Paleo Zucchini Brownies with Dark Chocolate Chips

Name: Paleo Zucchini Brownies with Dark Chocolate Chips
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 12
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: ½ cup almond butter; 1 ripe banana; 1 egg; ¼ cup maple syrup; ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa or cacao powder; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; ½ teaspoon baking soda; 1 medium zucchini, shredded and squeezed of excess liquid**; ¼ cup dark chocolate chips

August 12, 2021 by Dr. Josh Axe, DC, DNM, CN

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Sneaking vegetables into desserts — it’s really not just a good idea for children. Regardless of age, we can all benefit from finding ways to get more health-boosting veggies into our diets on a daily basis. These chocolate zucchini brownies make that wise goal a truly enjoyable experience.

You may notice this recipe doesn’t contain any flour. That’s right — these are flourless, low-carb brownies.

In addition, this low-carb brownie recipe can also create Paleo brownies as long as you use Paleo-friendly chocolate chips and unprocessed maple syrup.

These zucchini brownies are the perfect healthy yet satisfying treat, and if you’re baking for people who aren’t normally vegetable fans, get ready to wow them with how you hide this nutritious squash so well.

Key Ingredients

This is one of the most delicious zucchini dessert recipes you’ll ever have, and that’s a good thing.

Why should you want to get more zucchini in your diet? Well, there are actually a lot of reasons.

First off, zucchini nutrition is impressive, especially when it comes to the heart-healthy mineral potassium. One cup of cooked zucchini provides just under 15 percent of most daily potassium needs.

In addition to potassium, this squash is also high in vitamin C, vitamin B6, manganese, folate and vitamin K.

Thanks to its low score on the glycemic index, zucchini is a very popular vegetable among individuals who are watching their weight or have blood sugar concerns. If you’re looking through Paleo-friendly recipes, don’t be surprised to see zucchini popping up here and there.

Followers of the the Paleo diet also love this green squash because its loaded with vitamin B6, which helps the body break down and use dietary protein. In fact, the more protein you consume, the more B6 you should be consuming as well.

Zucchini is also very easily digested since it is largely made up of water. Plus, it contains dietary fiber that can help bring natural constipation relief or prevent it in the first place.

This low-carb brownie recipe contains a lot of different vital nutrients thanks to whole-food ingredients like zucchini, banana, egg and cacao powder. These brownies may not be zero-carb or no-carb brownies, but they certainly have less carbs and sugar than your typical brownies containing processed flour and sugar.

How to Make Zucchini Brownies

This Paleo zucchini brownies recipe is so easy to make. Before you get started, just make sure you have your oven preheated to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

You’ll also need to line an 8×8 baking pan with parchment paper. (Look for the unbleached kind so there’s no chlorine.)

Shred the whole zucchini into a bowl.

Take the shredded zucchini in your hands and squeeze. You’ll likely get a bit of liquid that needs to be drained off before moving on to the next step.

Now it’s time to start adding all of the ingredients — minus the zucchini and chocolate chips — to a high-speed blender or food processor. The almond butter and cacao powder can go first.

Next, add the maple syrup.

Now, the egg can go in.

Last but not least, one ripe banana goes into the blender (or food processor). Mix up everything until well-combined.

Transfer the batter to a medium-sized bowl.

Stir in the shredded zucchini and chocolate chips.

Pour the batter into your prepared baking pan. Bake for 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Allow zucchini brownies to cool for 15 minutes before cutting and serving.

This Paleo chocolate zucchini brownies recipe typically makes 12 servings. Enjoy!