Zucchini season is finally upon us and I am so excited to share recipes featuring my favorite sneaky veggie!
I joke that if I ever write a cookbook {like when my youngest kid is 20 LOL}, it would be titled, How to Put Zucchini in Just About Everything! And although it’s a joke…I’m actually pretty certain that there’s nothing I haven’t at least tried sneaking zucchini into at one point or another in my kitchen.
This Paleo Double Chocolate Zucchini Banana Bread is a creation that I just love. Because if you’re going to eat veggies why not eat them disguised as an irresistibly chocolatey treat?! 😉
This bread is paleo which means it’s dairy-free, gluten-free and has no refined sugar! So you feel like you’re eating a special treat but you’re actually fueling your body with fruits, veggies, protein and fiber!
This recipe is a total kid pleaser too! I tested this Paleo Double Chocolate Zucchini Banana Bread many times in order to get it just right…and my kids absolutely devoured every single batch! {Including the version that was so moist I didn’t even want to eat it}!
In our house we eat dessert after dinner every single night, without exception {because life is shot}. But we don’t really eat sweets any other time during the day. However, this Paleo Double Chocolate Zucchini Banana Bread is so healthy I don’t mind letting my kids eat it any time day or night!
So when I sneak a slice on their plates at lunchtime they think I’m the coolest mom ever for letting them eat dessert at a time they normally don’t get to! And if they don’t know they’re eating veggies, I’m not going to be the one to tell them!
Paleo Double Chocolate Zucchini Banana Bread: Method
I see a lot of pictures of baked goods featuring zucchini floating around the internet where little bits of green zucchini are clearly visible. Let me just tell you how much that would not fly in my house. Gabe literally tries to pick cilantro out of guacamole and Italian seasoning out of pizza sauce {until we tell him to just eat it}! So you better believe that if he saw any bits of green in his chocolate bread he would NOT be ok with it.
Using the Vitamix to blend the wet ingredients together ensures that the zucchini is completely undetectable! It’s best if you make sure that the ingredients are at room temperature and that the coconut oil is melted before adding it to the Vitamix.
Helpful tip: Whenever a recipe calls for room temperature eggs I put them in a bowl of warm water to speed up the process! Because I never remember to take them out before it’s time to start baking!
Paleo Double Chocolate Zucchini Banana Bread: Substitutions
As always I recommend making this recipe exactly as written. When it comes to paleo baking I never recommend changing the type or amount of flour used in a recipe. Coconut flour is very different than almond flour, and it is never a good choice to substitute one for the other.
Here are a couple potential substitutions:
Coconut sugar: This is my favorite unrefined granulated form of sugar. If you have another (date sugar, maple sugar) feel free to use it as a substitute. I do not recommend using a liquid sweetener in place of coconut sugar.
Coconut Oil: If you are not concerned with dairy, then butter is an acceptable {and delicious} substitute for coconut oil!
Chocolate chips: I use Enjoy Life Foods chocolate chips in paleo baked goods! If you don’t follow a strict paleo diet then I recommend mixing things up! Peanut butter, cinnamon, and butterscotch chips would all be fun additions {according to my 6 year old}!
Paleo Double Chocolate Banana Zucchini Bread
Ingredients
- ½ cup coconut flour
- ¼ cup almond flour
- ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ½ cup coconut sugar
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 1 cup unpeeled finely shredded zucchini (about 1 medium zucchini)
- 3 medium overripe bananas, mashed
- 2 TBS coconut oil melted
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- ½ cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9x5” loaf pan with parchment paper, grease it and set it aside.
- In a medium bowl, mix together the dry ingredients (coconut flour, almond flour, cocoa powder, coconut sugar, baking soda baking powder, and salt). Set aside.
- Place zucchini and bananas in the container of your Vitamix (or another high-powered blender) and blend until completely smooth.
- Add melted coconut oil and vanilla and blend until combined (about 5-10 seconds).
- Add eggs and blend until just combined.
- Pour the wet ingredients from the Vitamix container into the bowl of dry ingredients and stir until completely combined.
- Add chocolate chips and mix well.
- Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 35-45 minutes (depending on the size of pan you choose) or until the top is set and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean!
- Once the bread is done, remove it from the oven and place the pan on a wire rack to cool.
- Let cool for at least 30 minutes before using the parchment paper to remove the bread from the pan and let it continue cooling until you’re ready to eat it!
#Eat Seasonal July
This Paleo Double Chocolate Zucchini Banana Bread is brought to you as part of one of my favorite times of the month…our Eat Seasonal recipe group! Every month an amazing group of bloggers join together to encourage all of our wonderful readers to eat seasonally!
My sweet friend Becky over at The Vintage Mixer posts seasonal produce guides every month to showcase the beautiful fruits and vegetables that are fresh and available to cook and bake with! Check out her July Seasonal Produce Guide to learn what’s in season {hello zucchini}!
So here it is…a treasure trove of beautiful recipes that are perfect to make in July from some seriously talented bloggers! Click on the links below for some summer cooking inspiration! Join in the fun by tagging your photos with #eatseasonal!
What are you looking forward to cooking or baking in the month of July?!
If you make something from JoyFoodSunshine I would love to see your creations! #joyfoodsunshine
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I love that you put zucchini in everything and that you eat dessert every night. I just love that about you!!
Thanks Becky! I feel like 2017 has been the year full of reminders that life is short. So why not eat dessert every night?! 😉
What a killer paleo recipe! And i think I have all of the ingredients. My kids are gonna be happy. 🙂
Woo hoo! My kids LOVE this bread!
Haha, I’m all about putting zucchini in everything! I can’t help it once they’re in season. I love how you made one of my favorite quick breads paleo!
I love paleo baking! Coconut and almond flour are my favorites!
This looks so moist and chocolatey and I’m so trying it — I need to get some coconut flour quick! My now 15 year old used to pick all the green flecks out of everything but finally stopped doing it when he ate zucchini bread a few years ago! 🙂
You will love it Marcie! It’s so funny! Gabe will eat entire green peppers raw…but tries not to eat a food with green specks in it! LOL!
OMG! Yum! We have zucchini growing in our garden and this zucchini bread would be PERFECT (and my husband has been requesting something like this!)
Yes it totally would be a great way to use up all that zucchini!
The side view photo tells it all-what zucchini? Shhh. This looks incredible! Pinning!
Yes! It’s completely undetectable!
I’ve even put zucchini in ice cream before! Seriously, you can add it to just about everything. This bread looks fantastic. Super rich and moist. Love it!
WOAH! That’s something I haven’t tried! Definitely need to check out that recipe Liz!
Haha, zucchini is the best ingredient to put in everything! I could totally eat paleo if it meant I got to eat this delicious looking cake everyday 🙂
Seriously! I just made pasta sauce with a ton of zucchini in it! LOL!
Wow, the middle looks so gooey! This looks insanely delicious! Thanks for the recipe 🙂
Thank you Andy! Every one of my kids LOVED it which is really saying something! Definitely no fighting to get them to eat their veggies this way! 😉
I think you totally should write that cookbook! Sounds like a great idea if this is the kind of recipe that would be in it! Pinned!
LOL Katie! 😉 Maybe one day when I have a little more time and my kids are a little less little! 😉
This looks so fudgy and delicious! I’m going to be on the lookout for your hidden zucchini book 🙂
It really is Whitney! You’ll have to give me a few years for that…once I’m done cooking up babies I’ll think about writing a cookbook… 😉
huge fan of finding ways to sneak veggies in to all kinds of this and especially when combining chocolate!! love how little sugar there is in this too
YES! The bananas add enough sweetness so you don’t need to add the 1-2 cups of sugar found in most quick breads!
Wow, this looks so good- I’m going to have to try it!!! I love putting zucchini in everything too but I’ve never combined it with chocolate- sounds pretty perfect to me!
Chocolatey zucchini baked goods are super delicious! I hope you try it and love it Sonali!
This is chocolate heaven! And with hidden veggies – win-win! I would eat a slice of this every day! Yum!
Sneaky veggies are totally my jam!
Looks so delicious and moist! I cannot wait for all the zucchini in our garden. We already have some but they aren’t big enough but lots of blossoms!
Yes! It’s so fun watching zucchini grow from seeds to a plant with a delicious harvest!
This bread looks so wonderfully moist and dense, almost like a brownie bread! I think this needs to happen in our home.
Alisa you are SO right! I totally could’ve called it brownie bread! 😉
I can’t wait to make this recipe for my son! Or garden zucchini is not ready yet, but hopefully soon!
Our zucchini isn’t quite ready yet either but it’s getting there!
Oh dang, girl. This looks AMAZING! And I found it just in time for our zucchini plant to start going crazy!
YES! Ours produce so well too!
I am seriously obsessed with all your breads and muffins! I don’t even know which one to try first because they ALL look amazing!
Thank you Liz! I love making them because it’s a great way to sneak veggies into my family’s diet! 😉
LOVED this. Made this into MINI muffins for my almost 1 year old & poured the rest for my own loaf. Cant get enough!
I’m SO glad you and your sweet baby enjoyed it Alyssa! Thanks for reporting that this recipe makes great muffins too! 😉
Great recipe! A perfect balance of zucchini and banana that it makes an indulgent but guilt-free breakfast. I’ve made it several times and have since started increasing the zucchini by 50% while adding almond pulp (left over from homemade almond milk) to balance everything out- comes out less dense I found. Goes to show the recipe is pretty versatile if you want to play with it. Thanks for posting!