Zucchini Bread (with Oat Flour)
Developed and tested by Robyn Conley Downs
on Jul 28, 2016 (last updated Apr 14, 2026) 
This zucchini bread is made with oat flour instead of all-purpose flour, which keeps it naturally gluten free and gives it a tender, moist crumb. Maple syrup replaces refined sugar and a handful of chocolate chips adds just enough sweetness to make it feel like a treat. Everything comes together in one bowl in about 45 minutes.
5 star review
“This bread is insanely good!! I ground up oatmeal in my coffee grinder for the flour. Best GF bread I have made in a year!! Incredibly moist. Just so good!”
– Leigh
Moist Oatmeal Zucchini Bread with Chocolate Chips
In creating this oat flour zucchini bread I wanted a snack loaf that could pass for cake in the best way, but without the sugar crash. It’s tender from the applesauce, lightly sweet from the maple syrup, and dotted with juuuust enough chocolate chips make it feel special without adding any extra work.
The whole thing comes together in one bowl with pantry-friendly ingredients and oat flour, so it’s naturally gluten-free as long as you use gluten-free oats. For a classic zucchini bread made with regular flour, my brown sugar zucchini bread recipe is a great traditional option that comes together just as quickly.
There’s plenty of moisture from the zucchini, applesauce, and oil which means there’s no need for dairy. Ditto for my gluten free pumpkin bread which uses the same one-bowl method and is a great fall alternative when zucchini season is over.
Tips from My Kitchen to Yours
- In testing, squeezing the zucchini as much as possible was the trick to avoiding a dense, gummy center.
- Dark chocolate chips are the move here for richness, but semi-sweet or mini chips also work great if that’s what you have.
- The loaf continues to set as it cools, so it’s worth the wait. If you slice it too soon, you could end up with a wet, crumbly mess.
Zucchini Bread (with Oat Flour)
Ingredients
- ¼ cup melted refined coconut oil (or other neutral oil such as canola or avocado)
- 2 large eggs
- ⅓ cup unsweetened applesauce
- ⅓ cup pure maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups oat flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup zucchini, grated and loosely packed (from about 1 small zucchini)
- ½ cup chocolate chips, plus more for topping
Equipment
Instructions
- Prep: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease or line a 9×5 loaf pan with parchment paper and set aside.
- Mix the Batter: In a large bowl, whisk together the coconut oil, eggs, applesauce, maple syrup, and vanilla extract. Add the oat flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir gently until just incorporated. Add the zucchini and stir again until just combined. Add in the chocolate chips and stir to combine.
- Bake the Bread: Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until the edges begin to pull away from the sides and a toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool & Slice: Allow to cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then cool the rest of the way on a cooling rack prior to slicing.
Notes
- Oat Flour: Make your own oat flour for this recipe by placing 1 ½ cups whole rolled oats in a blender and blending until a coarse flour forms. You can also purchase pre-made oat flour at many grocery stores and natural food markets or online.
- Gluten Free: If you are gluten-free be sure to buy oats that are specifically labeled gluten-free.
- Dairy Free: Most chocolate chips include dairy. Be sure to use dairy-free if that’s important to you. I like Enjoy Life brand.
If I wanted to use white or whole wheat flour instead of oat would the amount be the same? Thx!
I haven’t tested the recipe with wheat flour, but I’m guessing it would work. Whole wheat flour would probably be the closest substitute. Let us know how it works out if you give it a try!
I used whole wheat and white flour since I didn’t need it gluten-free and I was too lazy to mill the oats 🙂 I got 12 large muffins that were so so good! And not like "good for a no sugar/butter recipe". These were so super moist and delicious! I also did blueberries instead of chocolate chips so I could give it to my 16mo for breakfast. I will be making another batch again this weekend to take to a brunch. Thank you!!!
Great to know the recipe works with whole wheat and white flour. So glad it was a hit. Love the sub of blueberries. I hope you all enjoy! 🙂
YUM!!! So tasty! It’s been the perfect breakfast and snack thus far this week. Thank you!!
Yay, so glad you enjoyed Emma! 🙂
I made these last night. They turned out great! The recipe was easy to follow, and I already had all the ingredients in my kitchen. Thanks for putting together such a simple, yummy recipe!
I’m so happy you enjoyed Stacy! 🙂
I made these as muffins and they were delicious! Thank you!
Yay, so glad you enjoyed Ashley!
What can I use in place of the applesauce? Here, in Ireland, applesauce is hard to find. What I can find is not at all similar to unsweetened US applesauce. I always. Avoid recipes that call for it, but this looks so good and I’ve a fridge full of zucchini….
Amanda, try upping the coconut oil and maple syrup to make up for the apple sauce. Hope you enjoy!
Could you sub butter for the coconut oil at the same rate?
Brianna, I haven’t tested this recipe with butter but I believe it will work. If you try it let us know how it goes!
Is there a good sub for coconut oil? Can I just use another oil?
April, melter butter will work well or avocado oil might work as well.
hi 🙂 looking forward to making this recipe. Can I substitute my local unfiltered honey instead of the syrup? If so, would it be the same amount? Also, if I have jumbo or Texas size muffin tins how much do you think I should put in each muffin cup? I would imagine the 1/4 cup wouldn’t be quite enough. Thanks!
Hi Tracy, you should be able to use the honey in the same amount, though you may need to warm it first so it incorporates well. The muffins will have a stronger honey flavor, but that should be fine. In terms of the jumbo sized cups, just fill to nearly the top of each. You’ll probably need to add some additional time to baking as well, just add time until a toothpick comes out clean. Hope you enjoy!
Delicious GF bread! My kids adore the chocolate chips in it and I of course, love the zucchini and that it’s healthy. I had to bake another 10 minutes and it was still a tad bit undone in the middle. Thanks for the great recipe.
Krista, so glad you and your crew are enjoying this one! I’m glad you added a little cooking time–zucchini can very in moisture content, so always good to keep adding until the center is done. Hope you continue to enjoy!
This looks SO yummy! I’m looking for a good zucchini-banana bread recipe. Would you recommend subbing banana in place of the chocolate chips?
Katie, I think swapping banana for chocolate chips would add too much moisture. You could try swapping mashed ripe banana for half the zucchini, though. If you try it let us know how it turns out!
So good. I can’t wait to share with my church group friends.
Yay, I hope everyone enjoys! 🙂
So glad you’ve come up with healthy options that are still enjoyable for the whole fam. Doing a bake-a-thon to use zucchini & also did half zucchini and half shredded carrots. Smells delish!!
Zoe, yay, so glad this was a hit with your crew. Love the idea of a bake-a-thon. Hope you continue to enjoy!
Delicious! And today, my daughter and her friend tried the recipe completely on their own (I melted the coconut oil and did the oven stuff, but that’s it). Turned out perfectly! (She also made your double chocolate brownies–twice, because they were so good!)
Lisa, LOVE that! So fun that they are cooking on their own. And yay for double chocolate brownies. 🙂
I made these as muffins
Added some psyllium husk and made the oat flour from scratch out of ancient grains rolled oats.
They taste good. But the mix was really dry so I added some milk. The muffins are very rubbery and doughy. I feel like the oat flour just absorbed all the liquid it’s quite strange.
Need to experiment some more but the taste is good 🙂
Hi Jesslyn, you definitely changed the recipe quite a bit so I’d expect they might not come out. Psyllium husk will definitely pull all the moisture out. Might wan’t to skip that ingredient.
Thank you Robyn! For me this made 8 muffins and I used mini chocolate chips. They are beautiful and so tasty!!
Michelle, yay, so happy to hear these are a hit. Love the idea of using mini chocolate chips. Yum!
This zucchini bread was great and so easy to make! I have lots of dietary restrictions so I was thrilled when I found a nostalgic recipe I could actually enjoy. I made this for my mother (no restrictions) and me; she absolutely loved it! Personally, I jazzed it up a little extra with some walnuts and cinnamon which were simply scrumptious. Thank for you such wonderful recipes that taste good while also making us feel good! 😊 ❤️
Juli, yay, so happy you and your mother were both able to enjoy this recipe. I’m all for the extra walnuts and cinnamon, too. Yum! Here’s to feeling good!
These muffins came out tender and just the right balance of sweet for me and the kids. I did make a double batch, using 2 regular eggs and 2 chia eggs. (1 T chia seeds + 3 T water = 1 “egg”). Next time I’ll try with just chia eggs and report back, but I usually have success with them in muffin recipes.
Yay, so happy to hear these were a hit, Lauren! Great note on the chia eggs, super helpful for others who want to make these egg free. Let me know how it goes next time, too. Thanks so much for leaving a review!
This bread is insanely good!! I ground up oatmeal in my coffee grinder for the flour. Best GF bread I have made in a year!! Incredibly moist. Just so good!
Leigh, yay, so happy to hear you enjoyed this zucchini bread and great tip on making the oat flour in your coffee grinder. Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts and for leaving a review!
We make this every summer! My boys and I love it and it only lasts a day in our home!
Jessie, yay, so happy to hear this has made the repeat list in your family! Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts and for leaving a review!