Made with whole grains and shredded zucchini, these Vegan Zucchini Brownies are a healthier way to enjoy one of your favorite desserts! See more vegan brownie recipes here!
Just so you know, it's boiling hot here in China.
And we don't have A/C.
And I'm sweating a lot.
Anyways, I have a funny story that exemplifies the Chinese culture perfectly.
So the other week, my Chinese friends invited me to ride my bike around the beautiful lake that's in our city. I've done it a couple times before, once with Brett and once on my own, but I have yet to do it in the middle of summer...or with my Chinese friends.
Like I mentioned, it is SUPER hot in our city right now. The sun is bright and strong and I feel like I'm constantly sweating unless I have a fan pointed directly at me. As some of you may know, Chinese people think white, pale skin is beautiful. Most people walk around with umbrellas on beautiful, sunny days because they don't want to risk getting tan. I feel like Americans are the complete opposite. We love to basque in the sun and make our skin as golden as possible. We also think a little sunlight is good for us...Vitamin D people.
Our group of friends decided to meet at 8 AM to start our bike ride. To prepare for a super hot and sweaty ride, I put on sport shorts and a exercise tank and lathered on some sunscreen.
Botta bing, botta bomb. Good to go.
When I met up with my friends, I thought maybe they knew something about the weather that I didn't. Everyone showed up in pants, long-sleeve shirts, hats and most people even had these stretchy scarfs which they wrapped around their necks and pull up on their face to cover their mouth and nose.
People. How do you do it?!
Of course the first thing they asked when I showed up was, "You aren't scared of the sun?"
No actually, I'm pretty excited to get some Vitamin D and let my skin breath!
The day started semi-cool, but continued to get hotter and hotter. And still, my Chinese friends stayed completely covered, literally from head to toe.
I guess there are some things about the Chinese culture that I don't think I'll ever agree with.
Anyways, let's talk about these Vegan Zucchini Brownies, shall we?!
I'm so so pleased with how these Vegan Zucchini Brownies turned out. Their moist (yes, I used that word), gooey, sweet, fudgy...everything you want a brownie to be! Plus they are dairy and egg free AND have zucchini in them...so they're practically a health food.
I love using Enjoy Life Mini Chocolate Chips as the add-ins, but you could definitely use any other dairy-free brand or even better, chop up a dairy-free chocolate bar into large chunks and add those in. Yeah, that would be awesome.
Please let me know if you give these Vegan Zucchini Brownies a try! And if you like sneaking zucchini into recipes, check out my Zucchini Bran Muffins and this Zucchini Bread Baked Oatmeal! I would love to know your thoughts or even see a picture! If you make them, try to snap a pic and tag #theconscientiouseater on Instagram so I can see how they turned out!
📖 Recipe
Vegan Zucchini Brownies
Ingredients
- 2 flax eggs 6 tablespoons water+ 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed
- ¾ cup coconut sugar
- ¼ cup neutral oil
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- ⅓ cup cocoa / cacao powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cups peeled finely grated and coarsely chopped zucchini
- ½ cup mini dairy-free chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 °F and grease an 8x8 baking pan. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, prepare your flax eggs by whisking 2 tablespoons of ground flaxseed together with 6 tablespoons of warm water. Set aside to thicken.
- In a larger bowl, whisk together the coconut sugar, oil and vanilla until combined. Add in the thickened flax eggs and mix again.
- Then add in the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt and stir until combined.
- Lastly add in the shredded zucchini and mini chocolate chips and stir to incorporate everything. I definitely recommend grating your zucchini as thinly as possible and coarsely chopping it so that you don't have any long strands of zucchini in your brownies.
- Pour the batter into your prepared baking dish and bake for about 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Let the brownies cool a bit after baking, then slice into squares and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
This recipe is part of my Top 5 Vegan Brownies Series:
- Fudgy Sweet Potato Brownies (20,000 shares on this one!)
- Easy Vegan Tahini Brownies (my go-to)
- The Best Peanut Butter Brownies (GF) - AHmazing!
- Vegan Brookies - aka God's gift to mankind... Half Brownie Half Cookie
- Vegan Zucchini Brownies - Whole grains and greens in a brownie? You bet!
lena says
loved the simplicity of this recipe. My batter didn't "pour" out as much as, blob out! I find that's usually the case with vegan recipes that don't have a lot of added moisture. I added walnuts and can't wait to try them!
Faith VanderMolen says
I hope they worked out okay Lena!
Nikki Smith says
I only have an 9 1/2x9 1/2 square baking pan. will this be ok?
Faith says
You can definitely use a bigger pan Nikki, but the brownies will be thinner so you'll have to decrease the baking time. Just keep an eye on them! I hope they work out for you:)
Nikki says
This was my first time making a zucchini dessert ever! I don't do a lot of baking either. I found an article about changing pan size. It took me a little bit to understand the concept, but EXTREMELY helpful for conversions. My brownies turned out PERFECT. Today I'm doubling the recipe! hahaha thanks so much! great recipe.
If anyone wants that pan conversion help: https://theboatgalley.com/changing-pan-size/
Faith says
Yay! That's great Nikki. I'm so glad you were able to figure out the different conversions and that the brownies turned out for you. Thanks for sharing!
Ann says
When do you add the flaxseed? Or I didnt read it correctly...
Faith says
Ah thanks for making me aware of the typo! Once the flax eggs have thickened, you whisk them in with the oil/coconut sugar mixture. I hope they work out for you!
ann says
Thanks! I made them but mine were not as moist as your picture maybe I did something wrong. Did you remove some of the water from the zucchini with a towel before mixing them with the rest? and second question, I grated my zucchini and then cut them, but would it be better to pulse them so they have a semi puree texture? Or how small do the zucchini have to be? Thanks! and sorry for all my questions, I'm a new vegan try to learn how to cook vegan!
Faith says
No worries on the questions! So cool you're a new vegan. I hope my blog and recipes can help make the transition easier. Sorry they weren't moist for you. I don't remember removing much of the liquid from the zucchini. I grated then with a really fine grater and then chopped the grated pieces a little so I wouldn't have long strands. But using a food processor to get fine pieces would probably work great! Let me know if you try again and if your new method works for you!
Zerrin Günaydın says
These are stunning! Love the pictures! They are making me drool!
Faith says
Ah so glad you like them Zerrin! Thanks so much for saying hi!
oscar says
Got my juicer!!! 😛
Yes, I completely understand covering up. I do it too, carry the umbrella (when it's not raining), and looking absolutely ridiculous.
When I do this in Viet Nam or Cambodia, the locals get it, however, the Americans find me to be utterly embarrassing, and make comments.
Hey, when in Rome...
Faith says
Ah yes!! How's it working?! What have you made so far?
And I haven't carried an umbrella with me in the sun yet, but I'm SO for it! The older I get the more I want to protect my skin. Going tanning just isn't a desire of mine anymore, so in some ways I'm becoming more and more Chinese.
Totally rock that sun umbrella:)
oscar says
I've tried a juice and some nut milk, but it's a bit of trial and error. There are three different filters, so I am getting used to it...
Faith says
Sounds complicated! Good luck. You'll be a pro in no time!
Liv @ Healthy Liv says
Wow these look perfectly fudgy and dense! And such a funny story about life in China...I'm with you on sticking to shorts and tanktops during the summer heat! Although I bet your friends' skin will be great as they get older!
Faith says
They really are! Usually my vegan brownie attempts are more cake-y so I was pumped that these turned out more fudgy:) And yeah, I definitely think their skin will be beautiful later on in life so in some ways I'm trying to be more Chinese:)
TBG says
That's an aspect of Chinese culture I will never understand. Every time my relatives tell me not to work out or get sun because I will tan and look like a labourer, I just shake my head. But apparently, some family members were offended when I refused to 'whiten' for my chinese wedding and turned up my usual color which is pretty dark for a Chinese girl. It's like some kind of status symbol. Which I guess is because those whitening packages at salons run up to thousands of dollars and if you can afford to do them, the world will know you are well off.
Faith says
Ah, cultures can be so different and have such different opinions! And those skin whitening packages are so crazy to me! Thanks for sharing your thoughts and experiences! So happy to meet you! Have you ever lived in China?
TBG says
Lovely to meet you too! Hi! (jeez, where are my manners?) My parents spent ten years in China working and I had to stay there for school holidays but the China I experienced was mostly the gated communities we lived in out in the suburbs. We are diasporic Chinese so we have family in Wuhan and Fujian but I've never visited. As a third culture kid, observing the Chinese in China and in singapore where I live now can be both fascinating and bewildering and, at times, provoking when people assume that because I look chinese like them, I should BE Chinese in the way they expect - thus the whitening debacle. The packages are a little insane, so a lot of girls prefer to just pile on the long sleeves and hats and umbrellas to stay fair even though it's almost in the 90's out there.
Faith says
Ah, I have a friend that's totally in your position! She's Chinese heritage but grew up in Australia. Everyone assumes she grew up in China and hold her to the same standards so it's hard. I bet that was hard! That's cool you live in Singapore now. We hope to travel there soon!