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The New Zucchini Bread: Whole-Wheat Dark Chocolate Zucchini Brownies

You are here: Home / Fall / The New Zucchini Bread: Whole-Wheat Dark Chocolate Zucchini Brownies
September 23, 2021 by liz
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I know you love baking Zucchini Bread, especially during the summer, so now I’m going to give you a much better alternative for fall: Whole-Wheat Dark Chocolate Zucchini Brownies! Yes folks, zucchini does belong in brownies – it gives the brownies moisture and weight as well as vitamins and other health benefits. In fact, you can use any light-tasting squash in this recipe.

Last fall, my home garden sprouted several squash/pumpkin/zucchini-looking plants all on its own, which threatened to overtake all the vegetables I had actually planted! I kept them in check by picking and cooking as many blossoms as I could, but I still had a lot of green, striped and orangeish squash to eat during fall and winter. So they almost all went into brownies, but lots went into Squash Risotto with Chardonnay. Also amazing.

Whole-Wheat Dark Chocolate Zucchini Brownies recipe

Dark chocolate morsels make the flavor rich while adding antioxidants and whole wheat flour works beautifully, making these brownies a little cake-like. And I love encountering the surprise bites of salty-sweet afforded by the coarse sea salt. This brownie recipe is so good; it’s the only one I use now.

Whole-Wheat Dark Chocolate Zucchini Brownies recipe
Photo: VeryBestBaking.com

Whole-Wheat Dark Chocolate Zucchini Brownies

adapted from VeryBestBaking.com
The dark chocolate in these brownies make them rich and delicious. The zucchini adds moisture, and you’ll never even taste it!
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 mins
Cook Time 30 mins
Total Time 45 mins
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 16

Ingredients
  

  • 1 cup white whole-wheat flour
  • 1/3 cup baking cocoa
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
  • 1 regular-size package dark chocolate morsels
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 cups grated zucchini about 3 medium

Instructions
 

  • PREHEAT oven to 350° F. Line 9-inch-square baking pan with foil.
  • COMBINE flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt in medium bowl.
  • MELT 1 cup morsels in large, microwave-safe bowl on HIGH (100%) power for 1 minute; stir until smooth. Cool slightly. Stir in oil, brown sugar, granulated sugar, egg whites and vanilla extract. Stir in flour mixture; fold in zucchini. Spread into prepared pan. Sprinkle remaining morsels over top + a little more coarse sea salt (I like to use the black lava kind on top).
  • BAKE for 30 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out slightly sticky. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Lift brownies from pan; cut into 16 squares. Store in airtight container for up to 5 days.
Keyword brownies, chocolate
Category: Fall, Healthy Eating, Recipes, Summer, SweetsTag: baking, brownie, Chocolate, chocolate chip, Dessert, healthy brownies, healthy cooking, whole wheat, zucchini

About liz

Previous Post: « Easy Baked Sweet Potato Fries: Giving Back
Next Post: Low Carb Ricotta Almond Flour Cake »

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Comments

  1. Jill

    September 6, 2012 at 5:37 pm

    Awesome Recipe 🙂
    These are great… here is another recipe you might like to try.
    http://www.wascene.com/food-drink/perfect-chocolate-brownie-recipe/
    Thanks for sharing,
    Jill

    Reply
  2. Jen

    January 18, 2013 at 8:22 am

    I tried this recipe and I made one little change and that was I used 1/2 C Whole Wheat flour and 1/2 C almond flour.

    O…M…G… this was so good. The only complaint my husband had (and mind you, he does not like brownies nor is he a big fan of chocolate) was that they were really good he just wished I had not told him there was zucchini in them. I should have known better but I think I was trying to make sure there would be more for me! Anyway – so yummy and so moist and easy to make!

    Love, love, love this recipe! Thank you.

    Reply
  3. Alvin

    April 14, 2013 at 3:09 am

    I’m not that much of a online reader to be honest but your blogs really nice, keep it up!
    I’ll go ahead and bookmark your website to come back later on. Cheers

    Reply

Trackbacks

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    May 11, 2012 at 5:30 pm

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  4. Zucchini Hash « Follow that Craving! says:
    June 8, 2012 at 7:36 am

    […] 5. Add salt and pepper to taste (I do it while browning the zucchini.) Serve immediately, alone or over rice. Here’s what I wish I knew before I started: If you’re cooking for more than one, you might want to double, or even triple the amount of zucchini. I realized when I was done that it was only enough for one, and since I was making dinner for two I served it over rice. As I was cooking I also had to reduce the heat to medium to keep the zucchini from sticking to the pan. I go a little overboard with the heat sometimes because as much as I like cooking, I don’t like to spend a lot of time in the kitchen. I like eating more, so I prefer to spend a bigger portion of my time around the table with family or friends. I would definitely cook this again. The flavor was very garlicky, thanks to the infused olive oil I bought at the Farmer’s market, and he zucchini caramelized just enough to add an extra punch of flavor. My hubby isn’t a huge fan of zucchini but he said it was amazing. Try for yourself and let me know how it turns out. I ate mine over rice with some chicken tenders. Please leave a comment if you have any tips, questions, or great zucchini recipes. Here are a few that I have bookmarked: Zucchini Tots, Individual Zucchini Quiche (I’ve made this one with different veggies and cheese-I love the whole wheat crust), Dark Chocolate Zucchini Brownies. […]

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