When I was a kid, it would have been my dream to have chocolate mixed in with my vegetables. Who am I kidding. It’s still my dream. This bread is rich, moist and very addicting, but I don’t feel guilty about wolfing it down because in addition to zucchini, it has other wonderful ingredients like applesauce, walnuts, whole wheat flour and flaxseed. And while the chocolate may seem a bit decadent, cocoa powder contains flavanols, which may help prevent heart disease, stroke and cancer, according to the American Dietetic Association. After the first bite I had to think about whether this recipe should be posted under the bread category, the breakfast category or the dessert category. I decided to go with “bread.” That way it’s your call if it ends up as your breakfast or your dessert. Or both.
- 5 tablespoons ground flaxseed and 10 tablespoons warm water
- 3 cups flour (I used 2 cups whole wheat and 1 cup white)
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1⅓ cups sugar (I used turbinado)
- ½ cup canola oil
- ½ cup applesauce
- ⅔ cup nondairy milk (I used almond milk)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 2 cups zucchini, peeled and shredded (about 2 zucchini)
- 1 cup vegan semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup walnuts, chopped, optional
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray two 9×5″ loaf pans with nonstick spray. For flax eggs, combine ground flaxseed and warm water and let sit for 10 minutes.
- Shred the zucchini in a food processor or by hand, then put the shreds between paper towels (with a cutting board on top) for about 15 minutes to absorb some of the moisture.
- Combine all dry ingredients (through sugar) in a large bowl and mix well. Add canola oil and applesauce and use a fork to stir. It will be dry but stir as well as possible. Then add the flax eggs. Continue to mix.
- Add milk and vanilla, and stir until well blended. Add zucchini, chocolate chips and walnuts, if using, and blend them in. The mixture should be nice and smooth; moist looking.
- Spoon into prepared loaf pans. Bake 55-60 minutes or until knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes, then remove and cool completely. Wrap tightly in foil and the bread will keep for days.
Maddi baked this tonight and I made the Eggplant and Polenta casserole. Everybody loved both recipes!
Thanks, Karen!