Unless you’ve tried them, of course. In that case, zucchini desserts may be the first thing that pops into your mind when you think of zucchini recipes. After all, they are incredibly delicious, and many of them are much healthier for you than traditional desserts made sans zucchini. If you’re already a fan, you won’t be surprised, but many people are shocked to find out how versatile zucchini is. Whether you’re looking for something light and refreshing or something sweet and decadent, this list of 20 zucchini desserts has you covered.
1. Zucchini Brownies
Nothing beats the rich, decadent, fudgy taste of brownies, and these brownies are some of the best you’ll ever try. They taste so good that people will shake their heads in disbelief when you tell them you made them with zucchini. They’re also supremely moist and soft, and you can make them in less than an hour with only nine common ingredients.
2. Zucchini Banana Bread
Zucchini banana bread is the sweet zucchini treat that introduced me to zucchini desserts, and I love it just as much now as I ever did. My great aunt was the first person I knew to make it. She brought me a loaf as an early Christmas present, and I remember thinking, “Zucchini bread? Hmmm… Probably not for me.” I thanked her, of course, and the next day, I took it to work to “share” with my co-workers – i.e., let them eat it so that I didn’t have to do so. Imagine my surprise when people began raving about how incredible it was! Of course, then I had to try it. It tastes so much like banana bread, but it’s softer and moister. And that was the last loaf I ever “shared” with my co-workers.
3. Toasted Coconut Lime Zucchini Bread
This bread has the same dense heartiness as the banana bread recipe above, but it’s much tangier and has a bit of a tropical flavor, as well. The coconut and lime expertly complement one another, and the vanilla, cinnamon, and sugar smell just as impressive as they taste.
4. Zucchini Lemon Cookies
These lemon zucchini cookies are a must-try for anyone who loves the bright, zesty flavor of lemon. They’re soft and chewy with incredibly crispy edges, and the intense burst of flavor will shoot your taste buds straight to cloud nine.
5. Walnut Zucchini Bars
Whether you’re looking for a lightly sweet, super healthy on-the-go breakfast or just a midday pick-me-up, walnut zucchini bars are a crunchy, nutty delight. They remind me a little of a sweeter, crispier version of quiche, only without the cheese. The zucchini, carrots, walnuts, and oatmeal are packed with vitamins and nutrients, and although it seems unlikely, the veggies pair well with the sugar, cinnamon, and other ingredients.
6. Chocolate Chunk Zucchini Blondies
These blondies are soft and tender in the middle, but they have a wonderfully crackly topping that’s a true joy to eat. They’re thick, chocolatey, and buttery, but there’s also a nice balance of saltiness from the sea salt, so they aren’t so sweet and rich that you can’t enjoy them.
7. Cinnamon Cardamom Zucchini Pudding
If a quick, spiced dessert is more your style, you’ll have to try this tasty pudding made with zucchini, dates, water, coconut milk, cinnamon, cardamom, and chia seeds. It takes only 15 minutes to make (though it’ll need at least 2 hours to chill), is smooth and creamy, and has a lightly sweet, cinnamon flavor and a lovely mint green color.
8. Double Chocolate Zucchini Cookies
These fudgy cookies are out-of-this-world chocolatey, especially if you top them with a drizzle of chocolate syrup. They’re also soft, tender, and gooey to the extreme. Each bite practically melts on your tongue, leaving you with nothing but pure chocolate deliciousness as an aftertaste.
9. Peanut Butter Zucchini Cake
If peanut butter isn’t really your thing, you need to pass this recipe right on by because it’s peanut butter on top of peanut butter with a bit of peanut butter added in for extra oomph. All jokes aside, you’ll use an entire cup of peanut butter in the cake batter itself. Then, you’ll ice the cake with another half cup of melted peanut butter and chopped peanuts! You can probably already taste this phenomenal cake just from reading about it. Don’t worry, as with all the other zucchini desserts on this list, you won’t taste the zucchini. It’s just there to add additional moisture and nutrients to the cake.
10. Pina Colada Zucchini Bread
If you’re looking for a truly tropical, 100% beach-ready dessert, you can’t beat pina colada zucchini bread. You’ll make it with zucchini, standard baking ingredients, coconut extract, rum extract, vanilla extract, crushed pineapple, and your favorite chopped nuts. It really does taste like a pina colada, but this bread is much more filling and a lot less boozy.
11. Zucchini Cobbler Bars
Zucchini cobbler bars are like a warm, juicy apple cobbler with the perfect crumbly crust. You’ll make them with zucchini instead of apples, but it’ll be hard for most people to tell. Between the lemon juice, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and butter, the filling tastes remarkably similar to the same cobbler bars made with baked apples.
12. Zucchini Cake
The tiny specks of green in this cake are the only indications that you made it with zucchini. Until they see those, most people assume this is carrot cake or spice cake. The cake is light and fluffy, and the thick, rich cream cheese icing is enough to mask any flavor, even if the zucchini had a strong taste (which it doesn’t). It takes a little over 90 minutes to make, but if you’re looking for a unique, reasonably healthy after-dinner dessert option, it’s well worth the time it takes to make.
13. Apple Zucchini Crumb Bars
These are simply apple crumb bars with some baked zucchini added for good measure. They have the same taste, texture, and heavenly aroma as baked apple crumb bars, but they’re healthier and give you many more nutrients thanks to the zucchini. Honestly, unless you actually see the zucchini in them, it’s hard to know it’s there.
14. Orange Zucchini Bread
This dark brown bread with its dots of bright orange is gorgeous and will turn the heads of anyone who sees it. The taste isn’t bad, either. It’s light and citrusy with warm, rich undertones of vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, and pecans.
15. Zucchini Spice Cookies
I’ve always preferred soft, melt-in-your-mouth cookies to crunchy ones. They just feel better to me, and these zucchini spice cookies are infinitely pillowy and tender. They’re also buttery and combine some seriously intense flavors – brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, cloves, walnuts, raisins, and orange zest, just to name a few. The zucchini adds little, if any, flavor, but it makes these cookies almost as light and moist as cake, and that is my kind of cookie.
16. Brown Butter Zucchini Carrot Cake
This buttery, nutty cake will remind you of a mix between carrot cake and banana bread. It’s dense and filling like banana bread, but it has all the same spices as carrot cake, not to mention the cream cheese icing. The crushed pistachios on top add a bright splash of color, as well as texture and flavor, making this one of my all-time favorite zucchini desserts.
17. No-Apple Zucchini Pie
There are very few ways to enjoy the authentic taste of homemade apple pie without eating homemade apple pie. Cocktails can sometimes do the trick, but they aren’t as filling. Plus, there are times when you’re in the mood for something sweet but don’t necessarily want to get intoxicated to satisfy that craving. That’s where the no-apple zucchini pie comes into play. It tastes just like an apple pie, and the zucchini even takes on a similar texture to the apples in apple pie. No alcohol needed!
18. Zucchini Lemon Sorbet
All you’ll need to make this entirely tart, bright yellow sorbet is zucchini, lemon juice, lemon zest, sugar, and two sprigs of mint. It’s light, zesty, and entirely refreshing, especially on hot summer days.
19. Zucchini Crisp
And in case you needed just one more zucchini recipe to take the place of something sweet, here’s one for zucchini crisp (also called mock apple crisp in my house). You can pull it together in just 10 minutes with zucchini, sugar, lemon juice, flour, rolled oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, and butter. It’ll need another hour to bake. The result is a dessert with a crispy, crumbly crust and tender, perfectly spiced diced zucchini. Top it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and eat it while it’s hot.
20. Blueberry Zucchini Donuts
These (somewhat) healthy, entirely juicy donuts are absolutely fantastic. They combine the moist freshness of zucchini, the sweet earthiness of maple syrup or honey, and the tangy tartness of blueberries with whole wheat flour, almond extract, and more. Click on a star to rate it!
Average rating 5 / 5. Vote count: 2 No votes so far! Be the first to rate this post.
Share on social media: Let us improve this post!
