Whole Wheat Zucchini Chocolate Chip Bread

If you’ve been trying to find new baking recipes with zucchini, want a healthier version of zucchini bread to feed to your family and friends, or just have so much zucchini and need ways to use it up, this whole wheat zucchini bread with chocolate chips is the recipe you need!

One thing I love about this recipe is that you can easily freeze loaves of zucchini chocolate chip bread to save for a later date. In the middle of winter, it’s so nice to pull out a loaf of homemade zucchini bread to enjoy.

Zucchini bread is great for breakfast, as a snack, or for dessert! A must-bake when you have tons of fresh zucchini to use.

Why You’ll Love This Zucchini Chocolate Chip Bread Recipe

Level of difficulty: Easy to moderate. Grating zucchini may seem intimidating to some, but I promise it isn’t hard! The rest of this healthy zucchini bread recipe is pretty standard measuring and mixing, and dividing your batter between loaf pans.

Flavor: This moist zucchini bread has a lovely undertone of cinnamon with pops of chocolate.

Time: It will take you about 90 minutes to make zucchini bread. This includes time to shred your zucchini, make your batter, and cook your loaves. The time noted does not include time to cool.

Ingredients Needed

Fresh Zucchini: you will need 3-4 medium sized zucchinis for this whole wheat zucchini bread recipe. There is no need to peel your zucchini, you’ll get more nutrients from the skin! Just wash them thoroughly prior to grating.

Whole Wheat Flour: whole wheat flour contains a greater variety of vitamins, minerals, and fiber as compared to its white flour counterpart. While this recipe uses both types of flour, there is a greater amount of whole wheat used to increase these health benefits in this bake.

Wheat Germ: wheat germ is an excellent source of fiber as well as many other nutrients.

Ground Flaxseed: the ground flax and water in this recipe are used to create two flax “eggs”. This helps to lighten up your zucchini bread in terms of calories, fat, and cholesterol. Plus, ground flax is a great source of omega-3s! If you’ve never had flax before, the flavor profile for this ingredient is a mild, nutty flavor. You can use either brown or golden flax in this recipe (golden flax has a milder flavor than brown flaxseed varieties).

BAKING TIP: Using room temperature eggs is often suggested for baking because the eggs will incorporate into the softened butter easier. This results in a smooth, uniform batter. If you’re setting your eggs out on the counter to bring them up to room temperature, the standard rule of thumb is to set them out for at least 30 minutes prior to using them.

See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.

Step-By-Step Instructions

1. Pre-heat oven and prep baking dish. Pre-heat oven to 325° F (163°C) and spray 3 standard loaf pans with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
2. Wash and prep your zucchinis. Wash and grate your zucchinis. Measure out 4 cups of shredded zucchini and set aside. There is no need to pat your zucchini dry – this is what adds moisture to your zucchini bread!
3. Make your flax “eggs”: Mix the flax and water together in a small dish and set aside. Goal to have it sit at least 5 minutes to thicken.
4. Mix together wet ingredients, sugar, and zucchini. Beat the eggs well, then add in both sugars, oil, flax/water mixture, the shredded zucchini, and vanilla. Mix until well combined.
5. Add in dry ingredients. Slowly add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients (if preferred, you can mix together in a separate bowl prior to adding to your wet ingredients). Stir until well combined and a batter is formed. Stir in the chocolate chips until evenly distributed.
6. Divide batter evenly between 3 loaf pans. If desired, top with additional chocolate chips.
7. Bake. Place in the oven and bake for 60-75 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center of the loaves.
8. Cool loaves in their pans for 10-15 minutes, then turn out onto a cooling rack. Allow your loaves to cool in their pans for 10-15 minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack to finish cooling.
9. Slice and serve: Slice and enjoy! I like to eat mine with some butter.
10. Store Leftovers: Store leftovers in an air-tight container (or ziplock bag) on the counter for 2-3 days or in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Expert Tips

Does it matter if I use summer squash instead of zucchini in this recipe? No! I’ve used a mixture of green zucchini and yellow summer squash in this zucchini chocolate chip bread recipe many times. Select whichever looks best at your farmers market, grocery store, or from your garden.

Don’t use the huge zucchinis for zucchini bread. The small to medium sized zucchinis are the best zucchinis to use for zucchini bread because they will help create a moist loaf. The massive zucchinis will result in a dryer loaf, which isn’t what you want.

Tips for grating zucchini: Here are a few helpful hints for grating zucchini:

• after washing your zucchini, cut off the rounded end and use the stem-end as a handle while grating. This will allow you to use up as much of your zucchini as possible to create your shredded zucchini for use in this recipe
• I like to use a simple 3D, or box grater, to grate my zucchinis. I place my grater on a dinner plate, and while applying medium pressure, quickly move the zucchini up and down the grater, always keeping the zucchini touching the grater (it grates on the downward motion). The box grater keeps most of the zucchini pieces inside of it, and the plate is a simple surface to transfer your grated zucchini over to a measuring cup on and then to clean afterwards
• Do not use a super small grating size for zucchinis, they will turn to mush. I use the larger, circular holes on my box grater. Similar to what you might use for a block of cheese.

How to Store Zucchini Bread

Zucchini bread should be stored in an air-tight container (or ziplock bag) to prevent it from drying out. You can store fresh zucchini bread on the counter for 2-3 days or in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Freezing Zucchini Bread

You may be wondering if you can freeze zucchini bread. And the answer is a resounding yes! I love freezing zucchini bread to enjoy during the winter when the best fresh produce is a sweet, sweet memory. Here is how to freeze a loaf of zucchini bread:

• Make sure your loaf of zucchini bread is cooled completely before wrapping (I often leave my loaf on my cooling rack and cover it with a tea towel for several hours to ensure it is fully cooled and I won’t trap moisture around my loaf when I store it)
• Make sure to properly wrap your loaf of zucchini bread to avoid freezer burn. Do this by doing a tight, double wrap of plastic wrap followed by one layer of tinfoil
• Label and date your frozen whole wheat zucchini bread with chocolate chips
• Freeze up to 6 months (I find it’s best when eaten within 3-4 months)
• When you’re ready to enjoy your frozen zucchini bread, remove the layer of tinfoil and let the plastic wrapped loaf thaw at room temperature (about 1-2 hours). Slice and enjoy!

Helpful Equipment

You will need standard size loaf pans to make zucchini bread.

Tip: Look for loaf pans at your local thrift shop! I have found that thrift shops can have some high quality kitchen items, especially when it comes to miscellaneous pans (like bread pans, pie pans, bundt pans, etc.) at a very low price point. If you are in need of a loaf pan for this recipe, check out the thrift shop! You can also get loaf pans from your local home goods store or online.

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