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Dark Chocolate Zucchini Brownies (GF + DF)

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Zucchini has to be one of my favorite add-ins to baked goods. Muffins, bread, and even cake can all be deliciously made with heaps of good-for-you zucchini! A green veggie in my desserts? Yep! Because who doesn’t want to feel a little bit better when indulging in something ooey gooey and ultra chocolatey?

These brownies are so decadent and fudgy, and with a thin layer of sweet dark chocolate frosting, you won’t be able to pass them up. And once you get the brownie-making method down, this recipe is really quite easy. The chocolate can be melted in the microwave, and if you have a stand mixer, the eggs and sugar can be left for a few minutes to whip while you shred your zucchini. Throw some extra chocolate chips into the batter for an irresistible triple chocolate brownie! 

Some of the ingredients I love for this recipe:

Dutch process cocoa powder is darker in color and richer in flavor. Since there are no leavening agents in this recipe (baking soda, etc) you can also use regular cocoa powder – your brownies just won’t be dark chocolate.

Eggs whip up with the sugar to create a fluffy batter which gives the brownies lift, negating the need for baking soda or powder.

Coconut sugar is an unrefined, low GI sugar. It tastes less sweet than white sugar, and makes for a great, better-for-you alternative.

Arrowroot starch thickens the brownie batter and gives the brownies some substance. You should be okay replacing it with tapioca starch.

Yield: 16 Brownies

Dark Chocolate Zucchini Brownies (GF + DF)

Dark Chocolate Zucchini Brownies (GF + DF)

Ultra fudgy brownies made with shredded zucchini and dark cocoa powder. These chocolate-frosted squares are grain-free + dairy-free and totally irresistible!

Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Additional Time 1 hour
Total Time 2 hours 5 minutes

Ingredients

Brownies

  • 1 cup + 1/4 cup dairy-free chocolate chips, divided
  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil (I used olive oil)
  • 1 tsp instant coffee granules or espresso powder (optional)
  • 2 large eggs, room temp
  • 3/4 cup coconut sugar
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 Tbsp dutch process cocoa powder
  • 1/4 cup arrowroot starch
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 cup finely shredded zucchini, excess juice squeezed out

Frosting

  • 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  • 2 Tbsp dutch process cocoa powder
  • 1 Tbsp refined coconut oil or vegan butter, melted
  • 2 Tbsp plant-based milk

Instructions

  1. Bring your eggs to room temperature by placing them in a glass of warm water for around 10 minutes. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line an 8x8" pan or baking dish with non-stick spray and parchment paper - I like to cut my parchment paper into two long pieces, criss-crossing them in the middle.
  2. Melt together 1 cup of the chocolate chips with the vegetable oil and instant coffee granules/espresso powder in the microwave or using the double boiler method; stir and set aside.
  3. In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, add the eggs and coconut sugar. Whisk on medium-high speed until the mixture becomes fluffy and light brown in color, adding the vanilla extract along the way.
  4. Gently fold the melted chocolate into the whisked egg mixture. Fold in the cocoa powder, arrowroot starch, and salt. Stir in the shredded zucchini and 1/4 cup of chocolate chips (optional) until combined.
  5. Bake brownies at 350°F for 30-35 minutes or until the center looks set. Allow brownies to cool for 10 minutes before making your frosting. In a small, microwave-safe bowl, combine the powdered sugar, cocoa powder, coconut oil or butter, and plant-based milk. Microwave the frosting until warm to the touch. Pour over warm brownies, tilting the pan until frosting is evenly distributed.
  6. Allow brownies to totally cool before slicing and serving. For clean cuts, use the excess parchment paper to remove the entire brownie square. Slice into 16 brownies, wiping your knife clean between each slice. Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature.

Notes

Dutch process cocoa powder gives these brownies a richer, dark chocolate flavor. You can use regular cocoa powder, but the brownies won't be considered dark chocolate.

You want to finely shred your zucchini with the skin on. Place on a cheesecloth or paper towel and squeeze out and discard the juice.

The instant coffee/espresso powder will deepen the chocolate flavor, but it is totally optional.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

16

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 169Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 25mgSodium: 99mgCarbohydrates: 25gFiber: 1gSugar: 23gProtein: 2g

calculated nutrition information may not always be accurate

© Rachael | Sugared & Stirred
Cuisine: American / Category: Brownies

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @sugaredandstirred on Instagram and hashtag #sugaredandstirred

Other brownie recipes you might like:

Tahini Swirl Brownies (GF + DF)
Orange Brownies (GF + DF)
Almond Butter Brownies (GF + DF)

Other zucchini recipes you might like:

Spiced Zucchini Cake
Healthier Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins
Gluten-Free Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins
Dark Chocolate Zucchini Bread

Gluten-Free Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins (dairy-free)

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I’m so excited to bring you guys these Gluten-Free Muffins! Some of you have been asking for GF recipes, and I’m happy to report that these muffins are also dairy-free, can easily be made vegan, and they taste like regular, glutenous muffins! Yes!! While researching how to come up with my own GF flour mix, I stumbled upon this super helpful formula by The Heritage Cook – check it out if you’re interested in coming up with your own mix!

These muffins are a super moist (thank you, zucchini!), better-for-you muffin that I think you’ll love. Once you have all of your ingredients ready, they’re super easy to get together. As noted in the recipe below, I recommend using paper muffin liners, along with non-stick spray. These muffins will stick to your pan without a liner (thank you, almond flour), and they may even stick to your liners – I found that spraying the inside of the liners with olive oil remedied this. Happy baking!

Gluten-Free Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins
Makes 9 regular muffins

1/3 cup + 1 Tbsp white rice flour
1/3 cup + 1 Tbsp GF oat flour
1/2 cup tapioca starch/flour
1/4 cup almond flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cardamom (optional)
1/2 cup coconut sugar
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk, room temp
2 large eggs, room temp (or two flax eggs* if vegan)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups finely shredded zucchini (about 1 1/2 medium zucchinis)
1/2 cup dairy-free chocolate chips + more to top each muffin

1.) Preheat your oven to 300°F and line your muffin pan with liners. Then, spray the liners with non-stick spray (I used olive oil spray). I don’t recommend making these muffins without liners, as baked goods made with almond flour tend to stick. Bring your eggs to room temperature by placing them in a glass of warm water for 10 minutes.

2.) In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, tapioca starch, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and cardamom; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together the coconut sugar, coconut oil, almond milk, eggs, and vanilla extract.

3.) Shred your zucchini until you have 1 1/2 cups. Then place the zucchini shreds on a paper towel or cheesecloth and squeeze out and discard the excess juice. Add zucchini shreds to your wet ingredients, breaking up the clumps and mixing in.

4.) Pour wet ingredients into dry and gently mix until no flour pockets remain. Mix in the chocolate chips. Fill the muffin wells all the way to the top (I distributed my batter between 9 muffin wells). Top each muffin with extra chocolate chips.

5.) Bake at 300°F for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out with a few crumbs. Allow the muffins to cool in the pan on top of a cooling rack for 10 minutes. Carefully remove each muffin and enjoy warm or allow to cool on the cooling rack. Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature. Enjoy!

*two flax eggs = 2 Tbsp flaxseed meal + 6 Tbsp water. Allow “eggs” to thicken for a few minutes before adding to your mix

Zucchini Tahini Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Delicious, soft-baked Zucchini Tahini Oatmeal Cookies stuffed with loads of chocolate chips, undetectable zucchini shreds, and warm, nutty tahini. Topped with toasted sesame seeds, these cookies are a unique, dairy-free & oil-free twist on the oatmeal chocolate chip cookies we all know and love!

Zucchini Tahini Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Have you ever had zucchini in a cookie? I seriously considered eating these for breakfast, because, ya now, oatmeal + zucchini = breakfast, right? Consider these the better-for-you, not-so-traditional version of oatmeal chocolate chip cookies! I wanted to use tahini in these because I love the nutty taste, and I really liked the idea of creating a cookie that’s free of both dairy and oil.

These cookies are so easy (and quick!) to get together – shredding your zucchini will be the “hardest” part! I like to use coconut sugar when I can since it’s a low GI sweetener (maple syrup and honey are not). You can really play with this recipe, adding and subtracting whatever add-ins you like: add nuts or seeds, leave out some of the chocolate chips, add dried fruit, etc!

Yield: 24 Cookies

Zucchini Tahini Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Zucchini Tahini Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Delicious, soft-baked cookies stuffed with undetectable zucchini shreds, loads of chocolate chips, and warm, nutty tahini. Topped with toasted sesame seeds, these cookies are a unique, dairy-free & oil-free twist on the oatmeal chocolate chip cookies we all know and love!

Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup tahini
  • 3/4 cup coconut sugar (or lightly packed brown sugar)
  • 1 large egg + 1 large egg yolk, room temp
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup oat flour
  • 1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
  • 3/4 cup finely grated zucchini (excess juice squeezed out after measuring)
  • 3/4 cup dairy-free chocolate chips
  • 1 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds (optional - see notes below)

Instructions

  1. Preheat your oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Bring your eggs to room temperature by placing them in a glass of warm water for around 10 minutes. Meanwhile, finely shred the zucchini until you have 3/4 cup. Place the shreds on a paper towel and squeeze out + discard the excess liquid.
  2. In a large bowl, mix together the tahini, coconut sugar, egg + egg yolk, and vanilla extract until totally combined; set aside.
  3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, oats, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until combined.
  4. Gently mix in the shredded zucchini and 1/4 cup of the chocolate chips (the remaining 1/2 cup is for topping the dough balls).
  5. Scoop 1.5 Tbsp dough balls onto your prepared baking sheet - 8 per batch - and top each dough ball with chocolate chips, pressing the chips in slightly (it's okay if the dough balls flatten a bit). Bake at 350°F for 6-8 minutes or until the cookies no longer look wet. Be careful not to over-bake these!
  6. Immediately top the baked cookies with toasted sesame seeds. Let the cookies cool for 2 minutes on your baking sheet before transferring to a cooling rack. Repeat until all cookies are baked.
  7. Store cooled leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature. The cookies will soften as they sit.

Notes

  • These cookies will be softer the next day, after they've been stored in an airtight container
  • To toast sesame seeds: add 1-4 Tbsp of sesame seeds to a dry pan on medium heat. Stir constantly until seeds begin to turn darker in color and a nutty aroma fills the air - they will burn easily if left to sit on the heat for too long. Once toasted, immediately remove from the heat and transfer to a small bowl to cool

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

12

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 253Total Fat: 11gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 46mgSodium: 168mgCarbohydrates: 36gFiber: 3gSugar: 18gProtein: 6g

calculated nutrition information may not always be accurate

© Rachael | Sugared & Stirred
Cuisine: American / Category: Cookies

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @sugaredandstirred on Instagram and hashtag #sugaredandstirred

Dark Chocolate Zucchini Bread

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If there’s chocolate in my bread, it’s over. And by “over” I mean gone. The bread is gone, because I love a decadent, chocolatey bread!! This double chocolate zucchini bread is loaded with cocoa powder and dark chocolate chips and then drizzled with melted chocolate. YES. And it has a whole cup and a half of shredded zucchini in it! This bread is fluffy, moist, and reminds me of chocolate cake (minus the loads of sugar!). Seriously! If you’re looking for a simple, delicious, dairy-free zucchini bread then this loaf is for you. It can easily be made into muffins, too, if that’s more your thing (directions below)! Happy baking!

Dark Chocolate Zucchini Bread
Makes one 9×5″ loaf (see Notes for muffins)

Bread
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup white whole wheat flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
1/2 cup coconut sugar
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk, room temp*
2 large eggs, room temp*
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups grated zucchini
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips, chunks, or chopped chocolate
Chocolate Drizzle
2 Tbsp dark chocolate chips, chunks, or chopped chocolate
1-2 tsp coconut oil, solid

1.) Preheat oven to 350°F and spray loaf or muffin pan with olive oil. Bring your eggs to room temperature by placing them in a glass of warm water for ~10 minutes.

2.) Sift together the flours and cocoa powder in a large bowl. Whisk in the baking soda, baking powder, and salt until combined; set aside. In a small bowl, combine the coconut sugar, coconut oil, almond milk, eggs, and vanilla; set aside.

3.) Grate zucchini (with the skin on) until you have 1 1/2 cups. Place zucchini shreds on a paper towel and gently squeeze out and discard the excess juice; set aside.

4.) Stir wet ingredients into dry until nearly combined. Fold in the zucchini shreds and chocolate chips or chunks and mix until no flour pockets remain. Pour your batter into the greased pan. If you prefer topping your loaf with extra chocolate chips vs the chocolate drizzle, add the chips now and slightly press them into the batter. Bake for ~30 minutes or until the loaf bounces back when lightly tapped. If you prefer the toothpick method, be aware that the chocolate chips inside the loaf may alter your test.

5.) Allow your bread to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing to cool on a cooling rack. If you turn your loaf pan over, the bread should pop right out. If you’ve added toppings, you can turn your loaf pan on its side and shimmy the loaf out with a butter knife – that way you don’t smash the toppings.

6.) After your bread has cooled, you can melt together the 2 Tbsp of chocolate chips and the coconut oil. Use a spoon to drizzle the melted chocolate over your loaf. Slice and enjoy!

*room temp is important, because you don’t want your melted coconut oil to solidfy once it hits the almond milk

NOTES:
To make ~10 regular muffins, reduce baking powder to 1/4 tsp, raise temp to 375°, and bake for 18-22 minutes or until muffin bounces back when lightly tapped

Recipe adapted from wyldflour