Dessert for breakfast is ALWAYS a good idea. Your ten year old self was correct…ice cream does taste best before noon. As does chocolate cake. And icing. And pie. And sometimes liquor, but that is more your 29 year old self talking, not the pre-adolescent peep squeak sneaking cookies for breakfast. I don’t think I was the only kid sneaking ice cream on Sunday mornings before church. Mom always knew….hollering down the hall that ice cream was not to be eaten before noon. Such a party pooper…but as an adult, I have come to realize that she too wanted ice cream for breakfast, but had no way of rationalizing its consumption. At least in front of her children. An upside to having no children….I don’t have to hide when I am eating ice cream at 8am.
Thank goodness as adults we have learned to sneak these forbidden foods into acceptable breakfast fare. Phew!
Muffins, especially those made by Otis…are just breakfast cupcakes. Who are you kidding? Oh, everyone. That is right. Awesome.
Pop Tarts…You are not fooling me. You are a hand held pie. Smooth move. I applaud you. You think you fool moms and dads alike, but you just brainwash them into thinking it is okay to feed their children pie for breakfast…and it is. Golden.
Syrup…. Syrup = icing for pancakes and waffles. Liquid sugar. I adore thee. My brother doesn’t like syrup. Or popcorn. Or ketchup. I don’t think we are related.
And pancakes…ahem, cake? I think so. And thanks for making it acceptable to eat chocolate chips before the sun rises. Oh and whipped cream. You and waffles are to thank for that.
Mimosos and tequila sunrises and bloody mary’s…Thanks for hiding champagne, tequila, and vodka in tasty pre-noon acceptable beverages. You make brunches on lazy weekends worth waking up for and bridal/baby showers a lot more giggly. My ten year old self knew nothing of you…My adult self may know you too well – the one upside to being an adult…well, that and no bedtime or curfew.
And we are off…
Zucchinis….they keep finding a home in my fridge. And those lovely brown eggs…all thanks to my CSA. Have I mentioned how much I love this program. I am hooked!
Shredding zucchini is a messy situation….
The usual cast of characters….plus zucchini and banana – ya know, so we can eat this for chocolate bread for breakfast. Because fruits and veggies allow that bowl of sugar ooookkkkk to eat for breakfast.
Let the mixing begin. That zucchini adds a crazy amount of moisture to the bread. Not a whole lot of flavor…that is where the banana and chocolate take over. Of which I didn’t capture on film (or memory card) because a bowl of chocolate batter, while it tastes glorious, it looks, well less glorious. So, use that imagination of yours…and lets jump to the baked goodness.
And…voila! That was easy, right!?! Totally…minus that zucchini shredding. I will be picking zucchini shreds off my counter for some time.
So, lets get this straight…add a vegetable or fruit to the mix and you are 98.76% guaranteed to have a possible breakfast food on your hands. I used this rule of thumb for chocolate banana zucchini bread. Dessert for breakfast, I am all for it….be it hidden in chocolate banana zucchini bread (making those parents happy ) or in plain sight, straight from the Ben and Jerry’s pint container.
| Chocolate Banana Zucchini Bread |
- 1/2 Cup Dark Chocolate Cocoa
- 1 + 1/2 Cup All-Purpose Flour
- 1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1/4 Teaspoon Salt
- 1/2 Teaspoon Cinnamon
- 1/2 Cup Vegetable Oil
- 1/2 Cup Granulated White Sugar
- 1/2 Cup Light Brown Sugar, packed
- 2 Large Eggs
- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 2 Cups Zucchini, shredded and patted dry
- 2 Medium Very Ripe Bananas, mashed
- 1 Cup Chocolate Chips
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line a loaf pan with parchment paper or grease bottom and sides, set aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together cocoa, flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix together oil, vanilla, and both sugars. Stir in eggs, bananas, and shredded zucchini. Stir until well combined.
- Fold in dry ingredients just until combined. Fold in chocolate chips. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan and bake in preheated oven for about 45 – 60 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean with a few moist crumbs sticking to the toothpick. You may need to tent the bread with tinfoil toward the end of the baking.
- Remove from oven and let cool completely.
Zucchini zucchini zucchini. this is hilarious. I like #5 and #3.
Just as I finish a batch of zucchini, I find that they are quickly replaced with more. ‘Tis the season.
Fork Vs Spoon 
I found your blog via a comment you left on mine. Good job too, because I too have a fridge drawer full of zucchini and I’m not even sure I like the stuff that much. Cocoa and sugar however…
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Sugar and chocolate make anything palatable!
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Pie for breakfast is always OK, because it has fruit in it and sometimes oats, so it’s really just oatmeal in a different form. Same holds true for apple crisp. Ice cream takes the place of yogurt. Breakfast wins!
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You’re right – whoever thought about breakfast items was a genius!!
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Hello, your articles here Chocolate Banana Zucchini Bread – Fork vs. Spoon | Fork vs. Spoon to write well, thanks for sharing!
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I just found this recipe on Pinterest last weekend and I’ve made it twice already. My husband and son (picky eaters!) love this bread too! We just call it cake at my house, it is that good! My son (3) thinks I’ve lost my mind when I let him eat an entire piece 🙂 oh, and I replaced your oil with apple sauce. Such a great recipe! Thank you!
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Thank you for posting this! I plan to replace the oil with applesauce and some of the flour with wheat flour. Otherwise I’ll be sticking straight with your recipe…. Sounds so good!
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I made two loaves of this replacing oil and sugar with sweetened apple sauce and it lasted a total of thirty minutes in my house. So this recipe is officially in the books. Thanks.
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so glad you liked it! I will have to try the applesauce trick!
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Love this recipe I did adjust using what I had in the house: I replaced vegetable oil with coconut oil, using 3 tablespoons less than called for, and the cocoa with 4 packets of choco bake. Also used coconut sugar instead of light brown. Finally, I used half white whole wheat flour and other half white.
Yummy….Made them into muffins. so moist.
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Thanks for letting me know how it turned out! Love hearing about the tweaks and substitutions and really creating something all your own…it is what I love about the kitchen – a place of true experimentation, where the results end in delicious (most of the time) afternoon snacks! Hope to hear from you again!
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Do you use semi sweet or milk chocolate chip??
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I have used both with great results. I have coworkers that hate semi-sweet so for them I use milk. Honestly, whatever you prefer and what you have in the kitchen!
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I shred a lot of zucchini, and I’ve found the best way to keep it from getting messy is to shred it slowly onto a few layered paper towels. Then I can squeeze it dry and everything sticks to the paper. Once I put the shreds into my batter, I can just toss the paper towel.
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That is a great idea – thanks! Will definitely be trying this method with my next batch of zucchini!
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How much applesauce instead of oil?
And, sweetened or unsweetened?
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I would use unsweetened and I believe you use the same amount of oil as applesauce however I am not sure as I have not tested this recipe with applesauce.
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