Easy 1 Bowl Vegan Zucchini Bread. Hearty Zucchini Bread with Chia seeds and Chocolate chips. Add some walnuts or other nuts for variation. Vegan Nutfree Recipe Jump to Recipe
Is your zucchini crop filling up baskets yet? The abundance of summer squash around means a lot of grilled veggies, minestrone, shredded zucchini fritters, zucchini sloppy lentils and more ways to use them up.
This zucchini bread is another popular loaf to add to the repository. With chia seeds for additional nutrition, these soft, moist, delicious slices make a for a great breakfast or snack. Add nuts, other toasted seeds and dried fruit for a hearty breakfast loaf. For Gluten-free try this GF Zucchini Loaf.
More Bakes from the blog
- Golden Turmeric Coconut Loaf – 1 Bowl.
- Grain-free Carrot Banana Bread. Use shredded zucchini instead of carrot for Grain-free Zucchini Banana Bread,
- Carrot Turmeric Chia Muffins.
- Sweet Potato Pie Bars.
- Pumpkin Pecan Crumb Coffee Cake.
- Gluten-free Cakes and Loafs.
Tips for a great zucchini bread
- Zucchini can have a ton of moisture which can end up throwing the dry to wet balance off and making the bread gummy. Squeeze out the zucchini for best results.
- Use a good balance of batter to zucchini. More zucchini than what the batter can handle also can yield gummy or wet result.
- If you arent accustomed to or fond of the chia texture, omit the chia seeds.
- This bread can be made without oil and low sugar, see recipe notes. The bread can tend to dry out without the oil and will benefit from the addition of 1/4 cup coconut flakes.
Easy Vegan Zucchini Bread with Chia Seeds
Easy 1 Bowl Vegan Zucchini Bread. Hearty Zucchini Bread with Chia seeds and chocolate chips. Add some walnuts or other nuts for variation. Vegan Nutfree Recipe
Servings: 12
Calories: 172kcal
Ingredients
Wet:
- 3/4 cup (183 ml) non dairy milk , such as almond milk, soy milk
- 1/3 cup (66.67 g) raw sugar or light brown sugar or coconut sugar , 1-2 tbsp more for sweeter
- 3 tbsp chia seeds
- 3 tbsp oil
- 1/4 cup (80.5 g) maple syrup
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) vanilla extract
Dry:
- 1.5 cups (187.5 g) flour (I use 1 cup unbleached all purpose and 1/2 cup wheat)
- 1.5 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp (0.25 tsp) baking soda
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) salt
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) spices like cinnamon , optional
- 1 cup (124 g) shredded zucchini , squeezed between paper towels to remove excess moisture
- 1/3 cup (60 g) chocolate chips , plus more for topping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 365 deg F (190 C), line a loaf pan with parchment or grease well. Mix non dairy milk and chia seeds in a large bowl and let sit for 10 mins. Then whisk in the rest of the wet ingredients until well combined.
- Fold in the zucchini. Add the dry ingredients (start with 1.25 cups flour if using more whole grain flour, and more a tbsp at a time), and mix to make a thick muffin like batter. Fold in the chocolate chips (and 1/4 cup chopped nuts if using). ( If omitting the chia seeds from the wet, you will need a bit more flour to get the thick batter).
- Pour into prepared pan. Sprinkle 1 tbsp chocolate chips on top.
- Bake at 365 degrees F (190 deg C) for 55 to 65 minutes or until a toothpick comes out almost clean from the center. (baking time will depend on the moisture content of the zucchini and the batter) . For a gluten-free bread, see GF Zucchini Loaf
Video
Notes
Variation: Add 1/4 cup shredded coconut to the dry. The coconut adds a darker caramelized color and amazing flavor to the bread.
Chocolate Zucchini Bread: Use 1 1/4 cup flour and 1/4 cup cocoa powder. If the consistency of the batter is too thin, add a tbsp or so more flour.
Chia: You can omit the chia seeds from the wet. Add another tbsp of sugar and mix in. You might need a few tbsp more flour.
Oil-free: Omit oil and use 2 tbsp applesauce. Add 1/4 cup shredded coconut to the dry to help retain moisture.
Refined sugar free: Omit sugar, add 1/3-1/2 cup chopped dates instead of chocolate
For a gluten-free bread, see GF Zucchini Loaf
Nutrition is for 1 slice of 12
Nutrition
Nutrition Facts
Easy Vegan Zucchini Bread with Chia Seeds
Amount Per Serving
Calories 172
Calories from Fat 45
% Daily Value*
Fat 5g8%
Saturated Fat 1g6%
Sodium 149mg6%
Potassium 134mg4%
Carbohydrates 27g9%
Fiber 1g4%
Sugar 12g13%
Protein 2g4%
Vitamin A 30IU1%
Vitamin C 1.8mg2%
Calcium 82mg8%
Iron 1.1mg6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
I have question to ask . I do have a commercial egg replacer by bob mill so instead of chia seed how many tbsp of egg replacer can I substitute?
Thanks
Last summer my roommate grew a ridiculous amount of zucchini and I used this recipe to gift zucchini bread to everyone we knew in the hopes of using it all up! Everybody loved it and I’ve made it so often that it’s memorized now ahaha
So here is a very belated THANK YOU for this easy and delicious recipe! 🙂
hahahhaha. Hilarious Thank you! better late than never
This is a big hit. I make this one often.
Awesome
Hi. I really like this recipe as a base but I’d like to make it savoury instead of sweet. My plan is to switch out the sugar for herbs and omit the maple syrup completely but I was wondering whether the maple syrup acts as a binder so if I take it out, it would mess up with the structure of the bread.
Also, do you think it would be an issue to use 1/2 oat flour and 1/2 wholewheat flour for the bread?
Thanks
It does add moisture to the bread. Add a bit more oil, and 2 tbsp non dairy yogurt as a sub
My first vegan recipe! Thank you – I have hope in the change for a healthier me!
💜 yay!! I’m fully confident in you Sarah – that’s great
Thanks for posting. I had a few zucchinis and wanted to make a vegan recipe. Came out well.
The only thing is I kept looking when to add sugar, baking powder etc and couldn’t find it. I followed the video and finally found it. I missed reading it from “wet ingredients”. Ha!
aha! eureka. thanks T
Just made it. Lovely! My family doesn’t really like the “green bits” and I’m not a fan of chia so took all wet ingredients with chunks of zucchini and whizzed like a smoothy. Have I said it’s lovely? And no green bits…Thankyou for sharing.
Awesome
Love this recipe! It’s so simply and the end-result is delicious and moist.I made with and without cocunut flakes and didn’t use chocolate.
that’s great Sarah! thank you & i”m glad that you experimented
Swapped the chocolate chips for blueberries and whipped up a lemon “butter”cream for it. Delicious and versatile!! 🙂
sounds superb! !! Thank you for your awesome review !
Hello,
Can I bake this in a 6 inch cake pan?
Yes
Thank you for your quick reply. I plan to use “1.5 tbsp flax seed meal” instead of chia.
Do I put the flax seed meal in milk (like how you mix chai seeds in milk) or later when I add the flour?
Yes to the milk
I’ve made this recipe a few times now. It’s a huge hit with family and friends! Even those who aren’t vegan love it! I’m excited to try the pumpkin bread recipe with chocolate chips next for the holidays. Thanks so much!
awesome
I made this with no modifications and it came out great. Other recipes I have tried came out too dry but this was delicious. I made this just for myself so I froze extras and they thawed well.
awesome!
Amazing recipe! We loved this in our house. Thanks so much for the great summer treat!😊
Hey, made it couple of days ago, it was delicious, everybody loved it. We will definitely be making it again 🙂
This makes one beautiful zuchinni loaf. I omit the sugar and only use 1/4 cup of maple which makes a perfectly sweet loaf. I love the texture of the chia seeds when biting into the bread. The recipe video is one of my favorites too. Nicely shot, the music makes it so relaxing to watch.
Thanks!
Can I strictly use all purpose flour or do I need the wheat flour? 🙂
yes all all purpose is fine
I’m thinking about trying this recipe with Lupin Bean Flour. What do you think about that?
thats a glutenfree flour so direct sub wont work.
Okay this didn’t work for me. My batter seemed thicker than it should have but I kept going and after about 40 minutes of baking (and hoping) I realized something was terribly wrong. The only things I remember doing differently was I used only whole wheat flour and I cut back on the amount of maple syrup, but it wasnt by much. I was able to taste it and it was very tasty but obviously I need to try again, following the recipe exactly.
oh no. What happened? can you describe the baked bread and texture? Maybe it just needed extra baking time? whole grain flours add 5-10 mins in bake time sometimes
It didn’t really rise at all. Very dense/heavy.
You would need slightly less all whole grain flour(or a bit more liquid). With whole grain baking, dryer batter will lead to less rise. Whole grain breads also rise a bit less. All these issues will make it even more dense if it didnt have enough moisture. Start with 1.25 cups and add more only if the batter is flowy thin. Also add 2 tsp baking powder.
I am not if you generally bake with all whole wheat. it generally baked denser than all purpose.
Delicious! I made it exactly to the recipe it came out looking just like the picture
yay!
Can I use flaxseed meal in place of chia seeds?
yes
Subbed 1 1/8 cup of whole wheat flour and it was delish!
awesome!
Can I use 1 1/2 cups almond flour or do I have to mix flours?
you do need a mix of flours as there is not much binding inthe almond flour. So atleast a quarterportion starch such as potato starch
Fantastic recipe! So quick and easy! I added cocoa powder and used about 1-1/2 TBS chia seeds (all I had on hand), keeping flour at 1-1/4 per Notes. I also added a handful of chopped pecans. My only “complaint” is that it’s supposed to serve 12…more like serves 1! 🙂
awesome! 12 slices :). people serves is variable.
Made it and turned out to be super soft! Love the crunch of chia seeds. I omitted chocolate chips and cinnamon powder.
I made this and it turned out to be a gelatinous mess 🙁
oh no, Maybe it needed more flour or more bake time? is the outer part like bread or it is gummy throughout?
Gummy throughout! I followed the recipe to a t but maybe my oven didn’t hear properly or something. I’m breaking the rules and putting it back in to see if it makes a difference!
i think it needed more flour. the zucchini might have had too much moisture. it wont bake now. You can slice and bake like biscotti, although it would be slightly softer biscotti
Could I sub flax for the chia seed? How much?
yes, just 1 tbsp flaxseed meal is sufficient
This was amazing!!! I don’t like zucchini but our CSA gave us a bunch anyways so I had to figure out what to do with them. I stumbled upon your recipe, and voila! I made it exactly as you listed it and brought it to a dinner party with omnivores, and everyone loved it!!
One thing I will warn about was that the chia seeds made us all a little bloated afterwards because we all had eaten a lot of one of your curries right before. 🙂 Absolutely delicious, and I will DEFINITELY be making it again. Thank you!
awesome! thats interesting about the chia seeds. 3 tbsp is not a lot when distributed over many slices. but does bulk up with a couple of slices together
Sorry if you’ve already answered this (I looked but couldn’t find it). Is this freezable? Whole or in slices? Thank you I love your recipes!
freeze slices.
Really good recipe! The crust was nice and crunchy and the inside was moist.
Nice loaf! Thanks for the recipe. My daughter doesn’t like chocolate chips, so I added raw pumpkin seeds to the top. So pretty! I also checked all of the chocolate chips in my pantry and they contain milk solids, etc. Any suggestions for real chocolate chips that are vegan?
There are several brands of vegan chocolate chips, theymight vary by country. Enjoy life, lulu, 365 brand and others
Thank you so much for this vegan zucchini bread recipe. I did make a couple of switches – didn’t have any non-dairy milk so used water; applesauce instead of oil; omitted chia seeds; omitted the sugar and added more chocolate chips. Used all whole wheat flour. I think the soy or almond milk might make it too sweet for us anyway, so it worked well. The bread has a great flavor and texture to it, and I know it’s healthy. My vegan grandson is home from college for the summer and we go through several loaves of tea breads a week. This will be tops on the list during zucchini season and beyond!
Thats awesome that the changes worked out!
What can I substitute for Chia seeds? What purpose do they serve in the recipe?
omit them, see recipe write up and notes. I added them for added nutrition and also to absorb extra moisture in case the zucchinis are very moist, but they arent needed
I love this recipe! I used coconut oil and it gave it an amazing flavor. I also added sunflower and pumpkin seeds. Thank you for the recipe.:)
Fantastic!! Hands down a great bread that doesn’t miss the eggs.
thanks!
Do you think coconut oil would work and if so the same amount? I think the subtle coconut taste would go well. Love your recipes!
Thanks.
yes coconut oil will work
Can I switch the maple syrup for another ingredient? I’m not a big fan of maple syrup.
Yes, Add 1/4 cup sugar and 2 tbsp non dairy milk to the wet
Can we use frozen shredded coconut as an addition?
yes
I wonder how you come up with awesome recipes like these. Love it. Can I skip maple syrup ? Difficult to source in India . Very expensive.
You can omit maple syrup. Add 1/4 cup sugar and 2 tbsp non dairy milk to the wet
Wow! This was delish- great way to use my fresh zucchini from the garden. I actually used two small loaf pans and baked for about 30-40 min. on same temp. Thanks for a great one!
awesome!
Thank you. Now I understand oat flour better. I use it a lot. I have rice and almond flour. What proportions do you suggest? I am going to make the bread again tomorrow. 😍
equal amounts is an easy option. You can add a bit more of almond and oat flours
The bread was delicious but a little too moist. Probably from the zucchini. I made a few changes. I used oat flour, 3 Tbsp applesauce instead of oil. Next time I will use 2 Tbsp. I omitted the sugar and just used maple syrup. It was sweet enough. I added orange zest which added a nice twist. Thank you for all of your hard work and for sharing your recipes. You are awesome. 👏👍
Thanks Sheila. Oat flour is gluten-free (does not rise enough and hence less volume for the zucchini to spread) and also absorbs moisture differently, so that might be the reason of moistness. Add a bit of rice flour, almond flour and starch to the mix.
I took a loaf to my neighborhood coffee club and received lots of compliments. Making a second loaf for hubby and I.
awesome!
Delicious!!Made it yesterday and my family already ate it all! You are a household name in our house 🤗
yay!! so glad everything turns out well!! <3
Did you use the chia seeds? What was the texture like?
you can make the bread without the chia seeds. Reserve 2-3 tbsp of the batter and mix some chia seeds in the batter and bake that in a small ramekin as a test batch
Looks delicious! Is the pan just lined with parchment paper?
yes.
What kind of oil do you recommend?
neutral – safflower, sunflower or canola
Have you ever tried using apple sauce as an oil replacement?
See note section. … Oil-free: Omit oil and use 2 tbsp applesauce. Add 1/4 cup shredded coconut to the dry to help retain moisture.
In general you can same amount of applesauce as a sub for oil when oil is in low amounts. (not like 1 cup etc). If the dish is generally a moist baked dish, then reduce the applesauce a bit
Can I use flax instead of chia ?
Yes. use 1.5 tbsp flax seed meal( grind or blend in a blender to make a coarse meal and use). Flax seeds wont gel, so you have to use a meal. Also they have a stronger flavor, so use less
Will try this out, looks delicious! Noted that the metric measures are off – at least the maple syrup. 0.02 ml should be about 60 ml. Not sure if the rest of the ingredients are right or not.
oh yes, the widget does that to maple syrup certain amounts only. its weird. Thanks for catching that
Thanks so much for the suggestions – and links! I’ll try the chickpea flour one as I can’t eat the tapioca flour….arrowroot is ok though.
use potato starch if that works for you.
Is there any way to make this gluten free with rice flour? or chickpea flour? And thanks so much for the “tips”- I’ve always had gooey disasters when using zucchini…now I know why 🙂
You can use the gf zucchini bread recipe and use rice flour+ almond flour instead of oat https://www.veganricha.com/2016/08/vegan-gluten-free-zucchini-bread-recipe.html
There is a savory zucchini cake recipe in my first book that uses lentils and rice batter.
You can also add zucchini to the chickpea flour cinnamon bread.https://www.veganricha.com/2017/11/vegan-gluten-free-cinnamon-roll-bread-yeast-free.html Omit the cinnamon swirl. Shred and roast the zucchini for 10 to 15 mins so that the excess moisture dries out before adding to the batter. The batter is steaming for quarter of the time than traditional bread cooking time, which will not cook the zuchini.
Can I use reg milk instead of dairy free?
Vegan