If you want to bake an one-bowl, quick bread absolutely no one will suspect is gluten-free, this ultimately fudgy double chocolate chip bread is the magic ticket. There’s two simple tricks to making a gluten-free chocolate zucchini bread ultra moist, but not soggy or sunken in the middle. Don’t worry, it’s easy peasy and I’ll show you how!
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Double Chocolate Gluten Free Zucchini Bread? Yes Please!
When it comes to making quick breads with gluten-free flour, the process is simple. Take this chocolate chip zucchini bread made with gluten-free flour and cocoa powder. It’s a one bowl recipe, works with a variety of GF flour blends, and like this 5-star gluten-free apple bread it’s as simple as mix, pour and bake.
So where do all the secret gluten-free baking tricks come in? Well, after developing hundreds of homemade gluten-free bread recipes, I’ve learned what throws off the texture the most is the ratio of wet to dry ingredients. GF flour can be a little stubborn when it comes to soaking up moisture.
In the case making gluten-free chocolate zucchini bread, you have a little bit of advantage because the cocoa powder assists absorbing water from the grated zucchini. But, unfortunately that doesn’t go far enough.
The first thing I experiment with when breads sink, is baking lower and slower. That worked wonders with banana bread made with gluten-free flour, and it did the job with this bread as well.
The other easy step I use for gluten-free zucchini recipes is squeezing excess moisture from the grated summer squash. It gives that extra oomph of tender, fluffy crumb, but since zucchini is made of mostly water, don’t worry about the bread drying. I do this for my famous almond flour zucchini muffins to chocolate chip gluten-free zucchini cookies and everything in between.
Ingredient Tid Bits
- Zucchini – Grate with box grater or a grater disc on a food processor with the skin on. Soak up extra moisture by blotting grated zucchini dry with paper towels or a dish towel before adding to batter.
- Oil or coconut oil – Use any preferred oil. I usually use canola, but evidently people have some strong opinions on that…Since there is no butter in the recipe, the bread dairy-free, as long as you use a dairy-free all-purpose gluten-free flour. More on that below.
- All purpose gluten free flour – I highly recommend Cup4Cup gluten-free flour for bread recipes, but quick breads are more forgiving, so use any preferred.
- Unsweetened Cocoa Powder – I prefer the rich, smooth taste of dutch-processed cocoa powder, but if you only have natural unsweetened cocoa powder on hand, don’t let it stop you from making this!
- Chocolate chips – When making quick breads or cakes with chocolate chips, I like to use a mixture of semi-sweet and miniature so the chips are evenly dispersed and don’t sink to the bottom. Of course, dairy-free chips work as well!
Free Guide! 5 easy tips for baking like a gluten-free pro!
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Let’s Make This Together!
(Below shows step-by-step photos and modified instructions. For the complete recipe, along with ingredient amounts, scroll down to the recipe card.)
Grate and blot
Grate the unpeeled zucchini and lay in a double layer paper towel or dish towel. Squeeze gently to soak up excess water and set aside. I like to do this before making the bread so it has extra time to dry out a bit.
Whisk wet Ingredients
I don’t believe in dirtying up extra bowls when it doesn’t really make a difference. Take the shortcut and whisk together the sugars, oil, egg, and vanilla extract in a large mixing bowl. Then stir in your slightly dried zucchini.
Stir in dry
Add GF flour, unsweetened cocoa, baking powder, and baking soda. Stir until very well combined, and no flour pockets remain. Then stir in the chocolate chips, reserving some for the top.
Pour and bake
Grease a 8X4 loaf pan. I prefer to use that over a 9X5 so the bread rises higher into a nice domed loaf. Grease with nonstick cooking spray. If you bread pan has a tendency to stick, I would line the bottom with piece of parchment paper.
Now let it sit for 10-15 minutes before baking. Why? Well, this bread has a lot of moisture and GF starches have a harder time absorbing it. So letting it sit gives it a little extra boost for saturating the flour so you don’t end up with a sunken middle.
Bake in a 325ºF oven for 1 hour to 1 hour 5 minutes. Be sure that it is fully baked through before pulling out, or it will sink.
How To Avoid Gluten Free Breads From Sinking
f you are often plagued with the sinking gluten-free bread blues, here’s my go-to tips to make sure that doesn’t happen. High moisture breads, such as zucchini bread or banana bread, often have this problem.
- Make sure the wet to dry ingredient ratios are accurate. It’s better to use gluten-free recipes specifically developed for gluten-free flour (ahem) then just swapping out a 1-to-1 GF flour in a wheat flour recipe. That’s where the majority of those dense or gummy results come from.
- High moisture breads need to bake longer to evaporate the liquids. It’s best to do this is a lower oven to extend the baking time and make sure it doesn’t rise too quickly, which risks sinking.
- Instead of increasing GF flour to absorb moisture, cut back on the liquid. More flour will lead to a dry, crumby texture. I prefer to use the least amount of flour to hold its shape and manipulate the amount of liquids.
- Let the batter rest in the pan for 10-15 minutes before baking. This gives extra time for the liquid to absorb in the starches, builds out the structure better, so you have a nice domed top.
Let’s Try Some Tasty Variations!
f you have a hard time leaving well enough alone, we are kindred spirits. Every time I bake, the alternative possibilities swim through my head. In the case of homemade chocolate zucchini bread, I love to add a little pizzazz.
For a chocolate orange twist add in 1 tablespoon orange zest and replace the vanilla extract with orange. Adding 1 teaspoon of espresso powder in chocolate recipes always enhances a richer, darker taste. Of course nuts, coconut, or dried cranberries are never a bad idea! Add in 2/3-3/4 cup.
If you try any of these ideas, or have your own, be sure to leave a comment below!
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Did you make this recipe? I love hearing from you! Leave a star rating and comment below the recipe card. It helps others when searching for recipes and I appreciate feedback from our community. You will always hear back from me! -Melissa
Moist, Fudgy Gluten-Free Chocolate Zucchini Bread
Ingredients
- 2 cups (340 g) grated zucchini , box grated recommended
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (117 g) packed brown sugar
- ¼ cup (55 g) oil, any preferred
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cup (181 g) all purpose gluten free flour, Cup4Cup brand is recommended – see recipe notes for dairy-free
- ⅓ cup (34 g) unsweetened baking cocoa, dutch processed preferred
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ cup (128 g) semi-sweet chocolate chips, I use mixture of miniature and regular
Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325ºF. Grease a 8X4 loaf pan with cooking spray. Set aside.
- Grate the zucchini and lay in a double layer paper towel or dish towel. Squeeze gently to soak up excess water and set aside.2 cups grated zucchini
- In a large bowl whisk together the egg, sugar, packed brown sugar, oil, and vanilla extract. Stir in the slightly dried zucchini.1 large egg, ½ cup granulated sugar, ½ cup packed brown sugar, ¼ cup oil, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Add the flour, unsweetened cocoa, baking powder, and baking soda. Stir until very well combined, and no flour pockets remain. Then stir in the chocolate chips. Pour into the prepared loaf pan and spread evenly. If desired, sprinkle some additional chocolate chips on top.1 ¼ cup all purpose gluten free flour, ⅓ cup unsweetened baking cocoa, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ¾ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- Let rest for 15 minutes before baking. This gives time for the GF starches to saturate and helps build the structure so the middle doesn't sink. Bake for 1 hour – 1 hour 5 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Be sure the bread is fully baked and set in the middle. Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Run a knife around the edges and then turn onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
Dairy-Free Note
The ingredients in this gluten-free zucchini bread are all dairy-free. However the recommended flour, Cup4Cup, does contain milk powder. King Arthur Measure-for-Measure makes a good runner up. Recipe adapted from moist gluten-free zucchini bread recipe.This post contains affiliate links. My opinions are always my own. If you purchase a product through an affiliate link, I make a small commission – at no cost to you. Read full disclosure policy here.
Hi – I am making this for Easter, can this be made the day before? I know that sometimes gluten free items dry out within 24-hours. Or should I make the morning of? Just trying to cut down the work 🙂
Hi Tina,
I get that. I would make it the night before and it will be fine the next morning, as long as it’s not sliced. Hope this helps!
Best,
Melissa
The 340 grams of zucchini is that before or after partial drying. For me 2 cups was pretty close to 340g but after drying only 250g.
Hey Helen,
Great question! That is before drying. Hope the recipe was a success!
Best,
Melissa
Delicious! I had a partial zucchini left over from another recipe so I decided to try this out. I didn’t have enough semi-sweet chips, so I added some milk chocolate chips to make up the shortage. Used an oat flour 1:1 blend, avocado oil, and slightly less sugar. So happy I made this! Thanks for the recipe!
Thanks for sharing, JoBaker! I appreciate the note.
Best,
Melissa
What a delicious moist bread. The grated zucchini melt into the bread so it is perfect to give to children so they get some veggies in. We enjoyed it very much! So did the grand kids but shhhh they thought they were just eating chocolate cake!
I am new to a gluten free lifestyle. This is the first recipe I’ve tried for baking and couldn’t taste a difference from a wheat flour quick bread. I used dark chocolate chips. The loaf is cake-like and flavorful. I-going to freeze some slices and see how that works. Thank you, I can’t wait to try more of your recipes.
Wow, Lynnette! You did much better than I did when I first started baking gluten-free. It was a complete disaster. But, it was also a lot harder then with a lot less recipe resources. I’m so happy your first time was a success and I hope you find a lot more of those on the website!
Best,
Melissa
The best ever bread. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Thank you so much! I really appreciate it!
Best,
Melissa