Vegan zucchini brownies which are soft, moist, gooey, fudgy, and very chocolaty! The recipe is plant-based, gluten-free, easy to make, and delicious! Enjoy this vegan chocolate cake with your family and friends. Kids will love this healthy chocolate dessert.
Healthy Vegan Zucchini Brownies
Do you also love moist and gooey brownies, especially when they are pretty healthy? Well, I do for sure, because these vegan brownies don’t taste healthy at all and you won’t taste the zucchini, trust me! They taste like a rich and soft chocolate cake which will make your mouth water!
Some reasons, why I could never say no to these vegan zucchini brownies:
- They are vegan, gluten-free, and healthier than most other brownie recipes
- Kids will love these brownies because they taste chocolaty and yummy
- The recipe is easy to make with simple ingredients
Zucchini Brownies Are Great For Kids
I love “hiding” veggies and legumes in brownies and cakes because they aren’t noticeable due to the intense chocolate flavor. Also, isn’t it so much more enjoyable making desserts with healthier ingredients, instead of using the same boring (and not so healthy) ingredients over and over again?!
Kids won’t notice a difference either and you don’t even need to tell them that these brownies contain zucchini! 😀
How To Make Vegan Zucchini Brownies?
This is a “throw it all together recipe” that everyone can easily make in a food processor.
- Line a 6×9 (15×23 cm) loaf pan or a slightly bigger pan with parchment paper or grease it with vegan butter or oil.
- 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 loaf pan and add more chocolate chips on top.
- Bake in the oven for about 35-40 minutes. For fudgy brownies, I recommend a baking time of 35 minutes or less. And for cakey brownies, I recommend a baking time of 40 minutes or a little more. You can also insert a toothpick in the center of a brownie after 30 minutes and if it comes out clean/slightly crumbly the brownies are done. If the toothpick comes out very sticky/wet, then the brownies need more baking time.
- Let the brownies cool completely. They will firm up once they cool and taste even better on day two!
Great For Breakfast Or Dessert
You can enjoy the vegan zucchini brownies for dessert or breakfast. They are also great on the go or for school, travel, work! If you want to make the chocolate cake brownies even healthier and furthermore oil-free, simply leave out the chocolate chips. You can add raisins or any other dried fruit as a substitute!
Simple Ingredients
These easy zucchini brownies contain only simple vegan ingredients which are as follows:
- Zucchini
- Ground oats (gluten-free if needed)
- Granulated sweetener of choice
- Cocoa powder
- Nut butter or seed butter of choice
- Baking powder and baking soda
- Salt
- Dairy-free chocolate chips
- Plant-based milk (I used canned coconut milk)
- Vanilla extract
- Instant coffee powder (optional)
Find the exact measurements below in the recipe card!
Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake
I used rolled oats for this easy brownie 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 store-bought oat flour.
To make the zucchini brownies oil-free, simply leave out the chocolate chips. 🙂
These Vegan Zucchini Brownies Are:
- Plant-based (dairy-free, egg-free)
- Gluten-free
- Can be made refined sugar-free (by not using chocolate chips)
- Can be made oil-free (by not using chocolate chips)
- Rich
- Moist
- Soft
- Chocolaty
- A great breakfast or dessert
- Easy to make with simple ingredients
Should you give these vegan zucchini brownies a try, please leave a comment and rating below and don’t forget to tag me in your Instagram or Facebook post with @elavegan and #elavegan because I love to see your remakes! 🙂
If you like healthy brownies and chocolate cake, definitely also check out the following delicious gluten-free & vegan brownie recipes:
- Sweet Potato Brownies
- Cheesecake Brownies
- Caramel Chocolate Brownies
- Best Vegan Brownies
- Healthy No-Bake Brownies
- Flourless Brownies
Vegan Zucchini Brownies
Ingredients
Dry ingredients:
- 3/4 cup (150 g) granulated sweetener (see notes)
- 1 1/2 cups (135 g) rolled oats, ground into flour (see notes)
- 1/2 cup (90 g) dairy-free chocolate chips + more for the top
- 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp (50 g) cocoa powder unsweetened
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/3 tsp salt
- 1 tsp instant coffee powder (optional)
Wet ingredients:
- 1 1/4 cups (200 g) shredded zucchini tightly packed
- 1/2 cup (120 g) nut butter of choice (see notes)
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) plant-based milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- I recommend using a kitchen scale for this recipe. This recipe has a video for easy visual instructions (see below).
- 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 loaf pan and add more chocolate chips on top.
- Bake in the oven for about 35-40 minutes. For fudgy brownies, I recommend a baking time of 35 minutes or less. And for cakey brownies, I recommend a baking time of 40 minutes or a little more. The baking time also depends on the size of the pan! You can insert a toothpick in the center of a brownie after 30 minutes and if it comes out clean/slightly crumbly the brownies are done. If the toothpick comes out very sticky/wet, then the brownies need more baking time.
- Let the brownies cool completely. They will firm up once they cool and taste even better on day two! Enjoy! Keep leftover zucchini brownies covered in the fridge. You can also freeze them!
Notes
- Granulated sweetener: You can use coconut sugar, Erythritol, Xylitol* or regular sugar. *Desserts with Xylitol should be never given to dogs.
- 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 possibly use oil instead. Please note that I never made this recipe with oil, however, I would suggest about 1/4 of a cup (please report back if you give it a try).
- Nutrition facts are for one of eight brownies (1/8 of the recipe).
Nutrition information is an estimate and has been calculated automatically
Equipment
Simple and Delicious Vegan Cookbook by ElaVeganCLICK HERE to order!If you are using Pinterest, feel free to pin the following photo:
I’ve been making these for two years now, they are so insanely delicious and affordable. No one ever believes they are vegan! Pro tip: add some walnuts and cranberries on top
Sounds wonderful, Bee. I am so glad you love them. 🙂
Unfortunately, this didn’t work for me at all. I did everything exactly as the recipe said but my brownies were so dry that they were falling apart. The batter was also burnt on the outside after only 15 minutes but didn’t bake at all on the inside.
When mixing, the batter was so thick that I couldn’t even properly combine everything.
Hi Josh, it sounds like you used a different recipe because the batter shouldn’t be so thick. Did you use coconut flour by any chance?
Who doesn’t enjoy their vegetables like this!!! What a great recipe. Simple method and ingredients. I did change things ever so slightly, added a banana, used a quarter cup of coconut oil, used half a cup of brown sugar as the sweetener, and did not use any nut butter. Was curious as to how it would come together in the blender, but blended very easily, and had a medium runny batter, (I did add a dash more milk, soy for me) and poured so easily into the baking dish. Baked at 170degC for 30 minutes, then turned off the oven and put it back in to cool for another 10 minutes. Could not wait for it to cool completely before I sliced it and sampled the goods, and not disappointed. Delicious. Looking forward to my next helping of zucchini.
Sounds great, Richard. Thanks for your feedback. 🙂
Could I do these with a blender instead of a food processor?
Yes, but pay attention not to over-process the batter. 🙂
I made these zucchini brownies, I didn’t have nut butter so I made them with coconut oil. They were delicious. I baked them 30 minutes at 180 Celsius degrees. They were crumbing. Don’t know why. Maybe I should bake them sorter. Anyway these are very delicious healthy sweets!
Hi Brana, I am glad you like them. Yes, you could bake them 5 minutes shorter next time.
Hi Ela,
These were really good! I’ve never made any sweet items with zucchini until this recipe. If I didn’t know it was in the brownies, I wouldn’t have been able to detect the zucchini. Thank you!
Glad you liked them, Charleen! 🙂
These are fabulous brownies! I have made them numerous times adjusting the baking time each time until I get my preferred consistency. So delish.
Here is my question: I need to make these for a larger crowd and wonder how much would I need to make to use a 9×13 baking dish/pan? Would I just double the recipe? I have been making these in a 8×8 glass dish but I know Ela you suggest 6 x9. And then of course the baking time?
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Hi Kelly, I am so glad you like them! Yes, I think doubling the recipe should be fine, and the baking time should be pretty similar because of the larger pan. Just check it with a toothpick. 🙂
Hi Ela, can you use maple syrup or Honey instead of sugar?
Hi Liana, I think it might work. 🙂
I don’t have any nut butter on hand… do you think I could substitute ripe banana for it?
Hi, you can either use oil or try mashed banana or applesauce for a low-fat (low-calorie) version. 🙂
I had some unused zucchini leftover from where I made made some pasta the other week, and I remembered you had a recipe for brownies using them so it wouldn’t go to waste, but I used coconut palm sugar and cacao powder since I didn’t have cocoa powder or Xylitol on hand, and they still turned out great and chocolatey! I baked mine for 35 minutes since I wanted them to be fudgy, and they tasted so good. Thanks again for all these wonderful recipes Ela. 🙂
You are so welcome, Shirley. I am glad you like them. 🙂
Excellent recipe, the brownies are delicious. We loved them. Definitely will be my favourite recipe for brownies. Thank you, Ela.
You are welcome, Sveta. I am glad you liked them. 🙂
These brownies were delicious! I do have a question though. Mine turned out cakey even though I pulled them out at 30 minutes with a toothpick having a little batter still on it. Any idea on how to make them more fudgey? More fat ratio? Less baking soda/powder?
Thank you so much!
Hi Kara, yes, you could use less baking soda/powder and add a little more fat. Check after 27 minutes, then they should be fudgey. 🙂