During my younger childhood years, my grandma flew out from Ohio to visit us a few times. She’d pack her suitcase with enough clothes to stay anywhere from a week to a month, and she always carefully nestled a loaf of her homemade zucchini bread inside too.
Although I probably would’ve turned up my nose at flecks of green in my bread from anyone else (yes, even after reading Green Eggs and Ham at least once a week), anything baked by Grandma was automatically delicious, so I would devour almost half of that loaf all by myself.
My mom would tuck half of a thick slice into my school lunch box as my treat instead of the usual store-bought chocolate chip cookies, and as soon as I burst through the front door in the afternoon, I dashed to the kitchen to ask Grandma for another piece as my snack. Because we plowed through it so quickly, she almost always baked another loaf (or two) partway through her visit!
While Mom enjoyed her slices reheated with a small pat of butter or thick schmear of cream cheese, I preferred my plain. No extra toppings, nothing hiding inside. Just plain, supremely moist zucchini bread with lots of cinnamon and spices.
And when I recently asked on Facebook whether you liked zucchini bread too, the majority of you answered yes… But with chocolate chips! Despite being a huge chocoholic (it’s why I’m writing a chocolate cookbook that’s coming out soon!), I had never tried that combo.
Until now. This Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread (and all of you, of course!) convinced me that every loaf deserves extra chocolate inside! Vegetables and chocolate… Who would’ve thought?
Just like my grandma’s loaves, I added both cinnamon and nutmeg to the batter. Although not all recipes include it, nutmeg gives the bread an extra oomph and warm, cozy dimension. I always mix it into my plain zucchini bread, and since my family adores that, why stop now?
But unlike Grandma’s, my clean-eating version contains only 1 tablespoon of oil—and coconut oil, at that! The rest of the tender texture comes from my favorite ingredient in healthier baking: Greek yogurt. If you’ve read my blog before, you’ll know just how much I adore Greek yogurt! It adds the same moisture as extra oil or butter but for a fraction of the calories, and it gives your baked goods a little protein boost too.
When it comes to zucchini bread, I have a secret trick to baking the perfect loaf: pat the zucchini dry with paper towels! Zucchini contains a lot of moisture, which it releases during baking. If you add too much zucchini, that extra moisture will destroy the structure of your quick bread and make it sink in the middle while cooling.
To add as much zucchini as possible without the collapsing problem, pat the zucchini dry to remove the excess moisture! Lay a double-thick layer of paper towels on your cutting board, and arrange the freshly shredded zucchini on top. Place another double-thick layer of paper towels on the zucchini, and gently press down until the top towel turns wet.
Then voila! You’re ready to add the zucchini to the batter.
And of course, who could forget those chocolate chips that you convinced me to add? Their warm, melty, gooey pockets of decadence hiding among the crevices… Pure bliss. I prefer mini chips so that nearly every bite contains a little morsel of chocolate, and I always sprinkle some on top for a sweet finishing touch.
I think I should’ve bought more zucchini at the store… Or maybe plant some in the garden next year!
| Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread | | Print |
- 2 cups (240g) whole wheat flour (measured like this)
- 1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp (14g) coconut oil or unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup (120g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- ½ cup (120mL) pure maple syrup
- 6 tbsp (90mL) nonfat milk
- 3 tbsp (42g) miniature chocolate chips
- 1 ½ cups (160g) shredded zucchini, patted dry*
- Preheat the oven to 350°F, and line the inside of a 9x5” loaf pan with foil or parchment paper. Lightly coat with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the coconut oil, egg, and vanilla. Stir in the Greek yogurt, mixing until no large lumps remain. Stir in the maple syrup. Alternate between adding the flour mixture and milk to the egg mixture, beginning and ending with the flour, and stirring just until incorporated. (For best results, add the flour in 3 equal parts.) Set aside 1 teaspoon of chocolate chips. Gently fold in the remaining chocolate chips and zucchini.
- Spread the batter into the prepared pan, and gently press the reserved chocolate chips into the top. Bake at 350°F for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
White whole wheat flour, whole wheat pastry flour, or all-purpose flour may be substituted for the whole wheat flour.
For a gluten-free version, use the following blend: 1 cup (120g) millet flour, ½ cup (60g) brown rice flour, ½ cup (60g) tapioca flour, and 1½ teaspoons xanthan gum. Store-bought gluten-free flour blends should also work, as long as they're measured like this.
Honey or agave may be substituted for the maple syrup. Alternatively, ½ cup (106g) of light brown sugar plus an additional ¼ cup (60mL) of milk may be substituted instead.
Any milk may be substituted for the nonfat milk.
{gluten-free option, clean eating, low fat, low calorie}
Hi Amy! Cant wait to try this one..sounds so good! I dont have greek yoghurt though.. Can i substitute regular yoghurt?
Yes, regular yogurt will work just fine. I really hope you enjoy the zucchini bread Aarti!
This looks so fantastic, yay chocolate chip anything!!! 🙂 If I were to use just regular-sized chocolate chips do I use the same amount as the mini ones?
It’s up to you Marina! Using the same amount wouldn’t change the Nutrition Info, but there’s never anything wrong with a little extra chocolate, right? 😉 I hope you enjoy the zucchini bread!
I love that you can see the pieces of zucchini in the bread! Definitely a reason to plant some in the garden!
Now if only I could get past my brown thumb! 😉
I have never had zucchini bread with cinnamon and nutmeg in it before which is crazy because I love nutmeg and cinnamon! It sounds delicious 🙂
Thanks! I highly recommend adding those spices — they make a huge difference! 🙂
This looks like the perfect bread!! Love those chocolate chips!
Thank you so much Dorothy!
I noticed that when the zucchini is patted dry there is less zucchini than called for. So do I measure the zucchini before I pat it dry or after it is patted dry? This sounds like a silly question but it just seemed like there wasn’t enough zucchini in it.
Thanks,
Angela
Measure the zucchini before patting it dry! There isn’t any less zucchini; it’s simply compacted and has lost the excess moisture that would cause the center of the bread to sink while cooling. I hope you enjoy the loaf Angela!
Thanks Amy.
If you grate the zucchini and immediately use it in a recipe, there’s no need to drain. If you freeze zucchini or grate the zucchini at the start or your baking, you might detect liquid in the bowl of zucchini.
Even if grating the zucchini right before using it in a recipe, it still releases that liquid while it bakes, which is what we’re trying to avoid. 🙂
I am just wondering if Gluten free flour could be used? or any suggestions to making this gluten free?
Yes, it’s possible to make this bread GF! Most store-bought blends should work, although I’ve had the most luck with making my own from the following flours: 1 cup (120g) millet flour, ½ cup (60g) tapioca flour, ½ cup (60g) brown rice flour, and 1½ teaspoons xanthan gum. I hope you enjoy the loaf Nicole!
Hello Amy, is it possible to switch out the flour for spelts flour?
I haven’t worked with spelt flour before, so I can’t confidently vouch for that substitution. I’d love to hear what you think if you try the zucchini bread Lyzett! 🙂
Hi Amy! I really want to bake this bread for my grandma but she can’t eat honey or agave, as she is diabetic. How can I replace this? I thought maybe unsweetened applesauce but I don’t know how that would work out :/
Thanks!!
Your grandma is so lucky to have you to bake her treats that she can eat Isabella! Since she’s diabetic, I’d actually recommend a no-calorie sweetener, rather than applesauce, because apples still contain natural sugar that will affect blood sugar levels. My first recommendation would be 1 ¼ teaspoons of my favorite vanilla creme stevia, plus an additional ½ cup of milk, in place of the maple syrup. (That’s the best substitution that’s still clean eating friendly!) My second recommendation would be ½ cup of granulated Splenda, plus an additional ¼ cup of milk, if that’s a no-calorie sweetener that she’s already accustomed to and/or prefers. 🙂 I’d love to hear what you try and what you both think of the zucchini bread Isabella!