Chocolate Zucchini Brownies

Chocolate zucchini brownies are rich and chocolaty, super moist and delicious. They are also dairy-free, grain-free and refined sugar-free. Oh, and that raspberry sauce, pushes them over the edge spectacular. Perfect for Passover, or year round.

This post was updated from the original that was published on April 4, 2017. 

Healthy chocolaty desserts aren’t an oxymoron. It really is possible to have your cake, eat it too, and maintain your healthy standards. For me, that means no dairy and no refined sugar. These delicious zucchini brownies also add in nutrition without compromising on taste and texture. YAY.

If you’re looking for a vegan brownie recipe I’ve got you covered….because brownies are meant for everyone to enjoy!

I have found that chocolate desserts are always a hit. Any time of year. The zucchini makes these brownies especially moist and delicious. A dessert with wholesome ingredients you can feel good about serving!

Need help with substitutions?

• Nut allergies: use sun butter in place of almond butter.
• VEGAN? Omit the eggs and mix 1 Tablespoon ground flax with 3 Tablespoons water. Set aside for 5 minutes before mixing it in.
• No zucchini? Use yellow squash in the same quantity.
• Can’t find dark chocolate chips? Use a 3 ounce bar of dark chocolate and chop by hand.

Making almond butter from scratch:

If you’re making these for Passover, it’s impossible to find Kosher for Passover almond butter that doesn’t have refined oils. Making almond butter from scratch is so easy, there’s no reason to settle for an inferior product.

12 ounces of raw almonds will make approximately 1 cup of almond butter. I like to toast the almonds to bring out their nutty flavor. Preheat the oven to 350. Place nuts on a rimmed baking tray in a single layer. Toast for 5-7 minutes until they begin to brown.

Transfer almonds to bowl of food processor and process, scraping down the sides, until creamy. That’s it. You will definitely need some patience though. It will take 5-8 minutes, depending on how powerful your food processor is.

I don’t add anything else to our almond butter, to it is available for use with other recipes like veggie pad thai. But here are a few options for different flavors. Add any of the following (or a combo) into food processor with the almonds:

• ½ teaspoon coarse sea salt
• 1 Tablespoon maple syrup
• 1 Tablespoon honey
• 2 dates
• 1 Tablespoon cocoa powder

Raspberry Sauce

You can use fresh or frozen raspberries, making this accessible all year round. Just add raspberries, water and dates to the food processor. I usually make a double batch of the raspberry sauce. It’s terrific drizzled onto pancakes or tahini brownies and I also like to swirl it into my daily oatmeal bowls.

Chocolate Zucchini Brownies for Passover

When I was growing up, Passover desserts consisted of fruit compote and coconut macaroons.  For a girl deathly allergic to coconut, it meant that overcooked fruit was it!  So, I mostly skipped dessert at Passover until the chocolate dipped matzo and chocolate dipped strawberries and chocolate dipped EVERYTHING became popular. After that, I was in heaven….because CHOCOLATE. Yum! Where were the chocolate zucchini brownies back then?

More delicious Zucchini Recipes

• Zucchini Bread
• Stuffed Zucchini
• Zucchini Pizza Bites
• Zucchini Fritters
• Zucchini Soup

📖 Recipe

Chocolate Zucchini Brownies

Author: Debra Klein

Super moist brownies with added nutrition from zucchini. Grain-free and simple to make with no refined sugar. Healthy for year-round chocolaty goodness and perfect for passover too.

4.85 from 13 votes

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

Total Time 45 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 12

Calories 268 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

Brownie

• ▢ 2 small zucchini approximately 1 ½ cups shredded
• ▢ 1 cup almond butter*
• ▢ ⅓ cup maple syrup or honey
• ▢ ¼ cup cocoa powder
• ▢ 2 large eggs*
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla
• ▢ 1 cup dark chocolate chips**

Optional Raspberry Sauce

• ▢ 1 cup raspberries fresh or defrosted frozen
• ▢ 1 medjool date
• ▢ 2 Tablespoons water

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 350. Line 9 x 9 baking dish with unbleached parchment paper.
• If you’re making almond butter from scratch, see note below. Make the almond butter and set aside.
• Using the shredding disc on your food processor (or the side of a box grater if you’re doing it by hand), shred zucchini and set aside.
• In large bowl, combine almond butter with maple syrup and egg. Stir well to fully incorporate almond butter. Then add in the cocoa powder. Mix well. Next, stir in the zucchini and then the chocolate chips. Mix until smooth and all ingredients are fully incorporated.
• Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 40-45 minutes or until brownie bounces back to the touch or toothpick comes out clean. DO NOT OVER BAKE. These will be quite moist! Let cool completely and then refrigerate or freeze for easier slicing.
• Prepare raspberry sauce: Use an immersion blender and blend until smooth.
• Serve brownies with raspberry sauce and garnish with fresh raspberries. .

Notes

*12 ounces of almonds will make 1 cup almond butter. If you toast the almonds (350 for 10 minutes) before processing, they will give off a richer flavor. Place almonds in food processor. Process until smooth, scraping down sides several times. It will take about 5 minutes for creamy almond butter so have some patience. If you buy already made almond butter, look for glass jars with almonds as the only ingredient.

*If you’re not celebrating Passover, substitute the egg: 1 Tablespoon ground flax mixed with 3 Tablespoons water. Let sit for 5 minutes before adding it in.

*if you can’t find dark chocolate chips, you can coarsely chop a bar of dark chocolate.

Nutrition

Serving: 1brownieCalories: 268kcalCarbohydrates: 25gProtein: 7gFat: 17gSaturated Fat: 4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 32mgSodium: 19mgFiber: 5gSugar: 17g

Note

The nutrition calculations were done using online tools. To obtain the most accurate representation of the nutritional information in any given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients you used. You are ultimately responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information is accurate, complete and useful.

Did you make this recipe? Please leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag me @dkhealthcoach or use hashtag #dkhealtcoach on Instagram so I can see it!!