Dark Chocolate Coconut Zucchini Bread

Dark Chocolate Coconut Zucchini Bread is a healthier whole wheat quick bread packed with grated zucchini, coconut, and big chocolate flavor!

I grew up on zucchini bread — my mom made it all the time.  Being the veggie lover I was as a child, even I was skeptical of a bread made with vegetables.  Sure, there was carrot cake and pumpkin bread, but zucchini?   Even today I wonder about it — it’s not like it lends a big flavor to your baked goods — it’s pretty flavor-less!  Maybe people started adding it to quick breads because it overflows the old garden, or because of the nutritional value it adds?   Maybe because — flavorless or not — it just makes things ridiculously moist and delicious?

I think I’m going with that last one. 🙂

Last year I posted my Oatmeal Coconut Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread and it was so wholesome and delicious! This dark chocolate version is like the sinful, dark-chocolatey cousin of that bread.  There’s dark chocolate cocoa powder AND semi-sweet chocolate chips, so it’s double the chocolate pleasure, and I added my favorite instant espresso powder to intensify that chocolate flavor.

My motto is, and always has been, the more chocolate the better. 🙂

And I believe the more coconut the better, which is probably why I left the coconut oil and sweetened shredded coconut in this version.  Coconut oil makes baked goods so tender, and while it doesn’t really taste like coconut, it smells like coconut, which makes it seem like there’s more coco-nutty goodness to me.

Be warned, this bread will not last long, especially if there are severe chocolate lovers in the house.  I ought to know!  My husband doesn’t care for chocolate that much, but he still seemed to find it good enough to eat, and the kids wanted two slices a day, which I put a stop to fast.  Nobody was keeping me from having my fair share — nosiree.

I am the baker, after all, and the baker should always get more than everybody else.  Always.  🙂

More zucchini love!

Oatmeal Coconut Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread

Skillet Zucchini Cornbread

Zucchini and Yellow Squash Noodles with Turkey Sausage Bolognese

Dark Chocolate Coconut Zucchini Bread

 

Print

Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

45 mins

Total time

1 hour 5 mins

 

Dark Chocolate Coconut Zucchini Bread is a healthier whole wheat quick bread packed with grated zucchini, coconut, and big chocolate flavor!

Author: Flavor the Moments

Serves: 10-12 servings

Ingredients

• 1½ cups whole wheat white flour (all purpose flour may be substituted)
• ⅓ cup unsweetened dark chocolate cocoa powder
• 1½ teaspoons baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¾ cup brown sugar, packed (granulated sugar may be substituted)
• ½ cup coconut oil, melted (canola oil may be substituted)
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 2 cups grated zucchini (about 2 medium)
• ½ cup sweetened shredded coconut
• ⅓ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a standard size loaf pan with cooking spray and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, espresso powder, and salt. Set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, vigorously whisk the brown sugar, coconut oil, and eggs until thickened and frothy, about 1 minute. Stir in the zucchini and coconut until well combined.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir with a rubber scraper until the flour is incorporated, and stir in the chocolate chips. The batter will be thick. Pour into the prepared pan and spread evenly.
5. Bake for 45-55 minutes on the middle rack of the oven, checking for doneness after 40 minutes as oven temperatures vary significantly. The bread is done when a toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out with moist crumbs. Cool on a wire rack in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove from the pan and cool completely. Slice, serve, and enjoy!

Notes

Recipe by Flavor the Moments.

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