Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread Recipe

Why This Is the Best Zucchini Bread Recipe You Will Ever Make

If you have a pile of garden zucchini and no idea what to do with it, this chocolate chip zucchini bread recipe is about to become your new favorite way to use it up. It is moist, tender, faintly spiced with cinnamon, and studded with pockets of melty chocolate in every single bite. This is the kind of loaf that tastes like a bakery treat but comes together with simple pantry staples and one bowl of grated zucchini.

What makes this the best zucchini bread recipe ever, in our opinion, is the balance. It is sweet enough to feel like dessert, but the zucchini keeps it wonderfully moist without making it heavy or overly rich. Whether you found your way here searching for an easy zucchini bread recipe, an organic zucchini bread recipe made with garden produce, or simply how to make zucchini bread that does not turn out dense, this one checks every box.

Before we get cooking, the right tools and ingredients make a real difference here. A sturdy box grater, a reliable loaf pan, and good quality chocolate chips all help this bread turn out perfectly moist and evenly baked every time.

The Secret to Moist Zucchini Bread

The number one mistake people make when baking with zucchini desserts is skipping the moisture squeeze. Zucchini is mostly water, and if you fold it straight into your batter without draining it, you risk a gummy, underbaked center.

Here is the simple fix:

• Grate the zucchini using the large holes of a box grater, skin and all.
• Pile the shreds into a clean kitchen towel or several layers of paper towel.
• Twist and squeeze firmly over the sink until the liquid stops running out.

Chef's Tip: Do not skip the squeeze, but also do not squeeze the zucchini bone dry. You want it damp, not desert dry, so the bread still bakes up moist and tender rather than dry and crumbly.

Ingredient Notes That Matter

A few small choices make a big difference in how this loaf turns out.

• Zucchini: Medium zucchini work best. Very large, overgrown zucchini tend to have watery, seedy centers, so smaller ones give a better texture.
• Sugar blend: Using both granulated and brown sugar keeps the crumb soft while adding a subtle caramel note from the brown sugar.
• Oil, not butter: Neutral oil keeps this bread moist for days, which is exactly what you want from a quick bread that often gets made ahead.
• Chocolate chips: Semi-sweet is classic, but dark chocolate chips or even chopped chocolate chunks work beautifully if you want a more intense chocolate flavor.

Many popular versions of this recipe, including well loved ones from major recipe sites, rely on this same basic formula because it simply works. Once you understand the ratios, you can easily riff on it with different mix ins or spices.

How to Make Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread

This loaf comes together in one bowl for the wet ingredients and one for the dry, so cleanup is minimal. Whisk your eggs, sugars, oil, and vanilla until smooth, fold in the squeezed zucchini, then gently combine with the dry ingredients before stirring in the chocolate chips.

Ready to make it? Here is the full step-by-step recipe:

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread Recipe

This moist, tender chocolate chip zucchini bread is loaded with melty chocolate and sneaky garden veggies, making it the best zucchini bread recipe you will ever bake.

Prep:15 mins

Cook:60 mins

Total:75 mins

Yield:10 servings

Cuisine:American

Yield: 10 servingsCalories: 285Protein: 4g

Carbs: 38gFat: 14gSat. Fat: 4gFiber: 2gSugar: 22gSodium: 190mg

Ingredients

Units

USM

Scale

1x2x3x

• 2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt, fine sea salt
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil, or melted coconut oil
• 1 tsp vanilla extract, pure
• 2 cups zucchini, grated, packed, excess moisture squeezed out
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, plus extra for topping
• 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped, optional

Instruction

1

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan and line it with parchment paper, leaving an overhang for easy removal.

2

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.

3

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs until light and frothy. Whisk in the granulated sugar, brown sugar, oil, and vanilla extract until smooth.

4

Fold the grated zucchini into the wet mixture.

5

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir gently with a spatula just until no streaks of flour remain. Do not overmix.

6

Fold in the chocolate chips and walnuts, if using, reserving a small handful of chocolate chips for topping.

7

Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and smooth the top. Sprinkle the reserved chocolate chips over the surface.

8

Bake for 55 to 65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.

9

Let the bread cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then lift it out using the parchment overhang and cool completely on a wire rack before slicing.

Equipment

• 9x5 inch loaf pan
• Parchment paper
• Box grater
• Large mixing bowl
• Medium mixing bowl
• Whisk
• Rubber spatula
• Wire cooling rack

Notes

Squeezing the grated zucchini in a clean kitchen towel before mixing is the single most important step for avoiding a soggy loaf. Store leftover bread tightly wrapped at room temperature for up to 2 days, or in the refrigerator for up to a week. This loaf also freezes beautifully for up to 3 months.

Pin This RecipePrint Recipe

Serving, Storing, and Variations

This bread is fantastic warm from the oven with a smear of butter, but it is just as good the next morning with coffee. It slices most cleanly once fully cooled, so try to resist cutting into it right away if you can.

To store, wrap the cooled loaf tightly in plastic wrap and keep it at room temperature for up to two days, or in the refrigerator for up to a week for longer freshness. For make ahead baking, this loaf freezes wonderfully. Wrap it well in plastic and foil, then freeze for up to three months and thaw at room temperature whenever a craving strikes.

Want to switch things up? Try folding in shredded coconut, swapping half the chocolate chips for dried cranberries, or adding a swirl of cream cheese through the batter before baking. However you make it, this easy zucchini bread recipe is flexible enough to become a regular in your baking rotation, and it just might become the best zucchini bread recipe of all time in your own kitchen.