Zucchini Brownies
The best Zucchini Brownies with a rich chocolate frosting on top! My kids don’t even notice that there’s zucchini in this dessert. These have the best texture and are super fudgy brownies!
I may earn commissions for purchases made through links on this post.
ZUCCHINI BROWNIE RECIPE
Before we jump into apple and pumpkin season, and believe me…I’m so ready to go there, here’s one of my favorite summer dessert recipes for those huge zucchini you have from your garden. You know I wouldn’t share these with you if they weren’t worth it.
Let me start by saying that I’m not a believer in skinny treats. For me, if I’m going to indulge, I’m going full throttle. But for once I tried to go the healthy route.
In these healthy zucchini brownies I replaced half of the oil with applesauce, used whole wheat flour, no eggs, and used shredded zucchini in the batter. But then I topped them with naughty, naughty frosting and ruined anything that could make these healthy brownies. Oops.
The no egg thing completely threw me for a loop but I didn’t even miss them at all. The zucchini provides enough moisture for the brownies. These brownies were extremely moist and the zucchini was undetectable to my kids.
PRO TIPS:
- Shred the zucchini with a food processor or a box grater.
- Zucchini is really wet when shredded. Use paper towels to squeeze out some of the moisture.
YES, THERE’S NO EGG IN THIS RECIPE
It might be confusing but it works. Trust me.
HEALTHY ADAPTATIONS:
- You can replace all or half of the oil with applesauce. Applesauce yields a more cake-like version of the brownie and oil gives it a denser fudge-like brownie.
- You can use whole wheat flour in place of the all-purpose flour.
- Coconut oil can be used as a replacement.
MY FAVORITE ZUCCHINI RECIPES
CHOCOLATE DESSERTS
- Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
- Chocolate Eclair Cake
- Mini Chocolate Cheesecakes
- Carmelitas
- S’mores Cookies
- Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
Zucchini Brownies
Ingredients
Brownies:
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil, (you can replace half with applesauce if you want)
- 1 1/2 cups white sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose or whole wheat flour
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups shredded zucchini
Frosting:
- 6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/4 cup butter
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9x13 inch baking pan.
- In a large bowl, mix together the oil, applesauce, sugar and 2 teaspoons vanilla until well blended. Combine flour, 1/2 cup cocoa, baking soda and salt; stir into the sugar mixture. Mixture will be dry until you add the grated zucchini. If your zucchini is really wet use paper towels to squeeze out some moisture. Stir in the zucchini. Spread brownie batter evenly into the prepared pan. The zucchini will release moisture as it bakes.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until brownies spring back when gently touched.
- For the frosting: Melt together the 6 tablespoons of cocoa and margarine and set aside to cool. In a medium bowl, blend together the confectioners' sugar, milk and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Stir in the cocoa mixture. Spread over cooled brownies before cutting into squares. Store leftovers in an airtight container.
Notes
PRO TIPS:
- Shred the zucchini with a food processor or a grater.
- Zucchini is really wet when shredded. Use paper towels to squeeze out some of the moisture.
These Zucchini Brownies are a great summer dessert.
Hi Christy,
Iām making your zucchini brownies and just noticed there are no eggs in the recipe? Ā Iāve never not used eggs and was wondering if they were omitted for a reason.
Thank you for all your delicious recipes!
Have a great weekend!
Susan
Yep. No eggs. It actually gives it the best texture instead of cakey.
I really like that you use wheat flour in this recipe, it has gotten a bit of a bad rap, but for most people whole wheat is great!
It’s great!
Hello, I discovered this recipe through pinterest about 2 years ago. It is my go-to summer brownie recipe! I love it, and people are always very impressed by the brownies when I bring them to summer bbqs.
I love hearing that.
Cooling on my counter as I write this. They smell amazing! Hope they taste as good as they smell! The real test will come tomorrow, will the kids notice the zucchini?!
Mine didn’t! Hope yours don’t
Are these brownies cake like or chewy?
Cake like but super moist.
Could we replace the white sugar with brown sugar?
Sure! I think that would be a great change.
We love these brownies! In fact, I just made them tonight! Our family happens to have food allergies to egg, dairy and wheat so I do have to make a couple adjustments. When I make these I half the sugar, use coconut oil, and for my flours I use 1 c sorghum flour, 3/4 c brown rice flour, 1/4 c tapioca flour and 3/4 t xanthan gum. Maybe that will be helpful to the other commenter who cannot have wheat.
I made these brownies for my family last night and they LOVED them…even my wife who is a choco-holic and skeptical of the zucchini addition. I was amazed that the we had almost all (except the zucchini) the ingredients already. Score!!
Anyway, what we were wondering is if you have the nutritional content for them (calories, fat, carbs, fiber, etc.) Calories and carbs are the most important information we need.
Lastly, I ran into one problem. In using a food processor, I used the shredder plate for the zucchini shredding, but the shreds still came out pretty big. So, I put in the blade and pulsed it to chop the shreds up finer. I got somewhere between a fine shred and a purĆ©e with lots of released water. After draining most of the water, the batter still had a lot of liquid. I had to bake the brownies for an extra 15 minutes, but they still came out really moist. I was afraid the larger shreds would be noticed by the kids and that’s why I chopped/purĆ©ed them more. Did I make mistake with that and would the kids have noticed the larger shreds?
Thanks you!!
Blitz,
I don’t have the nutritional info but Allrecipes lists it here at the bottom: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Zucchini-Brownies/Detail.aspx?event8=1&prop24=SR_Thumb&e11=zucchini%20brownies&e8=Quick%20Search&event10=1&e7=Recipe
Remember that’s without my changes though but at least it gives you an idea…
OMG! I made these this weekend (once batch with frosting, one without). Personally, I like the ones without frosting. They are soooo moist and delicious! My six year old son says, “Wow mom, these are really good! I can’t even taste the zucchini!” Thanks for sharing!
I have never tried brownies with zucchini but this one looks delicious. I bet my children will love it!
I love that you balanced these out with the naughty frosting. They were starting to sound a little too healthy for a minute there… So happy your sweet baby girl is here! Congratulations to you and your family.
What a great way to eat your veggies! And that frosting looks amazing!
Can you sub the applesauce with yogurt instead? I often use yogurt in my cupcakes when it calls for oil and they make for a much moister cake, so I’m a total yogurt devotee in baking. Besides, we never have applesauce in the house. š
You could use all oil (1/2 cup total) or use yogurt as a healthier option.
I can no longer use wheat can you suggest a substitute flour to use?
Please advise
Deane, have you tried any of the gluten free AP flours on the market? I know Bob’s Red Mill makes one.
You can use a gluten free flour…
These look really chocolatey and moist. Perfect!
I definitely need to try these! Delicious!
A baby= totally legit excuse ;). Congrats again…. These look so yummy! And love that there are veggies hidden inside!
I can’t believe you are posting already! Don’t get carried away and do more than you should before you should. We’ll wait for you.
Thanks. I’ll remember that or try too š I had made a few recipes before I gave birth so I’m really not that crazy.