Make ultra-gooey, fudgy vegan zucchini brownies with no eggs, flour, oil, or refined sugar (and you can’t tell!). They’re super chocolatey, easy to make, and loved by kids & adults!
Before you shy away from the idea of zucchini in brownies, remember carrot cake exists (and it is amazing!). After making an ultra-moist zucchini chocolate cake, I knew this veggie would be perfect to make ultra-chocolatey, fudgy, gooey brownies with hidden nutrients and heaps of moisture (no eggs needed!). Mission accomplished—and no one knows it’s there!
Better yet, this recipe uses simple pantry staples and is naturally vegan, gluten-free, flourless, and free from most ‘empty calories’ like refined sugars and oils. Instead, oats, nut butter, and coconut sugar pack in nutrients while keeping things decadently delicious. Kids (and most spouses!) won’t taste the difference, especially with optional chocolate chips! It’s so easy, too. I literally just toss everything in a food processor, but a bowl works, too. There’s no need to squeeze the zucchini either – just shred, mix, bake, and enjoy.
Ready to explore more hidden veggie brownie recipes? Try my sweet potato brownies, black bean brownies, pea brownies, and chickpea brownies.
The Ingredients
The Dry Ingredients
- Oats: Use ‘oat flour’ or make your own by grinding oats in an electric coffee/spice grinder or high-speed blender. Use certified gluten-free oats if necessary.
- Sugar: I use unrefined coconut sugar, but regular sugar or sugar alternatives like erythritol will also work in these zucchini brownies.
- Cocoa powder: Use unsweetened cocoa powder or cacao. The latter contains more nutrients but is more bitter.
- Leavening agents: This egg-free brownie recipe uses baking powder and baking soda.
- Chocolate chips: Use semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate chips/chunks (or sugar-free chocolate). Omit them for a refined sugar-free, oil-free recipe for zucchini brownies.
- Coffee powder: Optional, but great to enhance the chocolate flavor.
- Salt: To deepen the chocolate flavor.
The Wet Ingredients
- Zucchini: (aka courgette) Medium zucchini works best – no need to peel OR squeeze/drain.
- Nut butter: (or seed butter) To add natural richness and oils – almond butter, cashew butter, peanut butter, or sunflower seed butter.
- Milk: Use any. I use plant milks like soy or oat milk. Coconut milk adds extra moisture and richness.
- Vanilla extract: Use natural vanilla for the best flavor.
Recipe Variations and Add-Ins
- Other add-ins: Add to or replace chocolate chips with chopped nuts and/or dried fruit (like raisins, cherries, cranberries, etc.). Avoid ‘wet’ fruits.
- Flavor enhancers: i.e., cinnamon, nutmeg, orange zest/ extract, chili powder, etc.
- Protein powder: Sub a few tbsp oat flour. Don’t add too much, as it can dry out brownies.
- Toppings: Swirl in nut or seed butter, fruit jam/jelly, or vegan salted caramel sauce on top before baking, or sprinkle with flaky sea salt.
- Frosted zucchini brownies: Like the sweet potato frosting from my zucchini cake or nut butter chocolate ganache from my chocolate avocado cake.
Please read the recipe card below for the full ingredients list, measurements, complete recipe method, and nutritional information.
How to Make Vegan Zucchini Brownies
- Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C), and grease or line a 6×9-inch (15x23cm) loaf pan with parchment paper – a slightly larger one works too, for thinner brownies.
- Use medium-large holes on a box grater or a food processor shredding disk to grate the zucchini.
- Process the dry ingredients, except chocolate chips, in a food processor (or a large bowl).
- Add the wet ingredients and pulse or whisk/stir into a smooth batter.
- Fold in the chocolate chips, then transfer the batter to the pan and sprinkle with more chocolate chips.
- Bake the chocolate zucchini brownies for 35-40 minutes (35= fudgier brownies)
- Let the brownies cool completely (they firm up as they cool) then slice, and enjoy!
Serving Suggestions
While there’s nothing wrong with having a chocolate chip zucchini brownie on its own, level up your treat by enjoying it warm (microwaved 20-40 seconds) with:
- Ice cream (vegan strawberry ice cream, peanut butter banana ice cream, vanilla, etc.)
- Coconut whipped cream and berries
- Fruit compote and vegan cream
Top Recipe Tips
- Weigh ingredients: Grams are most accurate to guarantee the best results.
- Zucchini shred size: Medium-coarse shredded zucchini will add subtle texture, though finer shreds will work and practically ‘melt’ into the bake. Adjust to your preference.
- To save time: Shred the zucchini in seconds using a food processor shredding disk.
- Don’t overbake: They continue to cook from residual heat out of the oven, so take them out when there are set edges with a slightly underdone, jiggly middle.
- Let the brownies cool: These vegan, gluten-free zucchini brownies are fragile out of the oven, but firm up over time. Cool for at least an hour.
More Vegan Chocolate Recipes
- 2-ingredient chocolate cake
- Vegan chocolate pie
- Cheesecake Brownies
- No-bake caramel brownies
- Vegan chocolate mousse
If you try this vegan zucchini brownie recipe, I’d love a comment and ★★★★★ recipe rating below. Also, please don’t forget to tag me in recreations on Instagram or Facebook with @elavegan und #elavegan – I love seeing them.
Vegan Zucchini Brownies
Video
Ingredients
Dry ingredients:
- 1 ½ cups (135 g) rolled oats, ground into flour (see notes)
- ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sweetener (see notes)
- ½ cup (90 g) dairy-free chocolate chips + more for the top
- ½ cup + 1 tbsp (50 g) cocoa powder unsweetened
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- ⅓ tsp salt
- 1 tsp instant coffee powder (optional)
Wet ingredients:
- 1 ¼ cups (200 g) shredded zucchini tightly packed
- ½ cup (120 g) nut butter of choice (see notes)
- ¼ cup (60 ml) plant-based milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- I recommend using a kitchen scale for this recipe. You can watch the video for visual instructions.
- Line a 6x9 (15x23 cm) or a slightly bigger pan with parchment paper or grease it with vegan butter or oil and preheat the oven to 360 °F (182 °C).
- Process all dry ingredients (except the chocolate chips) in a food processor.
- Add all wet ingredients and blend again until the batter is smooth.
- Finally, add the chocolate chips and stir with a spoon.
- Pour the batter into the pan and add more chocolate chips on top.
- Bake for about 35–40 minutes. For fudgy brownies, stick to 35 minutes or less; for cakier brownies, go for 40 minutes or more. Baking time varies with pan size. Test after 30 minutes with a toothpick – if it comes out clean or slightly crumbly, they’re done; if sticky, bake longer.
- Let the brownies cool completely. They will firm up once they cool and taste even better on day two! Enjoy!
Notes
- Granulated sweetener: You can use coconut sugar, organicr sugar, or a sugar-free sweetener like Erythritol.
- Oats: I used rolled oats for this recipe which I processed in an electric coffee/spice grinder to make oat flour. You can use regular rolled oats or gluten-free oats and process them in a blender (or grinder). Of course, you can also use 135 grams of store-bought oat flour.
- Nut butter: You can use almond butter, cashew butter, peanut butter or sunflower seed butter for a nut-free version. If you don't have nut butter, you could use 1/4 cup of oil instead.
- Store: Keep leftover brownies covered in the fridge for up to a week. You can also freeze them!
- Nutrition facts are for one of eight brownies (1/8 of the recipe).
Nutrition information is an estimate and has been calculated automatically
„Simple and Delicious Vegan“ Cookbook by ElaVeganCLICK HERE to order!If you are using Pinterest, feel free to pin the following photo:
This is another winning recipe! I agree, one can never get enough chocolate. Who would think there is zucchini in these? They were great. I took them out of the oven at 30 minutes and was surprised at how cakey they already were, but they still tasted great. I used erythritol for the sweetener. I also went ahead and froze most of them because I cut them smaller and then we have treats for a while because there are only two of us. I was afraid we would pass up the freshness date in the refrigerator. My husband ate these by the twos. He thoroughly enjoyed them. I even made your sweet potato chocolate frosting which he put on top after defrosting.
Thank you so much for this lovely feedback 💕 Your husband eating them two at a time made me smile 😄
I’m so happy you both enjoyed them so much.
Thanks again for taking the time to write this
Ela 💚
I made these again, weighing my zucchini to see how large a batch I could make. Ha ha.
I have the 8 serving printout, and made 1.5 times the recipe. Beautiful! I replaced the nut/seed butter with avocado and baked them for 25 minutes. This made an 8’ x 14’ pan of brownies (24 small ones) Just lovely. I put a lot in the fridge as my husband is like the cookie monster!
I made my instagram account public just to post a tribute to you. @grn.sea.ttl.lover
Many hugs. 🫂💕
Just saw it and left a comment! Beautiful! So glad you made the zucchini brownies again. I love them too! 💕
Hi,
would quick oats work instead of rolled oats?
Yes, quick oats will work. Just make sure to grind them into a fine flour, the texture should be similar to oat flour.
Hi! Do you think I can replace the nut butter with soy yogurt?
Hi Teresa! The nut butter in this recipe gives fat, moisture and also a bit of structure. Soy yogurt is much lower in fat and more watery, so the brownies won’t be as good.
Can I use almond flour instead of oat flour?
Yes, but not 1:1. Almond flour behaves very differently than oat flour. Oat flour is absorbent and gives structure. Almond flour is fatty and much more moist. If you swap it straight, the brownies turn oily, soft and can sink.
Here is the version that works and still gives you fudgy brownies.
Use
• 100 g almond flour
• 35 g oat flour or buckwheat/sorghum/quinoa flour
instead of the full 135 g oat flour.
Then reduce the nut butter slightly. Use 100 g nut butter instead of 120 g.
Everything else stays the same. This keeps the brownies rich and fudgy without turning them greasy or underbaked in the center.
These were so amazingly delicious! I used cacao powder and ¼ coconut sugar and ½ granulated sugar. Following the instructions, except no scale, my batter was a little dry so just added a little more oat milk. I took them to work, and everyone LOVED them and were shocked to learn they were made with zucchini! Lol
I try to share your food and recipes with as many people as possible and try to inform people that you can have amazing, delicious food that’s cruelty free and better for our planet. Ela, thank you so much for doing what you do and helping us get the word out with your amazing recipes!
Aww thank you so much — that honestly means a lot! 💚 I’m so happy everyone loved the brownies. Your kind words and how you share vegan food with others really means a lot!
Hi. Can i use sliced zucchini instead of greated if any way i put it in the food proccessor?
Yes, you can definitely use sliced zucchini instead of grated since you’re blending everything in the food processor anyway. As long as the total weight stays the same (about 200 g), it won’t matter whether it starts out grated, sliced, or even roughly chopped — the processor will break it down into a smooth mixture.
My family and I LOVE this recipe!! We’ve been making it per your recipe for years. I get so excited when summer comes and we’ll have an abundance of zucchinis. Thank you for this yummy recipe!!!
can I use regular flour?
Yes, that is fine.
Hi, dou you think I can use shredded raw pumpkin instead of zucchini?
You can use shredded raw pumpkin, but there are a few things to consider. Pumpkin contains less moisture than zucchini, so the brownies may turn out a bit drier. If you use pumpkin, I recommend adding 1–2 tablespoons extra plant-based milk to help with moisture. The flavor will be slightly different, but it should still work and taste delicious.
Can you freeze the cooked brownies?
Yes, you can definitely freeze the cooked brownies!
Just make sure they’re completely cooled first. Then wrap them well in plastic wrap or put them in an airtight container or freezer bag.
When you want to enjoy them again, just thaw in the fridge or at room temperature — they’ll still taste great and keep their texture nicely.
I used a mixture of date paste and honey for sweetener, added 1/3 c coconut oil, and doubled the coconut milk, also used tahini for the nut butter. Baked 30 min. Turned out amazing!
That sounds like a delicious combo, Rosey! 😍 Love the idea of using tahini and doubling the coconut milk for extra richness. So glad it turned out amazing, thanks for sharing your tweaks!
Doesn’t sound much like the original recipe!
This is honestly the best healthy brownie I have ever made. I have tried many variations of healthy brownies, some with sweet potatoes and some with bananas, but this one with zucchini is a keeper!
I love that we blend everything into a smooth batter as it hides the healthy ingredients very well. the final texture was a moist and crumbly cake like brownie. Given it’s texture, you could get away with calling this a healthy chocolate cake too. So yum!
That’s amazing to hear, Sahana! 😍 I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe—zucchini is such a game-changer! Thanks for your kind words! ❤️