This whole wheat zucchini bread with chocolate chips is the perfect way to use up your abundance of zucchinis towards the end of summer. In the 15 years I’ve been making this recipe, I have baked over 100 loaves of this extra moist, flavorful, and delicious chocolate chip zucchini bread to share with family and friends. With detailed step-by-step instructions and photos, you’ll be able to create drool-worthy whole wheat chocolate chip zucchini bread too!
Another reason to love this quick bread recipe is that it’s packed with extra fiber and nutrients thanks to the use of whole wheat flour, wheat germ, and ground flax! So you can feel good about eating a second (or third) slice of this quick bread for breakfast or as a snack. If you still have a ton of zucchini to use, give this light and fluffy zucchini muffins recipe a try, or lean into your chocolate craving with these chocolate and zucchini muffins!
Why You’ll Love This Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread Recipe!
Easy to make! The only part of this recipe that may seem a little challenging is grating your fresh vegetable… otherwise the rest of this recipe is pretty standard. Simple measuring and mixing, and then dividing your batter between loaf pans.
Moist, flavorful quick bread. Our recipe has a lovely undertone of cinnamon with pops of chocolate in each bite.
Bulk Baking with option to freeze. The recipe as written makes 3 loaves at once on purpose! It’s the perfect way to use up that abundance of zucchini at the end of summer with the bonus that this quick bread recipe freezes wonderfully too! So you have the option to save a loaf or two to enjoy a homemade treat later in the year.
Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread Recipe Ingredients
- Fresh Zucchini: you will need 3-4 medium sized zucchinis for this recipe. There is no need to peel your zucchini, you’ll get more nutrients from the skin! Just wash them thoroughly prior to grating.
- Whole Wheat Flour: whole wheat flour contains a greater variety of vitamins, minerals, and fiber as compared to its white flour counterpart. While this recipe uses both types of flour, there is a greater amount of whole wheat used to increase these health benefits in this bake.
- Wheat Germ: wheat germ is an excellent source of fiber as well as many other nutrients.
- Ground Flaxseed: the ground flax and water in this recipe are used to create two flax “eggs”. This helps to lighten up your zucchini bread in terms of calories, fat, and cholesterol. Plus, ground flax is a great source of omega-3s! If you’ve never had flax before, the flavor profile for this ingredient is a mild, nutty flavor. You can use either brown or golden flax in this recipe (golden flax has a milder flavor than brown flaxseed varieties).
See the recipe card at the bottom of the page for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Zucchini Tip
Don’t use the huge zucchinis for zucchini bread. The small to medium sized zucchinis are the best ones to use for zucchini bread because they will help create a moist loaf. The massive sized ones will result in a dryer loaf, which isn’t what you want.
Whole Wheat Zucchini Bread Tools
You will need standard size loaf pans to make this quick bread recipe.
How to Make Whole Wheat Zucchini Bread
Pre-heat oven and prep baking dish. Pre-heat oven to 325° F (163°C) and spray 3 standard loaf pans with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
Wash and prep your zucchinis. Wash and grate your zucchinis. Measure out 4 cups of shredded zucchini and set aside. There is no need to pat your zucchini dry – this is what adds moisture to your bread!
Make your flax “eggs”: Mix the flax and water together in a small dish and set aside. Goal to have it sit at least 5 minutes to thicken.
Mix together wet ingredients, sugar, and zucchini. Beat the eggs well, then add in both sugars, oil, flax/water mixture, the shredded zucchini, and vanilla. Mix until well combined.
Add in dry ingredients. Slowly add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients (if preferred, you can mix together in a separate bowl prior to adding to your wet ingredients). Stir until well combined and a batter is formed. Stir in the chocolate chips until evenly distributed.
Divide batter evenly between 3 loaf pans. If desired, top with additional chocolate chips.
Bake. Place in the oven and bake for 60-75 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center of the loaves.
Cool loaves in their pans for 10-15 minutes, then turn out onto a cooling rack. Allow your loaves to cool in their pans for 10-15 minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack to finish cooling.
Slice and serve: Slice and enjoy! I like to eat mine with some butter.
Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread Recipe Tips
- After washing your zucchini, cut off the rounded end and use the stem-end as a handle while grating. This will allow you to use up as much of your zucchini as possible to create your shredded zucchini for use in this recipe
- I like to use a simple 3D, or box grater, to grate my zucchinis. I place my grater on a dinner plate, and while applying medium pressure, quickly move the zucchini up and down the grater, always keeping the vegetable touching the grater (it grates on the downward motion). The box grater will keep most of the shreds inside of it, and the plate is a simple surface to transfer your grated zucchini to a measuring cup on.
- Do not use a super small grating size for zucchinis, they will turn to mush. I use the larger, circular holes on my box grater. Similar to what you might use for a block of cheese.
- How to Use Wheat Germ: Don’t let your package of wheat germ go to waste! We love using wheat germ in this wheat germ muffins recipe as well as adding it to yogurt, smoothies, cereal, and granola is an easy way to incorporate wheat germ into your day-to-day meals. Additionally, wheat germ is a fantastic substitute for bread crumbs in meatballs and meatloaf. It’s a breadcrumb alternative for breaded chicken as well!
- Look for loaf pans at your local thrift shop! I have found that thrift shops can have some high quality kitchen items, especially when it comes to miscellaneous pans (like bread pans, pie pans, bundt pans, etc.) at a very low price point. If you are in need of a loaf pan for this recipe, check out the thrift shop! You can also get loaf pans from your local home goods store or online.
How To Store Zucchini Chocolate Chip Bread
Zucchini bread should be stored in an air-tight container (or ziplock bag) to prevent it from drying out. Store on the counter for 2-3 days or in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Freezing Zucchini Bread
You may be wondering if you can freeze zucchini bread. And the answer is a resounding yes! We love pulling a loaf of this bread out of the freezer to enjoy during the winter when the best fresh produce is a sweet, sweet memory.
How to freeze a loaf of zucchini bread:
- Make sure your loaf of zucchini bread is cooled completely before wrapping (I often leave my loaf on my cooling rack and cover it with a tea towel for several hours to ensure it is fully cooled and I won’t trap moisture around my loaf when I store it)
- Make sure to properly wrap your loaf to avoid freezer burn. Do this by doing a tight, double wrap of plastic wrap followed by one layer of tinfoil
- Label and date the wrapper so you know what it is and when it was made when you see it in your freezer.
- Freeze up to 6 months (I find it’s best when eaten within 3-4 months)
- When you’re ready to enjoy your frozen zucchini bread, remove the layer of tinfoil and let the plastic wrapped loaf thaw at room temperature (about 1-2 hours). Slice and enjoy!
FAQs For This Zucchini Bread Recipe With Chocolate Chips
Does it matter if I use summer squash instead of zucchini in this recipe?
No! I’ve used a mixture of green zucchini and yellow summer squash in this recipe many times. Select whichever looks best at your farmers market, grocery store, or from your garden.
Love This Recipe? You May Also Enjoy
Zucchini Bread Recipe with Chocolate Chips
Ingredients
- 4 large eggs
- 2 tablespoon ground flaxseed
- 5 tablespoon water
- 2 C brown sugar
- ½ C granulated sugar
- 1 + ⅓ C vegetable or canola oil
- 4 C grated zucchini (~3-4 medium zucchinis)
- 4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 C all-purpose flour
- 1 C wheat germ
- 3 C whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 6 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 + ½ C chocolate chips
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 325° F (163°C) and spray 3 standard loaf pans with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
- Wash and grate your zucchinis. Measure out 4 cups of shredded zucchini and set aside. There is no need to pat your zucchini dry – this is what adds moisture to your zucchini bread.
- Make your flax “eggs” by mixing the flax and water together in a small dish and set aside. Allow this to sit at least 5 minutes to thicken.
- Beat the eggs well, then add in both sugars, oil, flax/water mixture, the shredded zucchini, and vanilla. Mix until well combined.
- Slowly add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients (if preferred, you can mix together in a separate bowl prior to adding to your wet ingredients). Stir until well combined and a batter is formed. Stir in the chocolate chips until evenly distributed.
- Divide batter evenly between 3 loaf pans. If desired, top with additional chocolate chips.
- Place in the oven and bake for 60-75 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center of the loaves.
- Cool loaves in their pans for 10-15 minutes, then turn out onto a cooling rack to finish cooling.
- Slice and enjoy! I like to eat mine with some butter.
- Store leftovers in an air-tight container (or ziplock bag) on the counter for 2-3 days or in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Notes
- Make sure your loaf of zucchini bread is cooled completely before wrapping
- Make sure to properly wrap your loaf of zucchini bread to avoid freezer burn. Do this by doing a tight, double wrap of plastic wrap followed by one layer of tinfoil
- Label and date your frozen whole wheat zucchini bread with chocolate chips
- Freeze up to 6 months (I find it’s best when eaten within 3-4 months)
- When you’re ready to enjoy your frozen zucchini bread, remove the layer of tinfoil and let the plastic wrapped loaf thaw at room temperature (about 1-2 hours). Slice and enjoy!
marge says
The BEST zucchini bread, and love that it’s whole wheat / whole grain
Meredith says
So happy that you love this zucchini bread recipe too! Thanks Marge 🙂
David says
This is such a great zucchini bread recipe. My new go-to!!!
ourlovelanguageisfood says
glad this is your go-to recipe now too! 😊