Zucchini Chocolate Chip Cookies
One of our favorite summer treats, these zucchini chocolate chip cookies are soft, chewy, and studded with rich chocolate in every bite. Lower in fat and sugar than your average cookie, they’re secretly infused with good-for-you ingredients and are ready to eat in less than 30 minutes!
Looking for more chocolate chip cookies? Try our famous one bowl chocolate chip cookies and peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, too.
Why You’ll Love These Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cookies
- 10 simple ingredients are all you need.
- All you need is 10 minutes of prep time, and the oven does the rest.
- With applesauce, zucchini, and coconut flakes, every bite offers vitamins, nutrients, and fiber. Don’t worry, you don’t taste the zucchini!
- Leftovers store well to enjoy for days.
Ingredients and Notes
Below is an overview of the ingredients and instructions to make this recipe. Be sure to scroll down to the bottom for the complete details!
- Applesauce – Use unsweetened applesauce to reduce the amount of fat needed while keeping the cookies tender and moist.
- Butter – Use salted butter to add rich flavor and help the cookies puff up as they bake.
- Sweetener – We like to use monk fruit sweetener to keep the recipe low in sugar, but granulated sugar works as well.
- Egg – This adds structure and enhances the flavor.
- Vanilla Extract – Use pure vanilla extract to add rich flavor and enhance the rest of the ingredients.
- Zucchini – You’ll need 1 small to medium-sized zucchini. We like to use a box grater to shred it. Save extras for pineapple zucchini bread!
- Coconut Flakes – We use unsweetened coconut flakes to add a chewy texture without making the cookies overpoweringly sweet.
- Flour – All-purpose flour forms the base of the dough, but you can use a 1:1 all-purpose gluten-free flour if needed.
- Baking Powder – This is key to creating the light and fluffy consistency we want with this recipe.
- Chocolate Chips – We love dark chocolate chips, but semi-sweet and white chocolate chips taste incredible, too!
How to Make Zucchini Chocolate Chip Cookies
Prepare. Before you begin, preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, and line a baking sheet with a Silpat liner or parchment paper.
- Whisk the wet ingredients. Add the applesauce, butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla to a large bowl. Whisk until well combined.
2. Grate the zucchini. Use a cheese grater to grate the zucchini until you have one cup. Transfer the shreds to a cotton kitchen towel, cheesecloth, or clean paper towels. Wring out the excess liquid.
3. Add the dry ingredients. Stir the shredded zucchini and coconut flakes into the bowl of wet ingredients. Add the flour, baking powder, and chocolate chips, and stir just until well combined.
4. Portion. Use a 1 ½ tablespoon cookie scoop to portion the cookie dough, and place each scoop on the prepared baking dish.
5. Bake. Transfer the cookies to the oven, and bake until the tops are set and bounce back when gently pressed. This zucchini cookie recipe is super forgiving! Unlike other cookies, it’s best to overbake than to underbake. Underbaked cookies will just crumble and fall apart! Cool. Allow the cookies to cool on the pan slightly. Then, transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely, and enjoy!
Common Questions
Absolutely! Feel free to mix and match any ingredients you like best. Chopped nuts like almonds, walnuts, or pecans make great additions. Or, try adding dried fruit like raisins or craisins.
Stored in an airtight container, leftover cookies will stay fresh at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Yes! Freeze baked cookies or unbaked cookie dough for up to 3 months. If freezing the dough, portion the cookie dough balls out as usual. Then, arrange them on a baking sheet and freeze until solid before transferring them to an airtight container. Bake from frozen, adding a few extra minutes as needed when you’re ready to eat!
More Cookie Recipes
Zucchini Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup applesauce
- 1/4 cup salted butter, melted
- 1/2 cup monk fruit sweetener or sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup finely shredded zucchini with as much liquid removed as possible
- 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut shreds
- 1 cup flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with a Silpat liner or parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, add the applesauce, butter, monk fruit sweetener, egg, and vanilla. Whisk until combined.1/4 cup applesauce, 1/4 cup salted butter, melted, 1/2 cup monk fruit sweetener, 1 egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Grate the zucchini finely with a cheese grater until you have 1 cup. Place the zucchini shreds on a cotton kitchen towel. Gather the corners of the towel together to make a pouch and twist to squeeze the liquid into the sink. There will be about ⅓ to ½ cup zucchini to add to the batter.
- Stir the shredded zucchini and coconut shreds into the wet ingredients.1 cup finely shredded zucchini, 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut shreds
- Add in the flour, baking powder, and chocolate chips. Mix until combined.1 cup flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips
- Using a 1 1/2 Tablespoon cookie/batter scoop, place the dough on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for about 15 minutes or until the tops of cookies are set and bounce back when you press gently on them. These cookies are very forgiving and it will be best to over-bake them than under-bake as they hold onto the moisture of the zucchini.
- Store them in an airtight container for up to 3 days or freeze them to enjoy later.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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These are like soft little muffin tops! So so yummy and they freeze really well. We always make a bunch of cookies when our zucchini comes in to enjoy into the fall. 🙂