Double Dark Chocolate Zucchini Loaf (vegan, dairy-free,gluten-free).
Chocolate-y, personal, healthy, fun, that describes this chocolate zucchini loaf perfectly! These loaves are unbelievably moist and rich with chocolatey goodness in every bite, vegetables included, and vegan! No eggs, no dairy, and gluten-free if you use the flour we recommend.
And as this is one of my blog’s oldest recipes, I decided a refresh was in order.
Most people who have made this recipe love it, but at least two people said it was a bit dry, so I wanted to bolster the moisture and I think I found a way : with canola oil.
Do you know that canola oil is actually considered one of the healthiest oils, even healthier than coconut oil? Only organic, non-gmo, and expeller-pressed or cold-pressed of course.
But still, it’s lower than other oils in saturated fat and high in monounsaturated fat, both of which can improve cholesterol levels and lower your risk of heart disease.
So add in the fresh zucchini, and mood-boosting, magnesium-strong chocolate, and we practically have a multi-vitamin loaf here!
I also baked it this time in two medium-sized loaf pans, not the mini loaves as before and the final result was a very moist cakey texture.
My loaves here are topped with melted dark chocolate, but you can use your favorite frosting recipe! Enjoy!
Double Dark Chocolate Zucchini Loaf (vegan, dairy-free, gluten-free)
Ingredients
Smaller Mixing Bowl
- 1 ¾ cup organic cane sugar
- 2 flax eggs (2 tbsp flax seed + 5 tbsp water)
- ½ cup plant milk
- 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup canola oil
- 1 tsp vanilla
Larger Mixing Bowl
- 2 ½ cups gluten-free all-purpose flour
- 4 tbsp cacao powder (or use Black Cocoa for a dramatic black color)
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- pinch of salt
- 1 1/2 cups zucchini, washed and pureed roughly (Please buy organic zucchini only; it is on the "dirty" list with the EWG
Useful Equipment
- 2 8x4 inch loaf pans (I use this brand)
- 1 can organic canola spray (I use this brand)
Instructions
Prep
- Preheat oven to 350 F
- Wash zucchini, chop, and then puree/chop to a rough consistency in a high-speed blender or processor. If you need to add a few teaspoons of water to get it to blend, press it out with paper towels to dry zucchini pulp a bit.
- Make flax eggs and set aside for 5 minutes
- Add ACV to the milk and set aside for 5 minutes
Make the Batter
In small mixing bowl, stir up or hand-blend sugar, flax eggs, milk/ACV mixture, oil and vanilla.
In larger mixing bowl, stir up with a spoon the flour, cacao powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt.
Pour the contents of the smaller bowl (wet) into the larger bowl (dry) and blend together with a hand-blender or spoon. Don't over stir or the mixture will not bake properly.
Add in the pureed/chopped zucchini. Hand stir into the batter, again very little stirring.
Spray the 2 loaf pans with organic canola spray, dust with cacao powder and pour batter into each.
- Tap on counter to remove air bubbles - this batter seems to hold air bubbles easily, maybe it's my mixer.
Bake
Bake for 60 minutes to possible 75 minutes or until a test comes out clean. To avoid the top browning, cut a rectangle of parchment paper and put it on the top of the cake at about 45 minutes.
Let cool before attempting to remove them from the pan.
Torrey says
Have this in the oven right now! Smells amazing, can’t wait to try!
Debbie says
Wow, that’s great news and I saw your post about it! Thank you Torrey, so happy you enjoyed this recipe! Dee xx.
Debbie says
Hi Christina,
You might be able to use maple syrup (personally I wouldn’t use honey, harvesting honey harms bees, did you know? So that is why it is not vegan), but I don’t think a liquid sweetener would give you the same cake-like consistency.
Dee xx.
Debbie says
Hi Christina, I’m think so. Compare the size of the mini loaves in the link I sent to the size of your regular loaf pan and see if they hold the same amount. Good luck! Dee xx
Tara says
Oh my! How delicious!! Will definitely have to give this a try when all our zucchini is ready! 🙂
Debbie says
Tara! Thank you, that’s great news, hope you enjoy it! Dee xx
Jul says
Looks beyond amazing, can’t wait to make it. What does pulverised mean?
Debbie says
Hi Jul,
Pulverise means to smash, crush, and mush up. Let me know if that’s not clear, thanks for stopping by! Dee xx
Ela says
I am sure this loaf makes every girl (and probably also every boy) very happy. I wish I had one loaf in front of me now 😀
Debbie says
Haha! You are probably right, and you should know given your own awesome bread recipe! Take care Ela! Dee xx
Nadia says
This sounds absolutely delicious Dee! 😀 I love zucchini chocolate bread!
Debbie says
Thank you Nadia! So happy you stopped by! Dee xx.
Annie says
Hi there, this loaf sounds delicious. But do you mean quarter of one zucchini ( and if so what size?), Or do you mean quarter of a cup of zucchini ? Would love to make the recipe but I am not feeling confident about the quantities at the moment!
Nisha / @rainbowplantlife says
This chocolate loaf sounds heavenly, Dee! I am so craving chocolate now. Love your addition of zucchini, so healthy 🙂
Debbie says
Aww Nisha, thank you so much ! So happy you like my chocolate zucchini loaf, it doesn’t have that much zucchini, but it is so healthy and plant-based, I’m very excited about this recipe! Dee xx.