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By Michelle Marine
on Aug 02, 2023, Updated Oct 29, 2023
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Do you have zucchini coming out of your ears? Zucchini absorbs flavors from other food. It can be “hidden” in other recipes such as this delicious Chocolate Chip Zucchini Banana Bread Recipe. This one is delicious, and this huge batch recipe gets you a big bang for your buck by making five loaves at once! Eat one right away and put four in your freezer for another day.
A couple friends recently gave me a bunch of zucchinis because I have been griping that my plants died. (Darn you, squash beetles!) Suddenly, I have lots of zucchini to deal with. I have a couple standby zucchini recipesItalian Zucchini Pie and Chocolate Zucchini Cake, but I wanted to try something new.
Table of Contents
- Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread Recipe
- Tips for the Best Zucchini Bread
- Save Zucchini Bread in the Freezer for Later
- Chocolate Chip Zucchini Banana Bread :: Recipe Recipe
Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread Recipe
In a search for the perfect chocolate chip zucchini banana bread recipe, I adapted this recipe for Banana Zucchini Bread at Taste of Home. The addition of chocolate chips makes the bread even better!
Ingredients for Zucchini Bread with Chocolate Chips
Zucchini Banana Bread is a delightful combination of flavors. The bananas and zucchini make a moist loaf. You’ll need:
- Eggs, room temperature
- Sugar
- Coconut oil
- Bananas (the riper the better for natural sweetness)
- Zucchini
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Ground cinnamon
- Salt
- Chocolate chips
- Chopped nuts (optional)
Prepare the Zucchini
Start preparing the zucchini by washing it thoroughly. Trim the ends of the zucchini and cut out any bad spots. If it is a younger zucchini with thin green skin, you can leave it intact if you want. However, if you don’t want to draw attention to it, peel the zucchini.
Use a box grater or food processor with a shred setting to finely grate the zucchini. Gently squeeze any excess moisture out of the zucchini with a clean kitchen towel.
How to Mix the Bread Batter
Mix all the dry ingredients in a big bowl—flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and a pinch of salt. In another bowl, mash the ripe bananas to a creamy texture. Then add in the eggs, sugar, and melted coconut oil and stir into the mashed bananas. Combine the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Do NOT overmix. Finally add the shredded zucchini and chocolate chips. I prefer to use dark chocolate, but you can use your favorite brand and type.
Ready, Set, Bake
Once you have all the ingredients combined, spoon the batter into loaf pans and bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Tips for the Best Zucchini Bread
Although this zucchini banana bread recipe is simple, here are a few tips to get the best results.
- Don’t overmix. It helps to make this bread in a huge mixer. I love my Wonder Mix mixer! It holds enough batter for 5 loaves of bread at a time and reduces time I have to spend in my kitchen. I use the same system to make chocolate chip banana bread {without zucchini} and also the everyday bread I make with flour I grind myself.
- Grease the loaf pans thoroughly. Use grease, oil, or a butter wrapper to get all the sides of the pan plus the bottom. When your bread is done baking, turn the pan upside down to remove the loaf. It’s way easier to slice and freeze for later if it comes out of the pan without breaking.
- Bake until edges pull away from the sides. Sweet breads like this one are not always an exact science due to the moisture in the bananas and zucchini. You’ll know your bread is done baking when the edges are browned and pulling away from the sides of the pan. A knife or toothpick inserted in the center should be clean when you pull it out to know that the center of the loaf is baked.
- Tent with aluminum foil if it is browning too quickly. If your bread is already golden brown but still isn’t done baking, use a “tent” of aluminum foil over the top. This allows the bread to continue baking but will slow down the browning process on top.
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Save Zucchini Bread in the Freezer for Later
We liked this bread so much that I made SEVEN loaves! The first time I made it, I made one batch to make sure I liked it. The second time I made it, I doubled the batch and had enough batter for 5 loaves – 3 small, and 2 big.
As you know, I love freezing meals for later. Banana bread and zucchini bread are perfect stashing away in the freezer. Wrap each loaf in aluminum foil and then place in a ziploc bag. Squeeze out as much air as you can and then close and freeze. Zucchini bread is good in the freezer for 4 months.
Can I omit the eggs for a vegan zucchini bread?
Use egg replacers like applesauce, mashed banana, or flaxseed meal mixed with water as a substitute for eggs to make a vegan version of this recipe. The texture may be more dense, but it will still be delicious!
How do I prevent the chocolate chips from sinking to the bottom of the bread?
Toss the chocolate chips in a small amount of flour before adding them to the batter to prevent them sinking.
My kids can’t even taste the zucchini in this recipe, but they do enjoy those chocolate chips. As a result, my kids are more likely to eat it and, unbeknownst to them, they are getting extra vegetables! 🙂 Have you tried the zucchini banana combination before? Let me know what you think!
For more zucchini recipes, try these:
- Savory Italian Zucchini Pie
- Air Fryer Zucchini Fries
Yield: 2 loaves
Chocolate Chip Zucchini Banana Bread :: Recipe
A great way to use up all that extra zucchini from your garden! Your kids won't even know the zucchini is in there.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time50 minutes
Total Time1 hour 10 minutes
Ingredients
- 4 eggs
- 1 3/4 cups sugar, plus a little more for dusting the top of the dough
- 1 cup coconut oil
- 2 medium ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 cup)
- 3 cups all-purpose flour {I used freshly ground soft white wheat}
- 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1-1/2 cups shredded unpeeled zucchini
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- Optional: 1 cup chopped nuts {pecans or walnuts}
Instructions
- Beat eggs in a mixing bowl.
- Add sugar and oil and beat until light and fluffy.
- Add bananas and mix well. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; stir into egg mixture.
- Stir in zucchini, chocolate chips and nuts if desired just until combined.
- Pour into two greased 9-in. x 5-in. loaf pans.
- Sprinkle a little extra sugar on top of the batter, if desired.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool completely.
Notes
If you use freshly ground flour, really pack the flour in the scoop to make sure it's filled all the way, in the same manner you would measure out brown sugar. I recently learned this tip and it's making a big difference when I use freshly ground flour!
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About Michelle Marine
Michelle Marine is the author of How to Raise Chickens for Meat, a long-time green-living enthusiast, and rural Iowa mom of four. She empowers families to grow and eat seasonal, local foods; to reduce their ecological footprint; and to come together through impactful travel.
Read More About Me
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