Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread
Overrun with zucchini? Grab some chocolate chips from the pantry and make a batch of this tasty Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread!
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Back in June, I had the opportunity to travel out to the Blythe farm in eastern Kansas. (I was out there to help Debbie Lyons-Blythe celebrate the painting of her barn as part of Certified Angus Beef® brand’s #BrandTheBarn tour. (Disclosure: Certified Angus Beef® brand provided this trip, but all opinions are my own.) If you want to see some really cool barn photos, follow the #BrandTheBarn hashtag on Instagram!
I met Debbie last year, and we became instant friends. In fact, back in this Mediterranean Meatball Kabobs post, I wrote about how Debbie burns her pastures every Spring to create better grass for her cattle to graze on. Last year, as we left to return to our respective areas of the country, Debbie told me that I needed to get out to her farm sometime. Well, sometime arrived this past June!
One critical piece that Debbie left out when she invited me out to her farm was that she’s a long, long way out in the Kansas pastures. The population of her town is 618. Not 618,000. 618. And I’d bet that number includes a few cows that somehow made their way into the official census count. In fact, the population of the entire Morris County, Kansas is just under 6,000. And the population of cows in Morris County, Kansas? 77,000.
We had to drive about 30 minutes from Debbie’s place in White City to find a place to stay. (We ended up at a really cool old inn in Council Grove, Kansas. I’m nearly certain that place was haunted, but more on that in a future post!) Another critical piece that Debbie left out of the invitation? Kansas is hot in the summer. Like really hot. And you don’t want to be stomping around a cow pasture in shorts and flops. Trust me on that one. Fortunately, there is a steady breeze wind that blows constantly across the prairie out there, so that helps a bit. Granted, it’s a hot wind, but it’s still wind.
One advantage to all of that heat, though? Debbie’s zucchini crop grows extremely well! (Despite the zucchini crop, that part of Kansas is actually experiencing a bad drought this summer, and the lack of rain is truly causing a lot of hardships for local farmers and ranchers.) Debbie posted this photo on Instagram a couple of days after I left her place. Yes, back in June. She had zucchini this large in June! Also, note Debbie’s desciption for zucchini season: “Lock-Your-Car-Unless-You-Want-Surprise-Zucchini-In-Your-Front-Seat Season.” She nailed that description perfectly.
While our zucchini season might be a bit behind Debbie’s, we still end up with more zucchini that we know what to do with. Typically, we slice it, toss it in olive oil and then throw it on the grill alongside whatever else we happen to have on the grill for dinner that night. But I managed to set aside a couple zukes recently to make this Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread. And I’m glad I did!
Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread
When I first heard of zucchini bread, I thought it was some kind of cruel joke. I mean who wants a sweet bread made out of vegetables. In fact, I had this same reaction when I first heard about carrot cake, too. But I’ve seen the light with both carrot cake and zucchini bread! This Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread is based on a family recipe, except I bumped up the seasonings a bit and added chocolate chips.
At first, Laura wasn’t sure about the chocolate chips in this one. I thought the Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread turned out quite tasty, and I was afraid overjoyed that I would be eating the entire two loaves by myself. (Well, one loaf. We gave the 2nd loaf to Robbie’s babysitter.) But by the next morning, I caught Laura in the zucchini bread container cutting a slice for herself. She was caught red-handed…err, green-handed!
So if you happen to have extra zucchini floating around your kitchen (or if you live near Debbie and forgot to lock your car doors), then give this Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread a shot. The cinnamon + ginger flavors really shine through, and the chocolate chips are a nice complement. Happy baking, my friends! Oh, and if you try this recipe, make sure to swing back by and let me know what you think!
Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1¼ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup vegetable or canola oil
- 1½ cups granulated sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups zucchini shredded (~2 medium zucchini)
- 1 cup pecans chopped
- 1¼ cups chocolate chips
- {optional} ¼ cup sanding sugar or other coarse sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F.
- Grease and flour 2 standard bread pans; set pans aside.
- Using a large bowl, add flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and ginger; stir until well combined.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, oil, sugar, brown sugar and vanilla. Pour liquid mixture into dry mixture and stir until well combined.
- Add shredded zucchini, pecans and chocolate chips; stir until well combined.
- Divide batter evenly into 2 prepared pans.
- {Optional} Sprinkle tops of batter with sanding sugar.
- Bake for 60-65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into center of loaves comes out mostly clean. Let loaves cool in pan for 30 minutes and then transfer to cooling rack until completely cooled.
I love zucchini in baked goods! Especially if it involves chocolate. How a veggie goes so well with chocolate is something I’ll probably never understand. Is it weird that Morris County, Kansas, sounds like heaven to me? All those cows and so few people–I think I might be a little too antisocial 🙂
Zucchini really is an incredible addition to baked goods. I didn’t believe it for years, though. I put zukes in the same category as carrots. (“Why in the world would I put veggies in a dessert!?”) You’re right, though. If someone offered me a dish with chocolate-covered zucchini, I would look at them like they were out of their minds! In other news, let’s move to Morris County, Kansas, ok? I wouldn’t mind having cows for neighbors…and I bet Debbie would keep us well supplied with zucchini! 🙂
I love small places with the population being 618 people (should we say “heads” as cows might be included?) or around. My dream is to visit Newfoundland&Labrador which is famous for its beautiful yet small villages – some of them count just a very few people! Also, I’ve never tried a zucchini bread. I’ve heard that zucchini (as well as beets) gives a beautiful moist texture to the batter, but I’ve been hesitant. Well, last time you inspired me to try the banana bread, maybe this works with this delicious zucchini bread too.
I think ‘heads’ might be the more appropriate term here! And aside from the heat, I’ve gotta say that Morris County, Kansas was an awesome place. Like Kelsie said above, I could be convinced to live out in a wide open place with cows as my neighbors. 🙂 You should totally try baking with zucchini. I drug my feet for years as I thought the idea was strange. But I love it now! Just make sure to really press all of the liquid out of the grated zucchini…that’s an important step!
Hi David. This bread sounds delicious and I like the addition of chocolate chips (who wouldn’t). Summer squash and cucumbers seem to multiply overnight! When I bought my first house back in the early 70’s my neighbor behind me had a big garden and very frequently when I came home from work there would be a paper bag full of fresh veggies that he put on my side of the fence. At that time I was single and lived alone so I made and gave away a lot of zucchini bread, muffins and pickles!
Hey there, Dorothy! I have to admit that I was a little skeptical about the chocolate chips when I set out on this project. I knew I liked zucchini bread, but I wasn’t sure about the chocolate. But I said ‘what the heck’ and threw ’em in there. And they totally worked!
So I’m hearing that you’ve always been a master baker? I bet those are some good memories from back then! And what a nice neighbor, too. 🙂 Hope you guys are doing well!
Next year I’d love to venture into growing some more things in our garden and zucchini would be a lovely addition. I just love adding it to baked things cause it adds so much moisture. Plus, because there’s veggies in there it totally cancels out the chocolate practically making it a health food, right 😉 ? Right! Seriously, though, this looks wonderful and Kansas sounds like a great place…have never been, but would love to!
You should absolutely plan on growing zucchini next year, Dawn…just be armed with a bunch of recipes because once those zukes start growing, they come fast and furious! 🙂 Thanks so much, my friend!
That darned zucchini! I love it, but it just gets carried away in no time at all! I need to make a bunch of this bread and store in the freezer for the fall – when I don’t have any zucchini at all! Love the chocolate chips in here!
Same here, Kathy! I love zucchini, and we always choose to plant a couple plants every spring…and then come late summer, those plants are in overdrive! I’ve been having fun coming up with different ways to use those zukes this year. Good idea to freeze loaves for the winter, though! Hope you had a great weekend, my friend!
I am definitely making this duke bread 🍞!
Yes! I hope you like this zucchini bread as much as we did, Irma. And thank you SO much for stopping by and commenting. I hope you had a great weekend!
That sounds like a fun trip you had and Debbie is such a nice friend. I’ve been into zucchini lately and can’t wait to try this bread. With extra chocolate, for sure!
It really was amazing to get out these and see Debbie’s ranch first-hand. But boy was it hot! I’ve been seeing so many zucchini breads and zucchini recipes lately, too, Linda…and I’ve gotta say that I’m a fan of added chocolate chips! 🙂 Thanks so much, my friend!
Marris County sounds like a lovely place – I often say to my husband that I’d be happy to live somewhere in the middle of the countryside with a flock of chickens, two dogs, five cats and I guess a few cows would be great too 🙂 I once planted zucchini in my garden and I completely forgot about it so I ended up with huge oversized zucchini. Your initial reaction to vegetables in sweet things is funny. I love carrot cake so I assume that I would easily eat a whole loaf of this zucchini bread all by myself! Have a great weekend, David!
So 2 dogs and 5 cats? Not 3 dogs and 4 cats? Or 1 dog and 6 cats? 🙂 I’m just teasing, Miriam! I get it. I think I was meant to live out in a field somewhere.
So we have totally done the same thing with zucchini! Now we have to remind each other. If one of us sees a zucchini growing, we make a mental note that we have to go back in 1-2 days or else it will be huge! Thanks so much, Miriam!
What an idyllic place to visit. And Debbie sounds like such a lovely person.
Your zucchini bread has the perfect texture. It’s breakfast time right now and I want to reach through my screen and grab a slice (or two 😉 ).
Debbie really is an amazing person, Marissa! The way she runs that ranch of hers is incredible. 🙂
Also, this zucchini bread is so tasty. I wish I could beam some of it out your way as we have more zucchini than I know what to do with right now! Thanks so much!
Hahaha – Dude! I cannot stop guffawing over the fact that you thought zucchini bread was some cruel joke! Now, I’ve never made my own version but I have so thoroughly enjoyed eating ALL the zucchini bread I have stolen off friends counters… err, I meant to say “friends have sent my way”! Speaking of counters though, you might have a drone landing on yours soon – just load it up with a slice or ten of zucchini bread and send it back here…mmmkay?!
I seriously did, Shashi! I remember thinking “Zucchini bread? Why would someone ruin a delicious loaf of bread or muffins by shoving zucchini in there?” But then I learned the folly of my ways! 🙂 Now I love to make zucchini bread! In fact, send that drone of yours up today…I spotted another zucchini in the garden last night!