Fresh, shredded zucchini is easy to mix right into a homemade chocolate cake. Chocolate chips are sprinkled on top to make this double chocolate zucchini cake irresistible!
Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cake Recipe
Every tender morsel of this cake is made moist with shredded fresh zucchini and rich with cocoa. Chocolate chips are sprinkled on top of the batter which gives the extra enjoyment of gooey chocolate in every bite.
There’s enough sweetness in the cake that the kids didn’t even know that there were veggies inside. Anytime we can mix vegetables in a dessert that’s a win.
I really enjoy the fullness of flavor that the extra spices add to this cake. The cinnamon and cloves make this chocolate zucchini cake reminiscent of our Homemade Chocolate Spice Cake and Blackberry Jam Cake. If spices aren’t your thing the cloves can be omitted, but I would still recommend including the cinnamon.
A coarse handheld grater is the quickest way for us to prepare the zucchini. I also prefer the handheld grater because it’s flat, so it takes up less storage space. The shredded or chopped zucchini adds so much moisture to this cake.
Chocolate Zucchini Cake with Chocolate Chips
You don’t have to do much searching on our site to see that we are chocolate cake fans. From adding a gooey cream cheese layer on top of a box mix to make our Chocolate Gooey Butter Cake to adding sweetened condensed milk and butterscotch to our Heath Bar Cake we love chocolate.
Our most popular easy chocolate cake in a 9×13 pan is our Moist and Rich Chocolate Cake. But that cake doesn’t have any vegetables. We enjoy this chocolate cake because the flavor is full and chocolate and the shredded zucchini is barely visible.
When our garden or our friend’s gardens are producing we love making zucchini bread, this chocolate cake and the healthier option of Sautéed Zucchini and Onions.
Other easy and delicious recipes that feature garden produce are our Air Fryer Broccoli Parmesan and Black Bean and Corn Dip.
Should the Zucchini Be Peeled?
Zucchini does not need to be peeled to make cake, bread or muffins. Wash the zucchini before shredding or chopping.
Smaller, tender zucchini are best because the skin is still thin and tender and the seeds are still small and will be undetectable in a bite.
Tips for Making Chocolate Zucchini Cake
- Use a coarse grater to grate zucchini, a medium or fine grater will not work well
- We prefer using smaller, tender zucchini, but larger zucchini work fine in this recipe, just make sure they are not too watery and the seeds aren’t too large to enjoy in a bite
- Omit the cloves if you are not a big fan of spices
- Half a cup of buttermilk can be made by adding half a tablespoon of white vinegar to a liquid measuring cup and then fill to the half cup mark with milk; stir and allow the milk to sit for 5 minutes.
How to Make Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cake
- Preheat oven to 325°F and grease a 9 x 13 inch baking pan.
- In a mixing bowl cream softened butter, oil and sugar. Mix well.
- Stir in eggs, vanilla and buttermilk. Mix well and then stir in zucchini.
- In a separate bowl mix together dry ingredients and slowly add to zucchini mixture.
- Once the batter is mixed well pour into baking pan and bake for 40 to 45 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Other Easy & Delicious Cake Recipes
- Easy Snickers Bar Cake – A box of cake mix covered in caramel, sweetened condensed and Snickers
- Black Forest Cherry Bundt Cake – An easy recipe with a can of cherry pie filling
- Marble Chocolate Bars – Cream cheese swirled into chocolate cake
- Easy Triple Chocolate Fudge Cake – A chocolatey spin on our most popular birthday cake
- Milky Way Cake – A homemade cake featuring melted Milky Way Candy Bars.
We also love using extra zucchini in our Zucchini with Stuffing Casserole recipe.
Printable Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cake Recipe
Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cake
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 1/2 cup oil
- 1 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 2 cups zucchini shredded
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Cream butter, oil and sugar. Agg eggs, vanilla and buttermilk. Mix well.
- Stir in zucchini and then add dry ingredients.
- Pour into a greased 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Sprinkle chocolate chips over the top and bake at 325°F for 40 – 45 minutes.
Notes
- Use a coarse grater to grate zucchini, a medium or fine grater will not work well
- We prefer using smaller, tender zucchini, but larger zucchini work fine in this recipe, just make sure they are not too watery and the seeds aren’t too large to enjoy in a bite
- Omit the cloves if you are not a big fan of spices
- Half a cup of buttermilk can be made by adding half a tablespoon of white vinegar to a liquid measuring cup and then fill to the half cup mark with milk; stir and allow the milk to sit for 5 minutes.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
What a great way to get a little extra veggies in your diet! I bet the zucchini helps keep it super moist too.