If you’ve never added zucchini to your baked goods drop everything you are doing and do it now! These Zucchini Brownies are unbelievably moist and rich. A chocolate lovers dream! Be sure to try my Zucchini Cake and Chocolate Zucchini Cake! (and if you want a zucchini-less brownie recipe, try this one!!)
Zucchini Brownies
When I first made these Zucchini Brownies in 2012 I declared that I would never need another brownie recipe. They are the BEST brownie I have ever eaten, hands down. But, zucchini is very much a seasonal product, so having a great brownie recipe that doesn’t have zucchini is important. Every summer I am reminded just how magical zucchini is in baked goods and these become my favorite again!
The Secret to Baking with Zucchini
Size matters. A large zucchini will be drier. A small zucchini with have more moisture. Certain recipes work best with different sizes. For instance, I tend to use a medium to small with this recipe because I want the moisture the zucchini brings, but I use a large zucchini for my Double Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes.
Use the fine side of your grater. Coarser pieces will have a slightly more noticeable flavor and texture in a finished cake or bread recipe. (Farm kids tend to want that!)
Some recipes ask that the zucchini is pressed well with a clean towel to soak up excess moisture or to prevent whatever your baking from getting too soggy. Pay close attention to the recipe that you are making with zucchini as the level of moisture they provide is important. For instance, in this recipe, the zucchini is the main source of moisture and should NOT be drained!
Double Chocolate Zucchini Brownies
This recipe is going to test any experienced bakers boundaries as it does not act like a normal brownie.
The batter is DRY. Extremely dry. Until you add the zucchini that is! Assemble the batter according to the recipe instructions and then let it rest for 5 minutes. Stir again and you will see how much moisture the zucchini adds!
I added semi-sweet chocolate chunks to this batch to make the double chocolate. You can add milk chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, white chocolate chips, or no chips! They are so good and so rich the extra flavor is not necessary. (But can be fun!) If you do use chocolate morsels instead of chunks, be sure to use 1 1/2 cups instead of 1 1/4. Reserve a few for the top too!
As you can see, the zucchini bits practically disappear into the glorious chocolate layers. If you don’t tell people, they will never know you added a full 3 cups of this abundant vegetable!
If you’ve never added zucchini to your baked goods drop everything you are doing and do it now! These Zucchini Brownies are unbelievably moist and rich. A chocolate lovers dream!
- 1/2 cup (112g) vegetable oil
- 1 1/2 cups (300g) granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp. vanilla extract
- 2 cups (256g) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup (64g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. salt
- 3 cups finely shredded zucchini DO NOT DRAIN
- 1 1/4 cups semi-sweet chocolate chunks
-
Preheat oven to 350°F and prepare a 9x13 pan with butter (or use baking spray) and line with parchment paper. (Allow parchment paper to go up the sides for easy removal.)
-
In a large bowl combine oil, sugar, and vanilla until fully incorporated.
-
Add flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Mix until combined. Batter will be very dry.
-
Fold in zucchini by hand. Allow batter to rest for 5 minutes.
-
Add in chocolate chunks and stir again. Batter should appear more wet. (if not, let it rest for 5 more minutes and stir again)
-
Spread brownie mixture into the pan and bake for 25-35 minutes. Brownies are done with an inserted toothpick is removed with crumbs. There should not be wet batter on the toothpick.
Recipe Video
Eggless Brownies
You will notice that there are no eggs or butter added to this recipe. They are absolutely not needed! These Zucchini Brownies bake up beautifully (almost cake-like) and do not need the added air and flavor that eggs usually add. This is a great recipe for vegan friends!
Another bonus? This recipe can be made in 1 bowl!
If you love frosting on your Zucchini Brownies, try adding my super special secret ingredient Brownie Frosting.
I was skeptical on no eggs but the brownies are excellent.
I had shredded and froze my zucchini so I did have to squeeze out some water but they are moist and one more way to use my zucchini.
Not chocolatey enough. I added extra cocoa but there’s still too much flour to cocoa. They are fudgy. And the texture is on par with the zucchini brownies I’ve made before, just couldn’t find my old recipe and this is not it.
So if you changed the recipe and are unsatisfied then it wouldn’t be appropriate to leave me a bad rating. 🙂 As I mention in the post you can add chocolate morsels, or not, your choice. These brownies have been made for thousands of folks and you are the first to ever say “not chocolatey enough”. If you know you like extra-rich chocolate dessert, feel free to add a high-quality morsel. 🙂
#bestevernobutseriously
Subbed melted butter because…just because. I put the zucchini in the food processor just to save time. Made cream cheese frosting. All the guests were raving. Thank you so much for the incredible recipe!
I have made these many times , super easy and delicious.
Thank you
Absolutely out of this world and so easy to do, happy days
Just made these today and OMG!! They’re so fudge and delicious, what a perfect recipe! I used coconut sugar instead of granulated sugar. Also, I only had 2 cups of zucchini and had read a comment that someone posted regarding only 2 cups of zucchini so I followed their directions and the brownies came out amazing!! Thank you for such a perfect recipe!!
I’m kind of new with baking with zucchini. Will 1 zucchini make 3 cups or should I use 2?
They vary dramatically in size, so it just depends on what size you get. If it is 4-5 inches in length, you will probably need more.
Just made these- WOW! So so good! The best brownie ever. Can’t taste or see the zuchinni- so perfect for others that are picky. Had a tub of chocolate frosting on hand so put that on top- decadent! My new go to brownie recipe. I also cut sugar down to about one cup it was still plenty sweet.
These are THE BEST brownies. I always make these for guests and everyone always freaks out about how good they are. Thanks for changing the brownie game and making such a simple to follow, delicious recipe. 🙂
These are by far some of the best brownies I’ve ever had!! Everyone who I give them too is hooked and cannot believe they have zucchini in them? I am on a new diet now though and was wondering if these can still be okay if made with gluten free flour instead?? Thank you!:)
YUM! I had a huge zucchini I used for this, well just a portion of it. With your comment that large ones can be dry, which it was, I added 2 Tbsp.of buttermilk, let itsit for 10 minutes, did the trick. They are yummy and moist, I will do these again!!
they are amazing. how do you store the brownies? can I leave it outside the refrigerator? greetz
Yes, they can be stored at room temperature for 1-2 days.
I am an avid baker but have never felt the need to leave a review until I made these brownies. This recipe was amazing. The brownies were so fudgy and delicious. My garden grew way more zucchinis than I could use and I was looking for a way to use them up. This recipe did not disappoint! My sister-in-law didn’t believe that they had zucchini in them.
I wish I’d never made these. I can’t stop eating them! Perfect moisture, sweetness, chocolateness and texture.I made the recipe exactly as given except I used chocolate chips instead of chunks because that’s what I had on hand.Oh, and I had to bake longer because I’m at high altitude so that’s not unusual.
i didn’t have chocolate chips/chunks but made these anyway and they produced a perfectly decent and very moist cakey brownie, but they definitely need the choc chips/chunks. without them they are only very mildly chocolatey. i will make them again but only when i have chips/chunks on hand!
These brownies are amazing, I added chocolate chunks and they were really rich, I recommend adding the chocolate! I used extra big zucchini and had to bake them a bit longer cause it was still really juicy. Will be trying them again this weekend cause my fiance loved them, couldn’t even tell it had zucchini in it.
Wow. These are next level you guys. I was shocked.
I bake a lot of chocolate brownies believe me hahaha I’m an addict. These are unbelievable.
I halved the recipe, used 4 cups of frozen zucchini, GF flour, the Hershey’s Special Dark cocoa powder, and a little less sugar.
I also baked them in little casserole dishes and make 3 BIG brownies. Took about 30 mins to cook and I under baked them slightly to keep them tender and moist.
These were the most rich, dense, decadent, tender, moist, chocolately, incredible cake-brownie-fudge things I’ve ever had. AMAZING! Will make again and again forever!
Can I use chocolate chips?
I don’t have morsals
Chocolate chips are morsels. If you are wondering if you can use chocolate chips instead of chocolate chunks, the answer is yes. 🙂
Hi Amanda,
Just found your site. Thank you for all the great zucchini recipes! As a rule I make recipes as written and review the actual recipe. That being said, I had a monster zucchini and used some of it in zucchini muffins yesterday and had a bunch left over. Sadly the remaining zucchini had been drained and lacked any moisture and was also not grated fine. No problem! I used your recipe but since I had very little moisture I added two eggs. Yes, I modified to account for moisture but kept everything else the same. As expected the eggs made it rise a bit more and became a bit more cakelike but the flavor was fantastic. Perfect rich chocolate flavor and the zucchini just melted into the brownies. So good! A huge hit! You are the zucchini queen! The take away is that don’t throw out those huge zucchinis! Use this recipe. Thanks again Amanda!