These homemade soft and chewy chocolate chip zucchini bars are great for a healthy dessert or snack.
There’s NO oil required for these chocolate chip zucchini bars ♥
It’s a safe bet that if you invite me over, I won’t show up empty-handed.
The reality of being someone who makes desserts for a living is that I always have way too much food in my apartment, and there’s no possible way I can eat it all by myself (although I do a pretty good job!).
On Saturday morning, I made four batches of these chocolate chip zucchini bars, playing around with the ingredients until I came up with the perfected recipe that yielded bars with a deliciously soft and gooey blondie texture.
Leftover Zucchini? Make Chocolate Zucchini Bread
The zucchini adds moisture to the recipe, enabling one to cut back on the fat without sacrificing flavor.
With batches of zucchini bars now threatening to take over my kitchen, I was happy for an excuse to carefully package them and take some with me to a Halloween party.
Using up leftovers + finding a large group of taste testers for my recipe free of charge + making people happy with a homemade dessert = win win win.
This year I went as a biker chick, complete with a faux leather jacket, spikey stilettos that I grew to abhor as the night progressed, and an adorable chick hat handmade by a sweet lady on Etsy.
(And now I am just a little obsessed with Etsy…)
Halloween is one of my favorite holidays because it involves three of my favorite things: puns, costumes, and eating copious amounts of chocolate.
Not that I don’t already do that last one every other day of the year…
Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bars
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup finely shredded zucchini (I used a food processor) (120g)
- 1 cup almond butter or allergy-friendly sub
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp flour (I had success with spelt, white, sorghum, almond, and ww pastry)
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar of choice or xylitol
- 1/4 cup or more chocolate chips
Instructions
- Zucchini Bars Recipe: Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan and set aside. In a medium bowl, gently heat the nut butter if it is not already stir-able, then stir in the zucchini and vanilla. Set aside. In a separate mixing bowl, stir together the flour, salt, baking soda, sugar of choice, and chocolate chips. Pour dry ingredients into wet and keep stirring—it may seem dry at first, so be sure to break up the nut butter and stop occasionally to scrape it off your spoon. It will eventually get gooey like cookie dough. Transfer the batter into the pan, and smooth down evenly. Press chocolate chips into the top if desired. Bake for 10 minutes. When you take the bars out, the top will look set but underneath they will still be quite undercooked. This is good! Leave the bars to cool for at least 20 minutes, and they will firm up during this time. They taste even sweeter the next day!View Nutrition Facts
Notes
Have you made this recipe?
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Kathryn says
Oh my goodness, Katie! Why did I wait so long to make these?? I just made them the other night for my son’s lunchbox (and I wanted some), and they are amazing! Literally amazing! I love them almost as much as your Gooey Chocolate Chip Brownie Bars and those are my absolute favorite, so…Thank you!
Bella says
This recipe, in my opinion was ok.. While the bars just completely taste like peanut butter (the zucchini seems to get lost in the recipe), they are very good. I followed the recipe to a “tee” and they just didn’t firm up enough. When you bite into them, it’s like eating a mouthful of gooey peanut butter. I think calling it a “blondie” is a stretch. They are more just like peanut butter bars.
tara says
I’m curious Katie, why do you use spelt flour? I was looking it up and it has less fiber and more sugar than whole wheat flour (hard red spring). I know it’s better than white flour/common wheat though.
Drumles Den Haag says
Made these for the second time already, cause they’re awesome!
Jenn says
I never leave comments but I HAD to for these. I had all the ingredients in the kitchen so I decided to give them a try and OMG…they are so SO delicious!!!! Decadent, soft and melt in your mouth…and you would never know there’s zucchini in them.
Thank you for this incredible recipe Katie??
Thale says
This tastes sooooo good. Love the recipe – so easy to make. I used palmsugar as sugar. Thanks!
Nisba says
Would it be possible to replace the sugar with honey? I don’t get stevia where I live (India), but I’d like to make this as healthy as I can. Thanks in advance!
Heather says
I just made these and they look and smell delicious. I’m concerned that they are not cooked enough. The top center of the bar still feel doughy. Did I do something wrong? Should I bake them longer?
Jason Sanford says
Some ovens take longer than others, so maybe yours need a little longer. But if you stick them in the fridge overnight, they should firm up to a good texture!
Ash says
I made these with 1/2-1 cup of oatmeal to turn them into breakfast-worthy bars. Not that I don’t find them to a fantastic breakfast as they are. I just have to downplay my chocolate obsession for the sake of my husband and toddlers.
“It has zucchini and oatmeal. OF COURSE they’re a healthy breakfast. And yes. It’s a healthy breakfast you could eat every day Dear. And it’s totally acceptable to eat a whole pan to yourself….. No, maybe I don’t need to be eating them in the kitchen pantry or hidden in the fridge….” 😉
Ash says
I should also add that the oatmeal makes a great addition if you want a firmer bar.
No waiting necessary, and you can spoon it straight out of the pan in all it’s melty-chocolaty peanut-buttery amazingness.
Vicky Lindsay says
Do you think I can substitute almond flour for the flour?
Thanks. They look yummy!
Phoebe says
These are my favorite recipe I’ve tried from CCK so far! They turned out a little undercooked – next time I will need to cook them maybe 5-10 minutes more, but they are still delicious! Hopefully they will firm up in the fridge overnight. Couldn’t help myself from eating a whole row.
Shannon says
Thank you so much for the recipe Katie…made these 3 times already. My son enjoys baking anything with “green sugar.” Just linked to you (hope you don’t mind) on my new blog!
Stephanie Phelan says
Can you use yellow squash in place of zucchini.
Jason Sanford says
Sure 🙂
Miranda Black says
What can I substitute instead of almond butter or peanut butter?
Jason Sanford says
Cashew, sunbutter, or even pecan butter.
Beth says
Do you think it would work to wrap individually and freeze them? I made these yesterday. They looked nice and fluffy when I took them out of the oven. When I checked them 20 minutes later, they had sunk and were really gooey. I put them back in the oven for 10 min. and they came out a little too dark and were still not set. This is when I went back to the recipe and realized I should have just put them in the fridge. Oh well, they did firm up over night and they still taste great. Do you normally store them in the fridge?
Jason Sanford says
I like to store mine in the fridge, but yes you can absolutely freeze them. I’ve done that too!
Michelle says
Could these be doubled and if so woukd e eryfjing including the baking g sods be doubled?
CCK Media Team says
They can, and yes! (It will also work just fine to double them but not double the baking soda if you prefer.)