A wholesome twist on the classic! Traditional zucchini bread is mildly sweet and spiced, known for its soft, moist crumb thanks to grated zucchini. My version is a Chocolate Zucchini Bread that’s moist, soft, and tender - made with whole wheat flour, cocoa, and pantry staples. It’s easy to make, eggless, vegan, and a delicious way to enjoy zucchini when they’re in season.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 10 minutes
  • Cook time: 50 minutes
  • Total time: 60 minutes
  • Yield: 1 · 1 loaf
  • Category: Dessert
  • Cuisine: American, World

Ingredients

  • 1¼ cups (150 grams) whole wheat flour
  • ¼ cup (15 grams) cocoa powder
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon ground allspice (or ground clove)
  • ¼ teaspoon or 2 to 3 pinches of ground nutmeg (or grated nutmeg)
  • ¼ teaspoon ground ginger ((ginger powder))
  • 1.5 teaspoons baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon baking soda
  • ⅛ teaspoon salt
  • ⅓ cup (40 grams) walnuts
  • 1 cup (1 medium zucchini or 130 to 135 grams) cup zucchini (- grated)
  • ½ cup + 3 tablespoons (130 grams) raw sugar (- swap with white granulated sugar instead)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or 1 teaspoon vanilla essence)
  • ¼ cup sunflower oil (or any neutral flavored oil)
  • 2 tablespoons Almond Milk (or water or any nut milk or cashew, almond or lite coconut milk)

Method

Preparation

  1. Chop some walnuts and measure them. You will need ⅓ cup walnuts.
  2. Grease a loaf pan with the dimensions of 8.5 x 4.5 x 2.5 inches with oil and set aside.
  3. Rinse zucchini and then wipe it dry. Grate 1 medium zucchini using a thick grater. Measure the grated zucchini. You will need 1 cup grated zucchini.Tip: Taste the zucchini and if its bitter tasting, discard it.
  4. Preheat oven at 190 degrees Celsius (374 degrees Fahrenheit) for 20 minutes.

Sifting dry ingredients

  1. In a sieve, take whole wheat flour, cocoa powder, ground cinnamon powder, ground allspice or clove powder, ground nutmeg powder, ground dry ginger, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
  2. Sift and set aside.

Mixing wet ingredients

  1. In a mixing bowl take the grated zucchini, raw sugar, vanilla extract or vanilla essence, oil, almond milk or water or any nut milk (cashew, almond or coconut).
  2. Mix very well.

Making zucchini bread batter

  1. Now add the sifted dry ingredients and chopped walnuts.
  2. With a spatula, begin to fold batter using the cut and fold technique with light pressure coming from the hands. Do not fold too vigorously.
  3. Fold to a batter where all the ingredients have mixed evenly and the batter has volume. This is a thick batter. If batter looks very thick or dry then add 2 tablespoons more almond milk.
  4. Pour batter in a greased or well-oiled loaf pan. Tap the pan a couple of times on the counter-top and smoothen the top of the batter with a spatula.
  5. Bake in the preheated oven at 190 degrees Celsius (374 degrees Fahrenheit) for 50 to 60 minutes.
  6. Do keep a check when baking, but only open the door after ¾ᵗʰ of the bread is baked. A wooden skewer when inserted in the loaf should come out clean. Keep the loaf pan on a wired rack to cool.
  7. When the bread has completely cooled at room temperature, remove it gently from the loaf-pan.
  8. Slice and serve zucchini bread. Wrap the remaining bread and store in the refrigerator. You can even freeze this sweet bread.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.