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:
These are amazing! I followed the recipe as written, except I used 3/4 cup date sugar, so I increased wet ingredients by 25% as recommended online (so I used 1/3 cup soy milk), slightly less than 2/3 almond butter, etc; however, I kept zucchini amount the same). Since I was adding these additional wet ingredients, I also increased the baking powder (to 1 1/4 tsp and soda to 1/2 tsp). I baked in an 11X7 brownie pan with parchment paper and cooked for 25 minutes. I was able to cut these into approx 20 brownies, so yay! Wow, they are moist and super tasty. Thanks for a great recipe!
Wonderful! Thanks so much for your amazing feedback! 🙂
Amazing brownies! 🔥My guests loved them. The only note is that I might leave the coffee out next time, because none of us could sleep after eating them. I’m assuming it’s due to the caffeine, since we don’t drink alcohol.
So glad to hear, Gulnara. Thanks for your feedback. 🙂
Absolutely top notch. dessert.. Amazing!
Thanks for your great feedback. 🙂
I love these brownies, I used honey an mixed it with the wet ingredients. They are a big hit! I am always looking for gluten free, thank you.
Can I use quick cooking oats?
Yes sure. Just blend them for some seconds until you have oat flour.
if not gluten-free can white whole-wheat flour be used? maybe whole wheat flour?
Me gusto mucho tiene buen sabor
Can these be made with a different four? My son can’t eat oats. Thanks.
Yes, I tried buckwheat and millet flour. Both work fine.
I am new to plant based and everything I have tried from elavegan is delicious! Brownies were wonderful! Thank you for your recipes!
So glad you like them! 🙂
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?
These brownies were kick-ass!!! I’ll definitely make them again!!!
So happy you liked them! 🙂
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. 🙂