This classic zucchini bread is tender, lightly spiced and full of flavor. A thin crust of mini chocolate chips on top adds the perfect touch of sweetness — ideal for breakfast or a quick snack.
This is my go-to zucchini bread and it belongs in your recipe collection.
We’re seeing zucchini everywhere, so it’s the perfect time to make zucchini bread. This recipe is written so you can make it any time you collect a pile of summer zucchini from the garden or a helpful neighbor.
The crumb is moist and tender, the spice is subtle, and the mini chocolate chips on top form a delicate chocolate crust. We keep coming back for more.
If you’ve tried my favorite banana bread, this will feel familiar — it uses sour cream (or Greek yogurt) for a moist texture and gets mini chocolate chips sprinkled on top. Swapping banana for zucchini means you get some veggie credit while enjoying a classic quick bread.
The chocolate chip topping is my preferred approach for quick breads: it provides chocolate when you want it and plain bread when you don’t. The mini chips crisp slightly on the outside and remain soft when bitten into — a lovely contrast.
Other than the chocolate on top, this loaf is intentionally simple. It’s a great base if you want to add nuts, more chocolate, or other mix-ins. I usually skip nuts, but chopped walnuts or pecans would work nicely, and stirring more chips into the batter will boost the chocolate flavor and sweetness.
This plain, classic zucchini bread is a wonderful snack and a perfectly valid excuse to have dessert for breakfast — it’s not overly sweet, so it works for both.
If you want something a little more adventurous, I’ve also made a coconut zucchini chocolate chip loaf in the past, which is delicious but uses more specialty ingredients. This recipe aims to be classic, straightforward and accessible.
This bread is fantastic warm with a smear of salted butter — simple, comforting and hard to resist.
Zucchini Bread with Chocolate Chips
Zucchini Bread with Chocolate Chips
1 9×5 inch loaf
30 mins
1 hr 5 mins
1 hr 35 mins
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups fresh grated zucchini
- ½ cup sour cream or plain Greek yogurt
- ½ cup mini chocolate chips for topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 9×5-inch loaf pan with nonstick spray.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
- In a large bowl, whisk the melted butter and brown sugar until combined. Add the eggs one at a time, whisking after each, then whisk in the vanilla.
- Stir the dry ingredients into the wet until just combined. Stir in the sour cream, then fold in the grated zucchini.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and sprinkle the mini chocolate chips in an even layer on top.
- Bake 60 to 65 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool completely before inverting and slicing.
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The chips!!