Scroll down to watch the step-by-step video.
My intention with this recipe was to make a brownie packed with some zucchini but it turns out the texture and flavor was much more like devils food cake, so I decided to call it Chocolate Zucchini Snack Cake instead.
You would never believe there is 2 cups of zucchini packed into this cake. It’s super rich, chocolate-y, and moist and tastes nothing like a vegetable.
It’s a great snack to pack when you’re on the go and makes the perfect partner to a great cup of coffee.
Chocolate Zucchini Snack Cake
This cake is even better when it’s cold, so be sure to store it in the fridge.
Prep Time15 mins
Cook Time30 mins
Total Time45 mins
Servings: 16 servings
Ingredients
- 2 eggs
- 1 tbsp. vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar or brown sugar
- 1/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce
- 1 cup white whole wheat flour
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1.5 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 2 cups shredded zucchini (about 11 ounces or 2 medium sized zucchini
- 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips + 1/4 cup to sprinkle on top
Instructions
- Pre heat oven to 350 degrees and coat and 88 baking dish with coconut oil or cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, mix together the eggs, vanilla, coconut sugar, and apple sauce. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, mix together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until everything is just combined.
- Gently fold the zucchini and 1/2 cup of the chocolate chips into the batter. Pour the batter into the baking pan and sprinkle the remaining chips over the top.
- Pop in the oven and bake for about 30 minutes or until set through. Cool and enjoy.
Lyn
Hi Dani, I have been following your blog for the last month and everything I have made from your site has been fantastic and has received rave reviews from my family. Excellent job! I just want to double check that the zucchini snack cake requires a tablespoon of vanilla.
Dani
Hi Lyn, I’m so happy to hear that! I’m glad you and your family are enjoying the recipes. And yes, there is 1 tbsp of vanilla in the snack cake 🙂
Nichole
Hi Dani I’m a new follower to your blog and every one of your recipes has come out amazingly good. I was wondering if you had a cookbook out and if not have you thought about publishing one?
Dani
Welcome Nichole! So happy to hear you’re enjoying the recipes! I don’t have a cookbook out yet, but hopefully will soon… 🙂
Jennifer Weise
Do you peel the zuchini first or grate as is?
Dani
I grate it as is.
Kasia Michalec
I enjoy your recipies and use them a lot. I really like that this recipe uses a lot of zucchini.
I cook gluten free so I tried substituting gluten free flour blend for wheat flour and the cake came out a bit dry. I am committed to trying and I have made it again. I have used 1/2 cup of apple sauce and added 1/4 cup of coconut oil. I know it adds a bit extra sugar to the recipe from apple sauce and fat from the oil, but It made the cake deliciously moist. Love it.
Dani
I’m so happy it finally worked out for you 🙂
Vy
I was craving chocolate and these were the perfect healthy choice. I also had one large zucchini left over from making your turkey chili with veggies so had to make good use of the left over veggi. The mixture was a little dry so I added another serving of egg white ( I sub egg with egg whites and added a whole snack pack of unsweetened apple sauce. I love it, thank you Dani!!! Discovered your website last night and made two recipes today.
Dani
Wow, you work quickly! So happy to have you and glad you enjoyed both recipes 🙂
Liz
So delicious and so easy! Also, your red lipstick is ON POINT in that video!
Dani
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed the recipe 🙂
Carrie
My sister in law clued me in to this website and I am feeling great eating much more clean food!
i made these tonight and they are delicious! I’ve never used coconut sugar, so I used brown sugar. I was wondering what the benefits are for using coconut sugar vs white sugar or brown sugar?
Thanks!
Also, I would definitely buy your cookbook!!!
Dani
Hi Carrie – coconut sugar simply offers more trace nutrients and mineral and is slightly less processed. But technically, sugar is sugar and the body reads it mostly all the same. I like coconut sugar because it’s slightly better quality then the others. However, it is more expensive. Bottom line – all sugar – no mater what you choose – should be eaten moderately, not a staple;)
Cheryl
Hi Dani. Love your site! Thanks for all you do to help us keep eating clean.
I’m interested in making the Chocolate Zucchini Snack Cake and was curious if you used hard white wheat or soft white wheat (pastry) flour.
Dani
I used hard wheat!
SweetSavoryMe
This looks like a wonderful recipe and I definitely plan to try it! Quick question…might you have a recommendation for switching out the eggs? The rest is perfect!
Dani
I’m not really sure. However, I have had some readers tell me they swapped in flax eggs with success. Would love to hear what you try and how goes.
Maggie
Howdy, Dani, from Calgary, Alberta, Canada! I’d like to thank you for your dedication and hard work at teaching us how to eat healthy, yet tasty, food. I wish I had more time to follow your videos and FB posts more often … darn work gets in the way… lol… but I certainly enjoy hearing about your ideas, tips, and your recipes when time permits. Also, I appreciate your humble approach and down-to-earth attitude. Keeping it “real” goes a long ways, in my books.
My question is: Is there a substitute for apple sauce? I made some cookies once with apple sauce, and I didn’t really like the texture … too soft/soggy. Perhaps there is something a little more solidifying?
Keep up the great work! Thanks again for your time and effort at promoting a healthy lifestyle and great food! Cheers to you!
Dani
Hi Maggie! Thanks so much for your feedback! You can definitely substitute applesauce with another fruit puree, although, it will probably have the same consistency…
Marge
Hi Dani, I forget how I discovered you but boy, what an introduction. I made the chocolate zucchini snack cake tonight and just took it out of the oven. I didn’t tweak your recipe at all. The wet & dry ingredients blended so-so and it was a sticky chore but boy, when I dumped the shredded zucchini in and got in there with my hands, it blended great. After 30 minutes it was seemingly not done according to the toothpick I gave it 5 more minutes with trying the toothpick. I was afraid it would burn. It looks really good and I can”t wait to try it. I’ll be back tomorrow with a review!
Dani
Hi Marge! I hope the cake worked for you and that you enjoyed it…. its a favorite in my house.
Alex Shaw
Hi Dani, firstly I must say I love your videos and blog posts in fact all your platforms! You are an inspiration and thank you for all the great recipes and foodie ideas you share. My question is, I’m planning to give the zucchini snack cake a try and I happen to have (the normal brown) wholemeal flour and wholemeal spelt flour in my cupboard could I use either of these? Many thanks Alex
Dani
Hi Alex! Unfortunately, I don’t think either can be used as an even swap. The spelt can take place up to half of the wheat and the almond would definitely require tweaking some of the other ingredients. I don;t know off of the top of my head the measurements, it would take a little trial and error. I would love to hear what your results are if you give it a go.
Marge
Okay, Dani, I’ve made your chocolate zucchini snack cake twice now and it is FAB and a GIANT HIT. This time I used 1/2C applesauce and 7 1/2 T sugar (1/2C = 8T). Also, I shredded several zucchinis with food processor and froze them in 2C glass containers. I have 2 more containers left in freezer. So much faster and easier than that box grater. When it thaws out, there’s lots of liquid and I did not drain it. I baked it in an 8″ x 9″ glass baking dish for 35 minutes and it came out great, very cakey, not pudding-like as I thought it might because of the extra liquid from the applesauce and zucchini juice. Out the 16 slices, I gave away 12, so will make another one tomorrow. I’ll lower the sugar to 7T and see what I think. I use dark chocolate cocoa power and dark chocolate chips. Definitely sticking with that. It’s LUSCIOUS!!! THANK YOU!
Dani
Sounds amazing Marge! So glad you are enjoying it.
Marge
So, Dani, I”ve made your Chocolate Zucchini Snack Cake 7 times and it’s a majorly huge hit. I use 7 tablespoons of sugar (8T = 1/2 cup) and 1/2 cup of applesauce. Also, I pack the zucchini down LIKE CRAZY and it could possibly be 3C prepacked! I grate a whole bunch of zucchinis in food processor (the large hole shredding blade) and store 2C containers in freezer. It’s amazing how much zucchini can be packed down. I take a container out of freezer into refrigerator a day or two before I’m going to make a cake and don’t discard ANY of the liquid (there’s tons of it). I bake for 37 minutes and the toothpick comes out clean (slightly discolored of course but no solids on the toothpick) and let it sit on counter for 30-60 minutes; then cut it into 16 pieces, eat 4 of them (oh yes I do!) and put it in the fridge. THE BEST!! Thank you so much!! (I use the dark chocolate cocoa powder from Beanilla, King Arthur’s organic unbleached white whole wheat flour, and Vitacost semisweet chocolate mini chips.)
Dani
Thanks so much for sharing, Marge! I’m so happy it’s a huge hit!!
Charlene
Hi Dani,
Oh my goodness! I just made this amazing chocolate zucchini snack cake with fresh grown zucchini from my garden tonight. And it came out awesome! So moist and light and delicious!
Thank you so much for this recipe. I love it! 😀
CJ
Hi Dani! I am following your Youtube channel, FB page and your website. It is amaaazing!!! Your recipes are yummy and doable. You make it possible to eat clean and delicious recipes. You are an inspiration.
I tried this recipe and it was great! My husband loved it! 🙂
I made some alternative to the egg and flour though. I used chia egg (2T ground chia : 6T water) and 1cup ground rolled oatmeal. The consitency of the middle cake is mushy/too soft/soggy.
Would like to ask for a wild guess/recommendation from you on the measurement of the chia egg and oatmeal flour to make the consistency less soggy. Thank you. 🙂
Dani
Hmmmm, maybe try cutting back on the flax egg? That may help to reduce the moisture a bit! That OR maybe increase the cooking time? I would love to hear how it goes if you try again. 🙂
RACHEL
This is a new favorite around my house. I like to make it into to muffins and add banana instead of applesauce. After I made these, I tried it with carrots instead of zucchini and kept the applesauce, added lots of yummy cinnamon instead of chocolate, a dash of cloves, and pecans instead of chocolate chips. Before baking them I topped them with a mixture of course sugar, pecans, and a little butter. I love your recipe the way it is, but I am always looking for more ways to eat muffins, but be healthy. Thanks Dani!
Dani
Love the changes you made… it sounds great!! I can’t wait to experiment with them myself.
Alexia
Hi Dani,
This recipe looks so great, I can’t wait to try it. I was wondering if I could use plain yogurt instead of apple sauce (as you suggested in the blueberry lemon muffins recipe), because I can’t find healthy unsweetened apple sauce in the country where I live (Belgium).
Thank you in advance 🙂
Dani
I haven’t tried it myself, but I bet it would work just fine!
Debbie
Can’t wait to try this! Just want to make sure, I’m not supposed to squeeze out the liquid from the zucchini, is that correct? Thanks so much!
Dani
That’s correct! I did not strain the zucchini 🙂