sugar with a whip and then stirred everything else with a wooden spoon. Everyone said Yummy!
★★★★★
Zerrin says
10/27 at 20:17Hi Cindy! I’m so happy to hear that you love the recipe. Baking it in small loaves is a great idea! You don’t have difficulty in slicing a large loaf that way. And I’m sure the presentation is better.
Thank you for sharing your experience with us here. Cheers!
Steph says
10/23 at 08:10Like many of the other comments, the loaves sunk after taken out of the oven and they STILL gooey on the inside. I stuck them back in for another 30 MINUTES but they were still gooey. Waste of ingredients . . . I had to throw them both out. Pretty disappointed as I needed something for tomorrow.
VV says
09/15 at 08:14I am not sure why my loaf is always a lot thinner than recipe photos… Lol… But it is still delicious! Mine just didn’t rise.
★★★★
Zerrin says
09/15 at 14:26Could it be the brand of baking powder or baking soda you are using? I would try a different one if you’re always having the same problem. Another reason might be about how long you whisk the ingredients. You should whisk so long after you add the dry ingredients, just until everything is combined. Hope these help.