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Chocolate Zucchini Brownies

Chocolate zucchini brownies with an ultra-fudgy, dense center and a shiny, crinkled top. Grated zucchini is squeezed dry to keep the crumb moist without adding excess water.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Cooling 20 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Servings: 16 servings
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Calories: 360
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Dry ingredients
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 0.75 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 0.5 tsp baking soda
  • 0.25 tsp salt
Wet ingredients and zucchini
  • 1.5 cup granulated sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 0.5 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 cup zucchini grated and squeezed dry
  • 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips melted (mixed into batter)
Finishing and topping
  • 0.5 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips fold in at the end
  • 1 flaky sea salt for top (optional)

Equipment

  • 1 sheet pan

Method
 

Prep the pan and dry mix
  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a 9x13 baking pan.
  2. Whisk all-purpose flour, unsweetened cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt together.
Melt chocolate and mix wet
  1. Melt 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips and let cool slightly.
  2. Beat granulated sugar, eggs, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract until slightly fluffy, about 2 minutes.
  3. Stir in melted chocolate and grated, squeezed-dry zucchini.
Combine, bake, and cool
  1. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet just until combined, then fold in the remaining 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips at the end.
  2. Spread the batter into the prepared pan, sprinkle with flaky sea salt if using, and bake 25–30 minutes at 350°F until the top is set and shiny but the center still has a slight jiggle.
  3. Cool 20 minutes before cutting to help the brownies firm as they cool.

Notes

For the most fudgy, dense texture, squeeze the grated zucchini very dry so the batter stays thick and bakes with a shiny, crinkled top. Store covered in the refrigerator up to 4 days; freeze baked brownies up to 2 months. For a dairy-free swap, use dairy-free semi-sweet chocolate chips in place of regular chips and keep the rest the same.