Paleo Chocolate Zucchini Bread
Paleo chocolate zucchini bread is moist, scrumptious and has a rich dark chocolate aroma. But don’t be fooled, because this healthy treat still has some hidden zucchini inside. You’re gonna love it!
Zucchini season is ending soon and what better way to use up your last bit of zucchini than to bake it into a sweet quick bread. This chocolate zucchini bread is paleo, gluten-free and grain-free, using my favorite triumvirate of flours (almond flour, tapioca flour and coconut flour) for the perfect texture.
And if you’re wondering why all three flours are necessary, just read through the comments on my reader favorite paleo chocolate cake recipe.
This paleo chocolate zucchini bread uses my reader favorite paleo zucchini bread recipe as the base. It’s just got a chocolate twist. I’ve added some cacao powder and chocolate chips to the mix to transform it into what almost tastes like an ultra-decadent chocolate cake.
How to Make Paleo Chocolate Zucchini Bread
The instructions are list below, but if you’re more visually inclined, I’ve got a quick step-by-step video on my paleo zucchini bread recipe. Go take a peek at that!
- Mix the dry ingredients together in a large bowl (almond flour, tapioca flour, coconut flour, cacao powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt) and stir together.
- Whisk the wet ingredients (eggs, applesauce, apple cider vinegar, and maple syrup) in a separate bowl.
- Grate the zucchini and remove excess water by squeezing it in a nut milk bag or with a kitchen towel. Then add the zucchini to the wet ingredients bowl and stir to combine.
- Make the batter by pouring the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until it is well mixed. Then stir the chocolate chips into the batter. Once it’s all mixed together, pour the batter into a greased 8.5 x 4.5 inch loaf pan and sprinkle a few chocolate chips on top.
- Bake the zucchini bread for about 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. The top should also start to break apart a little.
- Let the it cool by placing the pan on a wire rack until it is cool to touch.
More Delicious Zucchini Recipes
Still have leftover zucchini? Give these recipes a try – I think you’ll love them.
- Baked Zucchini Fries
- Zucchini Pasta with Lemon Garlic Shrimp
- Taco Stuffed Zucchini Boats
- Easy Sautéed Zucchini
- Zucchini and Prosciutto Egg Muffins
Oh, and when you slice the bread make sure to enjoy a piece (or two) with a cup of my homemade cashew milk or almond milk. It’s the perfect combo!
Paleo Chocolate Zucchini Bread
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups almond flour
- 1/2 cup tapioca flour
- 1/4 cup coconut flour
- 1/2 cup cacao powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamom
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup chocolate chips
Wet Ingredients
- 3 eggs
- 1/2 cup applesauce
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 1/2 cups grated zucchini
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit.
- Add all of the dry ingredients to a mixing bowl and stir until combined.
- In a separate bowl add the eggs, applesauce, apple cider vinegar, and maple syrup and whisk together.
- Squeeze the grated zucchini in a nut milk bag or kitchen towel to remove the excess water. Then add the grated zucchini to the wet ingredients and stir to combine.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until the batter is well mixed.
- Then add in 3/4 cup of the chocolate chips and mix into the batter. Pour the batter into a greased 8.5 x 4.5 inch loaf pan and sprinkle the rest of the chocolate chips on top.
- Bake the zucchini bread for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Lisa's Tips
- This is the nut milk bag I use to squeeze the zucchini and I love it. It's great for homemade almond milk as well.
- For the best gluten-free, dairy-free, paleo-friendly chocolate chips, grab yourself some of these.
- If you're overflowing in zucchini you can make several loaves of this bread and freeze it! I recommend slicing before you freeze so you can thaw individual slices and enjoy.
Wow, made this for Easter, and everyone raved about it! I was a little skeptical before putting it in the oven, as the batter was much thicker than other quick-breads I’ve made in the past, but it turned out beautifully. Really moist and dense and satisfying without being overly rich or overly sweet.
Wonderful! The batter for this one is a bit thicker, but it bakes into a beautifully moist bread :)
This is one of the best gluten free chocolate bread recipes I’ve tried! I used canned pumpkin instead of zucchini and it takes awesome!
Glad this turned out perfectly with canned pumpkin!
I’m looking to make this for my family and as my daughter is vegan, I’m going to use egg substitute. Most likely flax. Have you ever made it this way? How did it torn out?
Hi Carol- I haven’t tried this with an egg substitute yet! But if you do, please let me know how it turns out :)
I really wanted to love this zucchini bread but sadly mine came out quite dry! It had that sort of almond-floury stick to your mouth taste and texture to it. I’m not quite sure why, I didn’t do any substitutions :/ I might give it another go since I have a lot of zucchini leftover but do a shorter bake this time. I checked it at 50 minutes and the toothpick came out clean but maybe I should have pulled it earlier. Oh well. I will update based on how the next try turns out.
Hi Kate – keep in mind that all oven cook slightly differently, so yours may have overcooked. Hopefully your next batch comes out better!
Wow better than brownies and no one noticed the secret ingredient and that it was gluten free…😜
This one’s definitely a sneaky one with added veggies!
We made it today and it was really suprise. My daugters (9&13) were very suspiciois because od zuccini. But they couldnt stop eating iz when it was done. Thanks you <3
So glad you enjoyed this recipe Ana! :)
Hello, is the nutrition info for the entire loaf or 1 serving? These are amazingly delicious.
Yes! The nutrition info will always be per serving :)
This recipe looks fabulous, but I am wondering if you can make the recipes without the chocolate chips? Would I need to add more maple syrup? or will that change the moisture balance?
Hi Brenda! I also have a paleo zucchini bread recipe on the site you can make that’s without chocolate :)
Hello, I would love to try this recipe. Sadly, my children are severely allergic to nuts and seeds. We can have gluten though! Could I substitute the paleo flours you have used for regular/plain flour? or could you suggest something else please? Thank you. Paula
Hi Paula – unfortunately, this recipe is tested with the flours listed and gluten-free flours don’t sub easily with regular plain flour (you’d have to change all the other ratios). I’d recommend searching for another recipe online that uses regular flour.
Hi Lisa! It looks delicious! I will try it! Just one question: do you also have the recipe of the apple sauce to share? I’ve never done ir before. Thanks a lot!
Hi Patricia- I actually don’t have a recipe for apple sauce itself as I normally use a store-bought version. But I’ll keep in mind to make a homemade recipe for it :)
Hey there is no where that specifically stares how to store or what the breads shelf life is!
Hi Jessica! This will store well in the fridge for up 4 days. But you can also freeze it! Just make sure to slice it in pieces before freezing so it makes it easier to grab and go :)
Hi Lisa!
I recently made this bread and shared with family and friends. What a hit!! They ALL came back for more. Good thing I made extra. I reduced the chocolate chips by 1/4 cup in the batter and it was perfectly sweet! No one suspected it was gluten free.
Thank you!
Hi Susan- So happy to hear everyone enjoyed this zucchini bread :)
The instructions didn’t specify, so I mistakenly used way too much zucchini. While my loaves were baking I found a comment below from 2019 stating that it’s 1.5c pre-squeezed, not post-squeezed, zucchini. (This should be clarified in the instructions). After I minute of panick, I checked the loaves (30 min in) and they were done. The taste was perfect, and it was still so moist! I didn’t have a regular loaf pan so I split the batter between 2 smaller and more shallow loaf pans. There’s a very minute texture that might be noticeable if you’re used to AP flour breads, but it’s not off putting at all. My husband and I are not GF and have never had paleo bread before, but this recipe is a keeper and my new go-to when my garden is pumping out more zukes than I can keep up with.
Hi Cherie- Thanks for taking note of that and I will be sure to include that information in the post! But I’m glad this still came out perfectly moist :)