These vegan zucchini brownies have a sweet chocolate flavor and the perfect moist, chewy texture. People will never guess they're vegan, or that they're loaded with zucchini!
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I used to be as skeptical as the next girl about veggies in my baked goods.
The church picnic is serving carrot cake? That's not cake. The neighbor brought over freshly baked zucchini bread? I see those green flecks in there, don't try to trick me into eating your salad.
But y'all. I'm converted. Not only can veggies be hidden inside baked goods, but they can also be REALLY GOOD. Like, OMG these zucchini brownies, I can't stop eating them and I don't know what's happening in my life right now.
These brownies just so happen to be vegan. Of course if this is really important to you you'll want to make sure the sugar you're using is vegan (believe it or not, not all of it is, here is an affiliate link to my choice for vegan sugar).
And if you're not vegan? Don't let the label scare you. These will be the chewiest, most indulgent brownies you've ever eaten!
Ingredients
- Granulated sugar
- Canola oil
- Unbleached all-purpose flour
- Whole wheat flour
- Unsweetened cocoa powder
- Shredded zucchini
- Vanilla extract
- Salt
- Baking soda
- Vegan semi-sweet chocolate chips
How to make vegan zucchini brownies
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Coat a 8x8 baking dish with cooking spray.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine sugar, oil, and flour until the mixture resembles wet sand.
- Turn the mixer to low and add cocoa, zucchini, vanilla, salt, and baking soda. Mix until well combined.
- Using a rubber spatula, stir in the chocolate chips.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs clinging.
- Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack. Cut into squares and serve.
Top tips
What the batter should look like
Zucchini is a vegetable that can have a lot of water in it. Most recipes recommend draining the shredded zucchini to control the outcome of the recipe.
I have found more often than not that if I drain the zucchini for this recipe I need to add more water back into before baking. If your zucchini seems very watery, let it rest on a towel for a few minutes before using and adjust the batter as outlined below as needed.
Whether you drained your zucchini or not, check the consistency of your batter before baking. Here is a batter that is in the "sandy" stage, and batter that has everything added to it but it is too dry. It's a little crumbly and looks like cookie dough. You could still bake it like this, but would get a slightly different result.
To fix this, add water 1 tablespoon at a time until your batter looks like the one pictured below. It will still be thick, but should be looser, pourable, and look like, well, brownie batter!
Try vegan brownies in the freezer
The flavor of chocolate changes with temperature, and if you haven't tried brownies straight from the freezer, then you're missing out! They're soft enough to eat straight from the freezer, and even better when crumbled over a bowl of butter pecan ice cream.
How to store zucchini brownies
Zucchini brownies will keep covered at room temperature for up to 3 days, or in a zip top freezer bag for up to 3 months.
Tips for customizing vegan zucchini brownies
- Bake in a 9x13 pan to make flatter brownies you can cut into more squares (decrease the baking time as needed)
- Add 1 teaspoon of cinnamon with the flour
- Add ½ cup chopped walnuts or pecans to the batter
- Use a chopped chocolate bar instead of chocolate chips
- Take it to the next level by topping them with vegan caramel sauce
FAQ
You could do either, but I prefer to shred zucchini on the large holes of a box grater when making brownies. If you'd rather not be able to see the strands of zucchini in the brownies, shred it on a smaller hole.
Dutch process cocoa powder is not the same as unsweetened cocoa powder and will not behave the same in this recipe. I recommend only using unsweetened cocoa powder when making these brownies.
More brownie recipes
- Sweet Potato Brownies
- Vegan Mug Brownies
- Vegan Single Serving Brownie
- Single Serve Vegan Chocolate Brownie Cookie
- Cream Cheese Ice Box Brownies
- Grandma's Brownies
- Refrigerator Bakery Brownies
- Dark Chocolate Brownies
If you make this recipe, be sure to rate it, leave a comment, or tag #theliveinkitchen on Instagram!
Recipe
Vegan Zucchini Brownies
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- ½ cup canola oil
- 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 cups shredded zucchini, lightly drained of excess moisture
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- ¾ cup vegan semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Coat a 8x8 baking dish with cooking spray.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine sugar, oil, and flour until the mixture resembles wet sand.
- Turn the mixer to low and add cocoa, zucchini, vanilla, salt, and baking soda. Mix until well combined.
- Using a rubber spatula, stir in the chocolate chips.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs clinging.
- Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack. Cut into squares and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Christie - Food Done Light says
Love that you added zucchini to brownies. What a great way to make them a little healthier.
Ginny McMeans says
Perfection at it's finest! I love this recipe!
Sherri@The Well Floured Kitchen says
Oh wow- these look amazing and so thick and fudgy! I would eat the whole pan. Just to make sure I get my veggie serving in of course 🙂 Pinned!
Emily {Rainbow Delicious} says
I'm also really skeptical of sneaking veggies in baked goods but I think I might actually try these too... they look amazing (plus my zucchini plant is producing extremely well)
Neen says
This recipe sounds great. I've been on a zucchini
bread kick lately, but the brownies look even yummier.
Can't wait to try the recipe.
Allison Page says
Mmmm something fabulous to do with my overabundance of zucchini! These look mouthwatering.
Lindsay Moe says
Thank you!
Marly says
Love this recipe! And those photographs are amazing...pinned!
Lindsay Moe says
Thanks Marly!
Elyse says
I'm confused, I followed all instructions and it isn't a batter like consistency? Is my zuchini too dry or is it missing a wet ingredient?
Lindsay Moe says
It is a thick batter, but it's possible that the brand of wheat flour you used absorbs more water than mine. Also make sure you're not squeezing all the water out of your zucchini, just a quick squeeze with your hands will do. Did you bake them up anyways? I'd be curious to know if they still turned out.
Caitlin & Andy 4 lyfe says
We had the same concern when following this recipe - the "batter" seemed super dry. I hypothesized that it was to do with the ripeness of the zucchini and that more moisture was going to come out while it baked (there was really no moisture to remove after shredding)... so we just baked it as is (although it was tempting to add some more liquid). They turned out great! These brownies were an epic WIN! 😀
Pooja Nahar says
This recipe was amazing! It was a hit in my family. We were never able to make brownies good without egg and now we have a goto recipe. My sister told me there was zucchini and i was so annoyed. Im sitting here eating this as i write this, I cannot even taste the zucchini
Lindsay Moe says
I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Lisa says
My daughter's 4th birthday is coming up and I need to make a dessert she can bring into her preschool class. Catch is it has to be gluten-, dairy-, nut- and egg-free. We are NOT vegan ... so this is a whole new territory to me. Can I make these and cook in tiny muffin pans, so they're all individual, or will it not turn out as well?
Lindsay Moe says
I think they would be great, but you would need to adjust the baking time quite a bit. Just keep an eye on them and take them out when they're set but not firm. Also please note that these are NOT gluten-free. I have not tested them with gluten free flour, but I am confident that a high quality gluten free flour would substitute just fine here.
Steph C. says
Seriously amazing! Thank you so much for this recipe. I followed the directions exactly and it turned out perfect. I'm taking them to my in-laws Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow.
Lindsay Moe says
Yay! I hope everyone enjoyed the holiday.
Karla says
Hello! I'm dying to try this recipe, I just have one question, how many servings come out? Thank you for this delicious post! 🙂
Lindsay Moe says
It depends on the size of pan you use. It calls for an 8x8 here which I would consider 9 very generous portions, but you could also make it in a 9x13 pan (adjusting the baking time) and you could easily get 12-15 smaller portions.
Deborah Mathieu says
I like baking this in 2 small 8X8" pans.
Put one in the freezer and alway have a "go to" dessert on the ready.
Serve with Kailua & Ice Cream
bethany says
Just made these and they were excellent!! Mine came out like a moist cake so I probably won't drain the zuccini next time but I haven't had this good of a dessert since I went vegan.
Cheryl Pugh says
Can I substitute the sugar for honey? If so, do you know how much honey to use in place of the sugar?
Lindsay Moe says
I have not tried replacing the sugar with honey, so I can't say how much to use or how it would turn out. If you give it a try let me know how it is!
Jaime says
My batter was also pretty thick. I undercooked by about 15 min. Glad I did. I think next time I will half the flour and double the cocoa.
Miranda Wade says
I had the same experience & the resulting brownies were inedible. The right consistency & just like the photos but too little cocoa, too much flour.