Chocolate Chunk Zucchini Bread

Every summer around this time, the zucchini starts to pile up. And that, my friends, is why there’s zucchini bread. But most zucchini bread recipes call for a mere cup of the stuff, barely putting a dent in your stockpile. And that’s one of the many things that make this zucchini bread recipe so wonderful. It uses 2 1/2 cups of the stuff! To boot, it’s airy, sweet, and has big melty hunks of chocolate in it. So, do your part to deplete the zucchini surplus and bake up this super delicious chocolate zucchini bread recipe stat! You’ll definitely be glad you did.

Chocolate Chunk Zucchini Bread Recipe (adapted from Simple Bites)

makes one large 9 x 4″ loaf plus 4 – 6 muffins

• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 3/4 cup full fat yogurt, room temperature
• 1/3 cup buttermilk (here’s how to substitute milk), room temperature
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 1/2 cups shredded zucchini
• 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon orange zest

To start, set out the ingredients that need to come to room temperature –– the eggs, yogurt, and buttermilk.

Preheat the oven the 350 degrees. Liberally butter a 9 x 4″ loaf pan, and butter or add paper liners to a 6 cup muffin tin.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, spices, baking soda and powder, and sea salt.

In a medium-sized bowl, beat the eggs with a whisk until they are pale and foamy, 1 – 2 minutes. Fold in the yogurt, buttermilk, and olive oil. Next, mix in the sugar, zucchini, chocolate, and zest, until everything is well-combined.

Fold the wet ingredients into the dry. Spoon into the prepared loaf pan, filling to about two-thirds. Fill the muffin cups two-thirds full. Slide everything into the oven. The muffins will bake up in 45 minutes. Remove from oven and cool for 10 minutes. The bread will take 55 – 65 minutes. Look for the center to set up and be springy. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out with just a few crumbs attached. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from the pan, and allow bread to cool fully before slicing.