Vegetarian Recipes

Chocolate Zucchini Bread

https://www.loveandlemons.com/chocolate-zucchini-bread/

Earlier this week, I wrote about my seasonal love affair with zucchini. When it’s at its peak, I add zucchini to all sorts of savory summer recipes – pasta, pizza, lasagna, and soup, to name a few – but I absolutely cannot let zucchini season pass by without using it in sweet recipes, too. This year, moist, fudgy chocolate zucchini bread has been my sweet zucchini recipe obsession.

This double chocolate zucchini bread recipe is based on the chocolate zucchini muffins from our first cookbook. While I love that recipe, I wanted to make a version that worked well as a loaf for slicing and enjoying with a morning latte or afternoon coffee. This super easy, delicious recipe came out better than I could have imagined – it has a perfect cakey crumb, delectable moist texture, and rich chocolate flavor. Like my traditional zucchini bread recipe, this one makes two loaves. We gobble them up pretty quickly at our house, but if you have extra, pop one loaf in the freezer for another day, or share it with a friend!

Healthy Chocolate Zucchini Bread Recipe Ingredients

My chocolate zucchini bread is rich, moist, and perfectly spiced, but it’s secretly healthy, too! Here’s what I use to make this delightful summer treat:

Flour – A mix of white and whole wheat flour gives it a perfect moist texture and a little whole grain power.
Baking powder & baking soda – They make the bread nice & puffy.
Cinnamon & nutmeg – They add a lovely spiced contrast to the chocolate.
Sea salt – I add a dash to highlight the rich chocolate flavor.
Maple syrup – I swap maple syrup for granulated or brown sugar, so this healthy chocolate zucchini bread is refined sugar-free!
Eggs – They help the bread rise and add richness.
Almond milk – I use it instead of dairy milk to make this chocolate zucchini bread wonderfully moist.
Coconut oil – I use a scant ¼ cup of melted coconut oil to make the bread rich, but not too decadent.
Vanilla – A healthy 2 teaspoons adds depth to the spiced chocolatey flavor.
Zucchini – I grate mine on the largest holes of a box grater to get the best moist, zucchini-flecked texture!
Chocolate chips – I don’t recommend skimping on these guys! They make the inside of the bread super fudgy and delicious, and I sprinkle some on top too.

Mix together the dry ingredients, whisk together the wet ingredients, and gently stir the dry mixture into the wet. Fold in the chocolate chips, pour the batter into two pans, and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean!

Chocolate Zucchini Bread Recipe Tips

Be careful not to overmix! As with all baking recipes that use wheat flour, overmixing the batter will make the bread dense. Stir until everything is just combined to get soft, moist & puffy loaves.
Use two packed cups of zucchini.The zucchini is essential for adding moisture, so pack your cups full! Skimping on it will yield a dryer final loaf.
Bake once, eat twice.This recipe makes two loaves. I like to enjoy one right away and slice and freeze the other for quick breakfasts or whenever I have a chocolate zucchini bread craving.
Try changing it up! Swap half the chocolate chips for chopped walnuts or dried tart cherries. Or, if you have it on hand, use yellow squash in place of the zucchini. Let me know what variations you try!

If you love this chocolate zucchini bread…

Try my banana bread, pumpkin bread, or chocolate zucchini cake next!

Chocolate Zucchini Bread

Author: Jeanine Donofrio

Recipe type: Breakfast, snack, dessert

2½ cups flour, white/wheat mix
⅓ cup cocoa powder
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
3 eggs
1½ cups almond milk, room temp
¼ cup coconut oil, melted
⅔ cup maple syrup
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups shredded unpeeled zucchini
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips, more for sprinkling on top

Preheat the oven to 350°F and lightly spray two 8×4” loaf pans with nonstick spray.
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, almond milk, coconut oil, maple syrup, and vanilla. Stir in the zucchini. Add the dry ingredients to the bowl and stir until just combined. Don’t overmix. Fold in the chocolate chips.
Pour the batter into the loaf pans. Sprinkle with more chocolate chips and bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean and the tops spring back to the touch. Remove from the oven and cool completely.

Cheesy Vegetarian

Easy Vegetable Moussaka Casserole

Just like vegetable lasagne, vegetarian moussaka is one of those dishes that I adore, but I rarely cook for myself, because it always seems like such a huge effort. Cooking lentils, boiling potatoes, grilling slices of eggplant, simmering tomato sauce… the vast majority of the time, I really, truly can not be bothered.

That’s why this vegetable moussaka casserole is such a revelation! It’s a casserole-style version of my favourite veggie moussaka, which tastes just the same, but is so much less effort to make! Just stick everything in a baking dish and let it do its thing, casserole-style.

A spoon taking a scoop from a baking dish of cheesy moussaka casserole.

This moussaka casserole has two sections:

a tasty tomatoey layer underneath, made with all the usual ingredients you’d expect to find in a vegetable moussaka – tender lentils, melt-in-your-mouth eggplant and roasted potatoes, cooked in a rich tomato sauce
a thick layer of creamy bechamel sauce on top

As you scoop into the casserole, the creamy sauce drips down and smothers the tomatoey layer. It. Is. Delicious.

How is this Easier than a Regular Vegetarian Moussaka?

I’m not going to lie, this vegetable moussaka casserole takes quite a long time to bake, and the ingredients list is a fair bit longer than the majority of my easy recipes.

However, I stand by the fact that this is so much easier to make than most moussaka recipes. Although it takes a while to cook, it’s almost all hands-off time, where you can go and relax / do some other useful jobs / play with your kids / whatever else you like to do with your life.

Vegetarian moussaka casserole topped with sliced tomato.

This vegetarian moussaka casserole is easy to make because:

using canned lentils mean there’s no boiling required.
the vegetables are roasted in the oven, rather than the more hands-on method of cooking them on the stovetop.
there’s no fiddly layering of sliced ingredients – it’s all baked up together.
even the tomatoey sauce is cooked right there in the oven with the other ingredients.

It’s definitely not a quick weeknight dinner, but if you’re at home over the weekend, it’s the perfect dish to have baking in the oven while you’re busy with other things.

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Overhead shot of a cheesy topped moussaka casserole with sliced tomatoes.

Ingredients

Here’s what you’ll need to make this recipe. See the printable recipe card below for detailed ingredient quantities.

potatoes
eggplant (aubergine)
canned lentils (mine were green lentils)
onion – I only used half an onion (a small onion would also work!)
canned tomatoes
tomato paste
garlic – I used pre-minced garlic from a jar (my favourite time-saving ingredient!)
dried herbs – mint and oregano. I very rarely use dried mint but trust me, it tastes amazing in moussaka! Not a hint of toothpaste, I promise.
tomato – to slice up for the topping
milk, flour and butter – for the creamy white sauce. You can add a pinch of nutmeg to it as well, if you like.

Becca’s Top Tip

I used the same baking dish to roast up my vegetables, and then to cook the casserole itself. If you’ve got a little less time on your hands, the veggies will actually roast a little quicker if you spread them out on a baking tray – but I wanted to save on dishes to wash! I love a one pot meal.

Recipe Video

Overhead shot of a portion of vegetable moussaka with salad.

Printable Instructions

Vegetable Moussaka Casserole

This vegetable moussaka casserole is a much easier version of a vegetarian moussaka – but is just as tasty, with a luxurious creamy topping!

Course Main Course

Cuisine Greek, Middle Eastern, Turkish

Diet Vegetarian

Prep Time 25

Cook Time 1 35

Total Time 2

Servings

Calories 523kcal

Author Becca Heyes

Ingredients

For the lentil layer:

1 medium eggplant (aubergine) (~ 250g / ~ 9 oz)
~ 500g (~ 1 lb) potatoes
1 medium onion (or 1/2 large onion)
2 Tbsp oil
400 g tinned lentils, drained (240g, or ~ 1 1/4 cups, when drained)
400 g tin (~ 1 1/3 cups) chopped tomatoes
1 Tbsp tomato puree
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp dried mint
1/2 tsp dried oregano

For the topping:

60 g (~ 2 oz) butter
60 g (~ 2 oz) plain flour
500 ml (~ 2 cups) milk
1/2 tsp salt
1 large tomato, sliced

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 190°C (Gas Mark 5 / 375°F).
Cut the eggplant, potatoes and onion into 2cm dice (I didn’t bother peeling the potatoes). Toss them in a little oil, and add to a baking dish – mine measured approx. 8 x 8 inches.
Roast the vegetables in the centre of the oven for around 50 minutes, stirring once or twice during cooking, or until the vegetables are fairly soft (the potatoes might still be a bit al dente). If you decide to spread the vegetables out onto a baking tray instead of using the dish, they will cook more quickly.
Add the tinned lentils, tinned tomatoes, tomato puree, garlic, and dried herbs, and mix well to combine.
Return to the oven for a further 30 minutes, until the tomatoes have thickened up into a rich sauce. Mix well.
To make the béchamel topping, melt the butter in a saucepan over a medium-low heat, and add the flour. Mix to create a thick paste (a roux), and cook for a minute or so, stirring constantly. Add the milk a little at a time, stirring until smooth each time before adding more milk. Season to taste with salt. If you need more detailed instructions, check out my white sauce recipe.
Pour the béchamel sauce over the lentil mixture, and top with a few slices of tomato.
Return to the oven for a final 25 minutes, or until the topping is lightly browned.
Allow to stand for a few minutes, then serve.

Nutrition

Recipe FAQs

Can I prepare moussaka in advance?

Absolutely! The casserole can either be cooked entirely and then reheated when needed, or you can assemble it, then do the final bake just before serving.

Can I freeze leftover moussaka?

Moussaka is perfect for batch cooking – just transfer any leftovers to a freezer-safe tub, and freeze. Reheat thoroughly in the microwave.