Believe it or not, this is Real! I admit I was skeptical when I thought about the combination of a green garden vegetable and chocolate- but I was happily surprised! This is a perfect way to use up extra zucchini or to make a dessert or snack that relies on the moisture of the zucchini instead of butter or eggs. You will never know there’s zucchini in here!
This recipe comes together in one bowl and makes a large enough portion to have enough left over to freeze (although its likely there won’t be any leftovers). I grated the zucchini with a typical box grater but you could easily use the food processor to make it faster. There is no need to squeeze out any of the water from the grated zucchini. I opted to use my standup mixer but a large bowl and a hand held mixer would work just as well. I used a traditional baking dish but feel free to use a disposable baking dish too.
Although you’ll likely want to eat these right away, these are better when they’ve had time to cool and set and waiting makes them easier to cut. There are different variations that you can use with this recipe too. Instead of using chocolate chips, you can substitute raisins, walnuts, pecans, carob chips, or even white chocolate chips. The batter is rich so adjust your chocolate to your own personal taste. If you serve this warm, it will be gooey like a lava cake so you might want to try a dollop of whipped cream or even a scoop of ice cream or frozen yogurt. These brownies would taste great with some peanut or almond butter or even sliced fruit. Yes, they’re That good!
Zucchini Brownies
Makes about 24 brownies
1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups shredded zucchini (or green squash) Do not squeeze out the water
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Optional: 1 cup semi sweet or mini chocolate morsels (with additional for sprinkling), walnuts, raisins, carob chips, or dried fruit
- Preheat the oven to 350. Spray a 9×13 inch baking dish with cooking or vegetable spray and set aside
- In a large bowl, combine the sugar, vegetable oil and flour (The mixture will resemble wet sand). As you’re mixing the batter, slowly add in the cocoa powder, shredded zucchini, vanilla, salt and baking powder. Mix until well combined and moistened from the zucchini. Stir in one cup of any add ins you are using.
- Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and spread out evenly. Top with any additional toppings
- Bake 30-32 minutes until set and a toothpick inserted in the brownies comes out dry.
- Allow to cool completely on a wire rack before cutting into squares. Store in a tight container in a cool place or in the refrigerator.
Photo credit: David Gilsenan