Rich and delicious Healthy Zucchini Brownies made with shredded zucchini, whole wheat flour, and no refined sugar. Super moist and fudgy, no one even realizes that there is 2 cups of zucchini packed into the recipe!
We love healthy zucchini recipes around here and that includes baked goods like healthy chocolate zucchini bread and healthy zucchini bread.
These zucchini brownies are pure delight! Fudgy, healthy and easy. They taste like real brownies while made with whole foods!
Because zucchini is seasonal but the love for brownies can be year round, I make zucchini brownies during summer months.
Then in the winter, you can find me cooking batches of Instant Pot black beans and whipping up black bean brownies and no bake brownies. And no one complains, when I make almond flour brownies and sweet potato brownies, either!
Everyone in my household was particularly excited for the remake of healthy brownie recipe with zucchini. Kids want to eat zucchini. Pinch me!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Better for you brownies: This zucchini dessert has the best simple yet clean ingredients. In fact, you could almost get away with eating these at every meal.
- Easy recipe: No wringing out your shredded zucchini for hours, just a quick squeeze and into the bowl they go. And did I mention, you can make this recipe in one bowl?!
- Fudgy: They actually get fudgier the next day!
Ingredients for Healthy Zucchini Brownies
Zucchini is the perfect vegetable to sneak into desserts because of both its mild taste and high water ratio keeps your brownies moist without ever fear of being dry.
- Zucchini: We will be adding a full 2 cups of shredded zucchini, talk about nourishing!
- Egg: For binding and holding these brownies together.
- Whole wheat or spelt flour: You can use only whole wheat or spelt flour. Any gluten free flour will not work because this zucchini brownie recipe relies on gluten in dough to rise. All purpose flour acts differently than whole wheat flour too.
- Maple syrup: I love to use this natural sweetener in baked goods because its flavor is mild without overpowering.
- Coconut oil: I find coconut oil best to use because it is solid. Zucchini brownies will be a tad more fudgy as they cool and oil becomes solid again after baking. Plus, that means these are dairy free!
- Cacao powder: A superfood full of antioxidants and nutrients. Can use cocoa powder too.
Substitutions
Here are some common substitutions if you happen to be out of an ingredient!
- Liquid sweetener: You can use any other liquid sweetener like honey, agave, brown rice syrup. Baking is a science and the ratio of dry to liquid is important and can’t be offset.
- Oil: You can use any mild tasting oil like avocado oil, however best results are with coconut oil!
- Cacao powder: More common unsweetened cocoa powder is OK. It’ more processed but can be found easily at any grocer.
- Other flour: Unfortunately for this recipe, I don’t recommend to use any other flour except ones listed in the recipe.
- Egg: Unfortunately, using applesauce instead of egg results in a cake like zucchini brownie. This recipe needs an egg!
- Chocolate chips: Not a substitution but if desired, sprinkle chocolate chips on top before baking.
How to Make Healthy Zucchini Brownies
This recipe comes together in one bowl, but all zucchini recipes use different techniques, so please read.
Prep baking dish: I highly recommend to line dish with parchment paper for easy removal.
Prep zucchini by shredding on medium size hole side of grater and giving a gentle squeeze. Set aside in colander while preparing remaining ingredients.
Recipe Tip
Do not salt zucchini or squeeze excessively to remove excess water. The water in the zucchini is what gives these brownies their moist fudgy texture!
Liquids: Measure oil in liquid state. I recommend not to make oil very hot so it doesn’t “cook” the egg in batter.
Whisk all liquids first, and then add and whisk your leavening agents and cacao powder until “chocolate sauce” consistency.
Fold in shredded zucchini: Gently stir your previously set aside shredded zucchini.
Add flour: Mix until just combined.
Bake: Bake for 28 minutes at 375 degrees F preheated oven. Top should be soft and glossy and the centre not too jiggly.
Recipe Tip
Do not overbake brownies! They might seem slightly undercooked when you test them. If you insert a toothpick into the center of the brownies pan it should come out with some damp crumbs attached. If you shake the pan and center is not wiggly, your zucchini fudgy brownies are set!
Cool properly: Let brownies cool in the pan for about an hour. Then transfer to a cooling rack to cool off completely. If you have patience, brownies become fudgier next day.
Make a healthy brownie sundae! Cut brownies into 16 squares and enjoy on their own or a dollop of vegan vanilla ice cream or healthy chocolate ice cream.
Tips for Baking with Zucchini
- Use large or small zucchini: The size of the zucchini doesn’t matter, just the amount.
- A word about baseball bat sized zucchini: Please do remove large seeds before grating as they could have a bitter taste!
- Don’t peel the zucchini: It’s so thin no one will notice plus researchers say it has the highest level of antioxidants. Yeah!
- Measuring: Do not overpack your measuring cup with zucchini because even extra 1/4 cup increases baking time.
- Follow the recipe: All zucchini recipes will differ how they prep the zucchini. For this recipe, give zucchini only a small squeeze to release some water.
How to Store
Overnight: Zucchini brownies taste even better the next day as they settle and cool off. That’s when brownies become really fudgy as coconut oil solidifies and settles.
At first brownies might look like cake. I leave them on a plate covered with kitchen towel on the counter overnight.
Past 24 hrs mark: In a glass airtight container, in a cool dry place for up to 4 days. If it’s hot outside, refrigerate for up to a week.
Freezing: Freeze brownies in an airtight container for up to 3 – 4 months. I would be surprised if you have any left to freeze. 🙂
Recipe Tip
Crust? There is no such obvious crust on healthy brownies as with their butter and sugar counterpart. However, if you cut and place brownies on a plate, their sides and edges will dry up a bit overnight.
FAQs
This recipe uses only 1 cup flour, no baking powder and quite an abundance of moist ingredients (coconut oil, zucchini, eggs) which results in a healthy fudgy brownie. If your brownies turned out more cake like it could be because you didn’t measure flour correctly (scooped into the bag), overbaked them or didn’t use coconut oil. Also try to leave them overnight to become more fudgy.
No you can’t! That is the beauty of zucchini brownies.
You could, but you don’t need to! Zucchini is not like flour in that it will throw off recipe by much if you use a little more/little less. Just don’t pack zucchini tightly and you will be fine!
Definitely and many readers have! You may need to increase the baking time by a few minutes, so keep an eye on your oven.
More Brownies Recipes to Try
More Healthy Zucchini Recipes
- Chocolate zucchini muffins
- Healthy zucchini muffins
- Lemon zucchini bread
- Zucchini chocolate chip muffins
- Almond flour zucchini bread
- Almond flour zucchini muffins
- Healthy lemon zucchini bread
- Healthy zucchini banana bread
Best Ever Healthy Zucchini Brownies
Ingredients
- 2 cups zucchini large size hole shredded (not tightly packed)
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup coconut oil melted
- 1/2 cup maple syrup, honey or any liquid sweetener
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup cacao or cocoa powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 cup whole wheat or spelt flour
Instructions
- Place zucchini in a colander while you are getting other ingredients ready.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and line 8 x 8 baking dish with unbleached parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, add egg, oil, maple syrup and pure vanilla extract; whisk to combine.
- Add cacao powder, baking soda and salt; whisk until well mixed.
- Give zucchini a gentle squeeze but do not ring out completely, add to a bowl and stir.
- Add flour and mix gently until combined.
- Transfer batter into prepared baking dish and level with spatula. Bake for 25-28 minutes or until the centre is barely jiggly. Do not over bake as brownies will have more of a cake consistency. A toothpick inserted has to come out somewhat not clean. If centre is too jiggly bake a bit more – ovens vary.
- Remove from the oven and let cool for about an hour. Lift by the parchment paper flaps and transfer to a cooling rack to cool off completely. Then cut into 16 squares and enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Store 1st day: Brownies become fudgier the next day, especially if stored cut up and separated or refrigerated. I leave them on a plate covered with kitchen towel on a counter overnight.
- Store past 24 hrs: In a glass airtight container in a cool dry place for up to 4 days. If it’s hot outside, refrigerate for up to a week.
- Freeze: In airtight container for up to 3 – 4 months.
- Flour: You can use only whole wheat or spelt flour. Any gluten free flour will not work because it doesn’t have gluten in it. All purpose flour acts differently than whole wheat flour, too.
- Maple syrup: You can replace only with liquid sweetener like honey, agave, or brown rice syrup.
- Coconut oil: You can use any mild tasting oil like avocado oil or your favorite. One thing though. Because coconut oil is solid, zucchini brownies will be a tad more fudgy as it cools down and becomes solid again after baking.
- Cacao powder: More common cocoa powder is okay to use.
These turned out great! Exactly what I was looking for to use up some frozen shredded zucchini. Thank you!
Perfect! So glad it turned out great!
Hey! I’m not sure which side of the grater is with medium size holes because I have the most common 4-sided grater with small and big holes and the other two sides are different shapes. I’d appreciate your advice.
So next size smaller than large shred holes. So would be small holes for smaller shreds, not the side where you grate it into like puree almost. Hope this helps.
Thank you so much for your quick reply! I’ll definitely share my feedback when I have time to try this recipe.
I finally made the brownie. Well-it’s amazing! I’m really glad that I found your recipe because it wasn’t easy to find brownie recipe which isn’t full of sugar and chocolate. Thank you so much!😊
P.P. I noticed in the video that your batter is way more thick than mine and I was concerned that the brownie was ruined but it wasn’t.
So glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Making my third batch in 2 weeks. Not sure how healthy THAT is but they certainly don’t last long. I also use honey, bit sweeter 😉.
I’ve done a choc Zucchini cake for the past 30 years which also goes down a treat…
So glad you enjoy these zucchini brownies that much, Sara!
These are delicious, and by magic they taste better the next day! Immediately after taking out of the oven, you can still see bits of zucchini, but the next day the bits have mysteriously dissolved and the flavor is even better. From now on I will bake them one day before I plan to eat them. Also, I don’t think parchment paper or even removing/cutting them to finish resting is even necessary. Greasing the pan and leaving them in the pan is just fine. Using a plastic knife on brownies works best. Thanks for this “keeper!”
Awesome, thanks for the review, glad you enjoyed them!
Another 5-star rating! I had to use all-purpose flour, apple sauce instead of the coconut oil and baking powder instead of baking soda (I have to do low sodium) and they were fantastic! They cooked for 25 mins. Loved them and you can’t beat the healthy element. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
yeah, so glad you enjoyed them! Thanks for sharing how you adjusted them to your low sodium as well!
These brownies are moist and delicious and quick and easy to make! Thank you for sharing your recipes and helping those of us with a sweet tooth indulge in something that not only tastes great but is a healthy, whole food option! I made a couple substitutions… I used strained shredded yellow squash that I had in the freezer in place of the zucchini and instead of using coconut oil I used one tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil and one small overripe banana. More of the banana flavor came through than I was hoping for, still incredibly tasty, so next time I will replace with something more neutral like Greek yogurt or pumpkin puree. I can’t wait to make these again and surprise others! Really YUMMY!!!
So glad you loved them Lynn! Happy New Year!
Update for anyone who wants to eliminate the oil… I made the recipe again today as written with one exception… I used an equal amount of 2% Fage Greek Yogurt in place of the coconut oil. Happy to report it works, the brownies are super moist and delicious! Thanks again Olena for the healthy recipe!
Thanks for sharing Lynn! So glad it turned out well.
Can I leave the cocoa powder out?
no, that would not be brownies…? Using cocoa or cacao powder gives it the chocolate brownie taste 🙂
Can I blend up the zucchinis?
My worry would be they would release too much water then and you need to squeeze out some and the rest slowly absorbed during baking.
Overall this was 5-stars in my book. I recommend adding slightly more syrup, but not much. I ended up baking a little longer and, as author suggested, it did become more cake-like, which I enjoyed. I am baking at 5,500 ft, so I reduced the leavener a little bit without negative consequences. Additionally, to make up for the altitude, I did not ring out the zucchini.
I suggest topping with thin banana slices, and I think toasted walnuts would be amazing inside.
Sounds fabulous with the bananas and walnuts, thanks for sharing how you did it at high altitude!
Hello Olena, the brownie look delicious!
Can I have all measures in grams please , will be very useful.
Thank you!
Hi Stephen. On the recipe card please click Metric under the ingredients. Enjoy!